Balham 1 Welling Wings United 7

An under-strength Balham side came up against the best side in the league on a cold, muddy and miserable December day. With only 9 players available, it was a tough morning for the Whites.

It looked like it would be so much brighter for the boys, who showed some real doggedness and determination in the first half. After the result earlier in the season, it was always going to be a difficult game, and Balham started well. Whilst the team in red always looked dangerous moving forward, particularly with their excellent two-footed right winger, Balham had the first really clear chance. Jude's shot was blocked by their keeper when through one on one.

The defenders were showing great passion and grit, with several blocks from Dylan, Gethin, Luca and Wilbur particularly. the dangerous right-winger cut in on his left foot, only for Jacob to get a glance on to the post and then save the rebound point-blank. In a strong spell for the opposition, the same player hit the post in their next attack, and in truth it looked like a matter of time before they would score.

Balham picked their heads up and had a good spell of pressure. Ollie burst down the right, showing great pace, but the keeper luckily held on to to spilled stop. Amine, Wilbur and George started to pass the ball around well in midfield but the well-organised defence kept us out. Jude's left-foot shot was well saved.

Dylan then put an excellent tackle in the box to prevent Welling going ahead, showing real determination to get the ball.

A strange decision then turned the game, with a very soft penalty being awarded for an alleged shirt-pulling offence. No one at all expected it, or even appealed, but for some reason the decision was given. Welling went into the half-time break just ahead.

The second half was a completely different game, despite Balham again starting well. In the first five minutes, Wilbur particularly showed real poise on the ball, going past players and looking to set up attacks.

In a flash, the game changed though. The first warning sign was when Jacob needed to pull off a point-blank save to keep Balham in touch. Sadly, the boys were undone with a blitz of a spell - Welling scored four goals in under 10 minutes and the game was gone.

Whilst Amine scored a lovely long-range goal for a consolation goal, the opposition scored a couple more to really rub in their superiority.

The boys can be disappointed with their performance in the second half, as the defending across the whole team was not up to scratch. The opposition were given too many opportunities to skip past Balham defenders without tackles being put in - a complete reversal of the first-half performance.

Welling are an excellent side and Balham will not play a better one this season. The Whites have shown that they can compete well against the best teams in the league, as they did against R&R last week; they need to look to be more consistent across the whole match to start picking up some more points.

With other teams ahead in the league and Cup, we can hope that with a concerted effort in training, brighter times may be ahead.