Sullen faces atop of slow, trudging footsteps. A muted "3-cheers". A frosty atmosphere. All the tell-tale traits of a team that has just won 3-0 to maintain their 9 point lead at the top of the table. Confusing, yes!

Albury had absolutely dismantled Milford a few weeks ago, a performance that the Milford coach had audibly admired. Since then, Milford had put together an impressive run of form, getting good results against good teams. Before the game we warned our lads that we needed to be ready for a completely different game, and we were right. Milford, to their immense credit, did something that no other team has done this season: they wanted it more. From the word go, players that three weeks ago had been lacklustre, were playing as if their lives depended on it. They were first to every ball, they were strong in the tackle and got in our faces. We are usually the team that plays like this, and we didn't like it!

That's not to say that there weren't moments where our quality shone through. Noah Davies flashed a shot just wide in the opening minutes, as did Harvey Rush a few moments later. Daniel McGraw was his usual self, covering every blade of grass (and every inch of mud) on the pitch and for the most part, our defence of Harry Connelly, Gabe Fitzgerald, Greg Walker and Mackenzie Rose, marshalled the defence superbly, made more impressive on the fierce downhill slope of St.Peters.

Nevertheless, something was struggling to click. Our first touch was poor, we lacked composure and our passing was erratic, often panicking and playing the ball long for fear of being challenged by this energized Milford team. Too often, we opted to knock the ball up the middle, rather than keeping possession and using our width. We had encouraged our wingers to make use of the space, hugging the touchline, which they did well, with Josh Smith and Noah Davies understandably frustrated that the ball wasn't coming to them when they were in good positions. When the ball did make it out to Josh, he beat his man with a beautiful bit of skill and whipped in a delightful cross that unfortunately nobody attacked.

The introduction of Ivan Iduriaga into the centre of the midfield brought much needed improvement. We call him "el Tauro", (the bull) because he has the ability to outmuscle opponents and charge through teams when needed. We needed this today and he immediately stamped himself on the game and brought a bit of power, yet calmness to the midfield. This freed up Daniel McGraw a little, and he came up with the only defence-splitting pass of the half, allowing Daniel Egbe to finish calmly between the keepers legs. This settled the nerves slightly but MIlford's heads did not drop and they very nearly had an equaliser. Dexter Williams had to make a few good saves, and even gather a ball that had bounced just off the post. Half time was a relief.

Half-time
Albury 1-0 Milford

We had encouraged the boys to calm down a little, to increase the intensity, and to be a bit more creative in their passes and off-the-ball runs, but Milford, rather than being discouraged at being behind, maintained their high levels of intensity, and started the half brightly. A few times, only a last ditch tackle from Greg or Mac prevented an attack, and Harvey Rush made a critical interception. Under pressure, we struggled to keep possession, and our attacks were often rushed. Once again, there were positive moments. Will Parris had a good game on the left wing, interacting well with striker Daniel Egbe, to create a few chances. Josh Smith did superbly to battle his way onto a loose ball, just knicking the outside of the post with his shot.

But again, there were hairy moments. A Milford player flashed the ball across goal when he really should have scored and another hammered a shot against the crossbar. Dexter Williams made a couple of brilliant saves, and on one occasion faced about four shots in 10 seconds, such was the barrage of the Milford attack. We rode our luck.

But this is where quality players step up. Daniel Egbe has been immense this season and managed to control one of Gabe's humungous throws, turn and fire past the keeper for 2-0. He got his hat-trick shortly after, really taking the wind out of Milford, once again powering his way through the defenders to smash past the goalkeeper, another three fabulous goals for an unbelievably good player.

With the game won, Albury began to relax. Daniel Stovald lit up the midfield with a few delightful pieces of skill, Noah hit the crossbar with a thunderous strike (the oppo linesman admitted later that it went over the line he just didn't tell the referee, sigh) and Josh Smith forced a great save from the goalkeeper with a volley struck with beautiful technique.

This team finds ways to win. They are players full of quality, and though it wasn't on show for the full match today, they showed it in the moments that mattered. Scoring three goals and keeping a clean sheet is worth celebrating, even if the boys were struggling to show it on their faces!

Full Time:
Albury 3-0 Milford

Goals: Daniel Egbe x3

Pauls POTM: Daniel Egbe
Harry's POTM: Ivan Iduriaga & Dexter Williams

Coaches reflections:

1. Well done Milford. They really gave us a game. We need to be prepared to play more matches against opponents who really go for it. The boys were challenged today and they didn't like it. I need to find ways of motivating them and preparing them better for matches as I don't think I did that very well today. We were a bit complacent and our intensity wasn't as high as it should be, and I need to think about what I can do better to avoid that in the future.

2. There was a slightly negative atmosphere across the team today. Rather than fighting for each other, there was quite a bit of moaning and frustration. I need to be aware of this and find ways of keeping the team spirit high. I also need to be careful that my own frustrations at the way the match is going don't accidentally filter into the players through my body language and tone of voice.

3. The struggle today was largely to do with mentality. For some, complacency. For some, lack of confidence. For some, not enjoying the challenge. For some, interpreting coaching as criticism. I need to be aware that my coaching must be more than just technical and tactical: the psychological part of the game, resilience, being coachable, responding to set-backs, is just as important as being able to dribble, shoot and pass.

4. We seemed to panic on the ball. As much as I get moaned at when we work on our first-touch and passing, I need to return to it a bit in training, to instil the confidence and quick decision making with a ball at our feet.

5. I'm not sure how I feel about the reaction at the end of the game. While I am pleased to see the boys are not satisfied by the way they played, I got the impression that they didn't enjoy the game very much. For a team to be 9 points clear and winning 3-0, somethings not right there, and I think the buck falls to some extent with me. Football should be fun, win, lose or draw, and if it isn't fun, I'm failing at the most basic part!

Though it wasn't the best of games, it could not have been a better start to the season. Well done lads, we are so proud of every single one of you!