Cardinal Newman 3 vs 4 Collegiate

After a draw and a defeat against Sacre Coeur in the opening two games of the season, Newman were hoping that their splendid new red kit would herald the beginning of a red-hot run of form. Collegiate arrived at Sudley on the back of two defeats and confidence was high that they'd be sent home empty handed once more.

Despite Newman bossing the opening 25 minutes, it was the men in yellow who struck first, and then proceeded to move up a gear or two, firing in a second just before half-time.

The Reds gathered themselves during the break and came out a different side to the one that had crumbled in those final 15 minutes of the first half, but were stunned by an awful penalty decision, which Collegiate duly dispatched.

At 3-0, it seemed all over. But Shaun Smith, having disembarked a flight from Orlando only hours before kick-off, had other ideas and thrust Newman back into the match with a stunning double. Unfortunately, the stand-in striker found himself back on another rollercoaster ride as a defensive mix-up gifted the opposition a second penalty. Paul Watters managed to get a hand to it this time, but the ball wriggled past him and over the line. Despite Smithy completing a wonderful hattrick, and a late bombardment on the Collegiate goal, the game ended in another disappointing defeat.