Cambridge South 3rds went into this game confident after their two consecutive victories and came away having been beaten by a sharper team.

The first half was a tight affair in which South were probably the better team. The structure of the team did not suit the available players and, despite taking the lead through a James Pope goal, South never looked in control of the game after the first twenty minutes.

South started positively with good running and passing through the midfield of Ky Ho, Rod Richardson, David Bridge and Ian Perry. Up front, South looked strong but failed to turn possession into telling shots. Will Marston, at centre forward, was also dropping deep to help keep possession. However on two occasions strong attacks down the right wing through Will Marston, Ali Blake and the ever-present James Pope, resulted in crosses just missing the back post.

Ely were always strong on the counter attack and they had a number of opportunities, including four penalty corners, from which they could have scored. In the ensuing scramble following one of the their attacks David Bridge cleared the ball off the line, under considerable pressure from Ely, after keeper Will Benedikz was beaten.

Ironically it was another clearence by Will Benedikz that set up the attack from which South's goal was scored. His strong kick found Ali Blake with plenty of space at right midfield, his short run and sharp pass found James Pope who proceded to cut into the Ely circle. Having drawn then beaten the keeper James scored with a strong shot past the final defender.

The Ely side who came out after half-time were hungry for victory and forced South back on the defensive, using well supported attacks down both wings. Their first goal came almost directly from the restart. Breaking forward Ely won a short corner which was inventively switched across the circle for a relativlely easy shot home from the right wing. This spurred the visitors on whilst South became frustrated and disheartened, which led to a breakdown in the teams structure. Will Benedikz was forced to make a number of close range crosses in order to try and save a point from the game. Centre back John Benedikz also had another good performance and interchanged well with Ian Perry to vary the attacking options.

Chris Clegg continued his bright start for the club with a solid game at left back, whilst Andrew Leonard also played well on the opposite side of the defence. Andrew showed exceptional determination, which the team would do well to mimic in the future. When beaten by the Ely winger he sprinted back round and intercepted the ball at a second attempt.

James Pope, then Andrew Leonard, made goal saving clearences from high shots: Pope's being a shoulder height swing at the ball which a tougher umpire might well have punished more harshly than the long corner given.

The final goal came with just two minutes to play. Ely had an overlap of players on the right wing and drove to the back line before pulling a strong cross back to the the penalty spot from where it was swept home - a goal keeper's nightmare of a goal.

At the final whistle the more committed team had won although that was little consolation to a bitterly disappointed South side who should have taken something from the game.