Well, not the result that was required.  A very poor and disjointed display resulted in a 5-1 defeat; our heaviest one of the season.

The pitch was deemed fit after a 10 am inspection by the referee for the match.  There were changes from the side that beat Montpelier Villa two weeks ago with Ollie Thompson returning to the centre of defence and Kevin Gomez coming back into the left-back berth.  The absent Athan Smith-Joseph was replaced on the left wing by Louis Perch.

We fell behind after Arundel’s first attack after a mix-up at the back and no sooner were we 1-0 down than we found ourselves further behind after a swirling corner kick found its way into our net.  During periods of the first half, we had caused challenges for the Arundel back line but all to no avail.  We then found ourselves further behind when Arundel scored their 3rd goal.  HT 3-0.

We made two changes at halftime with Rory Edwards coming into midfield and adding some much-needed energy and Steve Springett replacing Kevin Gomez who felt ill at halftime.

In the 50th minute, we got a goal back from who else but Jamie Byatt who scored from approximately 10 yards out.  We were then in the ascendency and you could see our opponents visibly unsettled; we had at least two further chances to claw an additional goal back.  Then with Arundel’s first actual attack of the second half, they scored their 4th goal, and their 5th goal followed shortly afterwards.  This was in the end the final result.

We need to consign this match to history and very quickly as we face Mile Oak twice in 3 days in the coming week, with our first encounter at their place on Wednesday evening and then we host them at Fetcham next Saturday.