Allsop (Leci), Armstrong, McVeigh, Street, Buckley (Martin), Townsend, Stienebrunner (Schmidt), Nasir, Naidu (Shaw), Karaljevic (Pinz), Sejdic.

Another day; another match; another beautiful afternoon; another good pitch, another defeat to the SCC.

It may not be a question of simple belief these days – Hotspurs know that they are a match for anyone on their day. To a certain extent it comes down to technique, and to an even greater extent fitness and stamina, but the bottom line is that the SCC players were quicker of thought and deed, and deservedly took a 2 goal lead into the break.

Having said that, Hotspurs were responsible for their own demise – ceding possession too easily, when not giving the ball away outright. The game plan was right, even if the execution, on occasions, left something to be desired.

And having said that, had Hotspurs taken their chances (SCC had 3 in the first half, and scored from 2 of them) we could have been looking at a different score line. But that, as they say, is football.

Changes were rung at half-time, and Hotspurs put in a very spirited and committed second half performance – hitting the post twice, but invariably failing to turn a greater share of possession into goals. Inevitably there was another late SCC goal that made the match-up appear somewhat more lopsided than it was, but that, as they also say, is the way the cookie crumbles.

There is a temptation, of course, to go ‘back to basics’ at this juncture in the season, but the fact remains that Hotspurs played some good football, and occasionally deserved better than they got. For us, this campaign - as with our namesakes in the Barclays Premier League - is about bridging the gap between us and the Cosmoleague elite.

Let’s just say that it continues to be a work in progress, and leave it at that.

Plaudits for the referee who controlled the game well, let it flow, and didn’t dip into his pocket once. That is commendable for an encounter that has its share of history and can be a feisty affair. Good work Alex.