A tough afternoon for the Pumas with players taken ill, injured or away leaving the team with 11 only for our home game with Blackstones. Players were asked to play in different positions and keep our shape as much as possible. Credit to all of them in their effort and support in playing together as a team and keeping positive even with no substitutes.

We started slowly allowing the opposition the chance to take control early and put our backline under pressure right from the start and Jack was unlucky to have his first touch picking the ball out of the net after some good work on the right from the attacking player. Fernando was having to work hard in a strange central defensive position and both he and Edward worked hard on keeping the backline as together as possible which was always a challenge when playing in a different shape than usual.

After some initial problems the pumas started to take control on the match with Tai getting some great breaks down the right and getting in behind their full back on more than a few occasions. He was also a constant menace to their goalkeeper from their goal kicks and had a chance to equalise soon after falling behind. Tai controlled the ball well and looked to hit it early and saw he shot go just wide of the goal.

Nick and I had asked for constant pressure and some width on the ball, so after switching Tyler onto the right and Tai into a more central role we looked to have a better balance to our team. Christian was tireless upfront, continually putting the defence under pressure and forcing mistakes and turning the ball over to get our attacks under way. That pressure ultimately paid dividends after some good work by Curran in the centre and good running down the left from Stevie, saw the ball fall to Christian at the edge of the box for a looping shot which beat the keeper to equalise for the Pumas. The first half finishing 1-1 with lots of Pumas possession.

Looking to push on in the second half and with the wind at our backs we started slowly again and invited pressure from Blackstones again. A lack of composure in defence and a failure to get the ball clear left the attack with a clear chance to score which they didn't miss. 1-2 to Blackstones.

In what was a carbon copy of the first half, the Pumas started to get back into the game with some great passing from Curran in the centre of the pitch good pressure on the ball from our back four with Edward and Ewen getting some great tackles in and moving the ball up the field early for our attackers.

Oner of Edwards breaks out of defence lead to a corner and some pressure on the defence eventually saw the ball break to Christian who bagged his second of the game after his initial effort was saved by the keeper. 2-2.

Pumas tails were well and truly up at this point and they were looking hard to get a breakthrough and the winner. Pumas had 80% of the possession at this point and apart from a couple of breaks which were handled well by Fernando, Josh, Ewan and Edward, Pumas looked like the most likely to get the next goal.

Christian was everywhere upfront, chasing down lost balls and tackling their defenders which force Blackstones deeper and deeper, really feeling the pressure. After a few close efforts from Tai and Edward, Puma eventually got the ball in behind the defence down the right and deliver a great cross for a great finish for Christian to complete his hat trick! Pumas lead 3-2.

Now we looked to push on and seal the win and Tyler came close from another cross, this time from the left hand side. It was only a few minutes later that Tyler took a strong tackle and went down clutching his left knee. Unfortunately he wasn't able to continue leaving 10 min the pitch for the last 6 minutes. A quick change saw Christian move to the right of midfield and Tai being the attacking force from midfield. Time to lock down the hatches and grind out the result.

Some great tackling and clearing out from defence handled the extra possession that the opposition were now getting. Tai then ran onto a ball in behind their defence and was one on one with the keeper who made a great save and kept them in the game.

At full time the lads clearly had put everything into the game and that's all anyone can ask. Nick and I were especially pleased with how hard all worked together and Christians man of the match performance epitomised a great effort by all. Go Pumas!!!!!