Amersham and Chalfont 0 - Sonning 2s 3

The same fixture last season already lives in Ladies 2s folklore as an almighty result against the eventual league winners.

As I recall on that day we were down to a bare 12, having lost players due to unavailability and injury. Rather than mess with this winning formula captain Lorraine engineered exactly the same again this time around, thus earning an early muff nomination.

Boosted by the welcome return of Sophie Greenaway and mindful of a very specific match plan from coach Chris, the team took to the bouncy Amersham and Chalfont pitch and weathered 10 minutes of fairly heavy pressure without conceding.

The match plan then started to manifest itself and Sonning managed to move possession further up the pitch and spoil any attempts by A&C to get into their stride. Slightly against play Sonning won a short corner and telepathically worked out a left slip, in at the post, wonder goal (yes, I was involved in said goal, thanks for asking) finished with aplomb by Claire Shannon.

A bit of a surprise. Sonning continued with the plan, everyone putting in maximum effort plus a fair few 'interesting' tackles. Every member of the team made sure they were first to the ball and seemed to handle the bounce of the pitch better than the home team. Charlotte Norris in goal made a series of great saves to keep A&C out.

Another short corner, another goal - this time set up by Claire Shannon and anti-skilled in by Shinners. Sonning were taking their chances and went off 2-0 up at half time.

Sonning kept the pressure and the effort up in the second half and ten minutes in, defender Cath Dale's amazing long ball down the wing found Shinners, she swept it into the path of captain Lorraine who sealed the result with a deft finish. Quite the introvert, Lorraine treated both teams and the watching gallery to the sight of her customised bra when she celebrated in style. Another nomination.

The rest of the game was about securing a clean sheet and a delicious first 3 league points. Claire took one for the team (Shins and Coops) by having a two minute rest and the defence and midfield just seemed to be everywhere, picking up all the loose balls, channelling all the opposition's attacks.

A marvellous win!

Player of the match: Cath Dale
Muffs: Lorraine and Claire