Thursday 24th July 2015 @ Jaffray Road
Erdington and Saltley Under 10s/11s Mixed 2 – 1 Kings Heath Warriors Gold Under 11s
Team: Harvey, Brad, Shaun, Kye, Ilani, Taylor, Tiarno, Danny, Bradley, Resharne, Rio, Cameron, Samim and Blessing
Goals: Cameron x 2
With most of the Under 11s absent for a number of reasons, it was left to the young guns to step up to the plate, accompanied by a few wise old heads and one or two returning stars!
The first fifteen minutes didn’t exactly start as we had hoped, with our opponents taking the lead after 90 seconds thanks to a thunderous free kick. However we refused to be down heartened by this blow and pushed on, controlling the remainder of the first quarter. Within minutes of falling behind, we equalised through Cameron, who expertly fired home at the far post following Kings Heath’s attempts to clear the ball. It was no less than we deserved.
The second quarter saw Cameron drop into the centre of midfield and Blessing slot in up front. The Court Farm sharp-shooter (Blessing) showed that his first couple of months with Blues have had a big impact on his game, as he ran the line with growing understanding, finding pockets of space and playing others in when they were in a better position.
Much of the game saw players asked to occupy unfamiliar positions, all in the name of development. Tiarno and Danny were asked to curb their attacking instincts and slot in at right and left back, whilst Rio came in off the wing to pull the strings in the centre of the park, with Cameron doing likewise. Everyone should be incredibly proud of how they performed, many of whom were against older opposition and playing 9-a-side football for the first time. None more so than Resharne. The Brookvale Year 3 star had a cracking game, often coming up against a much bigger and stronger opponent in their right back. Nonetheless he squared up to him and battled away like a trooper, using his body and strength equally as well as the Kings Heath defender. His vision, bravery and ability to pick a pass meant he looked far from out of place against the older boys.
With the scores still level as the game entered the fourth and final quarter, we knew we had to find the goal that our possession warranted. However Kings Heath had other ideas and started to control the game. Fortunately Cameron also had other ideas! Now back up front, the Gunter finisher slotted home to give The Ton a 2-1 lead, although the drama was far from over! Kings Heath thought they’d snatched a draw in the closing seconds of the game, only for their linesman to disallow it. Relief all round for the Ton boys!
Overall a very pleasing evening. With a largely under 10s team on the field, it was great to get a victory but more pleasing was the manner in which we tried to play attacking football on the ground, whilst also working hard to regain possession throughout the game.
Thank you to Kings Heath and all involved. They had a long journey to get to Jaffray and looked a cracking team. I’m sure they’ll have a great first season as a team and we look forward to crossing paths again, hopefully before the end of the season.
Also a big thanks to Lloyd and the Phoenix family for allowing us to use Jaffray Road. We owe you one. Another one!
Man of the Match – Rio: He was here, there and everywhere. It was great to hear him demanding the ball and wanting to take responsibility. An all round brilliant game!
Up The Ton!
Erdington and Saltley Primary Schools' FA 