As expected a very competitive and closely fought game, although at one point it looked like Sloane would really run away with it!

The opportunity to play in front of a crowd as part of the Middlesex League ground hop programme was eagerly accepted by both teams, although it meant an early start with an 11 o’clock kick off!

Copland started well, managing to move the ball neatly through the team at times. Although with little end product! Then through overconfidence the Copland defence took too long to deal with a long punt from the Sloane defence following a Copland corner. The Sloane captain put pressure on the attempted clearance and with a strong possibility of hand ball as he challenged for the ball, which fell neatly to enable him to round the keeper and play the ball into the unguarded goal. This meant that Sloane went into the break in the ascendancy.

The second half began with Sloane defending a lot deeper attempting to utilise their counterattack with balls over the top or into the channels. Coupled with some unusual hesitancy amongst the Copland defenders which allowed Sloane to extend their lead to three nil.

Melford Simpson on his full debut managed to continue to cause the Sloane defence continual problems even with the suspect tactics deployed against him to open Copland’s account. Following a long throw Melford managed to get himself on the end of the ball that wasn’t dealt with to calmly finish.

Just as Copland sensed that there maybe something for them in the game Sloane broke again to extend their lead to 4-1. Whilst there was a danger of Copland allowing their heads to drop they upped their intensity and made sure that they harried the Sloane defenders who panicked under the pressure. Also moving the ball better and quicker helped to utilise their superior passing ability.

Following yet another free-kick as Sloane sought to stop any momentum developed by various Copland players through foul play Darren Ailey sent a delightful ball into the area that Aaron Silcott finished superbly with a strong header! 4-2, with 10 minutes to play!

Copland mixed their game up and sent a long ball forward as they were chasing the game for Melford Simpson to poke the ball past the keeper, underlining his nomination for their Man of the Match. At 4-3 Sloane were desperate for the final whistle and the lack time enabled them to complete a hard fought victory.

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Hi... a match report from us!

A beautiful spring morning saw the first ever ground hop for Sloane fc. The players were up for the challenge of facing top of the league, Copland, a team they had previously beaten in the division 1 cup. A crowd of 140 turned up to watch what proved to be a very tight game.

Sloane started off very nervously with Copland taking advantage of any loose ball however not taking advantage of the football in the final 3rd. It wasnt until the final stages of the first half that Sloane got the ball on the deck and realised they could pressure and pass around Coplands midfield. It was that pressure that let to an opportunity for skipper Reece Crisp to charge down a suspect clearance and round the keeper for Sloane's 1st of the afternoon and a 1-0 lead at half time.

The 2nd half played out well for Sloane the attacking style of play was something Copland werent used to and they suffering when their defence were again put under pressure. A shot from Reece was deflected into the path of Ramin Jarvand was too easy an opportunity to miss and Sloane were 2-0 up. It wasnt long after that Copland were punished for lack of ability to turn an attack into a goal and Sloane played the kind of 1 touch football that meant defence was turned to attack in 5 or 6 passes. Ramin was once again on the end of a cross to bravely head home for Sloane's 3rd.

Sloane were somewhat comfortable now and it was a great bit of individual control from Coplands forward to score Coplands 1st of the day. This was short lived and Sloane showed the quality they have showed at moments this season to put a 4th past a lack luster defence. 4-1 and Sloane were cruising in front of a 140 crowd. It was purely through lack of concetration or unfortunate bounce that  Copland gained a 2nd and 3rd. The 2nd half lasted for 50+ mins and Sloane were on the receiving end of some real pressure but from what should have been a comfortable 4-1 win, turned into a game that should never have been as close as it finshed. Sloane 2 wins, Copland 0. Lets see what the end of the season brings! A great atmosphere and good time was enjoyed by all even if some Copland players weren't so pleased with the way the result turned out on the final whistle, but that is forgotten now.