Where to start. Saturday was all a bit of a whirlwind to be honest.

Both sides welcomed the Champions to Holcombe Park on Saturday evening. Both of those Champions beat us on the way to their respective Championships’ last April; the men lost in the semi-final whilst our women fell at the final hurdle.

Needless to say there was more on this than just points.

Coming into the contest a point ahead of Surbiton, there was a real sense of belief and opportunity, especially given the fantastic defensive record we’d set out in the opening four games.

Em’s early strike and some great defensive work in the opening exchanges really gave us a positive platform and if it wasn’t for a scrappy second phase goal from a corner breakdown then we could have gone in at the break ahead.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t convert any of our great chances in the second half but more importantly, couldn’t maintain the defensive levels we’d set ourselves to keep them out at the other end.

It’s a frustrating loss under the circumstances but the girls remain really positive. With how tight the early season table is, the girls have fallen to fifth but remain only two points off the top.

It’s always a tough challenge at Clifton and next weekend will be no exception.

For us, the defending Champions had a 100% record for a reason. They showed that in the opening half hour and I’d be lying if I said we didn’t ride our luck a bit in that phase as they hit the post twice.

From then on though, we stepped our game up and took care of business. It’s a big win in the context of a tough fortnight against both of last years’ finalists but, more importantly, it keeps us in the mix as the league begins to take shape.

Saturday was a lot of fun and shows us the level we’re capable of as a group. This year has been billed as a bit of a ‘rebuild’ by some considering the number of players that we lost in the off-season.

All Saturday showed is that we can mix it with the best and any excuses of a ‘rebuild’ are simply that from now on; excuses.

Picture supplied by Grout Photography.