In some cultures '3' is considered a lucky number. In the world of the M5s it means, "Oh s*&@t we've just lost three-something again"!

On paper this was a fixture we should have had a reasonable chance of winning, despite losing most of our midfield and defensive 'big-guns' to prop up the injury-ridden M4s.

The home team made our characteristic strong start, putting the St Ives defence under immediate pressure. It wasn't long however before the ball was in the back of the net… Unfortunately our net…courtesy of an instinctive wannabe-centre-forward deflection from the South captain, which had stand-in keeper, Sean G, beaten. Luckily the gods and the hockey rule book were on our side and the shot was deemed to have been struck from outside the D. No goal. The balance of luck was soon to be restored however when a St Ives shot taken right on the edge of the D caught the South defence and keeper off-guard.

The home team continued to press hard but once again we found ourselves in the all-too-familiar position of being one-nil down at half-time. Surely our luck had to change?

The half time talk definitely helped us re-group and focus on keeping our shape, but a brief lapse in concentration allowed the away team to get a man in on the far post, unmarked and perfectly positioned to bury a cross blasted in from the left wing. This was followed shortly afterwards by another. Another three-something defeat faced us!

Unbowed, the home team continued to press forward with 'Team Ta' (aka Simon and younger brother, Kevin) creating plenty of opportunities, but it was runaway goal king contender Rob B who eventually broke through with an unconventional (for him!) open-stick blast that whistled past the stranded St Ives keeper. Spirits were lifted. Simon T was cruelly denied goal-glory by the metalwork. Once again lady luck intervened, when a beautifully struck short corner from Mr T ricocheted off the keeper's pads to the South captain, positioned to bury the ball in the back of the net with a totally uncharacteristic air of calm!

The momentum was there to break our run of 'three-something' defeats with a draw at the very least but alas our share of luck and time ran out!

MoM was a three way tie between stand-in keeper Sean G, Howard S and Steve B, with the latter securing the opposition's casting vote for some dogged defending.

LoM was between disoriented goalscorer Steed and John Greaves's ankle, with the former securing a narrow victory!

Plan for the rest of the season:

1. Score three goals; and

2. Don't let the opposition score three goals.