After just two afternoons with full pitches, and still in the midst of squad selection, a match against Stowe's 1st XI was destined to be a tough ask for our first game of the season. A goal conceded within the first five minutes was indication that Stowe had some skillful players. It was clear that we were going to have to defend well to ensure that the game did not become too one-sided.

The squad stepped up to this challenge accordingly and there were some very good individual performances, as well as great team-work. It was not all one-way traffic, we had some promising breaks, but just lacked some 'clinicalness' in front of goal. 10 minutes from half-time we had really got into a good rhythm, had Stowe quite well contained, and we slotted a shot past their goal-keeper. Buoyed by sports drinks and sweets at half-time, the team marched out and took the fight to Stowe, with the next 25 minutes or so, being goal-less. Unfortuntately a good break from Stowe earned them a well-deserved goal and one of their corners was eventually put in the back of our net.

What we can take away from this game is that we have good team spirit, with everyone working for everyone else. Communication is pretty good, but we will work on that, as well as a bit more tenacity to get to the ball first. For our first game of the season, there are a lot of positives to take away, and to build upon.

We trialled a Man-of-the-Match award, selected by the opposition team. This week's worthy winner went to Matteo, one of a few outstanding players we had. Without them Stowe could have made double-figures!

Congratulations to Stowe for a well-deserved win. Thank you to the ref for a solid performance.