FOUR goals to the good and coasting, the Morning Allstars undid all their good work by conceding six late goals to fall to their second defeat of the year last week.

A Carl Worswick hat-trick and a first strike of the season from Chris Hirst sent the Reds within touching distance of victory, but an abysmal final 20 minutes saw the New Statesman hitback to claim their first win.

"There's an air of complacency in the ranks and I don't like it. We just don't have that killer instinct to finish games this year and it's costing us dear," a disgruntled Worswick moaned.

A BATTERED and bruised Morning Allstars side slipped to their first defeat of the season, falling to an 8-4 defeat to the T&G.

Despite storming into a one-goal lead after striker Carl Worswick had let fire from the edge of the box, the Allstars soon lost their momentum and went into the break 2-1 behind.

The weekend's exertions in the Berkeley Nomads Cup had left the Allstars squad threadbare, without the usual services of key players James Eagle, who had aggravated an old foot injury, and Adrian Roberts who was left out of the side due to fatigue.

Worswick, Chris Hirst and Peter Mengerink - all members of the desperately unfortunate Allstars side that were beaten in Saturday's final on penalties - were far from match fit while Karl Stewart was unusually subdued.

James Walsh, making a rare start for the Reds, flicked in a delightful goal in the second period to join a fierce drive from Mengerink and a fortuitous angled effort from Worswick. But tiredness told and the Allstars finished the game well beaten at 8-4.

The match was the first game of the Morning Star League, thus putting the victorious T&G side on top perch and leaving the Allstars looking upwards.

Photos of the Berkeley Nomads World Cup are now online for everybody to enjoy.

You can find them here.

THE Morning Star’s footballers came within a whisker of lifting their first piece of silverware at the weekend, cruelly losing on penalties in the final of the Berkeley Nomads Cup.

Carl Worswick pushed the Allstars into a first-half lead, with the slender goal cushion preserved until half-time through some tenacious defending from Adrian Roberts, Chris Hirst and James Eagle.

The Berkeley Nomads equalised after the break, but Worswick almost snatched victory at the death with an audacious long-range chip that clipped the post.

Stalemate swung the final into a spot-kick lottery in which Worswick rattled the woodwork, Eagle and Roberts blazed over and, although keeper Peter Mengerink converted his effort, his heroics in goal couldn't quite keep out the all-important last penalty.

"It's devastating, nobody can quite believe it. I’ve got the boy Mengerink crying his eyes out in there, but I've given him a hug and told him how proud I am of him - how proud I am of all of them," Worswick said.

A sluggish start, not helped by a gruelling early morning trip from London to Gloucestershire, saw the Allstars play out a drab 0-0 draw with the NUJ before crashing to a 3-0 defeat.

But, despite not having the luxury of substitutes, the Allstars responded admirably with thumping 3-1 and 4-0 victories to book a final berth.

Hirst later held off Mengerink to be voted overall Player of the Tournament at the evening's awards ceremony.

A RAMPANT Morning Allstars ran riot on Thursday tearing into a forlorn National Union of Journalists side like a pack of hungry vultures would rip into a rotting carcass.

It was the Allstars' biggest-ever win and stretches their recent impressive run to three wins in their last four games.

With Karl Stewart absent and Adrian Roberts still nursing an injured knee, James Walsh was drafted into the side for his first start since July. He joined Allstars' regulars Carl Worswick, James Eagle, Chris Hirst and Peter Mengerink in the side, while south London defensive thinker Alastair Drummond pulled on the prestigious red shirt for the first time.

Eagle belted the home side in front with a ferocious long-range effort, followed by two strikes from Chris Hirst.

Worswick made it four goals to the good for the Allstars with a typical finish from the Lancashire striker, but a powerful drive by an NUJ defender gave the visitors a gasp of hope.

That aside, Mengerink in the Allstars' goal had little to do and it was only a matter of time before the Allstars extended their lead. Walsh finished neatly after good flank work from Worswick and then struck again moments later to ease the Reds into a 6-1 half-time lead.

A few savage half-time words from NUJ captain Tim Lezard got the visitors off to a confident second period, while the Allstars lost their heads a little, each player desperately seeking to get his name on the score-sheet. After the NUJ had clawed an early goal back, Hirst returned a sense of defensive discipline and the NUJ withered under intense Allstar pressure.

Hirst went on to complete his hattrick, while Walsh went one better to take his tally to four. Worswick scored five second-half goals to add to a first-ever strike from Drummond and one from Mengerink, giving the Allstars a thumping 16-3 victory.

This match report is actually from Thursday 6 October and was accidentally left off the website. We offer our sincere apologies to all our fans

FROM all the players at the Morning Allstars, may we wish all our opponents and fans from across the world a very joyous festive period and a happy new year. May the red flag fly high in 2007!

• Manager Carl Worswick reminds all Morning Allstars players that training for the new year begins on Tuesday 2 January at King's Hall Leisure Centre, Hackney at 7pm. He urges all players to attend the workout and expects to unleash a couple of new faces to add competition and a little flavour to the Red Army ranks.

All players that fail to attend will be expelled from the team, without exception. You have been warned.

CHRISTOPHER Ian Hirst pipped Carl Worswick to the Players' Player of the Year at the first Morning Allstars' awards evening last Friday.

The burly defender from Chesterfield pushed aside recent personal problems to take the top prize by five votes to three from Worswick.

"It's unbelievable, I'm chuffed to bits. This has to be the best day of my life," a weeping Hirst told a packed audience at the Allstars' lavish annual ceremony.

Golden boot winner Worswick paid tribute to Hirst's "sensational performances," admitting that he had been a "worthy winner."

Peter Mengerink gained three votes to secure the Fans' Player of the Year award after a string of excellent performances between the sticks for the Reds and, in the Most Improved Player of the Year category, Karl Stewart controversially snatched the award from James Eagle.

By four votes to three Stewart later admitted that he had voted tactically, opting for Mengerink instead of Eagle as his favoured candidate.

In the final award, Katie Gilmore was crowned Fan of the Year, holding off the challenge from hot-favourite Monty Goldman, Daniel Coysh, Ros Sitwell and Amrita Dirghangi.

THE Morning Allstars battled out an 11-11 draw with the New Statesman last week, in a game that the Reds really ought to have won.

Leading 6-5 at the break, the Allstars stormed into a second-half three-goal lead before being pegged back in the dying embers of the game.

James Eagle had lashed the home side in front with a confident finish. Peter Mengerink hit a first-half hat-trick, while Karl Stewart and Arie Natelson also found the back of the net.

A sluggish start to the second half saw the New Statesman first equalise at 6-6 and then take the lead, but the Allstars cranked their performance up a gear and a brace from Worswick followed by two venomous drives from Stewart gave the Reds a comfortable three-goal advantage.

It didn't last, however, and the New Statesman, keeping their heads from dropping, admirably rescued the game with three quickfire strikes.

With the hour almost gone and the game poised at 10-all, Mengerink thought that he had stole the winner with his fourth goal of the match, but once more the New Statesman pulled level.

"The lads are a bit down, they thought they had done enough to have won it, but we've kept our unbeaten run intact, which is the most important thing," Worswick commented after the game.

Formed in October 2005, the Morning Allstars play at Hackney's King's Hall Leisure Centre every other Tuesday at 7pm. Please get in touch with us regarding away games.