Man City fans think they saw some quality today. They should have been on Clapham Common.
Two snapshots.
1. A lofted 40 yarder clears our midfield. With a burly forward bearing down on him Joao adjusts his feet and cushions a volley with the outside of his boot. The ball travels no more than 5 yards, exactly into the path of our left back. Ladzio's centre forward shakes his head. "What a pass. What a pass."
2. Joe Haley picks up the ball around the centre circle, beats a couple of players, stops, turns, puts on a burst of speed, steps over, stops. He appears to be dithering. Takes the ball wide, stops. "Get on with it," some of us shout. And after what seems like an age he makes a simple, perfectly weighted pass to Max who sidefoots beyond the keeper. Five nil.
Is this the end of huff 'n puff hoof-it football?
We certainly grafted in the first half. Dan Hare was outstanding in front of the back four, tackling, taking them on, and distributing brilliantly. Our early goal did nothing to dampen Ladzio's confidence for the first 45 minutes. But we tackled hard and in numbers so that by half time the home side had had just one shot and we'd held onto or slim lead.
In the second half someone sprinkled a bit of fairy dust over pitch 4. Four more goals and no yellow or red cards. What's going on? How long will this form last? Who knows, but while it's good you have to enjoy. Because winning floods the brain with can-do chemicals. Suddenly the sky seems bluer, the grass greener, the autumn leaves purer gold. Suddenly the wheels of your bike turn of their own accord, the people you glide past in the street seem more beautiful, the eyes of the kids playing on the cobblestones seem wider, their game with hoop and stick more carefree.
Then the Lucozade wears off and there's a smelly kit to be washed and work to get up for tomorrow.
Team: Ashley Goalie, Joao Spinola, Chris Chambers, Adam Bradbury, Paul Cowie (Tino Hernandez), Dan Hare (Umar Ba), Joe Haley, Aaron Gayle, Ben Chambers, Max Bland, Liam Greenaway.