Wardens secured all three points in a seven-goal thriller against friendly rivals Polonia at Glasshouse Lane.

Wardens were missing the majority of their regular defenders, meaning debuts for James Brewitt, Rhys Palmer and a return for Archie Evans and Lee Jassi.

The hosts started the better of the two sides. After Guy Pearson won an early freekick 30 yards out, Tom Shanley tested keeper Mariusz Wróblewski who managed to get a touch on a corner-bound finish to send it for a corner.

Wardens continued to trouble Polonia with through balls to the runs of Pearson, Shanley and Ben Edmunds but were frustrated on six occasions in the first 20 minutes by dubious offside decisions.

Wardens eventually beat the offside trap when Alex Waters broke possession in midfield and passed to Pearson, who played a clever pass to Shanley to turn and wrong foot the keeper from 20 yards to provide the opening goal.

Wardens made it 2-0 through Edmunds' low shot into the bottom corner.

Wardens then played out the rest of the half with ten men after Shanley was sin binned for backchat to the referee after Edmunds was judged offside again.

Despite the man disadvantage, Wardens made it 3-0 on the 40 minute mark. Andy Whitehouse in goal played a clever long pass to the advancing Evans, who passed it to Pearson who beat two players before squaring to Edmunds for his second goal and Pearson's third assist.

Polonia did not give up and created two good half chances before the break, however their forward's first touch let them down.

Polonia came out the better side in the second half, trying to work their way back into the game. Despite the pressure, the makeshift centre half partnership of Brewitt and Jassi looked comfortable at the back.

However on 65 minutes a deep Åukasz Budziski free kick was only half cleared to Radosaw Kiper who took one touch before firing in a truly brilliant goal into the top corner.

Wardens quickly restored their three goal lead when captain Sam Taylor won possession in his own half before playing a smart through ball to Edmunds, who powered through the Polonia defense before finishing with his weaker foot into the corner for his hatrick.

Polonia continued to push and cause Wardens problems and were rewarded when a free kick by Dominik Gliniecki was turned in by Dawid Gwizdek.

With Polonia on the front foot, Wardens quickly killed off the game when a long ball forward by Waters was only half dealt with, Edmunds picked up the loose ball to slalom between three Polonia defenders and finishing his solo effort to make it five for Wardens and four for Edmunds.

Despite several good opportunities for both sides in the last 15 minutes the game ended 5-2.

Manager Eamonn Richards said after the game: "Considering the amount of regular players missing today, especially defensively, I couldn't be happier with the performance and result. The players who came in were brilliant and especially happy that a hungover Edmunds agreed to come back from university for the day!

"We've always had a lot of respect for Polonia and it's always great to see Karol who's building a great set up there."

Kenilworth Wardens are proudly sponsored by LPC Sports Therapy and Yoga.

Lead-therapist Lily is a Level Four qualified sports massage therapist and yoga Practitioner, specialising in anxiety support.

Lily is trained to diagnose injuries, rehabilitate, and is fully recommended by players of Kenilworth Wardens.