Yet these days Blues are made of sterner stuff with Christoph Klarer and the rejuvenated Phil Neumann standing tall, then for defensing corners both August Priske and Jhon Solis were adding their height. In fairness most of the first period was nip and tuck but Blues gained ascendancy with Priske netting, although it needed a world-class save by James Beadle to keep Blues in the lead.

Due to an apparent injury to Beadle, Ryan Alsopp came on in goal for the second half, which must be difficult for a keeper but he put in a sterling performance. He was helped by Blues stepping up a gear with Liam Millar nearly back to his best while Jay Stansfield was as usual in perpetual motion and only denied a deserved goal by a desperate defensive clearance.

Priske netted a second and although the home side pulled one back, Blues kept plugging away and scored a deserved third when Alsopp, who definitely edges Beadle in the distribution stakes, directly set up Alex Cochrane to seal the game. It would, however, be churlish not to mention the unsung Tomoki Iwata, who along with Solis kept the Blues engine room ticking over very nicely.