CLACTON Knights' walking football team kicked-off their Essex League campaign at Colchester.

With many of their regular squad unavailable, it was proof of how far they have come that they could still field a very strong team to compete against the county’s best.

The Knights got off to a great start by beating Ball Payne Hammer, from Harlow, 3-0.

Next up were Cornard United, who have recently joined the league and already look the team to beat.

After a competitive and close start, Cornard managed to out-muscle Clacton to win 3-0.

The next match against Chelmsford City was now a must-win game. Clacton went behind early on but stormed back to lead 2-1 at half-time. Both teams had chances to score more goals and it looked like Clacton would hold out for a deserved win.

However, with almost the last kick of the game, Chelmsford broke away to equalise and the game finished 2-2.

A deflated Knights team faced JPS next.

This turned out to be a much more one-sided affair and Clacton took out their frustrations on another new addition to the league to run out 8-0 winners.

So after week one, the Knights sit in second place and look good for another successful year in the Essex League.