The Middlesex Football League (MFL) returned with a bang as Southall hosted Hounslow South in an exciting season opener that ended in a 10-5 victory for the visitors.

Despite being on home turf, Southall found themselves on the back foot almost immediately. Hounslow South’s Haleem Pall opened the scoring just 3 minutes into the game, capitalising on a slick assist from Jazib Ghaffar. It was a blow for Southall, but they didn’t take long to respond. Faizan brought the score level at 1-1 in the 6th minute, much to the relief of the home supporters.

However, that relief was short-lived. Hounslow South’s Shariq Ahmad restored the lead in the 10th minute, and it quickly became clear that the visitors had no intention of letting up. Shariq struck again, assisted by Haleem, to make it 3-1, and before Southall could regroup, Shahweer Ahmad made it 4-1 with an assist from Shariq. As halftime approached, Haleem and Shariq combined once more to push the score to 5-1, and Shariq completed his hat-trick to send the teams into the break with Hounslow South firmly in control at 6-1.

The second half began with Hounslow South continuing their dominance as Haleem scored again just 2 minutes in, making it 7-1. But Southall, to their credit, began to show signs of life. Hashim scored in the 47th minute, narrowing the gap to 7-2, and Faizan added another to bring it to 7-3 with a tidy finish following a Faiz assist.

Just when it seemed like Southall might mount a comeback, Hounslow South reasserted their dominance. Shahweer added his second of the day, assisted by Shariq, to make it 8-3. Southall’s Faiz managed to pull one back to 8-4, but it was clear that Hounslow South were not going to be caught. Shahweer completed his hat-trick, and Ali Khan added the final goal for the visitors to make it 10-4. A late strike from Faizan made the scoreline slightly more respectable at 10-5, but the result was never in doubt.

Southall can take some positives from their improved second-half performance, but Hounslow South’s relentless attack was simply too much for them to handle on the day. As the first game of the season, this clash certainly set the tone for what promises to be an exciting MFL campaign.