Oh dear, where do I start... I know... with my one big problem about the match. The referee. He was either the worst or the most dishonest ref I have ever encountered. I still am not sure which. This 'impartial' gentleman was heard at one point saying to one of the Blazers after yet another foul throw: "I didn't coach you to do it like that". When challenged by one of our players as to why he wasn't penalising them, he said that he was allowing for the fact that the player wasn't of the highest ability and that had to be taken into account. He did award us a penalty though, so who knows.

Right with that off my chest, onto the game. Let me start by saying Birmingham totally deserved the win and they had a great bunch of supporters. The game wasn't dirty and the team were a nice bunch of lads. Five-nil down at half time speaks for itself. From the kick-off Michael Scragg tried to bulldoze his way through the Birmingham team, lost the ball, they burst through and scored. Unfortunately this set the tone for the next 45 minutes. We were awful. Unable to string two passes together, tackle or fight we were completely outclassed, although we were hampered by the fact we had no recognised 'keeper available so Jason Hall valiantly took the reins. I bet he regrets that now. He had no protection and was bombarded. Despite this Matt Haywood could have had a hat trick with two long range shots going close and having the aforementioned penalty saved. Half time wasn't fun but we were determined to show we can play. To our credit we played some good stuff in the second half and pulled two goals back, both from Michael, the second after a lovely through pass from Matt. Some pride salvaged, enough said.

So, overall this season has had its ups and downs, but as reigning champions, teams want to beat you so it was always going to be hard. Beating Yorkshire 4-0, their only defeat, was the highlight for me. They are a superb side but everything clicked for us that day. Also a 4-0 win against the Titans, we have yet to concede against them, was another. Only a penalty denied us something against Bournemouth and we finished third so it's not been so bad. Thanks also to Mark for the pre-season training, we've been a lot fitter this season. The big downer for me was Daryn Vanstone leaving us for Australia. His humour and wit is sorely missed. Hope it's going well for you Down Under, mate.

Lastly, congratulations to GFC Bournemouth on winning the GFSN National League title in their first season. The South Coast still rules! Hopefully it will again next year (but with the title moving slightly towards the East).