Club favourites the Mighty Sevens were away this weekend for what looked to be a feisty clash with long-term rivals K-Sports. Featuring a strong side of regulars, they were also buoyed with five substitutes for maximum resource to draw upon, unlike their opponents who only managed to field ten men.

The Sevens started brightly, out of the gates quickly with forays deep into K-Sports half as the ever-dangerous Matt ‘Mjolnir’ Carter posted an aerial to the enigmatic skipper Dan Kennedy that, despite some impressive speed, was just out of his reach. The home side, clearly on the back foot, looked to try and snuff out these attacks, posting a marker on the Sevens skipper for the best part of the game in an effort to minimise the danger man.

Some clever work through the centre of the pitch from JJ Kennedy and the ever-enthusiastic Ghaemian, swinging his stick with gusto at every attempt (although not always connecting) saw the ball threaded through to Carter whose shot was deflected back for Baker to shoot what was likely to be the slowest shot this season, past the keeper to roll over the line: 1-0.

With their tails up and scenting blood in the water, the relentless pressure from the Sevens only meant that further goals were imminent, and Carter soon opened his account for the day with a cross-come-shot that left the defence hapless as the net billowed once more for two-nil. This was followed soon with a short corner that after several touches found its way to Borris Nordone who calmly dispatched a rocket stroke for a third.

K-Sports might have been depleted in numbers, but this didn’t stop their efforts, and the seasoned playmakers looked to try and release one or two of the younger players searching for a goal. The Sevens defence had remained resolute with the scurrying of Ingleston and Goshford quelling most forays, however a miscommunication and ball deflection onto a defender’s foot resulted in a short corner that when despatched left the keeper Peall with little to do than scoop the ball from the back of the net: 3-1.

Swiftly though, the Sevens resumed their attacking ways, using the pace of the youngsters Brooke and Lowe to cut into the defence and create array; just before haldf time, yet another foray saw JJ, son of legendary Skipper Kennedy out on the left hand side of the D for an absolute missile of a reverse stick shot leaving the keeper standing as it whistled past him: 4-1.

With the game all but in the bag, the second half for the Sevens should have been more about containment and not chasing further goals, however this didn’t quell the Ops appetite for more goals and played the ball around K-Sports half searching for further opportunities. Even the often more erratic play of left half Luce Gordon seemed to take to be more constructive, less sliding on the floor approach for once, finding the likes of Chris Simpo and, at one point, Ghaemian who, we can only assume, must have been distracted by an autumnal insect swarm as he wildly swatted the air when clear through on goal.

A further goal seemed inevitable and came as no surprise when Carter, who had previously had a short corner goal disallowed for not hitting the backboard was rewarded once more with a blistering shot to seemingly make the game out of reach at 5-1.

However, K-Sports didn’t give up and, in a rare foray into the Seven’s half were rewarded when a defensive blunder allowed a player through on goal. As he ran forwards, Peall lumbered forwards in a kamikaze-like effort to clear the ball only to see it slotted past it for the home side’s second for 5-2.

This clearly irked the Sevens who didn’t want to give any opportunity for the home side to claim any further ground and were driven to push forward. The efforts of Vernon Tumble and veteran Woody Shaw made some great probing efforts on the right wing in an effort to release the pace of the likes of Brooke and Kennedy, and was rewarded shortly when slotting the ball to Carter who dispatched another crisp shot for his hattrick and 6-2.

With the game all but tied up, the final minutes saw little of note aside from the world’s slowest ball chase with two of the shortest and stoutest players from both teams – Cullum Oddjob from the visitors - chasing a loose ball to the corner of the pitch, much to the viewing amusement of both teams. Mercifully, the final whistle blew shortly after and the game concluded with another strong performance from the Sevens and their fourth straight win of this campaign.

At a packed press conference post-match, a clearly pleased skipper Kennedy commented: “This was an important game for us to win today: our history against these opponents over the years has often been very one-sided for us with K-Sports seemingly scoring for fun against us, so for us to come here and win in such style has been great. Credit to our opponents for fighting so well with ten men, but we came here with a point to prove, and it’s fair to say we did. Aside from two minor slip ups, we played very well today; some great passing and creating opportunities galore meant that we had plenty of chances and was a joy to play. Once again, our younger players were outstanding but overall as a team, the Sevens this year feel like a solid, strong unit; our coordination and ball play has been a joy and the foundations that we’ve been building over the last couple of years with the tireless work of player-coach Paul Lardon along with some electric new signings is clearly paying dividends.

Despite other teams in the league hot on our heels, we’ve kept our top spot in the league and it’s down to us to stay there; four wins from four games – you can’t ask for more of that. I’m so proud of my lads and all the effort that they put in on and off the pitch. Mind you, at this rate Carter’s going to be skint with all the hattrick jugs of beer he has to buy! We’re looking forward to next week’s fixture with one of the two Sittingbourne teams in our league at home, so we’ll look to continue this vein of form once more.”