Rutherford travelled to unbeaten Deerness Valley Storm for an early kick-off, facing the challenge of overcoming a side in excellent form. Adding to their difficulty was the absence of key players Aodan, Jack, Connor, and Michael, which forced a shuffle of the squad. Sam was handed the goalkeeper gloves, while Joe was tasked with filling in at right centre-back to cover for Sam and the missing Connor. The stage was set for a dramatic clash.

The game could not have started better for Rutherford. Inside the first 2 minutes, James Lee was played in by Max Johnson to open the scoring, sending a message to Deerness. Just 4 minutes later, Rutherford doubled their advantage with another quick-fire goal from Lee, who finished smartly past the Storm keeper to make it 2-0. Deerness, unbeaten so far this season, were stunned by the early barrage, but they responded well.

On 15 minutes, the Storm clawed one back, capitalizing on a set-piece which wasn't defended particularly well. The home side’s momentum was further boosted 8 minutes later when they equalized, once again through a set-piece. At 2-2, the game had turned on its head, and the momentum was now with Deerness, despite Rutherford's resilience.

The first half was a highly competitive affair, but things took a turn just before the break when Elliott came off due to injury and Joe was sin-binned for dissent. Despite being reduced to 10 men, Rutherford held firm, with Joseph and Finley coming into the side and performing very well both in and out of possession. The game went into the half-time break locked at 2-2.

After the interval, Rutherford came out with a renewed focus and took control of the game. On the hour mark, Joe made up for his earlier indiscretion with a stunning strike from outside the box that flew into the top corner, putting Rutherford back in front at 3-2. Moments later, the Storm had a player sin-binned for dissent, which gave Rutherford a numerical advantage.

The visitors took full advantage of the extra man when Max Billingham scored a powerful shot from distance on 70 minutes. His low shot beat the Storm keeper low down and from here Deerness struggled to find a response, as Rutherford's defense, led by the likes of Mason, Amir,, Taylor and Callum, kept the Storm attackers at bay.

In a dramatic final few seconds, the referee's handling of the match boiled over. Both Joe and a Deerness player were shown red cards in the dying moments, after a very minor incident. However the incident did little to overshadow what had been a superb performance from Rutherford.

The referee, who had been inconsistent throughout the match, was perhaps too eager to brandish cards, but despite the interruptions, Rutherford’s determination, resilience, and togetherness shone through. They deservedly walked away with a 4-2 win, handing Deerness Valley Storm their first defeat of the season in what was an excellent, hard-fought contest.

Rutherford’s performance was a testament to their character, as they not only withstood Deerness’ fightback but also took control and played some of their best football of the season. With key players out, it was a collective effort that secured the victory, and Rutherford now look forward to building on this massive result.

Due to the fantastic performances throughout the entire squad and the togetherness, fight, encouragement and skill on display today from each and every player this Man of the Match decision is easily the hardest one to call this season.

Mason started and finished a game for the first time this season and was absolutely brilliant alongside Amir, Fin and Max who also played fantastically well. Joe, Elliott and Joseph worked brilliantly on the right hand side, both in and out of possession. The communication to ensure that when one went forward the other covered was brilliant and they largely kept the Deerness winger quiet, especially in the second half with Joe scoring a crucial goal. Callum and Taylor were faultless in defences, covering, tackling and passing very well throughout. James scored two excellent goals and got through a lot of defensive work. Jacob was a threat in behind and a real menace to defenders, not allowing them time to play out. He was unlucky not to score when pouncing on a back pass. Max Billingham was fantastic again today, the attitude and willingness to work hard for his teammates this season has been phenomenal. Today he spent an awful lot of time with his back to goal and outnumbered but he never gave up and when in possession was a real threat, a great performance capped off by a great goal.

However today's Man of the Match has to go to Sam Dixon. When I asked him, at 6:30am, to play in goal today he didn't hesitate, an immediate "Yes" was the reply which given we were about to play an unbeaten team, who had scored 27 goals in their last two games, in a storm, was a brilliant response and shows just how committed this team is to one another. His performance was very good, handling was good, made the saves he had to, kicked well and made two brilliant blocks in both halves and crucial moments to ensure we won the game.

Well done Sam

Rutherford AFC

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