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[the Toe]

The pitch was bone dry, the sun was beating down, water holes were dry and the vultures were circling. That was the situation as we waited to start on our FA Cup road to the National Stadium.

After Saturday's intense training session, we felt good, especially as the opposition hadn't turned up and it looked as if we were going through on a no show.

Then they arrived. Twenty two, young, fit, enthusiastic young men, kitted out in a spanking new Spurs strip.

Standing still, a minute before kick off, we felt pretty confident but as soon as the whistle blew , the agony started. We held them for what seemed like an age but it was more like 15 minutes but then they broke our lines and scored. Soon after they added another.
Heat exhaustion was taking its toll on the fat and skinny alike but we continued to run our hearts , lungs and sweat glands out. Half time arrived and it felt like Christmas had come. Subs were required but unfortunately FA rules prevented us from swapping the whole team. The 11 that had come off marched bravely back on the pitch. The second half was never going to be pretty. After 15 minutes, fresh legs came on but it was too late to stem the tide. Pure guts just weren't enough and by the end we had lost by seven.

I haven't mentioned any individuals as I feel that it would be unfair to single out any one man. The whole team played like lions but it wasn't enough. Thank the Lord that we all survived to fight another day!

Martyn