Balham smash Sheen in super display

Balham 4 Sheen Lions 0

Balham trained hard over half-term, with all four sessions going ahead, and it reaped rewards with the best performance of the season so far. After the poor showing last time out, the Whites dismissed any concerns about playing the unbeaten Sheen side, and put them to the sword in a scintillating first-half performance in the rain. Every single one of the 16 players contributed well - and impressively the Whites still played quick possession-based football with some neat passing despite the atrocious conditions.

Jamie chose to play 4 at the back for the first time this season, and it worked well throughout. Patrick and George were both commanding at the back, with time on the ball and the confidence to start attacks from playing the ball on the floor. James played tenaciously in a new right-back position and Alex played some excellent balls through the channel from left-back.

Balham's midfield was dominant with Matthieu getting to every ball in the centre of the park, with some particularly impressive headers and sliding tackles. Wilbur was the creative spark, weighing in with four assists in the first period alone, and both Sammi and Chris keeping the ball intelligently and breaking up rare Sheen attacks. Ethan and Joe had the edge over their opponents on the flanks, regularly beating them to set up chances with some positive crossing. When replaced by Semi and Dylan, most of the boys' attacks continued down the wings with both looking dangerous and showing some lovely touches.

Jude and Max shared the duties up front and both buzzed around, causing the away sides's defence problems throughout.

It took 15 minutes for the Whites to take the lead, despite them looking the better side early on. An excellent break from Joe had the defender on toast as he raced towards goal. A neat inside pass to Wilbur was the right choice of ball; he nudged on to Jude, who swept in the ball beautifully for a deserved lead. Balham knocked on the door a couple more times immediately with some longer-range shots, but it was from a corner that the lead was doubled with Matthieu heading home Wilbur's cross.

In a spellbinding few minutes, Balham extended their lead further a few minutes later after an exceptional floated ball from Wilbur found Ethan unmarked in the box. With some excellent control and poise, he trapped the ball and slotted it home to put the boys in a fantastic position. Astonishingly, the Whites then scored a fourth when Wilbur found Max who beautifully tucked the ball into the corner. It was nearly a fifth after Max's lovely cross was headed towards goal by Matthieu with an astonishing leap. The brilliance of the effort was matched by an equally good save with the keeper somehow palming it on the bar and clearing the danger.

The boys beamed at half-time despite the downpour with Jacob and the subs particularly sodden and cold. It was a tremendous first-half and every player put in an excellent performance.

The second-half did not result in any further goals but Balham played well and should have added to their total. Charlie and Dylan combined a number of times down the right-hand side with some lovely football resulting in several crosses in from the right flank. Matthieu unluckily hit the bar again, and the keeper pulled off a wonderful save from the follow-up, but the lead could not be extended despite territorial dominance. Sheen's only real threat seemed to be from Rory Delap-style throw-ins being launched into the area but the boys were the first to them every single time. Jacob did not have a single save to make throughout the whole match, and even showed a sublime piece of skill to fool the attacker as the boys passed around with confidence. Balham had a chance for a fifth in the last few minutes after a dreadful tackle hacked down Wilbur when he looked certain to score; sadly the penalty was missed but it didn't really matter as the boys wrapped up a dominant performance.