AFC Walpole Reserve Team 6 vs 2 AFC Ely

After dominating the first 20 minutes of the match, Ely were countered from an attacking corner and Walpole's striker managed to shoulder off a challenge from the Ely centreback and slot home.

A few minutes later, two of Walpole's midfielders sandwiched Ely captain Tom Hunter in a robust challenge, with the resulting collision seeing him sent tumbling, and the off balance tacklers landing studs down both arms. One of which resulted in multiple fractures to his wrist and deep gashes down his arm.

At this point, Manager John James had to leave to take the injured player to A&E, and the disruption to the shape must've had some impact on the next phase of the game, with Ely conceding another 4 before the manger was able to return from Wisbech.

Vice Captain Tommy Faulkner stepped up and subbed himself off to run the team from the sidelines also taking the halftime talk. A lot of grit and determination was showed, and if Ely were more clinical, the result could've been different.

Some positives to take from the game were 90 minutes for a few players who've struggled to get gametime recently, a solid debut from Oscar Suarez Friend, and an excellent attitude till the dying minute.

Focus on finishing and attacking phases is needed at training this week.

With a third game in a row with no official ref allocated, player safety is starting to become a concern, as two of those matches have seen injuries as a result of bad challenges.