Valence braved Storm Dennis and travelled to K Sports to continue their League campaign. Valence welcomed two new players into the side, Jack Sheldon and Neil Hollingsworth. Neil has already attended more training sessions than the rest of the 3rd XI combined (1). Having lost the toss, Valence were forced to change ends, apparently due to the slope and not the wind?
Valence opened the game well and within a few minutes a surprisingly accurate aerial from Dazzler found Rob Cockayne, who surprisingly controlled the aerial perfectly then managed to find space in the D and open the scoring. Despite this bright start, Valence couldn't capitalise on the lead and the game turned into a hard-contested battle all over the pitch as K-Sports established themselves in the game.
The back and forth continued throughout the match with K-Sports equalising early in the second half. Valence continued to battle, buoyed by the late arrival of Reuben Collingwood following a breakdown on his way to the match (car not mental). Although not everybody was as welcoming leading to a stint on the side-lines for Dazzler, after receiving a yellow following a heated exchange with his teammate.
Valence's battling ethic paid off with a grandstand finale which saw Duncan Field's surging run down the right give him enough space to cross to an unmarked Rob Cockayne in the centre of the D allowing him to coolly slot the ball home before the goalkeeper could adjust his position. This turned out to be the final touch of the match as the final whistle blew before the match could be restarted.
Both debutants put in excellent performances at their respective ends of the field. Jack Sheldon ran tirelessly throughout the match, frequently taking up good attacking positions and harrying the K-Sports defenders when they had possession. Neil Hollingsworth made some great tackles and interceptions in defence and even put in a diving clearance in front of the watching fans (all three of them). Hopefully both will feature in upcoming matches to close out the season.

Goals: Cockayne (2)
MOTM: Neil Hollingsworth - excellent debut
DOTD: Reuben for 1) breaking down minutes from the pitch and turning up at half time and 2) inciting Dazzler to get a Yellow

Team: Mark Whitmill, Nick Hall, Rob Harrison, Neil Hollingsworth, James Abrahams, Chris Jackson, Darren Thompson, Duncan Field, Chris Sheldon, Jack Sheldon, Rob Cockayne, Reuben Collingwood
Umpire: Iain Simmons

Match Report by James Abrahams

Next week the 3rd Xl are at home against Holcombe 6th Xl, currently in 10th place.