Pinnstars FC U8 b vs Sandgate FC U8 Blades
26th November 2011
Once more Saturday fixtures appear to suit the young Blades as they made the trip to the borough border to play Pinnstars.
With only Reece Mbanini unavailable, an extended match squad assembled early and looked lively in the warm-up.
Skipper for the Day was debutant Chezney Welsh, who won the toss and elected to kick off. The starting vii of Matt the Cat Cox, Geoffrey Owusu, Thomas Roberts, Dylan Saran, Marshall Thorpe, Harris Jabaarkhel and Godfrey Owusu did not waste possession from the start and went straight on the offensive.
The big pitch provided plenty of space for the Sandgate “pass & move” style. Once more Geoffrey & Thomas provided the platform on which their teammates played and before long Godfrey in possession on the left, crossed the ball for Dylan to tuck away, 1-0 Sandgate. A series of attacks then followed with Marshall breaking up play in the middle of the park and threading passes to teammates. Harris forced a corner which Dylan took and found Geoffrey up from the back who cooly finished to score his first Blades goal, 2-0 Sandgate.
With a third of the game played, the first series of changes saw Geoffrey, Thomas, Marshall & Harris replaced by Jamie Lindley, Kian Duffy, Ajay Sondhi and Chezney. Unfortunately the re-shuffle unsettled them for a second and Pinnstars pulled back to 2-1. As ever though the Blades dug deep, retained their shape and possession better than the opposition. But the match tightened as the home side got into their stride but Sandgate continued to press but the half finished 2-1 to the Blades.
Early in the second half, Godfrey received a facial injury and was replaced by Harris and Ajay pushed up field. The Blades forced another corner from the left and most pleasing for Coach Thorpe was witnessing another corner routine go to plan. A variation on the short corner saw Harris return the ball to taker Dylan who with one touch set the ball to his right on the corner of the box and with the next unleash a rocket into the top corner (a “moment of the season” contender?), 3-1 Sandgate.
Playing with increased confidence the Blades knocked the ball around the park with everyone showing how comfortable they are in possession. Some neat play down the right saw Dylan finish a trademark jinky run with a pin-point pass to Ajay who again slotted home with aplomb, 4-1 Sandgate. Matt the Cat took a blow after once more coming out to close down an opposition forward but carried on bravely.
With ten minutes remaining another round of changes signalled the end of Chezney’s debut, one he can be proud of. Kian now in the centre won back possession and found Harris on the left. His short run, beating two Pinnstars players, saw him get his head up and find Godfrey in the middle who matched his brother’s earlier finish to make it 5-1 Sandgate.
In the closing moments, a Marshall throw high up on the left found Harris, his first touch created the chance he put away to round off a 6-1 victory for the visitors.
Final Score: Pinnstars FC U8 b (1) – Sandgate FC U8 Blades (6)
Man of the Match: Chezney Welsh – grew into his full debut.
Thanks to everyone for their support and to Sandy for being “Official Blades Photographer”
Darren Thorpe
Manager
Sandgate U8 Blades |
