Cambridge South Men's 3rds, sponsored by PwC, made the short trip up the A10 to face bottom of the table Ely City 4ths looking for a sixth consecutive victory. As has been a recurring problem this season, South were slow to find their rhythm from the start and Ely were eager to take advantage. Anchored by some skillful players in defence, Ely were pushing into the South half and threatening to create chances.

Having resisted the early pressure from Ely, South began to carve out chances of their own. Paul South and Tim Waller started to win control of the midfield and better play from South was rewarded when left winger Tom South, in only his second game for the club, swept in a loose ball at the left hand post to give South the lead. Although the match was still close the goal gave South renewed confidence. The lead was doubled by Paul S, carrying the ball left to right across the top of a crowded D before striking the ball through a gap in the crowd and into the bottom right corner of the Ely goal. However, Ely pulled a goal back via a short corner to keep the match finely balanced at half time.

Facing an unexpectedly close match, South captain Neil Sneade urged his team to up the urgency and use the width to test the Ely defence. The plan didn't seem to be working when a further short corner for Ely early in the second half saw them level the scores. However, the goal seemed to spur South on and they began to find their higher gears. Playing the ball wide, South finally opened up the Ely defence as two markers on Simon Ta left space for John Horsley to exploit. With balls coming in from the right, Tom Rosselli on the left wing found himself with space to arrive at the far post and sweep in a goal to restore South's lead. South had found Ely's Achilles heal and exploited it ruthlessly. A purple patch from Tom Rosselli resulted in four more goals as Ely repeatedly failed to pick up the late-arriving left winger.

In the end, a comfortable 7-2 victory but a reminder of the need to play with 100% effort from the start and exploit the width to attack.