Back to league action after last week's friendly, and a trip to Ashton on Mersey. The first indication that this was going to be a difficult game was the grass, or the length of it to be precise, it was quite absurdly long, but as they say it was the same for both teams. With Harry away, we had 9 Vikings present, again cheered on by our brilliant supporters.

The first 15 minute period was probably our best of the season so far, we battled really hard against the big, strong Ashton team, making chances and defending really well. We were moving the ball much quicker and keeping our shape, all very encouraging. The players kept their focus really well when an Ashton player suffered a nasty facial injury, following an accidental kick from his own player. The period ended 0-1, but we were still very much in the match.

Ashton began to slowly take control during the second period, our players were working really hard but we were against a very powerful team, they had a couple of big lads capable of launching long passes behind our defence, with the ball holding in the long grass for the forwards to run on to. As usual, the Viking spirit remained and we tried hard, but the second period finished at 0-4 overall.

The third period was similar to the second, but tiredness began to creep in to our game and we conceeded more goals. Final score was 0-9.

In honesty this just wasn't our day, we had a lot of bad luck, a lot of decisions didn't go our way and we met a very good team. However, there are a lot of positives to be gained again, the first period was fantastic, really encouraging. We are moving the ball quicker, especially from dead ball situations and that helps a lot. Tyler continues to impress in goals and is a real asset to us. Defensively we are getting stronger, with more shape and understanding between the back-line players. The midfield is benefitting from individual improvements and better positional sense, Luke in particular is making great progress. We didn't get many chances today, but our forwards Charlie and Lewis were full of effort and willing to assist in midfield.

The opposing coach awarded Player of the Match to Aaron, which Rob and I agreed with. Our captain remained strong and determined, constantly tackling, blocking and clearing our lines with his big left foot.

Forget the result, our improvement was there for all to see. We are making progress and going the right way.