Saturday 10th December 2016 @ Heartlands Academy
Erdington and Saltley 4 – 3 Walsall FC
Team: Gerard, Danny, Taylor, Tiarno, Ilani, Cian T, Cameron, Blessing, Che and William
Goals: William x2, Cameron and Taylor
Man of the Match: Cian Tevlin for his tireless effort in the centre of the park.
Over the years this wonderful district and its great kids has given me so much to be proud of. Whilst being yet another example of that, yesterday was arguably up there with our greatest ever moments.
Against the full Walsall academy under 11s team, The Ton lads showed immense spirit to drag themselves from 2-0 and 3-1 behind to eventually win by the odd goal in seven.
The first third saw The Ton play some good football but ultimately shoot themselves in the foot a number of times, primarily via their inability to release the ball quick enough when in good positions. Such moments of uncertainly were pounced upon by the Walsall lads who ended the first twenty, two goals to the good.
The second twenty brought stability for the Erdington boys, with mistakes fewer and further between. Despite steadying the ship, the lads still found themselves two goals behind as the ref’s whistle signalled the end of the second third.
Trailing by a brace of goals, The Ton got a foothold in the game when they scored shortly after the restart. And what a goal it was too! A thunderous, long range half-volley from the boot of William! That filled the boys with confidence and they almost equalised immediately after it, only for Che to be thwarted by the out-rushing Saddlers keeper. However just as the lads had the wind behind their sails, Walsall struck to restore their two goal advantage. Undeterred, The Ton bounced straight back when William once again scored, this time slotting home a Cameron cross straight from the restart.
With ten minutes left and still trailing, the boys bombed forward at every opportunity. Throwing caution to the wind, Blessing was reintroduced, although this time in a more advanced position. The equalising goal came courtesy of a now trademark Ilani long distance strike! With Ilani determined to battle Will for goal of the season, the boys found themselves back on level terms for the first time since the 7th minute of the game.
Not yet finished and with five minutes left on the clock, The Ton took the lead for the very first time when Taylor headed home from a William corner. Once the ecstatic celebrations had died down, the lads regrouped and saw out the game to claim their best win of the season.
This match had it all and was a great illustration of the talent that we are blessed with in Erdington and Saltley. Every player put in a great shift and battled their hearts out from start to finish. The manner of the comeback could prove to be the making of the 2016/17 team!
Well done lads!
Up The Ton!
Erdington and Saltley Primary Schools' FA 