MEMO to self: I must not use this column to rant about referees.

Right, now I've got that out of the way, I can get on with discussing Willington Under-15s' heroic efforts at Birtley Town last week.

We were beaten 2-0, but after the capitulation against Redby two weeks earlier our players could hold their heads high.

However much pride we lost last month, the lads clawed back twice as much as they pushed Birtley to the brink.

I have said previously in this column that coaching Willington is like being in charge of Lilliput United, so small are most of my players.

That has never been more true than last Sunday, when our three tallest players were all either injured or on holiday in Lanzarote (terrific timing, eh?!).

So, Andrew Robinson - all 3ft 6in of him - was asked to mark Birtley's 6ft 3in striker.

That was just one of many unbalanced battles, though. All over the pitch, green and white shirts towered over blue and white opponents.

Yet we did not flinch, we did not back out of a single challenge, and but for slightly better finishing (and something I've already vowed not to talk about) we would have taken at least a point from the game.

In fairness, our goalkeeper Craig Alston made a handful of excellent saves to keep the scoreline at 2-0 as we fought for a route back into the game.

But I could not fault any of my players for effort or application. Adam Nicholls gave his best performance since I took over and Adam Comby, usually a midfielder, did superbly as an emergency striker.

The player that truly stood out, however, was right-back Chris Johnson.

He was one of the three lads I left out of the squad on the opening day of the season.

I know he took my decision badly, but instead of sulking he has spent the last two months showing why he should be in the team.

Last Sunday was his zenith. He scarcely put a foot wrong in the 80 minutes and his display typified his response to being omitted: it was exemplary.

As I left the ground, their coach warmly shook my hand and said: "You've got a cracking football team."

He's right.

We take a step into the unknown on Sunday as we welcome St Josephs, riding high in the First Division, to Willington.

It's the third round of the League Cup, with a place in the quarter-finals the prize for the winners, and the perfect time for us to end our two-game losing streak.

But having been armed with a dossier of information on our last few opponents, I know virtually nothing about St Josephs.

They were relegated from the Premier Division in 2001-02 (the year we were promoted to the top flight) and they came close to going down again last season.

This year, however, they are pushing for promotion - despite last month losing 4-1 at Whickham, whom we beat 7-1 in the Cup.

We should have a couple of our walking wounded back as well as our centre-back Adam Simpson - providing he's decided to swap Lanzarote for Hunwick.

But I can exclusively reveal that there is likely to be only one enforced change to the side that did so well at Birtley.

The adage may be, "Never change a winning team," but even after a defeat like the one at Birtley it would be grossly unfair to swing the axe.