LITTLETON 4 LUFFS 0 (27/12/03) OUT OF the chaos of the sudden departure of managers Tebbutt and Edwards came a spark of light from a spirited performance that saw The Luffs take on third placed Littleton and gave them a run for their money. The end result shows a clear defeat, but three of the goals came in the last ten minutes as this Loughborough side had the audacity to chase the game and compared to the shipping of twenty plus goals in the last four games it was an encouraging performance. Eight new faces stepped out on this momentous occasion deep into the Evesham countryside as The Luffs dipped deeply into the Loughborough faithful just to fulfil the fixture. The travelling support looked on anxiously as coach Steve Wilkinson organised this band of warriors into a team and the result was a side that could pass and receive, a team with commitment and enthusiasm, a team that might have come away with a result but most of all a team that played with a smile on its' face. Littleton opened in attacking mood and keeper Paul Springthorpe made two good saves before the Loughborough sided settled and played some impressive football. Littleton took a first half lead after twenty minutes, the luck of the bounce saw Bates clear through and he found the bottom corner. There was no opening of the flood gates as in recent games, Gareth Rogers and Matt Kearns presented an impressive obstacle with the brothers Joe and Michael Mulligan completing the line across the middle while the defensive lineup of Matt Watkiss, Tom Belton and Brian Springthorpe looked remarkable cool under pressure. It was some time before Loughborough produced a clear cut attack on the Littleton goal but the build-up was coming towards the end of the half and Simeon Thomas found the side netting. Steve Daveys' free kick had the Littleton defence back peddling and they looked relieved to see the ball go out for a goal kick. On the stroke of half time the Luffs could well have equalised as Sul Morina stole in quickly to pinch the ball off the hesitating Littleton defence but their keeper Edwards was out quickly to narrow the angle and the chance was lost. For half an hour this game hung on the balance of the single first half goal and Loughborough were showing a better command of the passing game than their opponents who preferred to be more direct. Littleton saw a header got just over while Loughborough's' Steve Davey hit a shot just wide. Keeper Paul Springthorpe, captain for the day as one of the few originals, pushed a tricky cross over the bar while at the other end Michael Mulligan connected with a loose ball and was just wide of the target, it was good to watch. The referee, clearly a little fed up with precious little to do in this game, invented a penalty to the home side but the Littleton striker Jones sportingly whacked the ball into the next field. As the game drew to a close The Luffs became a little over committed to attack and clearly fancied their chances but it cost them dearly as Littletons' Staley helped himself to two goals to make it three nil. A lack of concentration from a corner let Jones in at the back post and it was four but it was a scoreline that didn't reflect a spirited performance by the New Luffs. There was still time and more important there was still the spirit for The Luffs to go looking for a goal, Michael Mulligan shot just wide, Gareth Rogers gave Semion Thomas a half chance at the back post into the side netting and Steve Daveys' free kick deflected past the post but a goal wouldn't come. The Luffs have survived the immediate crisis created by their managers throwing in the towel but now begins the real battle to survive in division one of the Midland Combination but if this game was anything to go by there are the players around who could do the job. Two home games now for the New Luffs, Saturday in the league to Stockingford (Kick off 2.00 PM) and the following Saturday at home to Saffron Dynamo in the Leicestershire Senior Cup (Kick off 1.15 PM). "The future looks good and the future has a smile on its' face" TEAM:  Paul SPRINGTHORPE, Tom BELTON, Steve DAVEY, Brian SPRINGTHORPE, Matt WATKISS, Michael MULLIGAN, Gareth ROGERS, Joeseph MULLIGAN, Matt KEARNS, Sul MORINA, Simeon THOMAS SUBS:  Fliamur SITAKU SCORERS:   ATT: N/A HT: 0-1