Cambridge South beat Bishops Stortford 3's 5-1 on another hot and sunny September morning. The heat had a tiring effect on both teams, especially as the game wore on, but at the start it was the home side that was sharper as South moved into a 3-0 lead before the break. Vice Captain Hewitt was back in the starting line-up following an ankle injury but it didn't seem to have affected his shooting as he gave the home side the lead with a sharply struck short-corner. Soon after the same trick worked again, though this time Garrett got a stick to it on the way to deflect it past the defender on the line. And with the away side posing little desire of wanting to trouble the score-board, South scored a third just before half-time when a break down the right was pulled across goal for Tristen (?) to score.

It was a comfortable half for Cambridge South with Bishops Stortford trying to play high, keeping players deep in the South half, but struggling to cause the South back line any serious problems. Readman was back in fine form (after missing the mid-week friendly against Royston), mashalling his troops in front of him and picking off the loose balls with ease. The imperious Thorpe took no nonsense from the opposition forward, while Eliot took up an unfamiliar role at left-back and yet made it look like he'd played there all his life. And on the right, Leo was a constant threat going forward with some excellent passing from dead-balls in the final third of the pitch.

In the second half the away side started to get back into the game, as South rotated the midfield and started to succomb to the heat of the day. They continued to look the better side, though, and increased their lead again when Cobbe pounced on a loose ball in the D to snaffle it past the keeper. Bishops Stortford scored a consolation goal when they managed to catch the home defence on the hop, an overlap on their left creating space for a free striker to fire past the 'keeper. But South had the final say when another short corner gave a goal, this time Sinclair clipping a fine finish past the keeper when the push-out didn't go quite where it was intended.

Pears was a continual threat to the opposition back-line throughout, and was unlucky not to finish the game with a goal. And on the left Cobbe and Knight linked up well, giving the side width going forward and solid defensive cover when Stortford had the ball. On the right, Baker and Sinclair moved the ball well and opened up the opposition defence on a regular basis, keeping the Stortford defence on the back-foot.

In the end the score line was a fair reflection of the game, though it was disappointing to concede a goal after looking so comfortable in the first half. Nonetheless, given the hot conditions and personnel changes from the previous game (again!) it was a decent result and the pre-season preparations continue well.