Cops 2 - 2 Cabbies

Chatham came away from the Met Police's Imber Court ground as the first side to take any points from the team formerly known as police officers (just Craig Brown for the home side is employed by the Met). It was an outstanding result, but was one that you could, if you were prone to taking analogies too far, compare to a bag snatch on the tube, Chatham coming from two goals down to steal a deserved point and hang on the latter throes of the game to avoid defeat.

Met Police started the stronger, and showed throughout the first half why they are champions elect - a 100& record going in to the match, having scored 28 goals and conceded just twice. They had that something that we don't have, and that is something that money can buy, and that's the quality that meant so many of the individual battles on the field went their way.

They were two up within 40 minutes, and it could have been four or five if not for some excellent defending. Their first goal was sublime, scored by the only police officer in the side, Craig Brown, a run through the heart of the defence and a scorching daisy cutter across to Tedder's right. The second was comically awful. The Imber Court ground is soulless, so it wasn't even noticed by some that a goal had been scored, such was the lack of reaction from the 110 strong crowd. Tedder fumbled the ball and dropped it to the feet of a Met player who fired into the empty net - I say fired, I mean passed.

In full credit to Chats, they picked up the pace when they could realistically have capitulated. Chatham had not been completely out of the game, and when Ray Powell broke into the box, he unleashed a powerful drive that was well held by the league's best keeper, Mo Mann. A very brave refereeing decision followed, and it was one that shocked the entire Met side, the ref awarding a penalty for a push on Powell that most had missed, and hadn't appeared to impede the diminutive utility man's ability to get a shot in. Powell himself stepped up, took a worrying lack of steps and time over it (I was convinced he'd spoon it over) and walloped it into the top corner, in the sixth minute of stoppage time. There was so much stoppage time that the first half ended as most second half's were kicking off.

Chatham came out first in the second half to the, I hope, ironic use of the Clash's I Fought The Law. Really. One Copper. Its like us coming out to Joe Le Taxi because Gary Ward's a London Cabbie. Word has it that Tedder's doing the knowledge - perhaps we should rename our team London Hackney Carriage Association FC?

All now redundant abuse of the Met Police team for not being police aside (the only problem I have is that they still don't have to play on public holidays due to the need to staff events, which would be fine if they still only fielded serving officers, but they don't, so they should have to honour fixtures the same as everyone else), Chatham were the better side in a second half that saw the until then composed Met Police start to fall apart, bicker and swear (proof they're not coppers then), and Chats scored a great equaliser on 60 minutes, with that man Potter again unmarked in the box. I bloomin' love Brad Potter. Without fail, he always turns up in the box unmarked and scores. Genius.

Met threatened in the closing stages, but Chats stood firm. In fact, Chatham could have stolen all three points had the outstanding Mann not beaten Huggins to a quick through ball. Huggins had a great game, and despite drawing a blank, he chased every ball which some other should take note of. And it was good to see Foley throw on Maskell and Solly together early in the second half to spice things up. It worked. Special mention should go to James Tedder and Brad Potter who played on despite injury due to a lack of subs. If Tedder had gone off in the first half, we'd have been beaten as comprehensively as a Guardian reader at a G20 protest.

In the last three games, we've taken five points, two of them against the top two. Things are improving and looking up. Burgess Hill at home next Saturday. Three points please.