INDOOR TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Meadowmill Sports Centre (2Feb07)

This was a great day out for the kids, competing in their first ever 5-a-sides indoor tournament. Lots of goals were scored over the course of the day, with the Blue Stripes playing in the morning session and the Black Stripes in the afternoon. Each squad was split in two, with some kids playing for the morning and afternoon sessions to cover a few absences on the day.

Here's the results for the Black Stripes squad:

Pitch 1 - Dylan, Mark, Calum, Innes, Cameron/Jason J

• MYS Black Stripes 3 - 2 Haddington Ath Clarets
• MYS Black Stripes 0 - 4 Pencaitland
• MYS Black Stripes 5 - 4 Seton BC Colts
• MYS Black Stripes 4 - 3 Dunbar Utd White
• MYS Black Stripes 7 - 0 Tranent Jnrs
• MYS Black Stripes 2 - 2 Dunbar Utd White
• MYS Black Stripes 3 - 2 Seton BC Colts

Pitch 2 - Harvey, Kyle, Sam, Josh, Lennon

• MYS Black Stripes 4 - 0 Tranent Jnrs
• MYS Black Stripes 2 - 2 Dunbar Utd White
• MYS Black Stripes 8 - 0 Seton BC Colts
• MYS Black Stripes 2 - 4 Pencaitland
• MYS Black Stripes 2 - 1 Dunbar Utd White
• MYS Black Stripes 4 - 1 Haddington Ath Clarets

DUNBAR PROVE TOO STRONG

Dunbar Utd Black 9 - 6 MYS Black Stripes (16Feb08)

With the move to summer football resulting in the cancellation of league matches in February, a friendly match was arranged with Dunbar. This proved to be a really good work-out for the kids, in preparation of the new league starting in March. Dunbar opened the scoring fairly early on, but the Youngstars bounced back with a quick equaliser. Sam had been having a great game in this first period, and really building his confidence. He won the ball in the Dunbar half and then spotted Calum making a geat run forwards. Sam played a fantastic pass into Calum's feet, and Calum quickly controlled the ball and slotted it into the bottom corner of the net.

No goals were scored in the second quarter, mainly thanks to some excellent defending from both teams. For the Youngstars, Innes made a number of great tackles, and Mark swept up brilliantly throughout (including a superb goal-line clearance) to keep Dunbar at bay. Kyle was also relied upon to make a number of good diving saves. At the other end, Harvey, Morgan and Calum played some excellent football but were unable to break through the Dunbar defence.

Things fell apart for the team in the third quarter after a reasonable start. After a cracking Dunbar goal (straight into the top corner from a shot outside the box), the Youngstars grabbed another quick equaliser. Harvey played a great cross into the box and the Dunbar keeper got a hand to the ball - but it dropped to Lennon who passed it into the back of the net. However, Dunbar soon proved too strong with many attacks down the right hand side resulting in great passes and crosses into the Youngstars' penalty area. Five goals were scored in quick succession, resulting in a 7-2 lead for Dunbar at the end of the third period.

The Youngstars improved in the final quarter and managed to claw back a goal straight away. Josh took a corner on the left and the ball proved too difficult to defend as a Dunbar defender deflected it into his own net. Shortly afterwards, the Dunbar keeper cleared the ball out of the box but it fell to Harvey and he strode forward and blasted the ball into the bottom corner of the goals. Dunbar scored another goal to make it 8-4, but some great corners from Josh almost resulted in further goals for the Youngstars. Lennon was unfortunate not to score on two occassions - one from a header that wend narrowly wide, and another from a cracking shot that hit the crossbar. Another goal did arrive from a brilliant run from Josh down the right hand side. His cross was perfect for Calum to knock the ball into the net. Dunbar then scored another goal from a corner of their own but, again, the Youngstars kept their heads up and pulled one back. Josh had charged straight through the Dunbar defence and fired the ball past the keeper in the final minute of the match. Overall, this was a really enjoyable game with plenty of goals for the spectators to enjoy.

Teamsheet: Kyle, Mark, Innes, Morgan, Josh, Sam, Harvey, Lennon, Calum

Goal scorers: Calum (2), Lennon, Harvey, Josh, Own Goal

YOUNGSTARS BEAT SCOTLAND

MYS Black 4 – 1 Scotland Boys (26Jan08)

After 3 or 4 days of continuous rain, the weather changed on this Saturday morning as we welcomed the Scotland Boys team from Hamilton. No rain to deal with, but the wind was wild and caused some problems playing against it. The first period of the match was well contested and the Scotland Boys took the lead half way through. However, the youngstars didn’t let their heads drop and were soon rewarded with a great equaliser. Lennon was wide on the left and managed to find Josh with a pass inside. Josh skipped round a defender and slotted the ball into Calum’s path, who looked up and placed the ball into the bottom corner past the advancing keeper.

Early in the second period, the youngstars took the lead. Harvey won the ball in his own half, charged over the halfway line, and fired the ball up to Dylan. With some great control, Dylan spinned round his defender and blasted a great shot past the goalkeeper into the roof of the net. In defence, Mark had an outstanding game and managed to thwart the Scotland Boys’ attacks on numerous occasions. He was also involved in the team’s third goal, taking a kick-in deep in his own half up to Dylan wide on the left wing. Dylan bombed forward towards the corner flag, then cut inside and scored from an amazingly tight angle to give the youngstars a two-goal lead. Some great saves from Kyle towards the end of the period, and a fantastic goal line clearance from Innes kept the score at 3-1.

