Who doesn't look forward to an away game at Saffron Walden?!? Not many of us - especially when low availability on the men's side of the club meant we travelled with a bare eleven and a captain with man flu!

We welcomed back a few absentees from previous weeks along with a M5s debut for Jannick (and a very impressive debut it was as well). We need a new statistician in the team as non of us realised that Saffron Walden were 3 wins from 3 until the journey home. The first half was a fairly even encounter with both teams working hard in midfield with very few goal chances to talk of. They were very good at moving the ball round the back but we were able to quickly cut out their long balls with Will in particular reading their plays like a book. The half time team talk was positive - we were still in with the chance of a good result and we just needed to try and keep the ball a bit more rather than giving it away too easily.

Early in the second half we made the breakthrough. Simon played a hard ball from the top of the D where a flat captain's stick deflected it towards goal only for the keeper to pull of a save. Nick was first to respond and pounced on the lose ball and tuck the ball home. 1-0 and they weren't happy about it! Chances after that were hard to come by and we missed a couple of opportunities to put the game beyond them. Umpiring decisions remained 'interesting' including a lack of card for the player that 'deliberately fouled' the skipper as he went past him leaving half of the skin on his knees on the pitch!

The last ten minutes were frantic as they searched for the equaliser which eventually came. Initially a 16 was awarded to us but was over-ruled by the umpire at the far end to a Saffron Walden free hit, this led to an entry into the D that bobbled around a lot, went past three of our players and then somehow ended up in the goal, almost in slow motion!

Man of the match was a close call between Neal's new kickers (less control than a Harman clearance) and Jannick! Those of us in the clubhouse unanimously awarded it to Jannick for a determined debut performance.