This was the return match that saw a new dawn for the 5^th team.  A 5-1 away win for us earlier in the season really built up some confidence within the team, but above all it was an excellent performance.  Strange that, although Christmas time seems an age way now, spectators watching the 5^th team this past Saturday could have claimed they witnessed ‘The Great Escape’! 

Cars started brightly, passing & moving with much credit going to the wily fox Neil Edwards in a pivotal midfield role, always offering himself as a outlet to another green shirt.

But for all the chances we made in the 1^st half it was the team from Potters Bar that scored first thanks to Barry ‘Calamity’ Consell who watched the slowest lob ever float over his head and bounce into the back of the net (only joking Bazza!) - and then disaster!...on the break they scored again with only their second real chance of the game. 0-2

True to form Cars heads didn’t go down and finally all the effort paid off as the experience of our very own Taiwanese silk boxer-short connoisseur Martin Head won us a penalty.  Up stepped the increasingly ginger Ryan Noble and, although the ‘keeper saved his first woeful effort, the lucky so & so got a second chance and clipped it past the grounded custodian to get us back into the game 2-1!

We kicked off the second half like we finished the first, with the passing & movement in full flow and like a flash of lightning James Hirst was set through on goal and slipped it past the Owens keeper. 2-2!

At this moment in time Owens couldn’t match us and we began to dominate their half of the pitch. The passing continued and it was this that led up to James Robins receiving the ball, turning the opposition striker and playing a ‘glorious’ bobbling 40 yard pass to the feet of James Hirst, who again took the opportunity to dispatch it into the far corner of the net. 3-2!

Owens were visibly shaken by this and heads started to go down, perhaps memories of our previous encounter came flooding back?  Cars continued to pressure their back line. A free kick was won around 30 yards out, James Robins stepped up and curled it around the wall and, with the keeper well beaten, into the back of the net via a desperate defenders shin (surely it would’ve gone in anyway though lads, eh?!?!).

This meant Carshalton were cruising & even in the confines of the 3^rd team pitch we were stroking the ball about from one wing to another. We then scored our 5^th and final goal Martin Head rose well and finished off another good move from a deep cross. 5-2

Somehow this stirred Owens into action and they upped their game, gaining them a lot of credit and ensuring that it definitely isn’t over ‘til the fat lady sings! Owens, with only the last 15mins to go ensured it was a nervous wait to the final whistle by scoring a 3rd and then a 4^th goal.

Thankfully, the class of our defending was greater than the attacking of the visitors to Beddington Park and that meant that their conversations on the long journey home contained plenty of ifs and buts.

A special thank you goes out to Mark ‘Monkey-Magic’ Harris who no doubt will be buying us all a drink next week, and to Mark Crawley who when five yards out with the goal at his mercy closed his eyes and shot ‘Ade Akin-bad buy’ style over the bar.

Finally, best wishes to Old Owens for the rest of the season.

B.Consell, N.Powell, J.Robins, J.Hill, M.Gordan, M.Crawley, R.Noble, N.Edwards, A.Elgins, M.Head, J.Hirst.