Greensleeves gave The Chicken Kievs a good battering but made a bit of a meal of it.
The boys in Green made one change from their previous game, with Steve deputising for Eddie in goal.
The first half started brightly. Sam crashed a shot against the bar after a minute and another couple of shots flashed across the Kievs' goal. Some resolute and determined defending from the Kievs kept the scores level for a while, but an opener was always coming. Josh played the ball wide to Matt, who took a touch and fired a firm shot towards goal. The direction wasn't the best but it had enough on it to get through The Kievs keeper, who was not to have a particularly fine evening. 1-0.
The pressure continued from the kick off. The lead was doubled almost immediately. Greensleeves regained the ball and it found its way to Josh on the right. He got to the byline and put in a great cross for Dave who slid the ball home. 2-0.
Greensleeves were in control, but sloppiness crept into their game, and gave the Kievs impetus. Steve was called into action, and a goalmouth scramble ended up with Kievs hitting the post.
This was perhaps the wake up call Greensleeves needed. Sam won a corner, and, with the Kievs defence sleeping, whipped the ball in. Matt was on hand to smash home. 3-0.
Added gloss was put on the half-time scoreline as Josh continued his goalscoring streak. He picked up the ball from some distance, and hit what can only be described as a tame strike towards goal. This did not stop the Kievs keeper making a total mess of it, however. The ball squirmed through the keepers legs as he attempted to save it, and dribbled over the line. 4-0
The second half kicked off, and Greensleeves went straight for the jugular. Josh zipped the ball in to Matt, who slipped it into Dave. Dave was in on goal and made the finish look easy as he stroked the ball home. 5-0
The scoring didn't stop there. Kievs took resulting the kick off. Matt steamed in to intercept a square pass, ran in on goal and slotted home to complete his hat-trick. 6-0.
So, with barely half the game gone, it was 6-0. The opportunity was there for Greensleeves to really show what they could do but instead they got complacent. Pass after pass went astray and they failed to really click into gear. They were lucky not to concede a goal or two. A poor square ball from Matt let in a Kievs striker who hit the bar. Another scramble ensued when the 'sleeves defence failed to clear. The Kievs were buoyant, and further encouraged by the referee failing to clamp down on some really poor tackles they made when Greensleeves did finally get some control of the ball.
Greensleeves picked up their game somewhat towards the end, Josh and Dave both hit the woodwork after good football.
A fine through ball from Josh found Matt in the closing stages, who took advantage of a hesitant keeper and clipped home. 7-0.
There was still time for a Kievs consolation, which, in all honesty, they probably deserved. Their striker made the most of poor marking, and to his credit, finished well. 7-1.
The final whistle signalled a big win for the Green Army, but they only played in patches here, and will need to sharpen for next week's game, against their traditional rivals The Dugout.
'Sleeves should now top the table but a high-level dispute involving a 20 pence piece has left them without the points from their first match. The matter should be resolved with the bigwigs at the Pitch Invasion FA this week.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Josh. Whilst no-one really played to their potential, Josh laid on 3 goals for team mates and was the creative hub of the team tonight.
STAT OF THE MATCH: Josh has now scored in 4 consecutive games.
