A battling performance ends in defeat

Balham 2 Sheen Lions 3

Balham were given a rare treat of playing on the full-side pitch on a day as grey as could be at Richardson Evans. Disappointingly, with a raft of injuries and absences, the Whites played the majority of the match with ten players - bolstered by a guest appearance from James' friend Fred in the second half.

Despite this, the Whites played incredibly well - particularly in the first-half. As Tomasz said before the game, "We are not going to park the bus", and so the boys didn't, on the front foot from the start and looking hungry for a win.

It was clear that Balham were a better passing side, with the midfield trio of Wilbur, George, and Jude constantly exchanging passes and releasing Max or James up front. The boys served an early warning with Ty coming close from George's corner, and soon after got the goal they deserved with Max finishing calmly after James had slotted him in. Jude had a good effort after Wilbur's pass, and the boys were looking comfortable despite the numerical disadvantage. Every time Sheen tried to start an attack, well-timed tackles were flying in from Balham - with Ty, Gethin, Alex, Charlie and Wilbur all showing tenacity and strength.

With a rare Sheen attack, Jacob saved well, but the boys were soon back on the attack. George had a chance from a long-range free-kick and Jude's volley showed good technique, but was straight at the keeper. It really looked like a second was coming, particularly when George danced through the defence, putting in a lovely cross from the right of the box. Sadly, it just evaded Jude who was haring in from midfield.

Entirely against the run of play, Balham then conceded when they could not quite clear the ball, and the shot was lashed into the top corner. This spurred the opposition on, with Ty making an excellent last-gap tackle and Jacob having to save from a curling effort.

James showed great skill just before half-time to beat a couple of players but his shot did not quite have enough power to trouble the keeper.

The second half got off to a poor start, with the team in blue snatching an unlikely lead from a left-footed effort from the edge of the area.

The Whites then had an excellent spell of pressure and were unlucky not to strike straight back. After one attack, a lucky sliced clearance from their central defender went straight back to the keeper when it could have ended up anywhere. Gethin, playing in a more advanced position, and Max were causing problems on the wings and Balham won a flurry of corners. There were two headed chances which did not quite come off: the first from a superb George corner which Wilbur could not quite turn goalwards; the second saw a reverse with Wilbur showing great power and skill down the right to find George whose header flew wide.

Shortly afterwards, Balham scored a deserved equaliser after an absolutely sublime pass from Jude took out three defenders to find an onrushing Gethin who placed home well. It was an excellent example of a FIFA Triangle pass, and showed the value of an attacking midfielder playing in the hole behind the strikers.

With their next attack, Balham nearly took a lead after Gethin's cross caused havoc - their central defender got a touch but it agonisingly went past the far post. The Whites then had a five minute spell of pressure with several crosses coming close to a connection. It really did look like there would only be one winner.

But, as often happens when one side is piling on the pressure, the goal simply would not come and the boys started to tire. Sheen looked like they were growing back into the game, and started to pass the ball around more confidently than they had for the whole game. The sucker punch came after yet another Balham attack was snuffed out. The counter-attack was swift, and the Balham boys could not get back to defend quickly enough. A loose ball in the box was rammed home for a sickening goal with only six minutes left on the clock.

The boys huffed and puffed for the last few minutes but the goal would not come. It was so close at the end after an excellent lofted cross from Alex's left foot could have gone anywhere. It nearly ended up with a half-chance, but Sheen were able to clear and the whistle went.

The boys were not too disappointed at the end, which was a fair reflection of their performance against the odds. With some tough away matches to come, they will need to show the same effort, and a bit more luck with injuries, to pick up some points.