Undefeated Balham march on

Leatherhead 1 Balham 6

Leatherhead must be sick of the sight of a rampant second-half Balham side. For the second week running, the Whites destroyed their opponents with a dominant last 40 minutes. As it stands, the boys are top of the league with 22 goals scored in five matches, and only three conceded. A group of four appear to be splitting from the rest: Reigate, Colliers Wood and Carshalton - all opponents we have yet to face.

Even a lie-in didn't help our opponents. A 2 PM kick-off was an unusual Sunday experience, but it did not take long for the Whites to start off as they finished last week. On a narrow pitch, Wilbur's corner was spilled by the keeper as AJ nudged the ball in after three minutes. For the next 15 minutes, Balham were entirely dominant and should have extended their lead. Damian, playing in an unfamiliar right wing position due to injuries, floated a lovely cross over but Jude's header was comfortably saved. Wilbur's excellent run down the left showed great skill but Damian could not quite convert the chance.

There was an unnecessarily sloppy period from Balham, which thankfully was an oddity across the match. All of a sudden, the boys stopped passing crisply, started playing aimless long balls and showed a lack of positional discipline. From one of those moments, the home side broke to a diminished defence and the striker rifled a superb left foot finish home.

The rest of the half was a ding-dong affair and both sides could have gone ahead. Wilbur's free-kick was touched on to the bar, a deja-vu from last week, but straight from this the Greens rapidly broke and smashed a shot against the post themselves. Whilst Jude nearly caught out the advancing keeper with the last play of the half, the boys needed to get in for a half-time chat.

Balham were entirely dominant in the second half, with several early chances. AJ prodded a shot over after his tenacity got him the chance in the first place, Jude's left-foot shot was well saved, as was Luke's fine effort. With the pressure growing, it looked inevitable that the Whites would score, and so they did with a precise left-foot finish from Jude playing in an unfamiliar role on the left in the second half. The third came shortly afterwards, an absolutely wonderful team goal where Balham swept from one end of the pitch to the other in seconds. Damian and Dylan combined brilliantly on the right to square the ball to Luke, who finished expertly into the far corner giving the keeper no chance.

It looked like the game was won with the boys pressing for more. Jude's free-kick curled menacincly towards the top corner but the keeper saved, and Igor's header was inches over from Alex's dangerous corner. It did require an excellent block from Chris though to prevent an unlikely goal with some great steel and determination. Similarly, Damian headed clear superbly from the resulting corner.

The last fifteen minutes were played almost entirely in the opposition's half and the boys repaed the rewards. Jude's shot was well saved by the keeper, but the defender handled the rebound. George stroked the penalty home superbly for a 4-1 lead. Shortly afterwards, Jude slotted home for our fifth after AJ set him up. With Max back on for the last few minutes, his speed was causing chaos down the right, including a wonderful run which Luke could not quite finish off. Their keeper continued to put himself on the line, saving superbly from Max from a couple of yards out. George converted the loose ball expertly and the Whites were 6-1 up.

It has been a fantastic start to the season for the boys, with 22 goals in 5 matches and only 3 conceded. Attention turns to the Cups for the next matches, with a tough-looking match next week against Premier Elite opposition in the SYL Cup.