Barnstorming Balham batter newly promoted side

Balham 9 (Nine) Esher Youth 0

Victories like this are often seen as contests where sides 'bully' the opposition. This wasn't the case here - Balham simply outplayed the newly promoted side with a string of dominant attacks based on playing the football neatly around the ground. The score could have been even more - the bar was struck twice, Esher cleared off the line countless times, and two penalty appeals were waived away.

It did not take long to set the precedent for the match on a damp and drizzly day. Wilbur's curling shot from distance nestled in the net after three minutes, the first of many excellent long-range efforts on the day. It took a while for the second to come depsite outright dominance from the Whites: Jude's free-kick was spilled by the keeper, Max rattled the bar, Junior had a shot blocked after Max's run, George's header from Alex's corner was cleared off the line, and Igor had two rasping shots saved by a very busy opposition keeper. In what turned out to be the away side's only chance of the game, they missed an absolute sitter from 3 yards out after Balham had stopped playing, thinking the ball was out.

Finally, a well-deserved flurry of goals came before half-time. Jude latched on to a defensive mistake to calmly slot him the second, and then doubled his total with a wonderful left-footed strike from the edge of the box. In the last minute of the half, a rapid counter-attack saw Alex following in on a rebound to extend the lead to 4-0.

The second-half saw some experimentation, with 3 at the back and 2 up front. Really encouragingly, the boys continued to play swift and crisp football with some excellent passing movement being central to our success. It did not take long for AJ, on at half-time for a spell up front, to get off the mark with a left-footed finish after some lovely skill from Junior. The sixth was a wonderful goal, with Wilbur and George exchanging one-touch passes to see the captain side-foot the chance in.

George moved up to midfield, and finished from long-range after being set up by Jude. The provider turned scorer shortly afterwards, curling the ball effortlessly into the top corner after being set up well by Max. The first hat-trick of the season. AJ had a couple of penalty appeals turned down, and Esher continued to scramble the ball clear on a few occasions. There was still time for one more though - Luke following up well from the goalkeeper's parry. Jude rattled the bar in the last few minutes against an increasingly demoralised side.

There will be tougher matches this season, but the boys can be thrilled with both a clean sheet and the number of goals converted. A thoroughly dominant display.