Sweet victory

The first thing is to mention Kev's throw ins as he felt not enough was made of them in the previous match report. They are an integral part of our armoury and perhaps I would have said the only weapon we had after last week but now we know differently because Iscape won.

The threat of rain was not enough to dampen our spirits afterwards as we sat basking in the glory of a win on the benches outside the Coach and Horses. Crowds of dancing girls lined the entrance to the pub and Sky had a direct feed to the studio as hangers on tried to bask in the reflected glory of a winning side, an unbeaten side, a side currently fourth in the table. Yet it started out, as so often, as a struggle until superior fitness played its part.

Hen Dom Kev Matt I Matt C Dave Iain and guest appearance John, the scary security surrounding Roman Abramovich as featured in the national press (national for Scotland anyway)

We hardly had a kick for the first 10 minutes and fell behind to a bobbling shot which caught Hen unsighted although he may have been disappointed by the shot spilling over the line. That was the sum total of the efforts from the opposition for a while apart from hitting the post twice with Hen wringing his hand which was trapped between post and ball as he saved a near post effort. We weren't doing a lot to be fair but they weren't that threatening either. Late in the first half things changed with my through ball battled for Matt C and then Kev before it broke to Dave who unleashed a piledriver past a sprawling keeper. That took Dave well clear in the leading goalscorer charts and he celebrated mightily raising his gloveless fists to the sky.

Disappointment came early in the second half though as a loose ball bounced harmlessly in the D heading away from goal. Hen went to claim it but rather hesitantly and allowed an attacker to get there first. He clumsily clashed with the forward and saw the ref pointing to the spot for a barely disputed penalty. It was despatched calmly and left us behind again.

Once more we strove forward and looked the more likely to strike. A throw from Hen was flicked on and Kev picked up the ball, taking it round the keeper but being forced wide to his left (unlike John who looks to have been forced wide in both directions - to be fair I was going to mention the big guy but the guest ought to get a look in to reflect the contribution he made to our win). Kev unleashed a fierce shot which nestled snugly in the net with just minutes remaining and the teams locked at two apiece. With the defence looking secure marshalled by Dom and Matt, and the midfield creating chances, it looked ours to win and so it proved as Kev battled again for a ball before falling to the ground just inside the D. As he yelled his well known and oft heard cry of pain that accompanies any physical contact and claimed a penalty, the ball fell to me and was thundered into the net to give us three goals in one game and seven for the season so far.

The whistle sounded soon after and a deserved win was acknowledged even by the opposition who had faded as our energy sapping tactics paid off again.

We have now achieved as much as the whole of last season and can look forward with optimism to next week in the goal fest that is Iscape.

Dave 1 (3) Kev 1 (1) Iain 1 (2) and Matt (1) from last week

Now if only Saints could play as well!!

Come on you Greens - Green Army