Unfortunately we had another difficult week availability wise. We were due to have 9 players available on Thursday, up to 12 on Friday evening, and then ended up with 10 at kick off through no fault of the players in question. This coincided with the stodgiest pitch we have played on for years, which was extremely energy sapping against a full squad of 16 Weald players.

The boys put in a phenomenal effort to get us close to getting a result and we probably had the best chances in the game, but eventually it was a bridge too far.

Max deputised for Ed very ably in goal, pulling off at least one fantastic save; Mitch played out of position at LB and still managed to get an assist from one of his perfect corners, while Jake had an excellent debut on a surface that was totally detrimental to his dribbling style.

The two Toms and Will were excellent at the back, constantly facing very direct through balls and making almost always correct choices about whether to get tight or drop with their strikers. Ted and Jack worked tirelessly in the middle of the pitch - both will need massages tomorrow! Ben and Jake tried everything to support Sam, who stretched their defence up front on his own. A couple of good strikes from Ben almost got us a point (at least), but their keeper made a number of good saves one on one and we weren't quite able to finish our other chances - again not easy at all on a mud bath!

I know players are regularly having other Saturday morning commitments so we will look to add numbers to the squad to try and ensure we have 13 or more for each match - I feel that number is needed to give ourselves the best chance to compete, even if we run the risk of players having a little less game time on the odd Saturday when everyone happens to be able to play.

On to a big match at Hythe next Saturday.

Charing FC

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