Cardea's first home game of the year saw them produce one of their best performances of the season. A strong defensive display and three good goals resulted in Cardea returning to the top of the league.

The pitch was cut up and not the best but the weather stayed fair throughout and there was minimal wind, not enough to affect the game.

George and Tom Greetham both started the match with the elder brother pushed furthest forward. Tom Rimes returned to the Cardea defence at right back with Dale Moore taking the left back position.

The game started with an edgy feel to it and neither team could create a clear chance on goal. Guyhirn had more possession in the first twenty minutes but could not break down the Cardea defence and were restricted to long range efforts.

Guyhirn had a half chance on 25 minutes when their striker broke the offside trap but as he was bearing down on goal a magnificent, last ditch challenge from Michael Williams stole the ball away and ended the move.

As half time approached goalkeeper Anton Fountain was deceived by an unpredictabe bounce from the awful pitch and as the attacker looked to capitalise Fountain pushed him out wide and then made a great challenge to win the ball but the referee, who was poor throughout gave a free kick.

From the set piece Guyhirn headed a good chance over. The chances weren't finished there though and Fountain had to be alert again in stoppage time of the first half to tip over a goal bound shot after Guyhirn broke the offside trap again.

Half time came and it was goalless with Guyhirn creating the majority of the chances. Tom Broughton was pushed up front with Daniel Robinson coming on the play on the wing.

Ten minutes into the second half and Cardea took the lead. A big kick by Fountain was flicked on by Tom Broughton and George Greetham latched onto it and lobbed the ball over the goalkeeper, who got a hand to it but not enough to keep it out.

Guyhirn attempted to get back into the game and had good possession but a fantastic Cardea rear guard performance, helped by the whole team tracking back and taking defensive responsibility, restricted the away team to long shots that were dealt with by Fountain.

The win was secured with five minutes to go when Tom Greetham was fouled 35 yards away from goal. The striker took the free kick himself, despite interest from others, and it turned out to be a great decision.

Greetham struck the ball along the ground towards goal and, with the help of an absolute howler from the Guyhirn keeper, the ball trickled into the back of the net.

There was enough time left for a third Cardea goal and a second for Tom Greetham, and it was a great counter attacking move. The ball was played into Greetham's feet and he outpaced and out-muscled the defender and struck a great shot past the keeper and into the bottom corner.

There was still time for a scare for Cardea at the back when defending a Guyhirn corner. The ball was swung into the near post and Robinson, under instruction from Rimes, ducked under the ball and Fountain's handling had to be at it's best to deny Guyhirn a consolation goal.

The referee brought an end to the contest and three points for Cardea see's them move to the top of the league. Cardea kept up their status of having the best defence in the division, having only conceded 19 all season, far superior to their closest opposition.

The man of the match was awarded to Anton Fountain, although this accolade could have gone to a number of players. The goalkeeper was chosen due to his constant talking, good handling and important saves.

After the match manager Kev Webster said: "Today we defended well, showing signs of our start of season. Shows what a difference it makes when you have a mainly sober team!

"Credit to all the lads. Today was a good performance, going to be hard to pick a 14 next week after today's game. Nice to see the Greethams back and scoring.

"For me today's man of the match was Anton he controlled the back line and handled the ball really well, well done been in good form all season!"

Manager Craig Robinson added: "The lads were all very good today, subs came on and contributed. I was pleased with the way all the lads pressed the ball and listened to instructions from the sidelines. 5 wins away from the title!!"

Cardea's charge for the title continues when they take on Peterborough Athletic next Sunday at Lawson Avenue, Stanground.