A comfortable win for Alford in the end, but Cambridge South made a game of it.

The home team were a bit slow to get going on a dismal November afternoon. Unfortunately Alford weren't and they got five goals fairly swiftly. This was in spite of acrobatic saves from man of the match, goalkeeper Matt Gower, and some robust defending, particularly from the returning central Evans-Siddorns duo, demonstrating the dark arts effectively.

Alford's superior skills, fitness, technique, nous and team play were a bit too much for South, but we stuck to our roles and when we had the ball, made space, passed to a man in purple when we could, and kept the northern hordes honest.

The second half was much more even, as the lively Nathan Monck grabbed a goal with some great positioning to latch on to a cross and confidently deceive the keeper.

Cambridge South actually had a good share of possession after half time, with attacks often launched by thunderous Siddorns free hits. We used the width of the pitch, bringing teammates into play, resulting in good counterattacking moves, but when options were few we were able to thump the ball away from danger. When we didn't have the ball it was great to see everyone hassling opponents, marking sensibly, and often getting the ball causing Alford errors.

Overall a similar story to a number of other games this season - great commitment and team spirit, improvement through the match, and some highlights, but undone by teams playing that bit above our level.

It rained a lot, but the pizzas and warm clubhouse were welcome afterwards.