New signing Steve "Fancy Feet" Henshaw dances upfield against DDL enroute to  his game winning goal 10 mins from time.

Thurs 24 Jul -"Lord Nelson! Lord Beaverbrook! Sir Winston Churchill! Sir Anthony Eden! Clement Attlee! Henry Cooper! Lady Diana! We have beaten each and everyone of you! Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? I have a message for you. I have a message for you right in the middle of your election campaign: we have sent England out of the World Cup! Maggie Thatcher! As they say in the boxing bars around Madison Square Garden in New York in your own language: Your boys took a hell of a beating! Your boys took a hell of a beating!" These were the words gloriously and exuberantly uttered by Bjorge Lillelien when Norway scraped a 2-1 win over England in Oslo in a World Cup Qualifier in September 1981. This writer was only four at the time when it was broadcast on Norwegian television, and to be honest has never understood the sentiment and the over the top nature of the exaltations when for all intents and purposes it was a dreary game and nothing special.

Last night, the Old Boys, kitted out in their white Thistle Construction kit, each with a white t-shirt carrying a special personal message underneath, helped this writer understand why Lillelien was so excited. The Old Boys were up against DDL, a team that they have never beaten in three encounters and a team that had ended their title chances last season. Norway too had never beaten England in five attempts over 44 years and were very much the underdogs in strong World Cup qualifying group. Like Norway nearly twenty seven years previously, the Old Boys fought hard for their win and ground out a surprise victory against a confident and talent packed DDL. There was talk of monkeys being lifted off backs and a 5 - 0 winning streak but really the mood, whilst excited, was tempered with the reality check that football is just a game. Lillelien was right to be excited, and so was I, the surprise, the relief, the ending of an era of dominance, are all reasons for exuberance and, as is often the case with these reports, hyperbole. But just like many of the Norwegian players who had other jobs in addition to representing their country at football, the players last night from both sides having given their all, returned to normality with blackberries, cell phones and early starts the next day.

The Old Boys had a change of tactics for the start of the game and specified holding and attacking midfielders. It was not a surprise, based upon the spread of talent that was available but it was a surprise where the goals came from. Despite employing the perseveres of Cummings up front interchanging with the sublimely talented Deriso and the effervescent O'Connor, the forwards whilst contributing significantly in terms of work rate and assists failed to score. The attacking midfield players, starting with the instrumental Hydes and switching out with the dangerous Shakespeare and the penetrative Gaffin also didn't find themselves on the score sheet but were a constant threat to the DDL defenders. The defenders, always a bedrock of the Old Boys team again put in sterling performances, the tackling of Comins, the pace of Whittaker, the reading of Roughead and the ball winning of Rogers rarely give opposing forwards much time or space and naturally last night the chances were limited. With Sives between the posts, putting in his usual Grobellar like performance, there was one group of men who when called stepped forward and took charge of the goal scoring.

Often a maligned position, the defensive midfielder has few role models that truly demonstrate the versatility of this position. Makelele formerly of France and Chelsea has been suggested as a role model but in his two years at Chelsea whilst he stifled attacks and helped spring the counters he scored only two goals. Hargreaves of Manchester United is another specialist in this role although his aggressive attacking and desire to get forward often demonstrates the forwards instinct rather than that of a defender. However, last night, three role models stepped forward. For the youngsters watching from the sidelines it was a master class in making a new position iconic. It's just a shame that there were three and their names together are two long to be catchy; Gardner worked tirelessly all night closing down and linking defence with attack and Henshaw, released from the constraints of the centre forward position he adopted last week was irascible and scored a deserved winner with a jinking run and accurate finish. However, the main plaudits are reserved for Ord who, fresh from a one match suspension, ran the game and scored two very well taken goals to justifiable earn the man of the match award. The first, and in a change to the usual Old Boys start, was the opener for the game and was sweetly taken with a rifled shot following a lung bursting run down the left. The second, was as a result of a Hoddle-esque pass from Roughead over the top of the defenders that landed perfectly at Ord's feet who gently dinked it past the onrushing keeper for a goal that put the Old Boys 2-1 up.

True to form, DDL, noticeable short on numbers, chased and harried and played attractive football themselves. Their two goals were deserved although the Old Boys defensive coach may have some more work to do, particularly focusing on concentration. As ever Kennedy was a driving force in the middle for them and he was stopped from increasing his own personal goal tally by effective defensive play and some fine stops from Sives, including one in the last thirty seconds that ensured the Old Boys were victorious. It was a collective performance where all stepped forward, which is not to say that the absent Silvester, Ludford Thomas and Chiazza were not missed. Each of these players brings a special element to the squad and it's only when they are all together can you observe the unity, the variety and the commitment that exists within the tight knit unit.

The Old Boys were clearly pleased with their hard fought victory and they are justifiably top of the league after five straight wins after beating all of the contenders. It was an important performance and a result that should have justified a level of excitement that would have made Lillelien seem understated. However, not only has this Old Boys team matured in performances on the pitch, it has also demonstrated a level of togetherness and maturity that goes beyond football. Whilst football needs a team to win and a team to lose, it's the way the game goes. Sometimes teams deserve to win, other times they don't deserve to lose but either way, a result is inevitable. This Old Boys squad has the talent to go far but you get a sense that they've gone beyond where the results matter. They're playing with fun for fun and for them that's now normal. However, they were pleased to win last night as the result was dedicated to one of the players who will not be returning to the normality of football or of blackberries and early starts at work for a while. You know who you are; this one was for you.