On a morning of bright but penetrating cold which made lunchtime at The Hat and Feathers a particularly welcome proposition, South bounced back from two successive defeats with a vengeance, overwhelming a beleaguered Bourne second string with the highest team score in Division 3NW this season and possibly (though don't quote me) the 1sts' highest ever.

Bourne, who were evidently not quite the side that only lost 3-1 to Ely two weeks ago, were under pressure from the pushback, conceding within three minutes as an unchallenged Keith Hewitt lifted the ball high into the net from close quarters. A virtual action replay followed South's first penalty corner four minutes later and shortly after Hewitt turned provider as he rounded the keeper to set up Al Sinclair for a shot which went in off a defender.

Bourne then had the misfortune to lose one of their forwards to injury, which forced them to play one light for the rest of the game, but held out for a further six minutes until Alex Pooles, with his first touch of the game, capitalised on the confusion created by an artfully topped "piledriver" from Hewitt to make it 4-0. Almost immediately after the restart, Pooles took advantage of a fudged clearance to slip an easy pass to Sinclair, who met no resistance as he slotted in the fifth.

Annoyingly, given the ample space available elsewhere, South then contrived to give the ball straight to a Bourne forward on the edge of the D and he gratefully accepted the chance to walk it in unmolested and hit the top corner with a zinger which Steve Parker in goal could only get a glove on. This was only a momentary respite for the visitors, however, as they continued to cede possession in midfield, giving up further goals before half-time to Sinclair, who fired in hard after a nifty turn, and Hewitt, who made no mistake when skipper Chris Baker delivered the perfect slip from South's fourth penalty corner.

Bourne started the second half with a man high in an effort to repair some of the damage and this seemed to galvanise their forward line temporarily as Parker had to make two solid clearances and an excellent diving block from a crisp goalbound strike. Yet it also exposed their overworked defence even further and it was not long before John Benedikz, in tune with South's developing ball speed, slotted through a precision pass for Baker to convert with the keeper stranded. Hewitt then fed Rob Garrett, who drew the ball telescopically across the face of the D before finding the net with a super reverse strike that would have beaten many a team. Less than a minute later, Hewitt gained a further assist when Pooles rammed the ball in hard and high to bring up double figures.

With over twenty minutes still to go, Benedikz repeated his earlier sleight of stick to give Matt Readman a rare attacking opportunity, which he exploited to the full with a finish worthy of, well, almost worthy of Jim Thorpe's at Boston. Baker then made it twelve with a whack into the bottom corner from a Garrett reverse cross before a period of relative calm ensued. The Bourne keeper made several good stops, twice denying the rampant Hewitt, while Parker tried to ward off hypothermia with a blocked save from a neat deflection. Finally, on the sixty-five minute mark, Nick Young got a good pass away to Hewitt despite being decked and the Wizard of Aus brought up the unlucky thirteen for Bourne as he out-turned the keeper for a clinical sign-off.

Though the match was one-sided throughout, Bourne kept encouraging one another steadfastly and never let their heads drop, though admitting afterwards that they were unlikely to be featuring in this division next year. As for South, a stiffer challenge before the tough series of matches against March, Ely and Peterborough coming up might have been desirable, but the sound of ball on opposition backboard is always music to a forward's (and Matt Readman's) ears. The hope is that muscle memory will last another eight weeks and yield South another twenty-four points and a net goal difference of around 120!