November 2007: Esprit win Cup Replay against Bully Boys

The end of October was poor, performance and results wise, with 2 heavy defeats, conceding 9 without reply. Esprit found themselves at the bottom of the league, albeit with a couple of games in hand.Whilst the squad was settling, shuffling 25 players around wasn't easy. The manager became more ruthless and starting making some key decisions, some popular some not. It all started in the Essex Cup as Esprit drew Gem Scorpions away. Gem were a dirty side with a couple of racist players and the first game had to be abandoned due to an injury to Dan Parker due to the physical nature of some of their players. Esprit were intimidated and played poorly, especially at the back. It was therefore great satisfaction when Esprit won the replay with some style with a great perfromance and passing the ball around beautifully. The boys were fired up and were the clear winners and passed an important test. Play your game and let them worry about you. Esprit marched into the next round, their first cup win for a couple of seasons.

The next league game was against our friends, Barking Colts. The Colts had won all their league games comfortably and if we had played them a few weeks back the Colts would have won comfortably. However, whilst the Colts did win, Esprit gave them a good game, losing 2-1 but being the better side overall. Clearly Esprit are getting their confidence back, and have tighten up the ship but are still a bit shy up front. The next couple of league games are vital as Esprit need to get a run together and escape from the bottom of the table. With such a good squad, player absentees havent affected the club like it did last season, but it is taking time to find the best team. It seems that the manager has a lot of faith in his players. Lets hope they don't disappoint in the long run.