Pukekohe   1     Fencibles   5  (Half-time:  0 - 5.  Scorer - Keegan Saville)

Here's the deal. Coxy's recovering from surgery at the moment and couldn't be at yesterday's game so I have the honour of doing the match report. I know my style's a bit different to Coxy's but, hey, it's better than nothing!

It's an interesting experience writing a 1st team report at the moment. You just know that, disappointingly, there will probably be at least one 'keyboard warrior' waiting eagerly to put a negative slant on anything which is written. You know who you are and, funnily enough, so do we!

Firstly, it's my pleasure to inform all at the Club that the morale of the First Team squad, and the attitude in the dressing room, is first class. All of us, players, coaches and management, know what is required and are only too aware of the fact that it will be a long journey to get where we want to be.

To the game itself. After the huge disappointment last week at Cambridge, everyone was determined to put that behind us and get back to building on the recent improvements we've been making. Unfortunately, things could not have started any worse than they did. Going a goal down inside the first few minutes was certainly not part of the plan, but that's what happened. As one of our defenders slipped, a corner found it's way to an unmarked Fencibles striker and, despite a valiant effort by Trent, the ball ended up in the back of the net.

Only a short while ago, losing an early goal would have caused heads to drop but the attitude and character of the side came through and we picked ourselves up and gave Fencibles as good as we got for the next 15 - 20 minutes. It is no exaggeration to say that we played better in that 15 minute period than we had played in the entire 90 minutes in the recent Chatham Cup game between the sides. Despite this, alarm bells were ringing in the dug-out as our defensive shape began to take on a distinctly blancmange-like appearance and gaps were beginning to appear, particularly down our right side. This was always going to cause us problems against any half-decent side, and sloppy defending gave Fencibles the opportunity to score 4 more before the referee mercifully brought the first half to a close.

Despite the scoreline, things were positive in the dressing room. We knew where we were going wrong, we knew we had defended badly. Steps were taken to put things right in the second half and the team were focussed on regaining some pride from the remainder of the game. I think I can safely say that we more than achieved our aims!

From the restart, our back four looked far more solid and we coped reasonably well, for the most part, with whatever Fencibles could throw at us. Trent made a couple of great saves at vital times, but we were starting to play with a bit of passion and belief , we began to fashion chances of our own and were showing that we hadn't come out just to make up the numbers.

The highlight of the season, so far, almost came midway thorugh the second half. A mishit clearance from the Fencibles keeper landed at the feet of Jethro Conway some 40 metres out. Jethro looked up, saw the keeper was off his line and hit a shot which appeared to be sailing into the roof of the net before the back-pedalling keeper pulled off a superb save to keep it out.. More chances came, a couple of goal-line clearances from corners, a header from Jason Paranihi went just wide... At this stage we were more than holding our own and, eventually, we got the reward which our second half efforts deserved. A pass was slipped through to Keegan who outpaced the Fencibles central defenders to find himself one-on-one with the keeper. Bledisloe Park held it's breath as Keegan slipped the ball past the keeper and it rolled, agonisingly slowly, into the back of the net off the post. Not the best goal he'll ever score but Keegan's first Northern League goal will, I'm sure, be the first of many.

The brutal truth is that we lost 5 -1. Our shocking defending in the first half killed any hopes we may have had of securing a good result. No-one can argue with that. However, as the title says, big journeys start with little steps. Our second half performance can give us a lot of hope for the weeks to come. We showed that we do have great spirit, and ability, in this side. For the first time this season, we went 45 minutes without conceding a goal. Little steps, but steps in the right direction. Confidence is growing, partnerships are developing. Players like Andy Hey and Josh Wright are getting better every week. Despite their inexperience, Robbie Leonard, Jethro Conway and Keegan Saville are showing a hunger to learn and a huge determination to succeed which belies their age. The "old" guys in the squad are playing their part. Dave Allan, Jason Paranihi and Brad Frost (to name just 3) put in great performances yesterday.

Nobody is under any illusions about what lies ahead of us but if we can consistently produce performances like we did in the second half yesterday, we will prove that the decisions which have been made have been the right ones, not only to take the Men's 1st team to a higher level but to keep it there.

Also like to give Pete Wild a huge thank-you for winning his battle to get the pitch marked in time for the kick-off, while juggling all the other things he has to do every Saturday. Thanks Pete. Your efforts are very much appreciated.

Team: Trent Hirst, Chris Rowe (Brad Frost), Andy Hey, Dave Allan, Josh Wright, Eddie Bignell (Joe Morris), Duncan Moxon, Jason Paranihi, Robbie Leonard (James Wright), Jethro Conway, Keegan Saville.

Sub (Unused): Jay Presnall

Player of the Day: Keegan Saville.