Having been relegated from Division 1 in the previous season, MVC thought, by their own admmission, that life in Division 2 would be a lot easier, that they could enjoy their football more and that points would be a lot easier to come by. They couldn't be further from the truth.

The early signs were good though. In pre-season, MVC drew 1-1 with newly promoted Eastleigh Baptist and thumped St. Mary's from the Bournemouth Churches League 5-0. There were however defeats in a rematch against Eastleigh and against Bishops Waltham Dynamos which would perhaps in hindsight show just how difficult the campaign would be.

The opening game of the season proved to be a tough test for MVC. Despite going 1-0 up early on, MVC were on the receiving end of a 3-1 beating. That was swiftly followed by another defeat, a hefty 6-3 against Grace, although MVC did put up a good fight until the last ten minutes when Grace showed they were the fitter side.

Another defeat against Testwood in a controversial match saw a newcomer Ross Bullard make an impressive debut, but it wasn't enough to prevent MVC from slipping to a third successive defeat.

Things didn't get much better as MVC faced Kings in the cup and despite holding them through 90 minutes and extra time, Kings scored their first victory over MVC after a penalty shoot out.

League action resumed the following week but again, defeat was the outcome losing a tight match 3-2 against St. James.

The weather then interrupted the season which came at an ideal time for MVC. The only other game played before Christmas again ended in defeat in what was MVC's worst performance of the season, despite another impressive debut from Kris Richards. That saw MVC rock bottom after playing five and losing five.

The turn of the year saw MVC go 5 weeks without a match after the snow brought a halt to the season. Before they returned to league action, MVC played Hedge End Methodist in a friendly and finally scored a win, an impressive 7-0 scoreline the outcome.

The following weekend, MVC played Testwood and put in another impressive performance, putting four past the visitors and securing a second successive clean sheet for the first time in the club's eleven year history. Was the tide about to turn in MVC's season? The answer was no. MVC were brought back down to earth with a bump after losing against St. James. The team had hoped this was just a blip after feeling performances were on the up, but soon realised there was much more work to be done after losing a secind successive game against Kings.

At this point, MVC thought two would be relegated from Division 2 and were anxiously looking over their shoulders at Testwood who were now bottom, but only on goal difference.

Things didn't get much better as Locks Heath thrashed MVC 6-2. This was a rearranged game which happened to fall the weekend before the return game, which on a very wet and heave pitch, MVC secured a vital point against a decent Locks Heath side, secured with a fantastic goal by Kris Richards.

Things got better for MVC as they went to Leigh Park and put everything into a team performance which saw MVC come away with all three points in a game which epitimised MVC's new found commitment and togetherness which had emerged since the turn of the year.

MVC didn't stop there. Although MVC did lose their next game against Kings to leave them with a hat-trick of wins for the season and leave the bragging rights well and truly in the burgandy and white half of the club, MVC went on to secure their safety in style. Realising only one would be relegated, MVC knew that they were safe and went out and played their last two games with a certain amount of freedom, beating both Grace and Cosham to finish the season third bottom in the SCFL table, meaning that even if two had gone down, MVC would still be safe.

The season may have been one of disappointment for MVC, but there has been a lot of rebuilding with new players coming in and others dropping out. Thanks to Garry Curnow and Phil Weston who have stepped out of the squad after a number of years with the club. We all appreciate the effort anf performances you have put in, as well as the social side of the club.

Training has been a key aspect for this season. It has been the first year that MVC has consistently trained properly for an entire season and the benefits were clear to see at the end of the season. If they can pick up in training where they left off then there will be a sound footing for MVC to pick up from.

One thing is for sure, MVC will not go into the 2010/2011 season expecting things to be as easy as they did a year ago. They know what they face and they will approach each game in a much more professional manner in a bid to gain promotion back to Division 1.