It was a comfortable victory in the end for U18A side but it was the Pumas who made the better start in this Southwell derby game. The Pumas worked hard to close down possession and put the A’s defence under pressure for the first 10 minutes of this game. Despite this they failed to create any clear opportunities and paid the price when Ben Cree broke the deadlock after 15 mins, latching onto a Will Machin cross. Ben was the A’s stand out player in the first half and he put some distance between the teams by scoring two more to seal his hat trick before the half hour was up. Travis Merryweather was rewarded for his hard work with a goal to make 4-0 at the break.

Any thoughts of a comeback were quickly stymied shortly after the break when Ben latched onto a defensive error and finished a 1 v 1 with the keeper. The best goal of the game came shortly after when Reece Self put a superb 30 yard cross-field pass onto Elliot Brown's toe who brought it down cleanly with one touch and lobbed the Pumas keeper with his second; as good a goal as you’ll see on any football pitch on a Saturday. To their credit, the Pumas rallied for a period and pulled two goals back courtesy of George Thompson. Sam Buck and Dan Gleeson then joined the fray to help a tiring defence and the game turned again. Dan likes to make forward runs from left back and he did just that to make it seven for the team when he drifted into far post to volley home a cross from Elliott Brown. Travis impacted the game late on to set up Will Machin for his frist then score his own second and the team’s ninth goal in the dying minutes.

Lots of players gave stand-out performances but you don’t score 9 goals without it being a team effort so the whole side get the MOM award this week.

The side are playing well as a squad and with players coming back from injury, selection decisions will be difficult. City have a couple of tough games coming up which will test their credentials as possible title contenders; but they are playing as a unit, in a disciplined manner and with a great spirit so they are confident of extending their winning streak.