It was a beautiful sunny day for the 5th XI’s second game of the season — unfortunately, someone forgot to tell Braintree that it was supposed to be a gentle Sunday stroll.

With 11 players and absolutely no substitutes, the 5s arrived ready for battle against a Braintree side boasting four substitutes, several very quick youngsters and what appeared to be a few players who may have accidentally wandered down from a higher team.

From the first whistle, Braintree came flying out of the blocks and immediately put the Southend defence under pressure.

For the first 11 minutes, the Southend defence were subjected to wave after wave of Braintree attacks. But to their credit, they answered every salvo with some textbook training-ground clearances, expertly sending the ball wide to the wide receivers.

Unfortunately, Braintree had clearly been reading the same textbook.

They were one chapter ahead.

Despite the pressure, the coaches could not have been prouder. Tuesday’s tactical training was being put into practice with impressive commitment — even if the opposition seemed determined to test every single tactical theory we had.

Between the sticks, Sheri was kept extremely busy. Save after save kept Southend in the contest, although in a moment of extreme generosity she did manage to help Braintree with an own goal, proving that the 5s are committed to teamwork and helping the opposition wherever possible.

At half time it was 3–0 to Braintree.

Cue the tactical genius of Coach James.

Some important tactical changes were made at half time and, whatever was said in that team talk, it clearly worked. The second half saw a really strong performance from everyone.

The 5s battled, chased, tackled and generally made Braintree work considerably harder for everything. Despite having no bench to call upon, the team showed great determination and kept going right to the final whistle.

And then came the highlight of the afternoon…

Another goal from Sheri!

Yes, you read that correctly.

Our goalkeeper is now officially the top scorer for the Old Southendian 5th XI.

Whether this is a tactical masterstroke or a worrying sign for the rest of the team remains unclear.

⭐ Player of the Match: Sheri

The Player of the Match award went to Sheri, who quite simply kept the scoreline to a minimum with a superb performance in goal.

She saved practically everything that came her way, occasionally helped the opposition, and then scored herself.

A complete performance.

All in all, despite the result, there was plenty to be proud of. A tough first half against a strong and speedy Braintree side was followed by a much-improved second half, with everyone showing tremendous effort and commitment.

11 players. No substitutes. Lots of running. Plenty of sunshine. One goalkeeper who scores goals.

Just another normal day for the 5th XI.

Russ

Footnote: Silence in the Andrews household!!