We switched to a 4-4-2 for this game in the hope of controlling the game better. The late addition of Aaron to the defence meant we had a solid foundation with the ever present Joe in goal, Kallum and Aaron at centre back and Rav and Belal at fullback. Our midfield had plenty of running power with Kevin, Carl and Quillon plus the silky touch of Adam (and possibly less running power than we’re use to seeing!) for the first time this year. Nathan Williams and Kieron started as our two forwards with Keiron providing a much needed focal point and Nathan linking the play nicely.

We didn’t have long to wait for our first chance as we were awarded a penalty in the first 5 minutes. Quillon was unlucky not to put it away with his effort striking the post. Penalties are tricky for even the finest of players and only a few, such as the author here, make them look easy!

We dominated the first half with some good football and created plenty of chances. The breakthrough came when Belal played the ball to Kieron who had it all to do and finished calmly to put us 1-0 up. Minutes later we found the net again after some lovely interplay between Adam and Paul at the edge of the box. Paul was the scorer here of a beautiful goal, caressed into the top right hand corner with his left foot.

Changes at half time saw the introduction of Ryan, Nathan Holness and myself. We continued to create a lot of chances and half chances but lacked the clinical edge of the first half. Some batter decision making could have put the game to bed, but everyone stuck to their defensive duties to ensure we kept our clean sheet. Learning the lessons from preseason, when we threw away a 2 goal lead with 8 minutes to go, we managed the game well and progress to the next round.

Final score: 2-0