After watching tired fellow clubmates walk off the Long Road pitch with a two-nil home win vs CoP 6th XI, South 3rds knew that, at least temporarily, the 2nds were just three points behind them. Game on, then!

The previous day had seen the M3s’ WhatsApp group be very functional for a change and organise cars in a meticulous fashion. All it would take is one person whose name sounds very similar to ‘Ollie Kenzie’ for the house of cards to fall a little lemony. Not a fantastic start! Then Joe would double down on this by sitting on the changing room floor. He didn’t mean to do this and we are reliably informed he was "aiming" for the changing benches. Very lemony!

The team were shocked into action and observatory overload at the pre-game team talk by stand-in skipper, Nev Warren. He had not only prepared a team sheet that had every single substitution planned and to-the-minute-scheduled to take place, but he had laminated it so the blustery and wet conditions would not dissolve the master plan. Some were impressed; some were cynical. Did Nev have a laminating device in his car or at home for such occasions? Questions that earned some man-of-the-match votes and some lemon votes. You clearly can't please everybody!

The match started at a frenetic pace for the first ten minutes. South were piling forward and working the ball between the flanks and outside again for a flurry of half chances and short corners. It seemed too easy and when the first opportunity for a long sixteen hit out was presented to Bourne, they took it with glee. Seventy yard glorious hits were to be the order of the day. Immediately, South were two-on-two and facing very real threats. Despite the considerable lack of possession, South kept fluffing their lines. Half a dozen short corners and as many speculative hits into the circle seemed to be the only fruits from a barren half. Bourne, however, had used their 7-1-2 formation to perfection and had hit the post from a short corner. It was only when the half was seemingly petering out to a stalemate that the ball popped in the air in front of Joe Whittaker, who smashed the ball chest height at goal. Ash Dookun was on hand to glance it in at the back post for the wonder goal to break the deadlock. Halftime, one-nil.

Some rudimentary ways to counter the oppressive tactics were summarised quickly and digested without any Haribo or sweet substitute.

The second half opened with the indomitable Alex Larkinson catching a foot-high pass on the backline to cross goalwards. Nev Warren swung and sliced his shot into the top corner and a collective sigh of relief came from the team. This should have started the goal-rush, but a deflected short-corner strike by the opposition cruelly put them back in the game at the expense of a deserved clean sheet for a flu-ravaged Matt Saint-Gower in goal.

The midfield dominance of Messrs Baekelandt, Matson, Mathews and Kenzie absorbed most of what was thrown at them with last ditch tackles and touches denying any further score in the game. This was whilst Mariano and Ash Artaman conjured great saves from the Bourne goalie from short corners. Joe clipped the ball over a defender’s stick and, very close to the circle, struck hopefully at the net. The keeper jumped over it confident it was outside the D and the umpires agreed. Joe maintained his feet were outside but the ball was in the circle, but it seemed the eventual man and lemon of the match that would be denied again.

Mariano was determined to help Joe out in the lemon stakes though. He was very committed in a last ditch tackle and cleared an attacker out completely. He then smashed the ball up the other end. How he stayed on the pitch is amazing. We don’t seem to get cards now Angry Dom has been promoted dropped!

Joe sealed his MoM with a stranger version of "Sneade-ing it up". With just over two minutes to go he time-wasted in the corner for over a minute. He lost the ball and there was a last-second break on but he had done enough to seal the points.

Well done, all! Next week, fellow high-fliers Cambridge City come to the Fortress. All support welcome!