Hotspurs 4 Nippon 2

Good team spirit; four decent goals; some excellent debuts; three points.

Those are the positives to be taken from Hotspurs’ opening day win over Nippon at Dempsey Field, although by the end of the match everyone in the Spurs’ squad knew that they had been in a game.

Much credit goes to the Nippon team for their tireless running and seemingly inexhaustible reserves of energy, but Hotspurs had a little bit extra on the day, and ran out deserved winners.

Joe Lyons, on his debut, got us off to a flying start after only 7 minutes with a surging run from midfield and a deft assist from Esad Sejdic that opened up the Nippon defence, allowing Joe to slot home with ease.

It served as a wake up call for Nippon who created some clear-cut chances of their own – Robert Graskoski (also on debut) pulling off a stunning save to deny them midway through the first half.

Nippon were well in the game at this point, and it was to Hotspurs' intense relief that we managed to double our lead on the half-hour mark – Marko Karaljevic picking up the pieces from a set piece to nod home, slightly against the run of play.

Nippon were back in the game though, just 4 minutes later. Hotspurs lost possession in midfield, and a lightning break saw their striker smash home from 18 yards.

The remainder of the half saw Spurs spurn a couple of excellent chances – with Abbas Saad (another debutant) and Mike Byrne left holding their heads and wringing their hands – which is a neat trick if you can do it at the same time.

It was a satisfactory first half for a new-look Hotspurs side deploying a new formation, but there were warning signs, and early in the second half Nippon got back on level terms after a slightly fortuitous goal.

Robert was unable to continue in goal due to a hip injury and his legs looking like uncooked pizza after his exertions at the Windmill Cup (the pitches were bitches) and the substitute keeper could only parry a raking drive, allowing a Nippon striker to score.

This was the turning point of the game.

In previous seasons, Hotspurs sides would have become nervous and tentative and lost their shape, but on the day, we buckled down, continued to try to play good football, and got our reward just a few minutes later – Joe on the end of an Abbas free-kick for a relatively easy far post header.

Hotspurs restored their 2 goal cushion with the goal of the game shortly afterwards – Abbas again the creator, Esad steaming in at the far post for an excellent controlled volley.

Despite Nippon continuing to push forward and never giving up, the Spurs back line held firm, and some fresh legs in the forms of Ally Loney, James Shaw, Dan Bennett and Florian Pinz ensured that we took it through to the final whistle.

It was a solid if unspectacular start to the season, but there are some very encouraging signs. The players making their debuts slotted in very well and will prove to be great assets to the team as the season progresses. Also pleasing was the talent we had to come off the bench.

Special mention to Joe for an outstanding contribution on his first outing in a Hotspurs shirt, and Abbas who had a hand in 3 of the goals, but the captain's pick for our MOTM is Bruce Loggie who didn't put a foot wrong at left back; distributed well; and didn’t try to nutmeg anyone in nearly 80 minutes of football. An astonishing performance.

Many thanks to Nippon for a competitive game played in a very good spirit. If they continue to play as well as they did in this match, they will have a good season.

Plaudits too to the referee who wasn't 'outstanding' – but in a good way. He encouraged play to flow, kept control throughout, and seemed to be enjoying himself as much as the players. This is how it should be. Thanks.