Tiffs 4s took on Wandsworth 5s on Saturday afternoon at Grists. Wandsworth took their chances well early on and raced into a 2-goal lead.  Stephen Dwyer pulled one back for Tiffs with a tidy finish low inside the far post following a perfectly measured through ball by skipper Charlie Hughes. Wandsworth restored their 2-goal advantage through a towering header from a set piece.  It was 1-3 at half time.

In the second-half Tiffs upped their game and got a second goal.  It was a lovely flowing move down the left that started with Jeremy Eggar winning the ball in defence and a Grant Calder back heel.  The ball was played into Dwyer who spun the central defender with a Bergkamp-esque flick turn and slotted it home. Wandsworth then scored against the run of play to make it 2-4 before Dwyer completed a fine hatrick by looping a shot over the Wandsworth keeper from the edge of the box as the marauding Conrad Bell closed in.

Tiffs surged forward in search of an equaliser.  Ed Lamboure almost got on the end of a deep cross through a spectacular acrobatic effort.  With the clock ticking down Bernard Knuchel-Takano latched on to a loose ball outside the Wandsworth box and lashed a fantastic volley low into the bottom corner of the net past the keeper’s dive. 4-4.  In the closing minutes Josh Rose in the Tiffs goal made a couple of superb saves against the low setting sun to ensure Tiffs secured a point.

A draw was the least that Tiffs deserved on the basis of their second half performance.  They dug deep, played some slick passing football and demonstrated strong team spirit (exemplified by Hughes who played half blind when an aerial collision with his vice captain Steve Newby gave him a nasty black eye).

MOTM: Ben Lamble.