Sometime in the last eleven months the Casuals lost their mojo: that ability to nick a late goal; win games without playing well; benefit from that extra bit of luck; pull without trying.  These characteristics were all evident during the Vikings Casuals encounter in March when we scored the winner with the last kick of the game, without having played particularly well, and with a goal that another ref could quite easily have disallowed.  Yet we knew that the goal was going to come.  Rumour has it Huw didn't even need his lucky pulling pants that evening.  Almost a year later and whilst the core of the team remains the same, the traits and belief required to win consistently have dwindled remarkably, and Huw has resorted to witchcraft.

Suggestions of an ageing team, a lack of fitness and better quality opposition have been proposed as reasons behind the decline, all of which have their merits.  But whatever the cause, at some point there has been a Tipping Point, and when it happened our mojo slipped right down the Boat Quay Harry's staircase and banged its head on every step.

Fortunately, however, even without the assistance of our fickle chi, we aren't a bad side.  Saturday saw a hard-fought game between two good teams, both of which were able to play some decent football on a dust bowl at ITE Simei.  Vikings edged the early stages, culminating in a goal from a penalty after Tommie Sorensen was eventually brought down during one of his elusive runs.  Vikings also created other chances with balls knocked back from the byline whilst Casuals best efforts of the half fell to Mad Dave with a powerful yet misdirected header, Neil who flashed wide and Franny who volleyed at the keeper.

Casuals increased the urgency in the second half by keeping play moving and getting the ball back on the field quickly (no mean feat on pitches surrounded by running tracks).  Tom shot wide when he should have done better before increased pressure down the left resulted in a long throw from Ross R, a bounce in the box and Ross L directing his header beyond the keeper.  Mal had a great chance to add to his goal tally but couldn't find the finish after superbly controlling on his chest to create the opportunity.  Paul, who will no doubt be back to his pre-Christmas, pre-nuptial best in a few weeks, had a free kick tipped over and with the last kick of the game Tom volleyed from distance but the ball bounced just wide and with it went any lingering hope that Casuals could emulate the finish from March.