After a hard-fought derby against the 4s, Havering 5s moved on to the next challenge against Witham 5s.

For the first time this season, the 5s had all five substitutes available, giving the team plenty of energy and options from the bench.

The match started very brightly for Havering. The youngsters deserve special praise for showing great intensity, pace and energy. They combined extremely well through midfield and attack, causing Witham all sorts of problems with their speed and movement, although the final result in front of goal was still missing.

They were very well supported by Dave and Dodge in the central roles, helping Havering maintain control and create opportunities.

Heroic keeper Thomas made several important clearances and pulled off some crucial interventions, keeping us going strong throughout the match.

However, Witham were also full of quality players and created some very good chances of their own, with both teams going into half-time level in a closely fought, goalless contest.

At the start of the second half, everything was still to play for. With around 15 minutes remaining, Witham took the lead following an unfortunate misplaced pass.

Havering responded brilliantly, showing great determination and continuing to push forward. Several chances followed, and eventually one paid off just two minutes before the final whistle.

A short corner rebound fell to George Richards, who showed great composure and somehow managed to squeeze the ball into the net from a very, very acute angle to bring Havering level.

In the end, a draw was a fair result. Witham had their moments and plenty of quality, but they simply struggled to keep up with the pace and energy of Havering's youngsters throughout the game.

A very positive result and another step forward for the 5s.

We march on to the next game. Very proud of the boys! ??