On a very special weekend, it was perhaps fitting that South 2’s produced the mother of all comebacks against Ely.

The absentee issue of previous weekends continued with Maz’s injuries still playing up, and Blair missing for “personal reasons”, with rumours abound that this was now the 15th day of his pool hangover.

But South made the trip with a swelling squad of 12, more than double the size of Ely’s come the pushback time.  The umpires generously agreed to a 10 minute push back delay to enable the remaining half of the home team to navigate the traffic [banter bus: if only the threes umpires could allow this with Gando].

We started the brighter with a beautiful ball through to Ed seeing him past the last defender and slotting a neat slapped finish past the keeper at his near post.

Ely came straight back with a pull back from the baseline to the p spot which was neatly lifted into an unguarded net.

South then took the lead again with Jim finishing off a game of pinball inside the D.  Again we held it for a matter of minutes, Ely this time striking a short into the corner.  It was clear this game was going to be end to end, neck and neck.

After a delay to the second half, this time for the Ely centre back to have a vape, it was the home team who came out the stronger.  Their central midfield trio won a number of short corners, two of which were finished off neatly and South found themselves 2 down early on in the second half, and to make it worse, a deluge of rain started.  The age old Cambridge South question arose, can we hack it on a cold wet windy afternoon in the fens?

But hack it we could.  South’s fitness began to show as Ely started to tire.  The flanks were opening up and the Ely press receding, giving the defence and midfield more energy to carry the ball with purpose towards the Ely D.  A slapped ball to the far post was neatly deflected in by Ollie.  But less than ten minutes to go.  Still South poured forward, with Dim, John and Steve probing in the 25 and birthday boy Puds doing a stellar job overlapping at right back.  Into the last two minutes and Jim cut in neatly from the left, the ball was worked on and fired in to the far post, and there was man of the moment Ed C, to slip it under the keeper in what was his last action for South this season.  Great stuff Ed, enjoy your holiday, well earnt! 
The whistle blew soon after and South could feel rightly proud to take a point away from a team higher than them in the league, but also gutted that if the game had carried on for a few minutes longer they could have nicked it.