Having drawn against Loddon and then had a match postponed, Albury Sharks found themselves 5 points behind Mytchett at the top of the table going into Saturday's fixture, but confident having dispatched the very same team in the cup a few weeks before.

This confidence was obvious from the start as Albury started on the front-foot immediately. Ben Gregory and Daniel McGraw did their usual job of controlling the midfield superbly against some large and physical opposition, supported today by the returning Daniel Stovald. Mytchett could barely get the ball in the opening stages, and Albury were using the width of Luciano Gouveia and Josh Smith very well. Josh, Ben and Daniel combined nicely on a few occasions to challenge on the right hand side, whereas Luciano did well on a few occasions to pressure the defenders in to conceding corners, however Albury could not quite get on the end of a chance. Daniel Egbe looked lively in the opening stages and fired a couple of shots at goal, and Daniel Stovald had a nice left-footed shot saved by the goalkeeper, but to be fair to the oppostion, Albury struggled to create many clear cut chances despite their domination.

At the other end, the Sharks looked solid. Ali Jennis was partnering Gabe at centre back and did well on a number of occasions to outmuscle the Mytchett forwards. The full-backs had a really impressive game. Harry Connelly, switched to right back on Saturday, absolutely owned his winger, stopping a number of dangerous looking attacks. To cap this off, he was also quick to get the ball forward and join Josh Smith in the attack with an overlapping run. Josh Franklin moved from his usual position of striker to left back on Saturday, as we sought to alleviate the threat of the oppositions two quickest and most skillful players. Josh had an absolutely fantastic first half- giving the opposition little more than a sniff. On one occasion, a ball over the top looked threatening until a breath-takingly powerful and pacy run from Josh tracked the runner down.

Nevertheless, there was a heart in the mouth moment when a Mytchett striker fired a clean shot towards the top corner, drawing a superb flying save from Dexter Williams to tip the ball over the bar. This was yet another outstanding save to add to his collection this season. From the resulting corner, Albury cleared and then countered with pace and precision, a scintillating passing move that saw Daniel Egbe feed Daniel Stovald who rounded the keeper, the ball then calmly swept home by Noah Davies. This was a well deserved lead to take into half time.

Half time: Mytchett 0-1 Sharks

The second half saw Mytchett come out of the blocks early, forcing Albury to defend, but in fairness to the Sharks, they handled this pressure very well. On the few occasions where the ball went over the top, Gabe and Josh Franklin used their pace well to snaffle up the ball. The game had changed somewhat, Mytchett were becoming very physical in the middle. This was the perfect occasion for Ivan Iduriaga to impose himself on the game, using his own physicality to bolster the midfield, while also adding a calmness on the ball. Daniel Stovald had moved to the right wing to create space for the third midfielder, and Josh Smith was tasked with leading the line, using his pace and excellent pressing to stress the opposition. Daniel Stovald went on a mazy run early in the second half, somehow carrying the ball almost two thirds of the pitch, and Noah Davies looked sharp on the left hand side. Keen to add to his goal, Noah joined the press very well, and used his excellent reading of the game to send some nice penetrative passes through to create opportunities.

This is yet another opportunity for me to sing the praises of Captain Ben Gregory. Like usual, the opposition just couldn't handle him, and he was becoming the target of a couple of dodgy tackles. He was simply superb at finding pockets of space to receive the ball, and once on the ball, was almost impossible to dispossess. What has really impressed me about him recently was his decision making, and he was so quick to move the ball on. Having one shot sail over the bar from 30 yeards, Ben collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area, beat his man before drilling an arrowed shot low past the goalkeeper for 2-0. This was a great goal- despite being outside the penalty area, the goalkeeper didn't move.

Daniel Egbe rejoined the attack with Luciano Gouveia, and Albury were suddenly surging forward. A couple of nice through balls saw Daniel get a shot off, and Egzy himself dinked a delightful ball over the top for Ben Gregory. A penalty was coming for a while: the defenders simply couldn't handle Ben who had run onto a pass from Daniel Stovald before being decked. Ben dispatched the penalty with ease for 3-0.

The sharks will have to work on their game management because once again, they conceded at the end, a scrappy goal from an uncleared corner, but saw out the game comfortably to close the gap to two points with a game in hand.

Final Score: Mytchett 1-3 Albury

Goals:
Noah Davies
Ben Gregory x2

Paul's MOTM: Harry Connelly
Harry's MOTM: Daniel McGraw
Captain's MOTM: Josh Smith

Coaches reflections:
1. On paper, this is one of the best teams in the division, and yet the Sharks made them looked ordinary. Our work on keeping possession, and in particular our work on movement off the ball has paid dividends.

2. Every player was superb on Saturday, and it was really difficult to pick stand outs. Nevertheless the three who won man of the match were simply outstanding for every minute of the match.

3. Ben is the envy of every other coach I know. They marvel at his work rate, his passion, the way he communicates and the way he conducts himself on and off the pitch. I have lost count of the number of times other coaches pay tribute to him during or after matches and it fills me with pride.

4. If I was to be really picky, we need to work on our ability to meet an arial ball, both defensively and in attack. We also need some shooting practice.

Great stuff Sharks, keep going!