Rutherford at home today against Brandon United Blues, a team we know well and a team we always seem to struggle against.

Max Billingham was missing today due to illness which saw Rutherford make a tactical change, putting Jacob up front in an attempt to use his pace and power.

The game started off very well, passing was crisp and accurate, breaking through the Brandon defence with relative ease, Jacob was put through and denied by a good tackle, then again moments later this time denied by a good save. Brandon were on the ropes and survived another scare this time when Rutherford hit the bar with a looping shot.

More chances came Rutherfords was, a good save from a well worked short corner, Jacob denied again by a good save, a cross with flashed across goal and just ahead of the on rushing Rutherford players.

Brandon reminded Rutherford they were still in the match when they caught Rutherford square at the back, beating Jack to the ball who did well to force the striker wide and the ball just missed the far corner. Moments later Rutherford weren't so lucky when exactly the same move beat the Rutherford square backline and the Brandon number 10 rounded Jack to slot home. 1 nil down and so far against the run of play is was untrue.

Just before half time, things went from bad to worse, a needless tackle by Joe saw the ref point to the penalty stop, luckily for Rutherford the Brandon player hit the post and Rutherford survived, getting to half time only the 1 goal behind.

Half time message was, keep playing football, don't get drawn into a physical battle and no silly free kicks. For the most part this message was carried out to the letter and Rutherford were the dominant side. Passing was a little scruffy due to the pitch which was cutting up in places but the defence was far better organised with Connor, Sophie and Callum all covering Will very well.

Rutherford pressed and pressed eventual winning a penalty of our own after a foul on Joe. Joe himself stepped up to take the spot kick but was denied by a good save. The ball stayed in play, another great tackle saw the ball go out for a corner which was eventually scrambled to safety.

Shortly after Brandon somehow broke through and scored again to make the game 2-0. At this point, neither myself, Shaun or anyone else for that matter had the words to describe how we were losing but losing we were.

With 8 minutes to go, Brandon went to 4 at the back and Rutherford went to 2 in defence, 3 up front. This was all out attack now and in the words of Dave 'Cinzano Bianco' Lister "You're better Dead, than Smeg" or in more footballing terms we might as well have a go. The decision worked, Joe scored into the top corner 1-2. A minute later, Jacob twisted and turned in the box and scored low into the bottom corner. 2-2 and Rutherford were in the ascendency.

Unfortunately the fairytale comeback didn't have a happy ending. After going all out attack it's often very difficult to revert to a normal shape and mentality, this proved to be the case when Brandon hit a hopeful ball downfield which resulted in the foul. The resulting free kick was save and caused an almighty scramble, which was forced over the line by Brandon. 3-2 and Rutherford had to go for it again, which left us open at the back, 4-2 to Brand with a speculative shot finding the corner and then 5-2 following a soft free kick.

Very hard to bare for Rutherford, a few tears were shed after the match by the players, their hard work wasn't rewarded today but the attitude, quality and commitment was there to see.

Onward to training and the game next week against Coxhoe.

Players of the match were Jacob who played very well upfront and Will who made some excellent tackles in defence. Well done boys.