Old Rutlishians U14s put on a very good performance to win this match against a team they lost 13-0 to in the cup last month, although they only had nine players that day.

The Ruts controlled the game from start to finish creating a lot of chances and went 1-0 up after 20 minutes when James Hummerston headed the ball home through a congested box.

The boys continued to dominate the rest of the half and after the break they went 2-0 up fairly quickly when Femi Ogunmuyiwa received a through ball from Luke Jones. Ogunmuyiwa beat the defence with his strength and power to shoot past the keeper into an empty net.

Whyglaze pulled one back on the break as the Ruts fell asleep to make it 2-1.

But the two goal advantage was soon restored when Gregory Nicholls scored a wonderful individual goal by skipping past three players to strike the ball into the top left hand corner.

Whyglaze got a consolation goal towards the end of the game but the Ruts claimed all three points to go second in the table.

"I was very happy with the performance," said manager Nick Skilton, "we played with discipline and showed excellent character throughout the game."

Old Rutlishians were looking to build on last week's good performance and started very positively, knocking the ball around trying to create chances.

But on 20 minutes they conceded a free kick on the edge of their box from which Tolworth scored.

The Ruts carried on applying the pressure but to no avail and they were caught out with a long ball from defence as Tolworth went in 2-0 up at the break.

In the second half the Ruts were again pressing and after 55 minutes pulled a goal back through Ben AJ, who cut in from the right side of the box to drill the ball home into the near side of the goal.

As the game went on the Ruts created more chances and Billy Clayton came very close on a couple of occasions.

Tolworth were playing the long ball game and this caught the Ruts out as they were pushing up to try get back in the game, and they scored again to 3-1 up.

In the the last five minutes Tolworth made it 4-1 with a lucky shot from 35 yards which floated over Troy McGuigans head, which was unlucky for him as he had just made a great save moments earlier.

"The result did not do justice to the way we played," lamented manager Nick Skilton, "as we were playing good football and our passing and movement were excellent."

Old Rutlishians put up a brave performance but were always up against it only having 10 players available due to injuries and illness.

Nevertheless they started very positively, having most of the possession in the first 10 minutes and creating a couple of half chances. As the game went on Clarkson Hyde went through on goal only for Troy McGuigan to pull off a good reaction save to stop them taking the lead.

Soon afterwards Gregory Nicholls broke through the Clarkson Hyde defence to unleash a fierce shot which rattled the crossbar.

The Ruts kept pressurising though which paid off when Nicholls powered home the ball from just inside the box for 1-0. Clarkson Hyde then started to attack and after some sloppy defending they drew level, leaving it 1-1 at the break.

In the second half Clarkson Hyde looked more determined and they soon went 2-1 up. But the 10 man Ruts didn't give up with Luke Jones shooting at goal only to see his shot cleared off the line.

As the game went on the Ruts inevitably started to tire and Clarkson Hyde took full advantage to go 3-1 up. The Ruts still battled on and created more chances, Billy Keane striking a free kick from outside the box just wide.

Nicholls scored a consolation goal as full time approached to take his tally to four goals in five games, but time ran out for the Ruts as the ref blew for time moments later.

"I think this game showed how far we have come in such a short time," said joint manager Nick Skilton. "Clarkson Hyde were about the same standard as the team which beat us 13-0 when we had 10 men. This result showed how we now battle for games and don't lay down and die. Many of our supporters said after the game that this was our best performance so far which fellow manager David McGuigan and myself agree with".

Old Rutlishians can count themselves unlucky not to get anything from this match.

They started off in a postitive frame of mind, attacking from the off. With the rain coming down hard it was hard to pass the ball, but they pressurised for the first ten minutes without reward.

Carshalton then won a corner from which they scored.

Soon after the Ruts went on the attack and Gregory Nicholls put a superb cross in to the box for his brother Simeon to slot the ball home for his first goal for the club. It stayed 1-1 going into half time as it was very scrappy in the middle of the park with neither team having any clear cut chances.

