After the disappointment of having our return match against Teesdale FC postponed last week, we arrived at Victoria Embankment to play Crawford FC, high on confidence and eager to carry on where we left off after our magnificent 6-0 demolition of Teesdale FC 2 weeks ago. We had a very strong squad available and started with Andy in goal, Martin M, Chris P, Phil E and Graham A in defence, a 5-man midfield of Aidy S, Paul H, Mason, Bill Y and Craig S and Mel up front as a lone striker and Mark H, Dave Mo, Ollie H and Dan V on the bench. This was our chance to put together a string of good results and build confidence, which had taken a knock after the 1st few games of the season and get back to the level of football which we know we are capable of playing.

As the game kicked off we stamped our authority on it immediately, passing the ball well and looking very dangerous on the wings with Aidy and Craig, who have both been in excellent form in recent weeks. After 20 minutes of pressure and several missed chances, we finally scored following a superb delivery from the corner by Graham, which was flicked on by Mason and then blasted in from close range by Chris P. With Paul on top-form in midfield, we carried on applying the pressure to the Crawford defence and it wasn't long before we doubled our lead after another excellent delivery from Graham was met with a towering header from midfield powerhouse Mason.

As the end of the 1st half neared, our biggest problem in defence was staying awake until the ref blew for half-time, with centre half Phil considering asking GK Andy for a game of paper-scissors-stone to help relieve the boredom before the break. The focus at half-time was to go back out there and try to keep up the pressure that we had put on the opposition in the first 45 minutes and thats exactly what we did, with manager Mark making 3 changes shortly after the restart which saw Dave, Ollie and Dan come on for Aidy, Craig and Mel. This was followed by numerous quality attacking moves and several missed opportunites to extend our lead, with Graham very unlucky to see his shot come back off the post after a Brazil-esque surge from left-back into the opposition area.

Ollie and Dave brought more misery to the Crawford full-backs, with some great individual pieces of skill that underlined the quality in depth that we now have throughout the squad, and it was after a great run down the wing by Ollie and a superb cross into the box found Dan, who fired in our 3rd with a little help from the crossbar and the opposition 'keeper. This was to be our last goal of the game, after Martin had his shot from outside of the area narrowly headed over the bar by the Crawford defence and Bill making several chances for himself, the match finishing 3-0 to us and another 3 points and clean sheet. Now we have our league campaign back on track, with the defence looking rock-solid and even though they had little to do defensively in the match, they orchestrated many of our best attacks.

Andy showed in goal that class is permanent and even though he is still a long way from full-fitness after his leg-break in July, he is still the best goal keeper at the club and probably in the league. The midfield were outstanding from left to right, with club captain and talisman Paul H back to his best form and the wingers working tirelessly to support Beeston stalwart Melvyn up front, who has been in great form this season, netting 5 goals in the league, plus numerous others in friendlies and for the Saturday team. The man-of-the match award for today was the subject of much debate, with Paul, Martin, Graham and Chris all coming close, but as suggested by the opposition, it goes to midfield man Mason, who was making his Sunday team debut today and was a colossus in midfield for 90 minutes and impressed everyone.

We know that we will have tougher tests in the league this season, but that doesn't take anything away from a great performance today and another big step in the right direction, after a poor run of form at the beginning of the season. The defence now looks solid, which was reflected by us becoming the only team in the league this season that Crawford have failed to score against and also we now have more clean sheets in the league than any other team. Now we go into next Sunday's home fixture against Stratford Haven with a strengthened belief that when we play at our best we can beat any team in this league, which is what we must do to make it 3 wins out of 3 on Sunday.

Our first ever league fixture was subject to so much careful planning, so many sleepless nights and so many in-depth discussions about formation and line-ups, that only one thing was certain to happen come 10am on match day - utter chaos!

Some of the players were unavoidably late, having been diverted half way round Nottingham en route to the ground, because of closed roads on account of some sort of charity or fun run that seemed to be quite popular. Others were hungover after over-indulgence the night before and looked like death warmed up, whilst players were also full of match day excuses that involved visits to hospital accident and emergency departments the day before, or an emergency doctor in Sofia.

Why the management could not have foreseen such events is beyond belief! Then the referee explained the rules to a harrased looking Andy, there was no time for a warm up because the guy who was supposed to unlock the changing rooms was almost half an hour late, and the brand new match ball was declared unfit for use because the only qualified referee in Beeston's ranks had over-inflated it! Things looked bleak.

