Maindy Blacks had a tough draw in the first round of the Cardiff Cup, facing Division A side Cardiff All Stars.
With the coaches picking a defensive minded side with five in defence, the team started well. The back line of Ben, Scott, Mike, Cory and Mazin held off the All Stars attack with some strong defending. It took the visitors 18 minutes to open their account with a good team goal, with keeper Ali unable to keep a good strike.
Then a clear 2-3m offside decision was missed by the ref and the result was a frustrating goal to make it 2-0.
Shakil and Amin pressed on up front to try and find an opening and Shakil had a good shot saved by their keeper. Keiran worked hard in the midfield to break down attacks and gain possession, while Mazin, Ben and the central defenders contributed to the to keeping out the All Stars front line.
Josh and Adrian made way after a busy first half for Sameem and Seb to add fresh legs. but the All Stars pressed on with another sweeping move from the right to slot home their third.
Shakil had another great strike saved and a fired up Amin also tried to press home the advantage and seek a goal. However, a mix up in the Maindy defence allowed the All Stars to score a fourth before another clinical attack saw the scoreline at 5-0.
Further substitutions saw Brandon, Alex and Marcello brought on to give the team a lift. But the All Stars scored again, with the sixth goal also a breakaway offside effort, which again went unnoticed. The All Stars sealed the win with a seventh goal.
The margin of victory, given two clear offsides and a defensive mix-up wasn't too bad. There were some plus points for the boys to take from a game against a well organised side two divisions above them.