Team Carpy succumbed to their first league loss of the season on Sunday as it became a game of two halves quite literally.

Carpy named a strong side to face Tamar View a team building on previous seasons and including some of their first team players to ensure they took all three points. The game started brightly for us in the grey sky’s overhead. We played some neat football only to go 1-0 down from a rare error from Daz Kearney - their striker already on 18 goals for the season pounced on the chance and rounded Rhys Quirke starting in goal for his first appearance of the season. It was against the run of play and we quickly come back with some energetic play to grab an equaliser, David Barrowdale seizing on an opportunity to score a nice goal to level 1-1.

The game changed …. Suddenly we couldn’t get hold of the ball, numerous touches went without challenge as Tamar settled into the game. With a relatively easy goal clearance the ball somehow scuffed off of the goalkeeper’s boot to nestle in the centre of the goal after a back pass went horribly wrong …. 2-1 – Another mistake, we make life so hard for ourselves sometimes.

With an almost perfect start we faded into mediocrity and conceded another sloppy goal from a corner, warned about the wind, the curve and their striker even told us where he was putting it, at one point five players lined up to take a shot on goal unmarked …. Go with your men gentlemen, basics! 3-1

With the side 3-1 down, we played pockets of good football, but rarely threatening their goal, long pot shots and some missed headers cut a frustrating first half, as we conceded again to make it 4-1 going into the break.

With our wingers not really getting into the game, the gaffer made some changes, on came Ben Sunderland and Miles Hunt to shore up the centre and try and get us going again, after some words of encouragement the lads seemed to put a bit more into the game, it flowed, and it was scrappy, but we kept them at bay.

James Smith did some excellent defensive work as their 20-goal striker kept switching sides to complicate the game, he didn’t score again.

We won a free kick about 25 yards from goal after some neat work from the midfield, we needed to create something and up stepped Sunderland to finish his trade mark strike, what a goal !!! a fabulous strike to make it 4-2 with 15 mins to go …. could it happen?

No – as we searched for another we almost forgot about our defensive duties as we pushed on, to be fair the gaffer could have pelted them with instructions but we were hit on the counter and they scored one final goal 5-2. It was a funny game, we never really got going and I felt we looked intimidated as soon as they scored, if we learn to keep doing what we were doing in the first ten mins, it was working, and we made errors, errors that if avoided would have changed the outcome of the game.

We need to be more ruthless, more challenging and stick a head on a ball!

Not a great game, but we go again as the saying goes – Man of the match was Damo Cowell for his excellent defensive duties and his easy football ……

Up the crusaders!