Some might question a captain's commitment to his team when he happens to get an ear infection just days before a morning push back way out north in St Albans. But not us, we just question his management abilities, taking a squad of 17 and turning it into a bare 11 overnight, with players going up, down and AWOL (Harry, you know who you are!).

So without any substitutes we faced 16 fresh faced University of Hertfordshire students. It was warm, we were old and so we knew that fitness was going to be an issue. Also playing on our minds was that St Albans' only home result so far this season was a 15-1 victory!

With Oli tucked up in bed, it was left to me to give a rallying team talk which, by request, is repeated here:

Win this game we really ought
So keep your passes good and short
Stay in space
Get in their face
For afterwards there will be port

Concise and to the point, what more do you need.

The first half went well with two goals scored from open play by Ed and Pete. Prior to this we had a goal disallowedbut then again George did take the free hit from just 2 yards outside the Dand hit the ball directly into the Dso can't really complain.

2-0 up at halftime felt good but the team talk didn't include any rhyming couplets. It was clear that the opposition had been more poetically briefed as they came out strong and by the last quarter of the game had pulled it back to 2-2.

Nervous times, not helped by a second goal from Aidan being disallowed. This one was not as clear cut as his first as it came from a free hit, 25 yard run, beating defence and keeper, only for the umpire at the far end of the pitch to decide the original free hit was not valid.

To make things worse, 2 minutes later, Dave decided that he needed a bit of rest and given that we didn't have any substitutes went for a yellow card instead. It was awarded for catching one of the opposition's numerous long aerial balls with a high stick. If I mentioned that the first half had seen a similar offence committed by a player in a different coloured shirt which didn't result in a card then I might sound bitterso I won't.

With Dave back on the pitch and 5 minutes left on the clock it was still level. A long ball was sent down the line followed at speed by Ed's legs. This resulted in a pass into the D and Aidan to finally score and have it stand. 2 minutes later and almost the same move resulted in another for Aidan. The dying moments of the game saw us fend off a short corner and finish with a 4-2 win.

Job done, bosh as some would say, and back to the club house for a bite to eat and listen to the students being berated for not paying their subs yet eating the food! Enough of that so we retired to the pub for the ale festival and timber paddles before catching the train south and consuming the aforementioned port.

With top of the league position secured and next week off I gladly pass back the captaincy to the Ginger Prince.

TimH

Aidan Hinds, Aron Hinds, Dave Sheppard, Ed Jones, Gareth Young, George Matthews, James Crumly (GK), Oli Carruthers, Pete Abbot, Tim Harris, Tim Smith

Another win on Saturday means the Royals continue their 100% season and has cemented our place at the top of the table!!

Watching our opposition warm up was rather like an episode of Grange Hill, as we were faced with a bunch of children scarcely into Secondary School. Needless to say, they were skillful, fast and not hungover which is basically cheating as far as London Division 6 (East) is concerned. However we were not fazed and stuck to our game plan, passing round them and moving the ball up the pitch to frustrate their training ground routines.
In short, it was an excellent team effort and a much more composed display than the previous week.

Highlights:
Tim C scored a screamer of a goal - a reverse stick waist high volley. Eat that!
Ed J maintained his search for the golden stick award with a quality hattrick
George converted from one of the most awesome short corner routines I've ever had the pleasure to watch
Pete and Tim bossing the midfield and taking their best player out of the game

Lowlights:
Pete repeatedly chucked his toys out of the pram
George absolutely nobbled their skipper, who then had a tantrum ("I've got an England trial coming up!!")

Honorable mention to Muhammed, on debut for the club, who saved a goal using his face!! However he later revealed that his "glasses with their very sturdy frame" took the worst of the impact.

Excellent availability meant we had 15 players on Saturday which, combined with a slightly cooler day than the previous week, meant we didn't run out of steam quite as dramatically towards the end of the game. Job done. 3 points. Same again next week please! Bosh. (OC)

James Crumly (CK), Gareth Young, Oli Clark, Aron Hinds, Rob Thomas, Oli Carruthers, Harry Twort, Pete Abbot, George Matthews, Andy Devey, Ed Jones, Cass Evans, Adam Bond, Tim Harris, Tim Cox

Our first league game of the year was a tale of two halves; in the first half we were dominant, some nice passing and composure meant we had the lions share of the possession which frustrated our opposition. We got the ball onto their foot in the D nicely to set up a short corner. Andy stepped up to inject the ball, and pushed it out at what can only be described as glacial speed. It did eventually leave the circle, and was then fired in which allowed Bayliss to get a lovely deflection (definitely not a shot) and put the ball into the back of the net (who mentioned anything about backboards??)

Moments later, we allowed them a quick break which resulted in their centre forward attempting to lob James in goal. Luckily he was more than equal to the task, as, once the ball had hit both the crossbar and post on the way down, he managed to clear it off the line and we lived to fight on.

Second half, and the temperature got up to about 500 degrees both on the pitch and in the opposition's attitude with various pleasantries being exchanged mostly surrounding Jon's sublimely taken goal. Andy then helped to diffuse the situation by firing in another from the top of the D following a pinpoint pass (from I think Pete?) to make it 2 - nil.

After that, our superior fitness combined with the blazing inferno in the sky began to take its toll and we ran out of steam to let them through and score. There then followed 15 minutes of the most nerve-racking hockey ever played, time and again we gave them the ball and let them attack and even hit the post twice, but the defence held strong and we ran the clock out to hold on for the win. 100% record intact! (OC)

James (CK), Oli, Rob P, Rob T, Tim C, Tim S, Ed TJ, Ed J, Andy, Ash, Dave, Pete, Jon, Harry