Sunday 13th December 2009 - Croft Juniors 'A' (A)

After another enforced 2 weeks without a match due to the weather we travelled to Croft with anticipation of a very tough match and included in our squad was Tyler Fitchett for the first time after his transfer from A.S.C. Youth F.C.

The pitch was understandably heavy for both teams due to the recent weather but it served up a very entertaining match to watch, for the fans of both teams from start to finish.

We started the game very well and had several corners from Euan bounce in and around the penalty box without somebody being able to add the finishing touch.

The Croft goalie and defence were in very good form and the pick of the saves was when Callum fired in a shot that was heading for the top corner, only for a fingertip save over the bar.

It was proving very difficult for all the players to run with the ball on the heavy surface and the crunching tackles from both teams were never far away when players did have space to exploit.

We tried hard to pass the ball around but the lack of width due to the formation employed by the coach was making that very difficult.

The breakthrough was made by Croft after 15 minutes when a good move was finished by Milo Bolton sliding the ball under the on-rushing Conor and into the net giving Croft the lead.

This was the first goal we'd conceded in 5 matches.

On 18 minutes a long range free-kick by Euan had finally beaten the keeper, but came crashing back of the crossbar and out to safety before Zach and Tyler could put it into the net.

Our defence of Alanah, Beckham, Lewis and Jordan all absorbed what was thrown at them by Croft and Conor was ever alert when the situation arose behind them.

A flowing move ended with another long range shot from Euan beating the goalie, but this time it hit the right hand post and again was cleared to safety.

Half-time 0-1

The start of the 2nd half was end to end as both defences legs started to tire in the heavy conditions and our defence made several very good tackles to stop Croft adding a 2nd goal.

We nearly got our equalizer after 8 minutes when good interplay between Jordan Thompson and Zach gave Tyler an opening, but yet again with the goalie beaten the ball struck the post.

As the game entered the last quarter we changed our formation and encouraged the team to use the full width of the pitch with Callum on the left and Zach on the right wings.

The move worked for us as a driving run and cross from Zach on 15 minutes was finished decisively from close range by Tyler to bring us level.

Both teams then went in search of the next goal and there were close shaves in both boxes.

On 20 minutes we gained our 10th corner of the game and Callum floated the ball onto the head of Euan who thudded a bullet of a header into the top corner to give us the lead.

The home team then threw everything at us in search of an equalizer, but we stood firm as a team and the effort put in by all our players was fantastic.

Then with time nearly up a great tackle by Euan on the half way line was followed by a left footed shot from long range that found the back of the net before the outstanding goalie from Croft could move.

The gasp of relief from all involved from Bassett at the final whistle just showed how hard we had to work today for our victory against a very good Croft team.

Match Summary- An excellent all round performance from start to finish against a very good Croft Team and the players heads didn't go drop, although it looked we were going to have one of those days when luck deserted us in front of goal.

Team- Conor, Lewis, Alanah, Jordan Taylor, Beckham, Callum, Jordan Wright- Thompson, Euan, Zach and Tyler.

Player of the match- Euan Burke who as well as scoring 2 goals and hitting the woodwork twice in the match did very well in his defensive work and drove the team forward from the middle of the park.

Last modified on Monday 22nd June 2015 at 23:39