Leci, Schmidt, Armstrong, McVeigh, Street (Shaw), Binns, Townsend, Pinz (Talib), Naidu, Karaljevic (Childs), Loney.

Football was the winner at Dempsey Field on Saturday. Which is just as well, seeing as neither the Hotspurs nor the Casuals were.

It was a draw, you see…hard-fought, fiercely-contested, and lots of other pairs of words that could be linked together with a hyphen. Or maybe-not.

If, as last week’s match report suggested (it’s in black and white on the website, so it must be true) the Hotspurs this season are looking to bridge the gap between themselves and the generally-acknowledged Cosmoleague elite, then one would have to say that this game was a step in the right direction.

The Casuals are perennially difficult to beat; invariably play as a team; and are always there or thereabouts for the title come the end of the season. It wasn’t difficult to see why in the opening exchanges of this game, that saw them put together some smooth passing moves and retain possession well – their trademark.

Having said that, neither side appeared to have too much penetration up front, which is a little odd bearing in mind that the Casuals boast the league’s top scorer in the form of the prolific, surprisingly-tight-shorted, Dom Mooney.

There was an overall lack of quality in the final third from both teams, which is why it was no surprise at all to see Hotspurs go one down on 20 minutes, when we allowed Mooney a square inch of space for him to exploit. I’m sure the toe-poke finish will not rank among Dom’s finest, but it was probably the only shot on target from both teams in the opening 45 minutes (there was a free-kick from the Casuals as well, but Mal may not want to re-live that one).

Hotspurs’ match-day squad was depleted in the absence of two ‘no shows’ – Esad with a testicular strain (or two), and Aran with…we still don’t know, and indeed may never know. Aran can be a bit like God on occasions. He moves in mysterious ways (on and off the field), and his existence is difficult to either confirm or deny. Some of us believe in him; others think of him as an existential construct – the perception of which is based on quantum physics and is, therefore, inherently random. 

It meant that we had only three substitutes on a blisteringly hot day and on a dry pitch that was starting to take its toll as the second half progressed.

Much credit must go to Jimmy, Azlan and Phil for making such a huge impact after their respective introductions, and strengthening the team in certain parts of the field. It’s gratifying to see the squad working well – everyone desperate to start, but accepting the roles they may have to play when called upon.

Phil, on debut, got us back on terms with what appeared to be a 25 yard toe-poke. It followed a pretty decent move, and Hotspurs genuinely felt that we could go on to win the game, while the Casuals would have had similar aspirations.

It resulted in a tense last 20, but again, neither side troubled the keeper(s) – although Dez troubled himself by doing something unspeakable to his knee…again - and 1-1 was how it ended.

All in all, an excellent game of football, played in a very good spirit, and well handled, for the most part, by the referee. On the run of play and chances created, Hotspurs, arguably, shaded it, but a draw against the mighty Casuals is never going to be a bad result.

Plaudits go to each and every Hotspur for endeavour, commitment, passion and the requisite degree of discipline. This was a good team performance. Special mention though must go to our MOTM Daniel Schmidt who performed superbly at right back. Precious little got past him; his distribution was good; he made some fine surging runs from the back, and didn’t stop working for 90 minutes. Dan has had to be patient and bide his time in terms of getting starts for the team, but has proved his worth and given a tidy kick up the backside to the Gaffer. There’s only one word to describe his attitude (as well as his performance on Saturday). Exemplary.

Perhaps one or two other member of the Hotspurs squad should make note of the exemple (sic).