In bright spring sunshine, the AKS First XI eagerly awaited the arrival of the OAKS team. Having had a very successful season thus far with wins against Stonyhurst, QEGS Blackburn, Bury Grammar and Rishworth Grammar hopes were high for taking another scalp.
Mr Hayden's pre-match tactic was simply to withstand the inevitable 10 minutes of blood and thunder and then as our visitors tired, to run them into the ground.
The flaw in this plan however was that the OAKS had prepared for this eventuality and countered it by having over 20,000 players at their disposal. When they trotted out for a pre-match warm up, it was reminiscent of a roman battle, with legions of warriors being expertly led by the suave, suited, debonair Dan Slawson.
What some of the alumni lacked in fitness, they made up for in weight of numbers.
If goals were what you were after then AKS was the place to be. The OAKS took an early 2-0 lead with Yash Passi dominating the early exchanges and Fraser Burton being a constant nuisance up top.
However, the AKS front two of Urqhart and Reynolds were causing problems of their own and AKS soon levelled the match. With honours even the younger team started to dominate the game and Mr Hayden was left ruing a lack of VAR when the referee decided not to award a penalty when Reynolds was hauled down by the impressive Matthew Sloane.
However, obviously growing over-confident at this point, AKS decided to try some tiki taka in their own box and whilst I applaud the ambition the more sensible option would probably have been row z, and we allowed the alumni to re-establish their lead.
With the visitors then leading 4-2 at half time, a fast start was needed for the 2nd half. However, it was the OAKS who got it following in a rebound to make it 5-3.
Whilst this was an exhibition match, it seems no one had told the central midfielders with Kelly, McNicholas and Lever in midfield metaphorically trading blows with their opponents in a hard fought battle for control. Webster, Dyas and Preece were stand out players for the OAKS yet they were powerless to stop a dramatic 2nd half comeback.
They say substitutions change matches, and within two minutes of Theo Ilhan entering the fray, the home team had pulled two games back thanks to a brace from Harley Harris and hopes were high for a nail-biting finale.
However, this OAKS team were made of sterner stuff and the bomb squad arrived off the bench to grab a couple of late goals to put the result beyond doubt.
Having forgotten how to award a penalty in the first half, the referee's amnesia cleared enough to award the OAKS a late penalty for a dying swan act on the corner of the box. From a distance, I'm not sure which member of the OAKS team "won" the penalty, but I believe it was Tom Daley.
This was a really enjoyable encounter, played in a really good spirit. I would like to thank the OAKS for putting such a strong squad together and I know my team will have learned a great deal from the experience. I am already looking forward to next year's encounter and am confident that the tide will turn and we will reclaim the trophy next year.
Mr Hayden