Our first game of the season was changed at the last minute to a fixture against Hayling. Last season Hayling won our division but this was a new look development team. We kicked the match off but spent the first 5 minutes defending our goal, however once we got our foot on the ball we were able to push forward and Taine scored our first goal. Soon after Hayling replied although some of the lads felt it was offside. We could have added to our tally but our shots went straight to the keeper or lacked power from distance. I think at HT we were a bit disappointed to be level.

In the 2nd half Taine scored again only for Hayling to reply with a penalty. We seemed to be labouring in midfield although we outnumbered the opposition in that area. Andy suggested a positional change and suddenly we looked dangerous, we had options either side and the play started to flow. Craig made a great run down the left which led to a goal for Taine’s hat trick and then Jordan made a similar move which led to a fourth goal for Taine. We kept the pressure on and Drew scored a cool goal from close range.

However it didn’t go all our way and Hayling pulled one back after a great counter attacking run. Despite our 2 goal advantage the game was in the balance, we needed fresh legs to shore things up so more changes were made and Taine was able to seal the match with a final goal.

A great start to the season against a good side that could pass & move. Particular mentions go to Dom, Alex & Travis who all did well as full backs, Taine who got his shooting boots warmed up, and Joe & Craig in midfield and Michael who kept us in it when we were struggling. However I was very pleased with everyone today, a few rusty moments at the start but we found our feet and finished well.