Ace photographer Steven sacrificed breaking in his new petrol lawnmower to make the journey to Gravesend this morning and my word, was it worth it.

Upon arrival the team could see their opposition warming up and the height advantage was clear to all. Our squad have grown used to setting these perceived advantages to one side and proceeded to warm up in their usual well drilled style.

The match was a close fought affair and the physical element was becoming more apparent but met with mature resistance from our team. There were moments in this match where a lesser group of footballers would have descended into calling out the referee on unseen misdemeanours, but this Rising Stars unit have become accustomed to simply getting on with what they do best; pass, move and attack.

A hat trick from Izzy was the least that this team deserved, creating chance after chance in the attacking third.

The defence was resolute in the face of adversity and Lizzie was once again a serious force to be reckoned with.

Coach Neil was particularly looking for effective link up play this week and Angelica was awarded the coach’s medal for her work in this area. She demonstrated a superb footballing brain throughout and the evidence of her hard work at training was there in abundance.

The future looks incredibly bright for this group of players and we, as parents, could not be prouder of their progress.

-Carl