Cardea made a slow start to the game and were behind on five minutes. A corner drifted into the box made it all the way to the far post and was header in by the West Town centre back.

Cardea then scored two goals in as many minutes to take the lead.

A good forward ball from Gav Earl was held up by Penman and Robinson then picked out Daryl Patrick, the captain's shot was struck against the bar and Robinson was first on hand to steer a well controlled effort past the keeper.

The second was almost straight from kick off, Penman ran into the box and played the ball to Adam Simons who hit it first time into the top of the net.

It then all went wrong for Cardea as the defence struggled to deal with the excellent West Town attackers.

The equaliser came straight after Cardea's second goal and then Simons conceded penalty to give West Town a 3-2 lead after 22 minutes.

For the next 10 minutes it was a nightmare for Cardea as West Town grabbed another 4 goals which the defence and midfield will not want to remember in a hurry.

The injury to goalkeeper Sampson was too much for him to deal with and Michael Creek took the gloves. Moore also injured his foot and Andrew James came on in his place (his second game of the day).

The West Town attackers took their goals well but were given too much time and space to run into. West Town added another before half time to go in 8-2 up.

After some frank discussions between managers and players at half time the Cardea players showed good spirit and played a lot better in the second half.

Robinson should have done better with a header after a good cross from sub Kynan Bereznyckyj before Cardea scored a third goal.

A good run by Cooke was topped off with a neat ball to Penman who struck the ball first time past the keeper.

West Town were still controlling large amounts of the play but an improved defensive performance, with Tom Rimes and Tony Harper at centre backs and Michael Williams just in front of them, stopped the attackers before they got into dangerous positions. New full backs Adam Simons and Andrew James were also excellent in the second half.

The referee brought the low key second half to a finish and it was a scoreline which Cardea will not be proud of but it was a good learning curve for the Division 3 champions.

After the game joint manager Craig Robinson said: "The first half was poor and frustrating to watch, we played how we know we can for a 5-10 minute spell. But when we took the lead for some reason we panicked and completely forgot how to defend as a team and conceded 5 in 10-15 mins.

"A lot of players were walking around expecting others to do the dirty work! The first half was a lesson to everyone including me! Half time gave us the chance to have 10 minutes together, everyone got what they needed to say off their chests and it was good to see there wasn't any individuals being blamed. When we lose we lose as a team.

"Second half we were much better, closing down in 2's and 3's rather then leaving one man to do it all! And we won the second half which gives us something to take away with us."

"Credit to Adam Simons slotting in at right back when asked without moaning. It's good to see us still having the usual banter even after a poor result! It's pre season so the score line isn't the most important thing but we need to learn a lot from today."

"We're not used to losing so we just need to take it on the chin and all turn up with a better work rate next week. Credit to West Town they deserved the win, the score line does flatter them but it's hopefully the kick up the arse we need. Man of the match was Frags - decent managers decision by me to give him a kit #justsaying."

Joint manager Kev Webster added: "Today was all about the test in character as much as the football. We had a crazy 15 minute spell where they couldn't do anything wrong and we couldn't do anything right.

"At half time you all reacted the way you should, all listened to each other and took on board what we all said. We were a much better team in the 2nd half and that's credit to you all. I was looking to see how you all reacted to losing a game and today showed me a lot to how far this team has come along.

"The result is annoying but I'm proud of the way you all went out second half and showed them you're a team that can play football, can score goals and can battle hard.

"Pre season is only going to get tougher, forget about results just concentrate on playing our way and playing as a team. This will make us stronger and hungry for a successful league campaign. I would like to mention Frags and Kynan for a great battling display in the second half which seemed to encourage the rest of the team to follow suit."

Cardea FC's next game is against another Division 1 team next Sunday as they play Brotherhoods at Werrington.