The second half started much the same way as the first with the Ruts making the running. On 50 minutes though, Carshalton broke away and went 2-1 ahead.

It was soon 2-2 when Simeon returned the favour by putting a great pass through to Gregory Nicholls to shoot past the goalkeeper.

Luke Jones and Ben AJ went close as the ruts looked for the winner. But as the game entered the last ten minutes Carshalton sprung the offside trap to go 3-2 ahead. And with the Ruts pushing up to try and equalise in the last few minutes, Carshalton made it 4-2 as the defence were stretched.

"We knew this was going to be a hard game as Carshalton are a well established team and the weather did not suit our game," said manager Nick Skilton. "Although we lost I think we were the better side but are just lacking some luck in front of goal. When we do get some luck I'm sure this will turn our season around. As in our previous games we are playing the better football as the boys are looking to pass the ball around and not just kick and hope."

A warm welcome to two new members of the squad, Luke and Todd Seger who made their debuts in this game.

Old Rutlishians started 2004 with a bang as they ended a winless streak of nine games with a terrific performance at Aldershot Town.

The first half started off fairly scappy with both teams battling it out in midfield, and it was the Ruts who opened the scoring when Billy Keane received a through ball from Isaac Nicholls and finished well.

Aldershot pressurised for the next 10 minutes but the defence contained their attacks and the Ruts slowly started to steady themselves and press forward again looking to increase their lead.

The Aldershot keeper then made a mistake which Isaac Nicholls seized upon and he slotted the ball home. But Aldershot pulled one back before half time leaving the Ruts 2-1 up at the break.

Aldershot came out strongly and got an equaliser in the first five minutes of the second half. The Ruts responed very well to this though and within the space of 10 minutes scored four goals. The midfield simply dominated the game for these 10 minutes with Isaac Nicholls winning the ball 30 yards from goal and chipping the ball over the goalkeeper.

Then Simeon Nicholls received the ball just outside the box and unleashed a fearsome shot into the left hand corner of the goal. Luke Jones then scored from some great build up play from midfield and the Ruts were sitting pretty at 6-2.

The boys lost concentration for the next 10 minutes though which let Aldershot back in the game, scoring two goals to make it 6-4.

But it was the Ruts who rallied for the last 10 minutes and finished much the stronger, scoring three more times through Isaac Nicholls, Keane and Jones to cap an ultimately emphatic 9-4 victory.

"This was our first game for three weeks so we were unsure how we were going to play," said joint manager Nick Skilton. "Although we conceded goals today David McGuigan and I were very pleased that we didn't let our heads drop and lose the game."

Old Rutlishians carried on their winning ways in 2004 with a 6-1 win over Wandgas, dominating the game from start to finish.

In the first half the Ruts created chance after chance and went very close with shots from Isaac Nicholls, Billy Keane and Luke Jones. They made the breakthrough on 35 minutes when Keane received the ball from Jack McGoldrick to slot it past the keeper. The pressure continued right up until half time although the Ruts only had a 1-0 lead to show for their efforts.

The Ruts started the second half as they finished the first, bombarding the Wandgas goal. It wasn't long before they were 2-0 up courtesy of a simple tap in from Jones.

Now completely in control, the Ruts scored the best goal of the game. The ball was bouncing around the Wandgas area and eventually sat up nicely for Jones to score a wonderful over head kick.

Soon after it was 4-0 thanks to Simeon Nicholls' close range effort. Isaac Nicholls then made it 5-0 with a goal which takes him into double figures for the season.

The Ruts made some changes in the last 10 minutes of the game and James Hummerston came on up front, shook off his marker and went round the keeper to make it 6-0. Wandgas scored a consolation in the last minute but that didn't take the shine off the Ruts' performance.

Manager David McGuigan was very proud after the match. "The win last week gave us the confidence that we were lacking before Christmas and I hope it will now continue," he said. "Also, a big welcome to three new players - Jordan and Tyrell Tucker and James Hutton. We now have two sets of twins and three sets of brothers in our ranks!"