Not sure where to begin with this report. As always it's usually down to the picking board and this time I got it badly wrong. Having choice and in the absence of our megastars I thought Bren was going to be the deciding factor in this game so he was my first pick. This bears testament to the quality of players that we now having playing at the club (old arses excluded).

Out on the field the disappointment in some of my players was palpable as a few asked "Have we got the extra man Laurie?" and then there were comments like "I always end up on the team with a man short". I thought of replying "Well there was a game in 2019 when we played nine against seven (ask Ross) and the seven won 4-2". Maybe it was just as well I thought better of it.

The game kicked off and almost immediately we were under the cosh and after just a few minutes Bren made a good save only to see the rebound slotted home from close range. My heart sank, conceding so early, and I had visions of many others following. However, the yellows dug in really hard and managed to repel attack after attack with Bren being a colossus in goal. The second goal from the whites again came from a rebound after a good save from Bren.

As the game wore on, we began to carve out a few half chances which had Paul making some good saves. However another wave of attacks from the whites resulted in a third goal. The yellows though continued to apply some pressure and were duly rewarded with a bizarre goal; the ball was cleared by the whites and hit Tom (while he was looking at his phone) at some pace at least 20 yards out and bounced back towards goal, just eluding Paul's attempt at a save. 3-1 with about 20 mins left.

Any hopes of a remarkable comeback were soon quashed by a fourth from the marauding whites with Gary W slotting home from close range after another great save from Bren. My team still didn't give up and in fact, during our best spell of the game some great work resulted in Tom passing to a very determined Neil who fired home a great shot.

Time ran out and the final score was 4-2. Well done Paul, even if I did hand it to you on a plate (hindsight is a wonderful thing). I must say a massive thank you to all my team who put in a remarkable shift with their tireless running and effort, without which I hate to think what the score could have been. This makes picking a MOM very difficult cos you all deserve it in my mind. Neil worked really hard in defence and scored a great goal to keep me in with a chance in the second leg, but I have to give it to Bren who pulled off so many great saves. Special mention for Harvey. It was great to see you back after such a long lay off and you were as solid as ever in defence.