Luck was finally on hand as a tragic last minute goalkeeping error gave the Green and Black their first win of the season. Norsemen John Hurry's well struck free kick went through the visitors wall and bounced awkwardly in front of the visiting custodian who could only palm the ball into the net much to the delight of all the Garnett players. To be fair the Medical's keeper had looked the weak link in their otherwise strong line up and on chances created a home win was just about deserved. The Garnett defence led by confident keeper Michael Crammond and the imposing presence of Sean Cavanagh were once again magnificent with Crammond only having one save to make all game.

After last week's misfortunes on the pitch, Garnett suffered further ill luck during the week when four more first choice players went down injured to join striker Kenny Rosbach and centre half Tom Webb on the sidelines. Dave Mercer (knee), Tim Burke-Murphy (calf) and skipper Rich Cusworth (hamstring) were all injured playing on Wednesday while Andy Logan (ankle) went down in 5-a-side on Friday. On the positive side the influential duo of Peter Curtis And Craig Rowson made welcome returns after injury and illness to the back four and pacy fresher Sam Collins had also recovered to take his place on the bench. Howie Sorensen made his seasonal debut in the heart of midfield with Mark Rogers moving to his preferred central role. Young left winger Dan Corcoran made his 1st team debut after impressing in the Reserves and Neil Hindley earned an unexpected reprieve on the right.

Garnett kicked off up the hill against the wind and it soon became clear that Medicals were going to be very hard opponents. Physically they had by the far bigger side and they were s always well organized and motivated. Their front two looked a handful as Medicals started the better side passing the ball much more confidently than they had last season. With midfield power house Mercer's physical presence badly missed Garnett had to work hard to compete which they did with Rogers leading the way with his industry and good decision making. Despite being outplayed in the first half Medicals rarely threatened, one superb last ditch Cavanagh denied a clear run on goal, a ball bobbled around the box from a corner and a shot hit the side netting were as close as they got. This was largely due to the central defensive partnership of Cavanagh and Curtis who grew in confidence as the game progressed, stand in captain Rowson was an inspirational figure at left back winning tackles he had no right to win. It was clear when Garnett got the ball down on the ground and moved it quickly they had the beating of the Medicals defence. Hurry had a couple of good chances but failed to really test the nervous looking Medicals keeper and Hindley's dead-balls always looked dangerous.

With the elements at their back, Garnett played better in the second half but over elaboration and a reluctance to shoot led to many promising situations being wasted. The tiring Corcoran was replaced after showing several promising touches with Collins coming on up top. Hurry dropped into midfield with Rogers moving wide left. It became quickly apparent that this was Hurry's best position and his vision and technique were clear to see. With Collins making intelligent runs and Medicals trying to play offside, Garnett began to create chances. Collins twice raced clear of the visiting defence after the offside trap had been sprung but his finishes lacked composure and the visitors escaped. The dangerous Collins missed a third excellent chance form a quick throw in as it seemed Garnett's inability to score would again cost them two points. In the 89th minute hurry who was finishing the game strongly burst towards the Medicals penalty area only to be cynically tripped, the only black moment in an otherwise competitive but fair game. The rest is history as Hurry scored his first goal for the club. There was still time for Hurry to try a Pele-esque lob from the half way line, which only missed by a few feet but there really was no time for Medicals to come back.

Hopefully this win will give the side confidence. With the team looking solid at the back and working hard for one another, everyone should be optimistic of another good season. The next three games are against the top two teams New York (away) and Felling (home) before the visit to runners up Fitzgeralds, give the Green and Black the ideal opportunity to get back in the Championship frame.

Sean Cavanagh was conclusively the opposition and players man of the match, with Rowson and Rogers also getting a couple of votes each.

Team: M.Crammond, J.Almond, C.Rowosn ©, M.Rogers, S.Cavanagh, P.Curtis, N.Hindley, H.Sorensen, J.Hurry, D.Alexander, D.Corcoran (sub S.Collins)