The Association looked very thin on numbers as we kicked of the season with just 12 fit members - down to 11 before half time - but we looked very fat on talent as we raced to a 5 - 0 lead within 30 minutes.
Our early movement was exceptional. Although Ollie's 4th minute cross deceived the 'keeper and found the far top corner we had three players closing in so our attacking intentions were clear. There was nothing flukey about our 2nd just minutes later when Kim lifted a ball over a closing defenders leg, steve cushioned a volleyed pass into Sam's path and Sam volleyed home from close range. Quality.
We were getting over excited when Roding countered moments after the re-start, the midfield (including our holding players) were caught too high up the field leaving Chippy 2 on 1 and only a full stretch dive from Gary prevented the goal. Not to be outdone a lovely bit of flowing football from the back saw Neil release Ryan who drove forward before dinking a ball past closing defenders releasing Olli to stride forward and coolly slot home to make it 3-0.
Just 2 minutes later Olli broke right and drove a low cross into the 6 yard box, Kim burst past the defender and clipped the ball from in front of a static 'keeper - great anticipation and 4-0. With Roding trying to find a way back into the game they were exposed to Nathan's chipped clearance which found Sam in full flight and he put his laces through it in full stride to make it 5-0.
At 5-0 up we became over anxious to add to our tally and Steve, Ryan and Ollie let good chances slip by - including a soft missed penalty from the usually reliable olli.
Neil was withdrawn at the break to protect a leg twinge ahead of next weeks game. Lee came on and we re-shaped to a single holding player. This disrupted our rhythm and although we had a greater share of possession higher up the field when play broke down it took longer to win it back and we were always re-starting from deeper positions with Kyle, Nathan and Chippy. Its a shame that we forced into the change because Neil and Glen were outstanding in the first 45 protecting the back 3, winning and recycling the ball quickly.
We conceded in the 55th min when Nathan went to ground a bit too quick and the resulting cross was met from outside the box and went through the small hole in Garys gloves in painful slow motion. That seemed to give us the kick that we needed but we couldnt rediscover the clinical finishing of the first half. Sam hit the bar from a direct free kick and had a good goal ruled out for offside, Olli and Steve had half a dozen good chances between them, Kim hit the bar and Lee came close but we couldnt find the net. We did look much more balanced when Ryan and Lee switched flanks and we regained some composure and fluidity to our play for the last 20 mins.
In the 85th minute, in a re-run of their earlier goal, the exact same sequence of events unfolded but this time their cross was met on the volley and credit them with a glorious goal that gave Gary no chance - although for both goals we were far too casual in closing down the player, the ball and the space - if we had defended any of these three phases they could not have scored.
Chippy replied a minute later with a thunderous header from Ollis well struck corner and we all know that the final 6-2 scoreline didnt reflect the true gulf in class between the sides.There's still the nagging worry that we seem reluctant to full crucify sides and seem too content to be casual in our play once we consider the game as won. This was a lost opportunity to scare the rest of the league with a serious double figure scoreline - there will be much tighter league and cup games which will hinge on how ruthless we can be in all areas of the pitch.
We can be reasonably satisfied that our league programme is up and running but we should all expect each other to do much much better - we are after all "The Association.
