Esthwaite Vale began the 2010/11 Westmorland League campaign in impressive fashion once again on the opening day of the season, defeating local rivals Coniston 3-1 at home in Hawkshead for the first time since their reform four seasons ago. Team changes saw Jason Carrick make his debut in midfield while the soon to be banned trio of Gibson, Irvine and Maclennan found themselves in the familar territory of right back, left midfield and centre forward respectively.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon the home side began the game in agressive and determined fashion, looking the better side in the opening exchanges but failing to turn the superior possession and chances into goals in the first twenty minutes of the tie. Despite this, Esthwaite continued to pass the ball with assurance right from the back four through to the front two, making their opponents work hard to win the ball back in testing conditions. Coniston provided stubborn resistance for the majority of the first half and it seemed as though they would carry a priceless lead into the break after an extremely dubious free kick given in the away teams direction was floated to the back post and a nudge in the back of full back Gibson allowed the ball to fall neatly to Edmonson, who guided the ball inside the near post clinically.

With only around five minutes remaining till the break this seemingly harsh goal against the general run of play frustrated many of Esthwaite's players as their standard of play decreased dramatically. Thankfully the Vale pulled themselves together to pinch an equaliser just in time for the interval as Maclennan's long throw into the box caused havoc and as was regular for much of last season David Irvine was on hand to guide the ball on the volley into the roof of the net from close range. This goal restored the belief of Esthwaite who were playing much the better football before the Coniston goal, and after half time the same two players combined once again in much the same way as Maclennan's throw-in was met with venom by the head of Irvine who gave Esthwaite the lead.

As per usual in this derby game the tackles were well contested and many battles were hard fought across the field, Coniston adopting a routine long ball style on many occasions from the big kick of the visiting goalkeeper as well as targeting set pieces in an attempt to get back on terms. The home side's back four stood firm however with the late returning Dave Barr his usual solid self at the heart of the defence alongside Deveney. Man of the match Mike Thornley was superb at left back both going forward and defensively, showing tight marking and good composure on the ball to deny Coniston. On the back of this strong defending from the whole team when necessary, Esthwaite were able to pick up the decisive thrid goal as a quick throw-in once again was too sharp for Coniston's defence as the ever-willing Taylor laid the ball on perfectly for captain Brett Jackson who fired the ball into the far corner to give the hosts a vital two goal cushion. A great team performance saw the deficit remain as Esthwaite Vale picked up the three points and plenty of momentum going into their Tuesday night tie against another local opponent in the shape of Windermere SC Reserves. If the Vikings can perform like this every game then it should be a positive league campaign throughout.