The season loosener for TCS A came as a stark shock for some of the older players of the squad remembering what physical exercise feels like and questioning why we still do it. A visit to cross town team Taunton Vale from the league above was the game to blow away the cobwebs before the season starts proper in October.

The game began with TCS having most of the possession but a strong back line for Vale prevented any real openings. Eventually the pressure paid as Jamie 'Twiggy' Woodland skipped through the central pairing for Vale, rounded the keeper and shot only to find the foot of a recovering defender denying a certain goal. The resulting penalty flick was tucked away in shaky fashion by Andy Carter and the sides went to the half time break with the visitors one up.

Captain for the day, 'not so angry' Dan made sure everyone was feeling positive and knew their jobs ready for the second half.

Vale came out with a more attacking formation and found some early success but were lacking the clinical touch in front of goal. Some fine stops from Mike 'thumbprint' Whitman ensured parity in the score line. TCS gained back the control in patches during the second half and the lead was doubled as a rare reverse ... uh... hit-ish from Carter bobbled past the Vale keeper and trickled into the bottom corner of the goal.

With a bit more back and forth but no end product, the game ended with the visitors recording a 2 - 0 victory and a good start to the season. A special mention goes to the younger players making excellent accounts of themselves for the season to come: Matt Green, Andrew Paulin, Joe Johnson and debutant Josh Upham.