Although it is still in the early stages of the competition, Thursday’s 7 a side match against AC Varossi was a top of the table clash with both sides having 100% records to protect. We fielded a strong squad with Simon Jackson returning in goal, regulars Terry Moore, Andrew Warmerdam, Danny Hagan, Tem Adil and Tony King being joined by Rob Brown and debutant Mark Nelson. The squad was reduced to 8 because Nick Vertigans failed to attend but Tony King managed to arrive at 6.58 for a 7.00 kick off so he could make a rare start. Both sides played good passing football but the defending was also good and the first half was fairly even. Andrew Warmerdam had our best chance but a defender got back quickly to block his shot. Mark Nelson impressed on his debut and, although he is usually a defender, I used him as a forward in the second half. We almost went behind early in the second half when Jacko had one of his mad moments completely misjudging a high ball which bounced towards the empty net. The Varossi forward only had to tap it in but turned away whilst laughing at Jacko only to see the ball rebound off the bar and back to the keeper. We then had our best spell creating several chances and Tony King was unlucky when he hit the bar. However, Varossi had several very fast players who were creating chances on the break. Fortunately, Jacko was in inspired form, no doubt buoyed by Stoke City’s recent success, and pulled off a string of fine saves. The game finished as a rare 0-0 but it was a good standard and an excellent game to watch.