v BURNT ASH (A): 31 October 2009

Opening game against Desperados: tick! Then Purley away: tick! Followed by Wallington at home: tick! With the Kenley festival on 24 October, that only leaves us one more Saturday to negotiate in October. And it's half term on 31 October - so here's hoping for a nice fixture nearby, to tempt those not away on holiday to help swell the 'Dog ranks. So what did we get - Burnt Ash away. Hang on, isn't that the game with the 125 mile round trip? ...Tick.

And so it was that 4 adult 'Dogs, 3 young 'Dogs (including Thomas Milton making his full debut) and 2 guests lined up against 10 good men and true of Burnt Ash. Frankly, it didn't have the feel of that first elusive win of the season, and so it turned out. We made them work very hard, with brilliant performances from Mike, Nigel and Martin pretending to be 5 players at the back, some vocal and physical gymnastics from the GBB, and great efforts from our 2 guests (see below). but, for all that, we couldn't help but concede and reached half time, having played really well in adversity, at:

HALF TIME: Burnt Ash 3 'Dogs 0

Amazingly, we took the fight to them for much of the second half. and the highlight of the game - indeed, of many a game - was a shockingly precocious run from Richard Cruden. Taking the ball 10 yards inside their half and left of centre, he jinked his way past 3 (or was it 4?) defenders before slotting an ice cool finish past their 'keeper. 3-1, and no less than we deserved. Sadly though, our gallant 9 couldn't keep up with their well drilled 10 and we conceded twice more. Their fourth goal being a particularly good example of the 'home umpire' theory. GBB, tussling for a loose ball with a forward, was chopped off balance by a stick over the ball, then chopped to the ground in the same way and lay watching as the striker then put the ball into the now empty goal. Didn't change the result, but it did sort of add insult to defeat.

FINAL SCORE: Burnt Ash 5 'Dogs 1

A very, very odd thing to say but we played really, really well. Huge thanks to Rick and Mark for guesting for us with such obvious pleasure - much appreciated, guys. And thank you to Burnt Ash for lending us players to ensure we all had a decent game of hockey. Finally, hats off to our 3 youngsters, Richard, Thomas and David Rees. Completely unfazed by the occasion or the space on a not fully populated pitch, they all played wonderfully well and gave more than a hint that NPL has much to cherish and look forward to in our upcoming young talent.