With naughty November a distance past, Vets1 were looking to build a platform to help them rise back up the standings and get back to where we belong.

They faced a well organised and whingey outfit in LTC. Good on the ball, dirty off it. Last time out, a MoM performance from Hosky ensured we didn't go away empty handed.

To compete, and get a valuable 3 points, we knew that we had to win the midfield battle. A strong line up included Hosky & Cian in the middle, ever reliable at keeping the ball and distributing effectively. Ben and Thierry on the wings offering width and guile. The handsome Knight, returning after a long absence, helped to link the midfield with the pace and movement from Ben upfront.

At the back, the ever reliable pairing of Lars and Roger shepherded the LTC attack, with Fernando and Cedric helping to keep things tight. Cedric had his hands full with their pacey number 2, so always had to be alert.

After 20 minutes of probing from each side, a sweeping move from Vets1 broke the LTC offside trap, Ben selflessly slotted the ball into the path of Knight, who tucked it away. The pattern continued for the rest of the half, defence holding strong, good distribution and the frequent forage into the opponents half, let down sometimes by the final ball.

LTC were consistent in their moaning, long conversations with the referee and attempts to wind up Cedric and co.

Second half, and after some encouraging words from the boss, we continued where we left off, but knowing that a one goal advantage would not be enough to secure victory. Sure enough, there was an early warning, as LTC rattled the cross bar with a long range effort.

However, we continued with our game plan and were rewarded with a second goal. An insightful throw-in from Cedric spotting the handsome and pacey Knight had the edge on the left back. He drifted past the defender and headed for goal. Meanwhile, the ever selfless Ben drew the defenders away from Knight for him to calmly slot the ball past the crumpled goalkeeper.

Confidence up, we continued to press and created more chances, leading to more whinging and off the ball scuffles from LTC. However, Cedric and co remained un-rattled as always. The selfless Ben was denied a goal when the goalkeeper handled outside the area. After some confusion and delay, the GK was sent off.

The last 10 minutes saw Knight denied 3 times to get his hat-trick (Cian we must reassess this free kick philosophy; Roger we must reconfirm which side you defend for; Ben apologies for going for glory instead of making the easier pass).

With the game all but wrapped up, Hosky and Tommy must have relaxed a bit too much and LTC slipped one in. However, we held on comfortably for the win.

Well done lads, a great performance by all. Looking forward to more success and a further rise up the table in 2018.

MOM & Reporter: Knight