In a bid to confuse and surprise the opposition, Cambridge South II started their league campaign against St Ives III in the novelty formation of 4-5-1. With the team fired up and ready to go, we came out of the blocks all guns blazing: incisive passes from Chris Heron (who kindly joined us from the Is) and good runs up the line by Bhav Virdi and Tim Clapp resulted in frequent incursions into the home D; surely it would only be a matter of time until we went all the way and put the ball behind St Ives’ decidedly large and skillful ‘keeper?

Soon, however, it became clear that confusion was not limited to the opposition. Especially when Chris had to step off the pitch with an unexpected injury, the mid-field duo of Sanjay Agarwala and Ron Oren somehow managed to leave a gap the opposition could drive a guided bus through. Good things Andy Passmore played the role of Cambs county council and kept the busroute firmly closed... With St Ives not really threatening and only winning a short thanks to ‘keeper Shahbaz Ali getting lost and kicking the ball outside his own D, it felt against the run of play when the home team’s striker slipped away from his marker and tapped in a goal at the far post.

Reverting to the old, familiar 4-4-2 during half-time, with Tristen Knight joining Rob Barton up front to harass the St Ives defence should’ve made things easier. It would’ve even, if the umpire had been so kind as to wait for our whole team to be on the pitch before starting the half. With half the visitors’ team still putting away their water bottles, it’s hardly a surprise that St Ives started in a better fashion than us. Reluctantly, we have to admit they did textbook hockey: first incursion into the D was converted into a short and duly dispatched. 2-0 and South was staring defeat in the face.

Not for long, though. Within minutes, South had found its feet and set up camp in the home half. When play broke down just outside the St Ives’ D, the indefatigable Bhav drove the ball into the D, burst past a defender or two and sweetly struck the ball straight into the far corner. Cunningly, Rob distracted the goalie with an attempted tap-in, but gallantly conceded that the only thing he tapped was the goalie himself. 2-1 and South was back in the game.

With 25 minutes to go, play was well and truly kept at the St Ives end of the pitch, frequently cramming all but one player into their end. With backs Ian Glover and Tom Anns joining into the fray, attacks from South came thick and fast down either wing. Several textbook-situation were engineered: 3 on 2s, 3 on 1s, even a 1 on 1 with the goalie; but South’s traditional weak point showed itself again: we just couldn’t convert.

The final whistle found a relieved St Ives snatching a win from a rather disappointed South. But the team has nothing to be ashamed of: they played well, especially in the second half, and were very unlucky not to come away with one point to start the season!