This was our first match in seven weeks on a cold windy day at Partington.  This was also the first game in which we started the rotation policy of dropping two players each week in order to give each player more match time.

In the first period we started quite well with Joseph making some good runs along each wing and interceptions from Alice and Charlie at the back keeping Partington at bay.  Sam was also busy in this period, getting all over the pitch from central midfield.  This period also saw quite few passes going astray and missed tackles which had not been seen in the last few matches we played but we still managed to put together a few moves of our own.  It took a good strike from the edge of the box for Partington to take a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period.

The second period started much the same as the first ended with no-one really in control.  With the games going from end to end Partington took a 2-0 lead before Theo made a good pass for Joseph to make it 2-1 with a low shot from the edge of the box.  After this Partington started to look the stronger team putting together some good passing moves.  In defence Adam started to shine in this period as he grew in confidence making tackles and putting in passes to team mates.  Charlie in goal also made some good saves to keep the score down.  Partington scored again with a well taken goal into the bottom corner to finish the period 3-1 up.

The final period saw Spartak get better and several times we were close to scoring, notably when Joe hit the bar following a cross from Dan.  Phoenix played will in this period breaking up Partington attacks, making passes to team mates and then supporting the forwards.  As we tried to get forward Partington were able to break and with little defensive help for Theo and then Joseph in goal, they scored a further four goals with the game ending 7-1.

In the next few games we need to work on winning the ball from the opposition and working as a team to make the most of our opportunities.  On several occasions in this match we failed to make the most of possession particularly with team mates in better positions calling for the ball.  The log lay-off and conditions didn’t help and I’m sure we will get back to the form we displayed before the postponements.