That hurt, both the eye-watering scoreline and the number of niggling kicks, slaps and knocks we endured in this mauling. After a very promising first half, where we dominated and used space well, we folded in a second half that saw Hudson score three without reply and leap-frog over us to the top of the table.
Hudson's field was a little heavy in places, and the pine cones on the east wing added a little uncertainty to the ball's bounce, but the setting was idyllic and the weather could hardly have been better on 1 November.
After general agreement that the danger in the Hudson attack came from their speedy front-runner, we promptly fell behind to a goal from that forward. He raced onto a flicked header from midfield and slid the ball past Mike's left hand to give them the lead after less than five minutes.
Following the early shock we settled and started moving the ball about well. Steve S (?) took a quick corner on the right to Joe and he floated a wonderful cross over to the back post. Completely unmarked and unpressured ten yards out from goal, Ivan jumped and headed the ball a foot inside the left post - easy. Ten minutes later we took the lead when Andy chipped a free-kick into the box and Karsten timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap and score with a diving header.
Hudson drew level against the run of play shortly before the half-time whistle. From a throw-in on our left side the midfielder got behind the defence and played a good cross to the penalty spot where the centre forward was lurking. He headed well but the ball rebounded off the crossbar. He was lucky that the ball came straight back to him and he was able to slot it home from close range, with everyone else seemingly stuck in some freeze-frame.
When we played Hudson at Nahanton they scored early in the second half and faded badly after that. No such luck this time as they started the second half completely revitalised and dominated the next forty-five minutes. For the first ten minutes of the half we couldn't get the ball past the half-way line. Hudson harried and hassled us, never giving us time to settle on the ball. They took the lead from a corner which was headed well from the penalty spot, but was going wide. An unmarked player on the far post got his head to the ball and steered it between the Mikes to make the score 3-2. Twenty minutes in, the lead was extended when they broke behind our defence on the left flank and a low cross was met cleanly in the centre.
We had our chances to reduce the deficit: Samuel and Bardot both chased a fine through ball and Bardot got his foot to the ball first but lifted it over the bar from close range. Shortly afterwards Christer was sliced down in the penalty area and the referee made the right decision, pointing to the penalty spot. Sadly, there was no spot, just a deep depression from which, the Hudson players insisted, the ball should be struck. Irritatingly, the referee concurred, and took no action when a Hudson player actually took the ball, carefully placed by Karsten on level ground, and dropped it back into the pit. A compromise was reached when Karsten put the ball on the edge of the crater, but his shot went a foot wide of the left post.
With legs tiring and heads dropping Hudson scored a fifth after a defensive mix up and put themselves at the top of division 2.
Squad: Mike O, Kirk, Mike A, John, Tim R, Kelvin, Pap, Steve S, Andy, Joe, Tom, Ivan, Steve G, Tim T, Christer, Bardot, Samuel
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