After the minute's silence, perfectly observed by both teams, the match was a great spectacle from start to finish.

We knew this would be a close match given the previous results of both teams and that prediction proved correct. It was a tight match and really could have gone either way. We might have been playing a girls team, but make no mistake, this was a team that was technically better than some of the boys teams we have played. They were organised, physically strong and full of running.

Before the game we underlined that it was important the boys played as they do in any other game and to their credit they did just that. It isn't easy playing against girls at this level, an unusual experience for sure. Charlton started strongly and it was clear that we had our work cut out. Had their finishing been better we could have gone behind early on and found ourselves chasing the game. We did however, concede a penalty, which Charlton failed to convert.

Charlton then scored after sustained pressure and went into half time 1-0 up. By then, we had grown into the game and were looking forward to the second half. It was a great battle with end-to-end football and it was surprising that more goals didn't follow. We had to defend with some last ditch tackles but were posing a threat ourselves. We couldn't quite manage any clear cut chances but could have had a penalty which the referee didn't give when Jack went over in the box. That was however his only questionable decision as he was generally excellent and a big improvement on last week's imposter.

Sadly we couldn't get that equaliser to take us into extra time and a chance of making the Nickle Trophy final. The boys worked hard today and were excellent in both attitude and performance.

Sam & Michael shared GK duties and made some very good saves
Daniel and Luke were strong in defence making some excellent tackles
Freddie, where does he get his energy from?
Jack, always a goal threat and deserved to score
Dominic, lively and showed some good touches in a rare spell out of goal
Henry, played through the pain to give us strength and presence
Max, stronger today and gaining in confidence

When we came together in the Summer, we wanted to create a squad that had great spirit, played as a team and encouraged each other. Nobody epitomises that attitude better than Ryan B who always gives 100% and listens carefully. When he's a substitute he always watches the game and encourages the team. He worked hard when he came on, making some good tackles and playing a very disciplined role on the right side of midfield.

So, this week's star player is Ryan B. Much deserved not just for this game but throughout the season. Well done Ryan.