The first outing of the season for a travelling Cambridge South 1st XI ended in a disappointing 6-0 loss to hosts Kettering.

From the whistle it was clear that Cambridge were going to be tested in all areas of our game but the main problem was ball retention. Kettering were able to put together a dozen passes at will and work their way into scoring chances. We, on the other hand, were struggling to link up more than three or four passes and this proved to be the major differentiator between the sides.

Defensively, Cambridge looked slow and unintelligent. Marking was poor and we relied too heavily on interceptions to thwart an attack. There was some good tackling at times but too often the opposition were able to force a penalty corner. It was fortunate that Kettering were only able to convert a couple of these into goals during the game otherwise the damage would have been far greater.

The midfield never really had a chance to settle in the first half being swamped by a mobile opposition. Support was not there quick enough from the defence or the forwards and sometimes the simple passes were ignored in favour of a fruitless run or an over ambitious pass.

What breaks we did have up front usually were taken well but there wasn't enough service to the forwards. Good strong running was not followed up by a good final pass or a convincing attempt on goal. All in all, not the best start to the season for Cambridge South 1sts and there will have to be a radical improvement if we are to win points in the league as a newly promoted side.