Unfortunately, due to circumstance I didn't attend yesterday’s match and will be an absentee for the rest of this month but hoping to return following convalescence for the trip to Buckingham Athletic on 3 February.

However, I did receive an excellent running commentary from our reserve team manager and of course am informed by our secretary’s excellent match report which is as unbiased as ever. Teams often produce a match winning report not many do when they lose, United do at all times.

Mind Twitter provided its usual ‘fake’ news accusing me of barracking one of the Reading players when I was 25 miles away and didn’t even attend the game! I may lack some things but disrespect isn’t one of them and I can honestly say I have never disrespected a player, opposition or our own in over 40 years with this football club but I was heartened to see a former player and Manager jump to my defence for which I thank him.

So, what did happen yesterday? Well it appears that we were met with the perfect storm in that YMCA played determined football while United simply didn't reach those heights. Football is about form on the day as much as anything else and clearly the champions are a team in form regardless of the Christmas break and just keep winning.

One can’t help but to applaud YMCA who this season are boasting a 100% record while defending an unbeaten league run that goes back to March 2016 and it does seem likely that they will yet again defend their title to record a third consecutive title winning season.

Does that mean a concession from United? No, its still far too early to write the championship off, indeed in usual circumstances 3-4-5 defeats in a season will win the title. Indeed, YMCA’s own title winning season in 2015/16 culminated in them losing four games and dropping 14 points whereas United have still only dropped nine points all season thus far which includes 3 points needlessly thrown away at home to Woodcote through indiscipline.

The question is who is going to stop the YMCA charge? Woodcote are going well having only lost once to United and continue to lead the table. Wright & Unity are boasting 10 consecutive league victories since their opening day defeat at United and are in a strong second placed position and I would certainly expect United to offer much sterner resistance in the reverse fixture later this season. So, despite feeling like it today, all is not yet lost and while yesterday’s defeat will hurt its how the team respond to that defeat is what will count as we move forward to three cup quarter finals in rapid succession but next week enemies become allies as the league rep team travel to Cambridgeshire for an FA Inter League Cup clash with the Cambridgeshire County League.

The management team of Karl Curtis (Reading YMCA) and Matt Letts (Marlow United) will travel with several of their players hoping to advance to the quarter final stage of this national competition.

Around the league Wright & Unity plucked all three points at Cookham with a solid 3-1 victory as Newbury comprehensively thumped Mortimer 3-0 while Westwood United edged it 1-0 at home to Wokingham. Woodcote maintained top spot with an emphatic 7-3 win over Wraysbury.

The Second Division saw United’s reserves postponed due to a heavy waterlogged pitch. AFC Corinthians shocked South Reading 2-1 while Brimpton thumped Woodcote reserves 5-1 with Mortimer reserves and Hurst producing a high scoring 6-4 in favour of the former.

Next week United’s reserves entertain Mortimer reserves at Derehams Lane while the first team have no game due to the FA Inter League Cup.