This was our first season at 11 a-side and it has been a completely different experience for myself and my fellow coaches and assistants as well as the players and parents. We have had to prepare for bigger “occasions” and at the same time only one opportunity on the day, no friendly’s to give some of the boys pitch time or play in a different position nor to get a consolation result! The Metro League made our task harder by placing us in the second division which was a mixed blessing; it was a compliment on our previous performances on the other the third division looked like it would have offered a more comfortable first season at 11 a-side. The challenge was made harder with preseason injuries, broken arm to goalkeeper Roan and broken leg for Aaron, therefore we were thin on the ground and with some term time holidays we were only just able to put out 11 experienced players until well into October. The start of our season was therefore best described as steady with three draws that perhaps should have been wins, but only two defeats in the first half of the season we were in a comfortable position the only worry was that although tight at the back; rarely conceding we were struggling to find the net at the other end as often as our possession deserved. We knew by the time we were going into the last four games we it was going to be a tough end to the season against the top three teams and although we didn’t pick up any points one game stands out as perhaps our best performance of the season eventually being defeated 2-1 by the divisions second placed team, the game turning on some late questionable referee decisions! In the end seventh position didn’t feel like a fair reflection of the season 5ths would have been fairer after being overtaken by teams picking up points around us against the form book as the season drew to a close and teams had nothing to play for. In the end we were comfortably in the right division and looking forward to a better crack at it next season.