Saturday 2nd January 2021 @ Vale Stadium, Castle Vale
Erdington and Saltley A 7-1 Sutton Coldfield
Team: Jack, Myiano, Reo, Rion, Lennon, Keon, Omari, Rhys, Ebrima, Dylan, Uzi, Younussa, Yaw, Jason and Kyle
Goals: Dylan x 3, Omari, Kyle, Jason and Lennon
Man of the Match: Dylan – A classy hat-trick to make it 14 goals in 11 games this season.
The first game of 2021 was a brilliant affair for a number of reasons:
- It was great to see Sutton Coldfield competing once again in what was their first game of the season. They proved to all that they are a really talented squad who’ll more than hold their own this season.
- It was the first time this season that we have had our full squad together such has been the disruption of the 2020/21 Covid-season.
- It was a breathtaking performance from the boys; a performance where all of the boys hit top form!
- It turned out to be our last game for what appears to be more than a while. We are just glad we managed to get a game in before Lockdown was introduced.
The opening third was an excellent 20 minutes of football, with both teams prodding and probing as they jostled for the lead. The lead came our way thanks to an excellent team goal, smartly finished off by the in-form Omari.
The second period saw the boys pull away from the Sutton lads as their experience told. After entering the field following the first break, Dylan notched a brace of goals to add to his already impressive tally for the season. In defence, Rion, Myiano and Reo were commanding during the opening period, and their Herculean efforts were mirrored in the second period, this time with Rhys and Younussa now flanking Myiano. As he had done in the pre-Christmas BPSFA Winter Shield, Yaw shielded the defence brilliantly to allow Keon to flood forward at will and impose himself as an attacking force, alongside the impressive Ebrima and Kyle.
Sutton ended the second period with a goal from the penalty spot to leave the game 4-1 in favour of the boys from The Ton.
The final period saw our familiarity prove too much for a Sutton team who were playing their first game as a unit. A further three goals were bagged, as Jason rifled home from the spot, Lennon drove a rasping shot in from outside the area and Dylan completed his second hat-trick of the season. With Ton legend Markie Meade watching on from the sidelines, the boys put on a superb performance that surely impressed their former captain and all-time leading Ton goalscorer!
What a performance! This has been a tough season in what has been a tough year for so many people in more ways than we will ever appreciate. However, the boys continue to show how much it means to them to represent their district whenever they’re afforded the opportunity. Once again the season is put on the back burner while more important things take centre stage. The memory of this game and the tantalising thought of what is to come next will be more than enough to keep people going until we next line up as a team!
Well done boys!
Up The Ton!
Erdington and Saltley Primary Schools' FA 