Report:

Game 1.
The Village rejoined the Champion Soccer League at Pensby School and were placed in the top Division in the Monday League and for the opening week they were up against the Champions Real Birkenhead. With a new look squad that saw Adam Coulls, Mike Neish, Tom Wells(TT) and Tom Briggs join the 5 regulars in Jay, Matty, Josh, Ash and Jake they found themselves with 3 subs and this allowed them to keep swapping the players during the game and keep fresh. A tentative opening the saw Real open the scoring but then the Village came in to it and got a deserved equaliser from TT and up to half time they looked the more likely to score again as Mike went the closest. The second half saw Real take the lead again and when they got a third shortly after they probably thought that was it but a second from TT after a good move made it a nervous end to the game for the champs. However the Village ran out of time in their search for an equaliser and the Real had won but knew they had been given a tough opening match in their quest to retain their title.
Team Line-up: Hill(J), Coulls, Bain, Twells, Hill(M), Dunroe, Briggs, Neish, McNamara

Game 2.
Week 2 and the Village got their first win under their belt. With no Ash or Jake they still had 7 available and it was soon obvious they looked the better side especially after Josh's early shot had crashed against the
bar. Eventually the opening goal came when TT curled in his third of the season and when Briggs hit home a fine effort just before the interval they were well in control. Jay was never really troubled in goal but at the start of the second half he had to make a fine flying save. Then Maroney scored when the Village failed to clear but Mike settled the nerves with a fine solo effort before it looked as though Matty had wrapped things up but his effort hit a post. Then more indecision again by the Village allowed Maroney to score a second just before the end but with no more further incident in the remaining seconds the side had gained thier opening win.
Team Line-up: Hill(J), Coulls, Twells, Hill(M), Dunroe, Briggs, Neish

Game 3.
Having just played 90 minutes for the 11-a-side team, 5 of the lads then came and played another 35 mins in game 3 of the 6-a-side. Having won their first match the previous week they now played the bottom team Wolfpack but knew they would still have to put in a stint to win the match. Tiredness showed early on as they let in a sloppy opening goal and then a fluke second to find themselves 0-2 down. However when Matty drilled in a fine effort for their opener they equalised just before half time with a neat toe poke from Mike. They dominated the secone half as goals from Josh and Briggs gave them a 4-2 lead but with only a few minutes left they let in a third and it meant that Mike had to net his second to calm the nerves and give them a 5-3 win.
Team Line-up: Hill(J), Coulls, McNamara, Hill(M), Dunroe, Briggs, Neish

Game 4.
Not much to say about this game apart from the side had 10 players to choose from and that was without the injured Josh but no one really shone here. It was difficult to juggle the 10 players in trying to get everyone on but all 4 goals were from mistakes by the Village. They did enjoy a fair amount of the game at the start of the second half when 0-2 down but couldn't convert their chances and when they let in a third form a breakaway it was all over. Time to forget this one and move on to next week.
Team Line-up: Hill(J), Coulls, Hill(M), Twells, Briggs, Neish, McNamara, Mobbs, Bain, Harper

Game 5.
The Village got back to giving their opponents a match this week as they fought for every ball and generally played much better. They kept the team in second spot quiet for the opening minutes and then took the lead when Briggs' shot went under the keeper. However despite being the side that was forcing the issue they fell behind to two sucker breakaways before the interval to trail 1-2 at half time. They kept pushing in the second half and their quest was helped when a Hoylake player got sent off for a bad tackle on Adam and the majority of the rest of the game was spent in their half apart from a few breakaways. However when the equaliser did come it was from a breakaway of their own as Adam sent Mike clear and he tucked the ball home for the equaliser. They tried for a winner but Hoylake held firm but the Village were still pleased with the point and more importantly the performance.
Team Line-up: Hill(J), Coulls, Bain, Hill(M), Dunroe, Briggs, Neish, Mobbs

Game 6.
With several players missing the Village drafted in Billy Devey to help them out and he played a blinder. In fact with Mike unable to pick up Adam, the side would start the game with only 5 players as Steve went and picked Adam up and rushed back to the pitch. By the time they got there (less than 10 mins after KO) the Village were already one up as Billy weaved his magic, beat several players and fired home. With Jay keeping out the opposition at the other end things were made easy once Adam turned up and they qucikly doubled their advantage as Josh fired in from range for 2-0. The second half saw the Village play some neat move and pass football, found the Hawking's goalie in fine form and had to settle for just 3 more goals. Adam fired in number 3 and then Billy scored a great volley before Adam finished it off with another fierce drive. A good all round team performance and a win that lifts them up to fourth in the table.
Team Line-up: Hill(J), Coulls, Devey, Hill(M), Dunroe, Briggs