Line-up (4-4-2):
Barrasso, Murray, Rogers (Johnston, 60), Moore, Eyre, Evans, Wills, Newman, Fulton, Ameri, Kuczynski

No matter when CPR kick off their pre-season, it always seems to be in blazing heat. The water bottles were in constand demand at Hackney Marshes as CPR did their best to contain a London Tigers who were always full of running.

Clissold had the newly-mulletted Evo and Newman in midfield, and their unending chatter kept the whole team going and intimidated their younger opponents. CPR looked solid and kept their shape throughout, never pushing on too far against opposition who had the edge in skill and pace. Tigers had more of the possession, particularly in the first half, but struggled to penetrate the CPR back line save for one breakthrough in the opening minutes which Jon M did well to scramble clear.

Although he didn’t have too much to do Donny was enjoying a great debut in goal: a few early stops got the confidence up and from there on he obviously intimidated the Tigers front line, winning every one-on-one.

CPR began to step things up in the second half, and the long probing passes from midfield started to pay off as Stuart and Amir got in behind the Tigers defence time and again.

After 50-odd mins of elaborate attacking play from Tigers, it was ironic that the match was won with a goal of some simplicity. Jim won an important tackle on the halfway line and hit a ball over the Tigers centre-back. Stuart raced on to it and, under pressure, controlled it and rolled it into the path of Amir who was storming down the right flank. The Axis made no mistake, lashing the ball into the net past the helpless keeper.

Tigers continued to have the edge in possession but still looked short of the killer punch. They did manage to get behind the CPR defence a couple of times but looked short of confidence and Donny was able to beat them out.

In fact it was probably CPR who came closest to scoring again. Stuart hit the bar with a chip from out on the right wing, and he and Amir both could have added another as the match went into the final stages.

CPR remained impressive right up to the final whistle, always looking disciplined and constantly denying the opposition time on the ball. Let’s hope we can take this form into the season.

Final score: CPR 1, London Tigers 0

Match Reporter: Garry Griffin