With the number of games left this side of Christmas dwindling and with aspirations of moving up the table, the M2s arrived at Long Road for a critical game against Peterborough 3s. Having narrowly lost to their 4s away earlier in the season and CoP 3s being ahead in the table only on goal difference, the M2s were hoping to replicate the victory of last week and put some distance between themselves and the lower teams in the table.

As the game got underway, it was clear the opposition looked dangerous going forwards, but so did we. Cal was once again at our side and had provided an extensive (seemingly well-rehearsed) briefing before the game in which there was a slight change in our usual lineup. Losing Alex to the 1s on Saturday morning meant we lined up with Eric and Matteo sitting slightly further back than usual as screens, with Jack and John as our inners. The change seemed to be working and we were having success attacking the shoulders of the D and getting chances away. After another fruitful attack down the left wing and D entrance along the baseline, Ed was waiting for the drop at the shoulder of the D and opened the scoring for South. It wasn't totally one-sided though and CoP 3s were aiming to reach their forwards via some large aerials. These desparate attempts were easily covered, with Pete barely missing a single pick all game. Harrison gets a mention for a particularly special take on his reverse and this all showed how strong our lines that the opposition thought the best option was to go over the top. Another short corner followed and Jack mopped up a rebound off Pete's drag flick to take his first goal for the club and bring a 2-0 scoreline at halftime.

The second half was more of the same, though both teams had more attacking chances. South opened the scoring from a short corner, Jack and Pete linking up once again for a drag flick deflected past the keeper into the net. However, it wasn't all good news for Jack, who seemed unable to walk after a leg injury (ending up only to be cramp...) and needing to sub. Peterborough fought back and after plenty of short corners managed to bring the scoreline to 3-1, but keen to put the game to bed, South kept up the pressure and Matteo scored his first for the 2s after opening up some space for himself in the D. Some of the other forwards were feeling left out of the goal-scoring action and Ollie took matters into his own hands, taking a few attempts to push one over the line from close range to bring the score to 5-1. With the time left swiftly expiring, South were happy to see out defensive short after defensive short, Stanley repeatedly kicking the ball into Ethan's legs (or debatably Ethan standing in Stanley's way) and Peterborough showed little urgency considering their position in the game. With another fumbled stick stop, the ball somehow ended up at their right slip, who managed a good strike to get another consolation goal. Always quick to respond, a new recruit, Jorge (I'll not mention in detail his green card-worthy tackle earlier in the game), stole the ball from a poor pass between their centrebacks and together with Ed brough the tally up to 6 for South and a 6-2 scoreline overall.

Bourne Deeping awaits next week - their games this season have all been decisive, scoring more but also conceding more goals than the M2s. With the strong defensive base and some new-found goal scoring form, the 2s will be hoping to extend their winning streak further which has now brought them up to 7th in the table.