Just wanted to say that today I saw one of the best performances that I have ever seen from a Hurst team - and I've by now seen quite a few.

In Purley Jubilee, we faced a tough and physically strong team and we definitely gave as strongly as we got. But I was really impressed with the support that the team gave to each other. When one lad went in for a tackle, there was always someone covering behind to make sure that there was no scope for them getting past us. There was constant pressure on them, forcing mistakes and some brilliant passing play that split their defence, baffled their midfield and gave their attack little time on the ball.

When we went 1-0 down after less than one minute, I thought, oh no here we go, we're in for a thrashing, but that was the last time that they were truly in front. We were composed throughout and had the majority of the possession and the chances on goal - 2-1 to us was a good score, but we could have been a lot further in front.

Even on the sidelines, we were having a go and their coach came close to a real ear-bashing (negatively commenting on the opposition is crossing the line - especially when the kid is on the ground receiving attention).

By the middle of the second half, you could see that their heads had dropped and their coach had become quite mute - had he had a towel, it would have been thrown in.

It was a great team performance and each one of our lads made a vital contribution - I struggled to identify my man of the match and was glad that that was a coaches responsibility - it could have gone to any of them and all of them.

Well done to all and a special thank you to Liam - there are times on a Thursday night when you can see him thinking - "Why am I doing this?" - but after today, I'm sure that all of the parents there will see that it is worth it and Liam's devotion to the team is paying off (and my thanks to him for his time and patience).

Come on the Hurst!

Andy