At least we still had a good team taking to the field, with goalkeeper Rob, right back Mark, left back Rob, centre backs Phil and Martin G, then a five man midfield - Paul, Shaun B, Russ, Aidy, Dave M - and Bill in an unfamiliar striker's role. The Cobras kicked off, we won the ball, exchanged half a dozen passes like it was a training session, then Paul was 30 yards out with the ball at his feet as the crowd began to take their seats around the ground...

Goal!! Goooooooaaaaaalllllll! Nnngoooooolllllll! Gola gola gola gola goooooaaallll!!

Incredibly, Paul's well struck, rising drive sent the ball into the top of the net with the opposition goalkeeper flapping underneath it. Surely one of the fastest goals ever scored at the commencement of a Nottingham Sunday Football league campaign?

Maybe so, but as the shocked celebrations on the sidelines died down, all that mattered was the score - one nil after less than a minute. Who needs organisation and careful planning?!

As the latecomers arrived and took their place alongside the management and walking wounded in the 'dug out', a very strange thing happened. Beeston forgot the score and continued to play the ball to feet, on the floor, pass and move, almost 'Ole football' - with the ball eventually bouncing in front of Russ, who was in an almost identical position to the one his captain had been in a few moments earlier. Just outside the penalty area, he struck his volley and the crowd held it's collective breath, expecting row Z behind the Cobras goal to be given some early catching practice...

Goal!! Gooooaaalllll! Nnngoooooolllllll! The keeper again had no chance, as Russell's shot flew into the top corner, cue more stunned cheering and leaping about amongst the Beeston supporters. Any minute now, I thought, I am going to wake up, discover that the whole week had been some sort of Dallas-esque twisted dream sequence, England would not have beaten arch-enemies Croatia and Beeston.biz FC would be just another 'hoof it and see' Sunday League Football Team. I pinched myself to make sure it was really happening.

As the match went on, disbelief turned to satisfied 'I told you so' comments on the sidelines, as the supporters and committee members exchanged jokes and superlatives with substitutes Dan, Aki, James, Fran/Juan and Martin M, who was doing a much better job running the line than he had with the match ball earlier. The Cobras could hardly gain any possession and became more and more frustrated as the Beeston boys refused to relinquish control. The defence was solid throughout this match, with headers won by Phil and slick passing moves instigated by Martin G, tackles won and troubling long throw ins put in by Rob, and Mark able to move freely up and down the right flank as Beeston's attacking football continued.

Bill was holding the ball up well, dropping deep to collect possession, then flick the ball into the path of supporting attackers. Another fine passing move flowed through the midfield, with Dave M, Russ, Paul and Shaun exchanging more passes and finally feeding the ball wide for the Adrian to ghost in from the left hand flank, beating the hapless 'three man offside trap' the Cobras were attempting, and finishing with aplomb.

Another goal - I'll spare you the mock Spanish/Latin American commentary, but that isn't to take anything away from a great team goal. Three nil, and Rob in the home side's goal had barely touched the ball. Calls were coming from the sidelines for substitutions, as the shots and passing moves continued to put the beleaguered Cobras defence under pressure. A free kick from Bill near the corner flag was driven across goal at a height that grasshoppers would have appreciated, and everyone was so impressed with the ingenuity that they all watched it fly past!

Minutes later the fourth goal came, as Aidy was again put through on goal - heaven knows why he doesn't score with such consummate ease on a Thursday night at training - but when it matters, he delivered. The Cobras had one or two chances to score in the first half, with the referee deciding to award a free kick for a dubious back pass resulting in one goal-line clearance by Martin, and a rare piece of sloppy play leading to a shot that needed another last ditch intervention by Phil. Somehow the Beeston back line was breached on a further occasion, but the opposition's striker found Rob had far from fallen asleep, as he smothered the shot superbly to preserve his clean sheet.

At half time changes were made, as Bill swopped with Dan and Juan/Fran with Mark. Later, Martin came on for the hard-working Shaun in midfield, but normal service continued, with everything but the goals to reflect the dominance of the yellow-and-blacks. A shot from Dan brought an unlikely flying save from the visiting team's goalie who was growing in confidence as the game wore on.

There were penalty claims and half chances created, but overall Beeston were content to keep the ball in the Cobras' half and be astounded by the linesman's flag on the opposite flank going up with alarming regularity. Eventually the referee had enough of this inevitability and informed his assistant of the meaning of the offside rule, but by then Beeston were just enjoying an excellent performance and stroking the ball around to ensure their three points.

Completing the match report paperwork for the FA [for the third time, having cocked it up on the first two occasions] manager Andy was delighted to discover that the last piece of information he was required to enter on the form was as follows:- Played 1, Won 1, Drawn 0, Lost 0, Goals For 4, Goals Against 0, Total Points 3.