West’s first competitive match of the season was a superb win away at Croxley Eagles in the League Cup. Given their status in a higher division though, it was Croxley who began the brighter and had the better of the first 10-15 minutes. West soon made an impression though, and tested their defence after a quarter of an hour when Carl Biggs forced the Croxley keeper into making a good save, while a minute later the opening goal arrived following good work from Myles Smith and Tom Weaver before Greg Springalls fantastic turn and shot from close range left the keeper no chance.

West then had to work hard as Croxley again had the better possession, and they forced a number of corners, however Stuart Cole, Ryan Maher, Myles, Joe Murtagh and Charlie Craigen in defence, and in particular Alex Cobb in goal, kept them at bay. Despite not having the majority of possession however, West were dangerous on the break, with Tom Weaver and Greg creating one good counter attack before the Croxley keeper saved well from Greg’s shot.

West began the second half brightly and a great Scott Howlett run down the right wing ended with a cross to Greg in the area, unfortunately the resulting shot went just over the bar. The game was more even now and saw chances at both ends, with opportunities falling to Carl Biggs, Greg and Scott, while at the other end Alex made a number of great stops to maintain West’s lead.

As the half went on though Croxley began to dominate although West probably created the better chances, and as Croxley pressed for an equalizer West had to work very hard to maintain their lead. West continued to see their best efforts come from counter attacks though, with Scott coming close to extending the lead. With five minutes left their efforts to put the game beyond Croxley’s reach were rewarded after Jamie Heaffey flicked a ball through to Matt Peckham, who had made a good run from midfield, and he lobbed the keeper to make it 2-0.

This was a great performance from the team against a side from a higher division, and they all worked very hard to achieve the victory.