.....And then Eve lashed in her sixth for another amazing Stingers victory, winning 25 nil away at Leigh....er...no, that must've been the dream I had on Saturday night, not the actual match itself, a report of which is as follows:

Like quite a few of Stingers fans and supporters, me and Jo found out that there is no junction 14 on the M60 heading to Leigh and ended up driving round town / through country / past lakes / over hills / over bridges / under bridges, (ooh, it was just like Chigley) (you have to be over 35 to get this reference I think) etc for quite a while, missing the first 20 minutes of the match. Thanks to Nic we kept up with the score, which went like this; "Eve scored a blinder, then they equalized. Oh no they've got another", just as we arrived and joined everyone in the lovely sunshine.

On Leigh's super-bouncy sloping pitch, playing with what had to be a basketball in disguise, Stingers found it difficult to keep possession and the game went a bit pinball. After (or before; it's hard to remember when you don't write it down) we'd let in a third goal, I don't know if it was frustration, sun stroke or accidental lipstick poisoning, but Eve went a bit doolally and was subbed with Bo Derrick (younger viewers might have to look this one up on that new fangled interweb too), aka Maxine, at half time.

The second half continued with the Yellows working it down the wings or through the middle, with Nic, Jackie and Rachaels Taylor and Brown all getting in good shooting positions, only for Leigh players to arrive with some strong last ditch tackling. We got the score back to 3-2 after Maxine sent in a corner, which was then turned into the box by Nic, latched onto by Jackie Ryan who's shot was deflected in by a Leigh defender. Meanwhile, Leigh worked it over the top, with runners collecting the ball and shooting from distance, a tactic that obviously worked well for them as they went 5-2 up by the final whistle, ending any hope of a Stingers fightback with a well taken volley from the edge of the area, which fizzed past Abi, who was deputizing in nets for Jane.

I think the play-every-three-days end of season fixture pile up has definitely caught up with us over the past few games, along with key squad members missing for crucial matches, so everyone will need to be giving their all at Buxton on Wednesday evening. Remember, Buxton are playing at a different pitch to usual (directions to appear on the website soon hopefully, otherwise we won't know where to go!) and it takes for f**king ever to get down the A6, so leave as early as possible.

After the chip butties laid on by Leigh, eaten while watching the other FA Cup semi final (so at least Katie Fingers went home reasonably happy), we all headed home to Manchester again, only for me an Jo to end up in Eccles (sorry Jo, my fault), like you do. On a brighter note, you'll all be pleased to know that Mickey's snot and Rachael's blood (from a nasty ball-right-in-the-face nosebleed) (just as well Doctor Polly was on hand to check it wasn't broken) have been washed out of my hanky, which has come up a treat.