The large and ferociously competitive Genesis squad, the cause for much optimism and much peering over ones shoulder, was whittled down to a paltry bare eleven on Saturday. A combination of illness, late nights and perhaps, dare I say it, the allure of a cosy, wind-sheltered afternoon in with Jeff Stelling, besieged the club's resources.

The game was entered in good spirits as some of the lads, to the amusement of one and all, decided to ironically strap their socks up with Royal Mail parcel tape that read "fragile" in bold red lettering. Sadly, by the end of the 90 minutes, it looked more prophetic than comedic.

Genesis were 1-0 down inside 10 seconds and the remaining 89minutes and 50 seconds didn't get much better. The final score, in a game that began as a top of the table clash, was a humiliating 8-0. Genesis could have few complaints. Caterpillar were a strong, organised, effective outfit but they should not have been allowed to destroy a strong and capable Genesis line-up.

Much will be said in the coming days as the hangover from an awful performance hits home and all who were involved will have opinions as to what went wrong and why. Whether an intricate dissection of the mauling is a beneficial exercise is a matter for debate. Clichés are seldom consolation in times of defeat, but perhaps, given the manner of this particular loss, it is worth remembering that it was only that - one loss. The only way it can become more than a loss is if the shadow still lurks come Saturday.

The Caterpillar manager walked into a silent dressing room after fulltime with words of solace and encouragement. We're a "decent footballing side" apparently and are "sure to take points of teams" so we shouldn't be "too down lads". Were his words well timed? Of course not. Well meant? Probably. Patronising? Most definitely. Let's hope any player to ever play for Genesis again does their utmost to avoid such patronising in future. If that happens, maybe Saturday wasn’t such a wasted afternoon after all.

Away at the league leaders Birstall who had scored 17 and conceded 1 in their first four games, we were expecting a tough physical match. We started uphill and against a strong wind and conceded an early goal, but battled hard, played good football and deservedly equalised when some good work down the right from Carlill saw him find space on the byline and his low cross was turned in on the second attempt by Pete Baines. With the crazy wind we often found it hard to get out of our own half but Matt Reed played Strickland in with a great ball and he put a top finish into the bottom corner to see us go into the break 2-1 up. In the second half Birstall stepped up a gear but we scored against the run of play when Andy Curran's cross/shot somehow found its way inside the far post from the tightest of angles. They pulled one back from a header and we looked set for a nervy last 30 minutes, but from out of nowhere Chris Coward bundled his way through 3 tackles and was through on goal when he was cynically scythed down by their last man, who was sent off. Carlill curled in the free-kick into the bit of the goal where the goalkeeper wasn't and we were 4-2 up. With 10 minutes to play, Carlill squared to Strickland whos lovely Cruyff turn on the edge of the box did his man and he smacked it into the top-corner for a goal-of-the-season contender. We had a few more chances but it finished 5-2. Outstanding performance from everyone. (Goals: Baines 1, Strickland 2, Curran 1, Carlill 1, Assists: Reedy 1, Carlill 3, Coward 1, MoM was Strickland).