M5 vs Bourne Deeping 3

The first game of the season saw a raw, new-look men's 5th team travel to Bourne Deeping.

A new league brings the possibility of promotion and City showed they were the better team right from the off, moving the ball around and creating chances at will. An excellent opposition goalkeeper and a little early-season rusty finishing meant that after 20 minutes the score was somehow still 0-0. However, that changed when a short corner won by an excellent Niall Graham was expertly finished with a smart strike from Alex Herriot from the top of the D.

With scoreboard pressure relieved City dominated even more and it wasn't long before the pressure told, the ball fell to Jonny Cumming in the D and he stung the backboard with a powerful strike. 2-0 when the halftime whistle blew.

More of the same for the 2nd half was the message at halftime and more of the same was what we got. If anything City controlled the game even more but the Bourne Deeping goalkeeper was having the game of his life. I might be exaggerating but I had his save count in the low hundreds. Niall particularly hard done by not to have a hat-trick by this point.

Even the most polished performance will have a blip and a poor pass out from the back gave Bourne Deeping a counterattack opportunity. Debutant keeper Dylan Barker had to pause his gameboy as they entered the D and a rather questionable short corner was awarded. There was nothing questionable about the smart routine that gave them a tap-in at our left post though. Nothing Dylan could have done to stop it. 2-1.

A frantic 5 minutes followed as composure had seemed to abandon us. Dylan was called in more at the back making a couple of good saves that helped stop Bourne Deeping from stealing a point. The hunt for a third reassuring goal still came to nothing and it was squeaky bum time right until the final whistle. The scoreline did not reflect a superb City performance but still 3 points and the perfect start to the season.

Man of the match goes to Alex Herriot for a tireless midfield performance and a first senior goal well deserved. Notable performances also from Zeke at the back and Niall upfront.

Dud of the Day goes to Nick Tapper for not being captain anymore shared with Doug Mcleod who broke his collarbone falling over his own bike in the week.