Stur took on Chickerell at a sweltering Churchill Close and went into the match treating it as a cup tie. Mainly because it was one.

Perhaps the unseasonally warm weather can be used as an excuse for a lacklustre performance against overtly physical opponents, but the fact is we just weren't at the races. Chickerell took the lead after 7 minutes when a mishit clearance from Stur keeper Andy Talbot fell straight to a Chickerell forward who advanced into the area and buried the ball in the bottom corner of the net. Ten minutes later it should have been two. A Chickerell forward cut in from the left and was challenged by Joe Talbot. He stayed on his feet until he got into the area then dropped as though he had been smashed over the head with a brick. Andy Talbot made up for his earlier error when he saved the penalty low to his left.

Stur equalised ten minutes before half time when a cross was cleared to the edge of the area. The Chickerell keeper could only parry Darrell Williams volley and Will Gage was on hand to score.

Manager Matt Morris had told the players that if they kept their discipline they could pull off a victory. Then just before half time he got sent off. the referee and assistant somehow missed a blatant stamp on Dan Manuel, the Stur manager made his feelings known and was promptly sent from the dug out.

HT: 1-1

If the first half had been even, the second half was even worse. Dan Neville limped off five minutes into the half and was followed almost immediately by Aaron Stacey, who was scythed down by a troglodyte wearing a red and white shirt. Again the referee and assistant had an attack of Wengeritis and didn't see the assault.

Stur almost took the lead when a Geddes cross was deflected and tipped over the bar by the back peddling Chickerell keeper. Geddes got his head to the resulting corner but the keeper was again equal to the task and tipped the ball round the post.

Having had their best spell of the game, Stur were caught with a real sucker punch when a quickly taken free kick caught the defence square, the same Chickerell forward got into the box and again went down as though he'd copped a right hander from Vladimir Klits Kilt Kistl, from Lennox Lewis. The ref once again pointed to the and this time Talbot was given no chance as the ball was hammered into the roof of the net.

Dan Manuel looked set to level the scores when he latched on to a weak back header but with only the keeper to beat the normally deadly Stur hit man hit the ball so far over the bar that when it returned to earth it was covered in albatross droppings. Five minutes from time Chickerell sealed the victory when a free kick was turned in from close range by a forward who looked suspiciously offside. The assistant agreed and raised his flag but seemed to be overruled by the referee.

After the match all the talk was of one man, Stur manager Matt Morris said, “I never thought I’d witness a performance from a referee that would move me so much that I wept tears of pure emotion, but I’ve seen it today, in the shape of Mr Richardson". Or words to that effect.