This was the first Inter-League game for the boys who certainly looked the part on arrival at Guildford and once changed into their new gold and black strip.

Carl was rewarded for his hard work and excellent communication during our training with the captain’s armband and did a sound job throughout the game.

The game started at a keen pace and it took a good 15-20 minutes for East Berks to settle down and adjust to the large, bumpy pitch. Unfortunately A&C took full advantage and on 10 minutes took a long-range shot, which James could only clear as far as their forward who slotted into the next with his left foot. 3 minutes later and a stray ball found an A&C player out towards the corner flag who escaped the offside, ran in and rattled the ball into the net.

After that East Berks became a much more settled team and started playing the football that we hoped they would, with a lot more pressure on the A&C goal and much more play in their half. Half time came though with the score staying at 2-0

After the break, EBYFL continued where they left off and a 38^th minute corner found Dan’s head but went narrowly wide. More pressure continued on the A&C goal and Calum’s shot from 6 yards forced an excellent save from their keeper.

With over 40 minutes since the last A&C goal, East Berks then found themselves on the receipt of two more goals in quick succession on 56 and 61 minutes, the latter coming from a poorly defended corner. A fifth goal was denied only by and excellent save from James. The score-line was probably a little unfair but possibly reflective of the fact A&C have had the benefit of playing together for several seasons.

At the end of the game the boys were deservedly applauded off the pitch. A good all round performance though, and one which we should take a lot of encouragement from. As always, a few things to work on, which we will try and cover at training prior to the next game.

Many thanks to all the people that came along to cheer us on, but particularly to the boys not selected for the game.

Next game is against Mid Solent on Monday 27^th November, 7pm for 8pm kick off.