Punjab United picked up a valuable 3 points with a comprehensive victory over K Sports.

It was K Sports who started the match the stronger, Bradley Large looking lively from the off and he had the first real effort on goal in the thirteenth minute after a stray Punjab pass was intercepted and played into him, he could only manage to fire straight at Max Ovenden in goal when 1 on 1.

Ovenden, who despite the attacking prowess of Punjab’s performance was probably the outstanding performer on the night, was called upon 3 minutes later when a corner was half cleared and Flavius Petrisor sent a vicious volley goalwards. Ovenden showed cat like reflexes to get down to his left and palm the ball behind for a corner.

Large had another chance for the visitors soon after – latching on to a long ball down the channel, cutting in and being denied by a combination of post and Ovenden.

Punjab then opened the scoring against the run of play arguably. A corner from the right hand side was involved in a game of head tennis between the Punjab team, before it was finally sent into the roof of the net by forward Luke Adams. 1-0 to the home side who’d ridden their luck a little to this point.

Ovenden was still a busy man throughout the rest of the half, K Sports skipper Adam  Hooper had a go from range with just over half an hour gone with Ovenden tipping his effort over his crossbar. From the resulting corner, Bradley Large had another go and again Ovenden was equal to it and tipped his effort over the bar.

1-0 HT.

Punjab were further ahead 4 minutes after the restart. Jaydn Gildea tapping home at the second attempt after good work down the left hand side by Will Johnson-Cole to pick him out.

In reply to this K Sports mustered probably their best chance of the half when Large chased down a misplaced pass, outmuscled Diljit Boora and fired across goal, only to see the ball partied away again by Ovenden.

Punjab increases their advantage soon after when skipper George Goodwin fired off the inside of the left hand upright from the edge of the area, the ball trickling across to the far post (despite Kyle Mcleish’s efforts) to be met by Luke Adams who just about squeezed home for 3-0.

The home side now had a swagger about their play and skipper George Goodwin turned on the style for the 4th. He capped off an attacking move that had started deep in the Punjab half, he picked up the ball, turned his man superbly and slammed home at the near post with aplomb – the goal of the match. At this point tempers were beginning to fray among the K Sports players, and views were exchanged after this goal.

Gildea completed the scoring with 3 minutes of normal time remaining, the ball being spread wide to him on the left flank and his cross being fumbled into his own net by McLeish in goal. Probably not a moment he’ll want to be reminded of in future.

5-0 FT

Punjab were deserved winners after a slow start and really got into their stride in the last twenty minutes of the match. They responded in style from the heavy defeat by Beckenham last weekend.

Punjab: Ovenden, Beattie (Okundalaiye 70), Ratcliffe, Boora, Mbola, Suman, Gildea, Cuthbert (Falade 76), Adams (Badbhagi 74),Goodwin (C), Johnson-Cole

Subs: Okundalaiye, Jarrett, Clarke, Falade, Badbhagi

Scorers: Adams (28,64) Gildea (50,87) Goodwin (72)

Booked: Cuthbert (43) Adams (67)

K Sports: McLeish, Carcory, Montgomery, Lewis, Hooper (C)(Frazier-Osunkoya 64),Foreman, Petrisor, Newton (O’Connor 44), Large (Jackson 76), White, Killick

Subs: Frazier-Osunkoya, Abbott, O’Connor, Gooding, Jackson

Scorers: None

Booked: Lewis (79) O’Connor (81)

Referee: Ryan Chanterill-Smith

Attendance: 61