An early overcast morning that gave way to unfettered sunshine saw South 1s take on a surprisingly bright eyed Market Deeping 1s team at the Abbey. South started the game as the stronger team, with the midfield combo of Liles, Georgie, and Carolines M & D passing the ball well, despite the opposition snapping at their heels. On the rare occasions that Deeping managed to break out of their own half, the defensive wall of Serin, Julie, Ellie and joint Man-of-the-Match Lindsey were unbeatable, stealing the ball, and calmly distributing it forward for another attack. Unfortunately this dominance couldn’t quite be converted into goals, as Deeping’s defence packed the D to prevent the striking trio of Sian, Alice and Tash from getting that final shot away after some searching crosses fired in by other joint Man-of-the-Match Liles. Half time, 0-0.

The second half saw a revitalised Deeping team come out, and they poured forward, winning a succession of short corners. But Deeping’s attempts to bamboozle South’s defence by taking them from the other side failed, as the South back line held firm, requiring merely the odd melodramatic dive from Loopy in goal. Late in the match, as the sun came out and began to beat down on the players, both sides began to slow down, and the final whistle went with no score, leaving the teams to retire to the Corner House for a fine fry-up. Honourable mention must go to Market Deeping, who left at 7am(!) to make it to the pitch for a 9:30am push-back, but still played their part in a friendly and enjoyable game.