After the performance last week South were looking forward to getting back to playing proper hockey, knowing that if we could take at least one point from Louth we would equal our total for last season. It was always going to be a tough ask however, given the two-and-a-half-hour journey and lack of substitutes. The most important decision of the day seemed to be where we would stop on the way for a pre-match snack. Ten out of eleven of us chose McDonalds, with one person deciding that it wasn’t healthy enough and opting for a Lemon-worthy footlong Subway instead. Neither being the ideal preparation for a game of hockey.

The game started well, with two goals from South in the first ten minutes, stunning both sides especially considering both came from short corners. Credit has to go to Rob, who flicked the ball into the danger area so many times even he lost count. It was this persistence that initiated the scoring from South, with a deflection from Joe.

Long Sutton [Ed - err...?] recovered strongly and a sustained period of pressure saw them level the scores before half time. We started the second half in the same way we had the first though, with another early goal to retake the lead after more close range poaching by Joe. If only we had stopped the game then… The remainder of the second half saw South resume usual service of forgetting how to pass and attempting unsuccessful one-on-one challenges. The outcome was that the game finished six-three in favour of Louth. We will have to wait another week to collect the all-important additional point.

Four people received notable MoM performances, including Rob for a great game despite the secret pint before and not remembering any of it; Dan for his work rate in the middle of the pitch; Adam for playing through the match after taking a ball to the throat; and Joe for his goal poaching.