Easing through the gears...

The re-energised 45s took the sloping fields of King Georges Park for their first competitive game of the season in the Essex Vets Div 1 Cup Group D fixture against Ra(y)leigh.

Johnny Crocker returned back from his operation and The Gaffer was forced to go in goal as holidays were still being taken, family commitments upheld and the 35s were shorter than Tony Campbell is tall. A scratch squad of 12 is all we could muster on searingly hot day.

Tentative first touches were followed by mis-placed passes and offers of apology - not unlike a Tinder date with Dean. Continuing that theme, after a few false attempts we finally scored and then raced into 2-0 lead courtesy of "More holidays than Judith Chalmers" Tel and Dom.Undone by the 1:3 gradient, Rayleigh got a goal back before Spencer restored our advantage.

The 2nd half saw a few tactical tweaks and a substitution and the goals continued Ian Hollanby (x2), Dom (again), Lucy and Cyril's left testicle, with the opposition flummoxing The Gaffer to get 2 back. First victory in nearly 10 months and not since 2015 had any White Roding Team scored 8 goals in a game.

Special mention goes to Dean for smashing a ball against the bar from 20 yards when it was easier to score and having the smallest biceps known to man, which meant the Captain's Armband he wore kept slipping off .

Line Up

Ashley (GK)

Crocks

Woods

Dan

Tony C

Tel (1)

Dom (2)

Dean

Spencer (1)

Lux (1)

Ian H (2)

Cyril (1)