You know all that great hockey stuff we can play?  Well it has finally paid off...

This was an early start away in a rearranged fixture.  The water table was so high there were road closures towards the river.  Paranoid road signs confusing everyone.  But thankfully the pitch was playable.  Just about.  The terrain was muddy to say the least.  More on that later.

With keeper Joe's arrival signifying the start of the match, we were away.

South started brightly with decent possession and pressure on the opposition 25.  One or two half chances were created via some good passing to win shorts and a deliciously weighted ball putting Danny through one-on-one.  Nothing quite materialised but a breakthrough nonetheless felt close.

It came when Ivo, in only his second game for South, picked up the ball on the 25, drove into the D and unleashed a thunderbolt to beat the stranded keeper.  1-0.  Yes please Cambridge South!

St Neots were a reasonably well-balanced team having a mixture of experience, youth and a couple of very handy players in the middle.  So our midfield quartet of Jordan, Justin, Matt L and James "safe hands" M had their work cut out.  But these Southerners are no frilly fairies.  No way no way.  They're looking stronger and stronger by the day and developing quickly as commanding hockey players.

Still it wasn't surprising that the game ebbed and flowed and the home side came back into contention as the first half progressed with a few good flurries themselves.  South conceded a few shorts and Saints also engineered the odd bit of possession in the circle.  But keeper Joe - once again a shining star - proved he's equal to everything.  The centre back pairing of Pipes and Rock were consistently solid.  These guys are as strong as a trans-Alaskan pipeline through granite.  Alan earning the MoM gong.

Kudos for the half time Haribos and the one-voice-at-a-time-let's-listen-to-Nev team discipline.

The second half saw some nervy moments as the opposition applied pressure in the middle of the park, especially numbers 27 and 36 who likely have experience at higher levels.  The home side forced a string of shorts at one point but other than that were kept at bay.

At the other end, wingmen Danny, Jo and Nev all looked sharp, ably supported by wingbacks Huw and Matt W who both put in strong performances and enjoyed decent possession up the line in the opposition half.  That was until Nev tweaked something (and decided not to risk a much nastier pull) and Jo, clearly missing The North Pole on Parker's Piece, went slip sliding away spectacularly up the right corner.  Ouch!  Thankfully no serious damage was done in either case.

The game was made safe after another break down the left found Rob in the D who stretched to receive the ball before instinctively playing it through his legs to wrong-foot the keeper and seal the win.  2-0.  This time there was going to be no denying the result.  

A tiring Saints tried to catch us on the break but the resolute South defence remained unbreakable.  Even Will showing some tidy 3D skills in the locker.

The final whistle yielded a combination of relief and those long-overdue celebrations.  One or two scary moments aside, this was a dominant South performance in the end.

The only thing left to do before teas was for Rob to put his stick away neatly in a Peterborough player's stick bag thus ensuring Jo's dramatic slip attempt for lemon was superseded.

The tide has turned.  The M5s season starts now.  

Next week we take on the M4s, who only drew against City.  We're at "home" in the late match.  Bring them on!