Stellar second half (almost!)

Worcester Park 5 Balham 5

In a somewhat bizarre game, which Balham probably should have won, the boys ended up equalising with the last kick of the game to rescue a point. They had shown brilliant determination to fight back from a 3-1 half-time deficit, with Max on fire - scoring four goals and unlucky not to have added even more to his tally.

On a horrible pitch, muddy, and clearly over-used, it was never going to be a day for great passing football. As a result, the parents were treated to an end to end game, with a few more long balls than usual, but excitement throughout.

With Alex playing well in an unfamiliar left midfield position, he whipped in a lovely cross early on which Ethan - also playing in midfield - nearly turned in. The early stages were scrappy, with Jacob having to save a couple of pot-luck shots, and Basil putting in one particularly excellent piece of defending to thwart their attack.

Before the game, we had discussed as a team the value of pressing the ball and being on the front foot to harass the defenders. It had worked superbly against BedHead, and so it did again from a goal kick. Luca pushed up the pitch and was right on the touch of the defender; nicking the ball, Gethin picked it up to square to Max who put away his first goal.

Jude then nearly scored from the edge of the box after brilliant pressing and tackling from Ethan and Balham were looking strong.

Unfortunately our age-old foe, sloppy defending, came back to haunt us to gift the opposition an equaliser. Whilst the deflected shot which looped into the net was a little lucky, the lack of tackling prior led to the chance and the attack should have been snuffed out considerably earlier.

Balham then had an array of chances to score, but could not quite put one away. After Luca's superb run into the box, the cross unluckily did not fall to feet. Ollie put in a superb cross which George could not quite convert, and Gethin had a shot saved from another Ollie break.

Then, completely against the run of play, the boys found themselves two goals down within five minutes. Despite Jacob putting in a superb block with his legs, the defence did not clear the rebound and the striker slotted in. The third goal was a little contentious - with Balham trying to make a sub, the opposition played on from a throw-in. With half of the Whites' defence stood still and not playing to the whistle, the striker had a simple tap-in for a 3-1 lead. A harsh lesson to learn.

Balham had their chances before half-time, but their keeper denied Gethin on one occasion, and he shot just wide on another.

It was an astonishing half-time scoreline really and the boys knew that they had the skill to bounce back, and so they did. When Chris put in a crunching tackle early in the half, it was clear that the Whites would battle hard to get back into it. Jude put himself on the line on the right wing, winning the ball superbly to set up Gethin down the right flank. With great composure he crossed to Max who pulled one back.

Balham pressed and pressed and it looked like a goal was coming. Alex blazed a shot just over, showing great pace to make himself a chance. Ethan curled a chance just a couple of feet wide of the post and yet again Gethin's shot was saved after superb work from Jude.

The equaliser did come from a lightening counter-attack from a corner. Max ran on to the incisive through-ball and showed great composure to score. There was an anxious few seconds as the home linesman tried to over-rule it for offside, but the referee decided the goal should stand and Balham were level.

This sparked Worcester Park into action, with Jacob having to make a stupendous save with his feet with the attacker one on one. At the other end, Ethan's long-range effort was just over after lovely dancing feet from George. As the basketball-style game continued, Jacob then put in another tremendous save to keep the game level.

From the resulting corner, Balham went straight up the other end to score, with players busting a gut to get up the pitch and Max finishing yet again for his fourth goal of the game.

With five minutes to go, it looked like the boys had turned around the game and were rightly in the lead. There was then a crazy end to the game - at a time when we needed to be composed and calm. The opposition all of a sudden seemed to be cutting through the midfield at will, and the Whites lost their commitment and shape. A well-taken header equalised the game, and Balham then fell 5-4 behind after poor defending gave an attacker a simple chance to score.

It looked like a devastating defeat was on the cards. With a last gasp throw of the dice, Ty went up front for the last two minutes of the game to deliver an immediate impact. With great determination he got to the ball before the keeper, who lay prostate on the ground afterwards trying to claim a foul. The referee waved the protests away, and the defender-come-striker slotted the ball in with literally the last kick of the game.

A strange game of football indeed, but a thriller, and well done to the boys for putting that effort in right until the end. As they mature, they will learn how to see out games, particularly after such a comeback, but they can be pleased with their efforts on the day.