Both men’s teams kicked off the season with good performances which meant the 1st team returned from bogey side Letcombe with all three points winning 4-1 whilst the reserves drew 1-1 against last season’s high fliers Briscombe and Thrupp.

The first team start the season with a run of four away matches and this proved to be an ideal opening season encounter that showed a lot of good work had been achieved during the pre-season under the management of Phil Lines. The team were fit and organised which proved crucial with 3 goals coming in the final 10 minutes of the match to secure the victory. With veterans Terry Fiiton (calf injury), Craig Pearman (his wedding!) and Ben Milner (Craig’s wedding) all absent there was certainly a more youthful look to the side. In the opening exchanges going up the slope, Sports created a number of half chances following good link up play between Adil Hussain and Andrew Stidder up front. Keeping the ball on the ground and using their pace, both strikers had shots on goal which the keeper comfortably saved.

Easington were even more dominant in the second half and so the awarding of a penalty kick on the hour mark to the home side went against the general run of play. Jordan Malloy playing his first competitive came for Easington was unlucky to see the penalty awarded against him after it seemed a tangle of feet in the box could have seen the free kick awarded either way. Jack Goode kept Sports in the game with a fine penalty save and within seconds, Easington finally took one of their chances to take the lead. A great ball in from Josh Northam was smashed in from the angle by the on rushing Conor Grant on the back post. The penalty kick seemed to bring the game to life with both sides looking for a victory on the opening day. Letcombe equalised within 3 minutes and had a brief spell of pressure before Sports got back on top to finish very strongly. In the last 10 minutes Adil Hussain finished off a well worked team goal, Andrew Stidder lobbed the keeper after out pacing the defender and keeper and then finally Mike Spaull made it 4-1 when his shot was spilled by the keeper into the net. 1-4 final score and the result was as comfortable as the score line suggests.

Goode, Rose, Dosanjh, Malloy, Livous, Northam (Spaull), Poole, Grant, Grant (McCleish), Hussain, Stidder (Welch)

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The Reserves can certainly be very pleased with their first game in mens football with all players between the ages of 16 and 18. In the opening 20 minutes of the match the young side played some delightful football and certainly carried a threat to the opposition. Chay Buckingham had a game to remember, exciting all with his quick feet and pace throughout the first half. After 30 minutes, he picked up the ball then show great skill and pace to get into the box where he was clinically taken out for a penalty. The young striker took the penalty which clipped the outside of the post and went out for a goal kick which was unlucky as the goal would have been well deserved. The Reserves will certainly be one of the best passing sides in the league this season with all players very comfortable in possession. However, it will be a season where they will need to learn to “manage game” situations and in this opening game, they had to learn how to play with 10 men for most of the half. Chey Buckingham again jinked clear of the Brimscombe defence on the half way line but before he could get away he was grabbed back by the shirt. Unfortunately, the young striker lashed out in an attempt to get free and this was seen as a red card offence. Easington defended well for the rest of the half and were limited to more half chances on the break. In a half with few chances for Easington, they eventually took the lead after 76 minutes. Rhys Hamblett and Sam Sherpa-Moore linked up well and Sherpa-Moore tucked the ball into the bottom corner of the net after good work from Hamblett. This was nearly enough to secure their first win but in virtually the last kick of the game Brimscombe came back to equalise after a spell of pressure. A share of the points would appear to be about right after the visitors came on strong in the final stages of the game.

1-1 final score with a number of players showing that over the coming seasons they have the ability to step up into non league football.