After a long journey down to Richmond, there’s nothing the 5s were looking forward to more than the customary Whatley yoga routine. As soon as we set foot on the pitch, we knew we were in for a tough game. The opposition were already passing it about, and the surface was extremely bouncy. We also took a morale hit when Alistair didn’t cheer every name when ST read out the teamsheet.

Following the Whatley warm-up and a brief shot box, the match started well with James’ cross finding Doug and his shot subsequently deflected wide. Then Southgate forgot how to play hockey. We struggled to maintain possession and most passes went straight to Richmond. They proceeded to score 3 goals in the first half with one the result of four missed tackles. Rory and Mat attempting aerials illustrates how desperate Southgate had become. Frustration built throughout the team with a deflated James subbed off in a sulk just before halftime, earning him a rightful DOTD.

After a rousing speech from ST, Southgate struck back in the second half with Kabs scoring from a short corner. Arun scored from another short to bring the game to 3-2, and the comeback was on… Until their umpire thought he was overseeing a football match, with their midfielder taking a touch worthy of prime Kaka before setting their forward in on goal to make it 4-2. Mat picked up a Green for an amazing tackle and nearly got it upgraded to yellow for shouting at the umpire and I’m going to assume Rory got one as well. Joe had a great game on his 5s debut and scored from a short in another Southgate fightback. Richmond scored again to kill the game and it ended 5 or 6 -3.

Despite the score line, Jon had a solid game and fought through a tough injury to finish the game. Dhillon didn’t show up, unlike Brian who put in a trademark-assured performance. Duncan rolled back the years on the left-hand side, his joints responding well to the cushioned pitch, unlike Southgate’s first touches. Onto the next game.