League

It took so long to clear up the unfortunate mess with the chairman that we never did get around to discussing the club's form. And a good job too; it had been decidedly unimpressive in pre-season, although this was largely due to a lack of funds. We'd identified several defensive weaknesses, and we just had to make some careful signings to balance these.

As expected, events took their course and our finances were soon back in shape. Once our daily league income of £100,000 was sorted out, there was no looking back. Combined with a one-off league payment of £300,000 to cover television rights, the club was soon back in the black, and funds were available for transfers.

And it wasn't a moment too soon. With the start of the season just around the corner, I was finally free to start making some defensive adjustments. I put in a couple of sealed bids for some quality central defenders; the results won't be known until tomorrow night. In the meantime, we brought in a couple of loan signings (Jhon Medina and Sven Verdonck), both of whom will spend the next seven days with the club. We also took Kevin McKenna on a 24-hour trial, with a view to a permanent contract if he performs well.

So it was a slightly revised Hampton side which took to the pitch for their first ever league match, in the NFA Qualifying Division 1. Here are the team which took their place in the history books against Argentinian side Kapanga:

With Verdonck and McKenna both making their club debuts, there was a danger that we would have a lack of communication within the back line, but compared to the shambolic performers which used to hold their positions - culpable of conceding 15 goals in our last 5 friendlies, and managing just a single clean sheet in our 17 pre-season matches - it was bound to be an improvement.

And so it proved to be. In an almost entirely flawless performance, Luton Shelton put Hampton into a 32nd minute lead with a well-placed strike. We went onto the defensive for much of the second half - nice to be able to rely on that as a tactic - and it seemed to have paid off, until things fell apart in the 87th minute. From a long Kapanga goal kick, Kevin McKenna made a committed challenge on Fabio Rochemback; it was one of those which looked worse than it really was, but referee Steve Bennett was one of those who bought the home side's protests. McKenna was issued with a straight red card, and from the resulting free-kick, Lucas Lobos drilled home an excellent 25-yard strike to ensure that the match finished 1-1.

It was an incredibly encouraging start to the league season, with none of the sheer incompetence which had blighted many of our previous performances. There was a hectic line-up of games to follow, including the first knockout game of the season, against Ding Dong FC in the Nighttime Cup.