The Scotland Boys then changed their squad for the third and fourth periods, bringing on a weaker team to give them some match experience. To make the game more even, we agreed to let them play with 9 players and this worked well as all the kids got a good test. Only one goal was scored, following a cracking shot from Dylan. The keeper managed to get an excellent block on it, but it fell kindly for Calum who fired it straight into the top corner. Morgan played in midfield today, and made some great runs up and down the wing and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet. In summary, the kids played great this morning for their first game back after the winter break. Their passing was fantastic and their work-rate was excellent, giving everyone a lot of confidence for the season ahead.

Teamsheet: Kyle, Mark, Innes, Morgan, Harvey, Josh, Lennon, Dylan, Calum

Scorers: Calum (2), Dylan (2)

INNES IN GOALS FOR NORTH BERWICK!

MYS Black Stripes 10 – 1 North Berwick Eagles (15Dec07)

A lack of players for the North Berwick Eagles today resulted in a comfortable win for the Youngstars. At kick-off time, only 6 North Berwick players had turned up, so Innes agreed to play in goals for them, and was put under pressure early on. The first goal came from a superb pass from Dylan who had reached the by-line and drilled the ball across the goals for Calum to knock it into the net. Soon afterwards, Dylan managed to find space with the ball on the penalty spot and blasted it past Innes for the team’s second goal. The Youngstars midfield proved too strong for North Berwick and Dylan again found space and drove towards goal with a one on one against Innes. His shot however, was saved by Innes’ right knee so the first quarter ended up 2-0 to the Youngstars.

By the time the second period started, another North Berwick player arrived so Innes moved back into the Youngstars team and had a great match in defence alongside Morgan. The best piece of defending of the game came when a North Berwick striker sneaked the ball under Kyle’s diving body at the edge of the penalty area. It looked as if it would find its way into the bottom corner but Morgan had charged back from around 20 yards and made a fantastic slide into the goals and cleared the ball off the line. The Youngstars then took full control of the game with a few quick goals, the first of which was scored by Lennon. He received a nice short pass from Calum, then looked up and chipped the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net. Then, following another of the team’s typical short corners, the ball was blasted into the box and it bounced off the post - Calum was right on top of it to sweep it into the net. For the fifth goal of the game, Josh won the ball in midfield, rounded three North Berwick midfielders and played a superb pass through to Harvey who slammed it past the keeper.

In the third quarter, Sam was excellent out on the left wing with lots of good tackles and passes, linking in well with Calum up front. The North Berwick keeper was forced to make a fantastic save at one point, but the ball was deflected straight to Harvey who wasted no time in smashing it low into the net. Some great saves from Kyle helped prevent North Berwick from scoring.

Kyle came out of goal in the last period and played really well in defence, pushing high up the pitch to support his midfielders. It wasn’t long before the Youngstars scored again, and this time it came from some great dribbling from Josh. He managed to get round a North Berwick defender and then drill the ball along the ground into the bottom corner. Dylan soon got on the scoresheet again with a mazy run in the box, followed by a shot high past the keeper’s right hand side. He then scored his hat-trick when he won the ball off a North Berwick defender (whilst lying on the ground), stood up and smashed it into the net. The team’s final goal came from Dylan again who had bombed down the left wing, cut inside, and fired the ball low past the keeper’s diving left hand. North Berwick managed to score a late consolation goal with some good pressure in the box and a great shot from around the penalty spot, to make the final score 10-1.

Teamsheet: Kyle, Innes, Morgan, Sam, Josh, Lennon, Harvey, Dylan, Calum

Goal scorers: Dylan (4), Calum (2), Harvey (2), Lennon and Josh.

FIRST DEFEAT OF THE SEASON

North Berwick Hawks 5 – 4 MYS Black Stripes (8Dec07)

The first defeat of the season today for the Black Stripes, following a disastrous opening 10 minutes with the team losing four early goals. A number of cracking corners from North Berwick put the Youngstars under real pressure, resulting in three of the four goals. The Youngstars struggled to get into the match in the first period and created very few chances.

The team played better in the second period, however, and pulled a goal back following a North Berwick corner. The ball was deflected in the box to Josh, who then passed wide to Dylan. Dylan bombed down the left hand side and hit a great shot that was blocked by the keeper - but Calum was in at the back post to volley the deflected ball high into the net. As usual, Mark played very well at the back, and was relied upon many times to win the last tackle and hammer the ball down the line towards Lennon and Dylan.

By the time the third quarter came around, the team were back to playing their normal good quality football. Dylan got on the scoresheet early on when the North Berwick keeper passed to him in error. He then calmly dribbled round the last defender and drilled the ball into the goals. The team’s third goal came from a brilliant pass from Josh in defence, where he fired the ball straight to Dylan’s feet. Dylan again got round the last defender and blasted home his second of the day. Sam played well in midfield with some well-timed tackles preventing North Berwick attacks. However, North Berwick still managed to create a few good chances with Kyle forced to make a string of great saves and Innes having to clear the ball out of the pitch on a couple of occasions.

Lennon and Harvey both did some great work in the final period, tracking back and winning essential tackles, with Kyle being called upon to make more strong saves. Morgan also played well, with his no-nonsense defending keeping North Berwick at bay. However, the North Berwick kids had some more brilliant corners, and one of these resulted in their fifth goal. Josh managed to block the ball but good pressure from the North Berwick forward allowed him to win the ball and tuck it under Kyle’s diving body. However, the Youngstars didn’t let their heads go down and Dylan managed to score the best goal of the game in the final minute. Josh won the ball in midfield, flicked it up into the air, then lobbed it over the North Berwick defence where Dylan was waiting. He let it bounce once, the fired a superb half-volley into the top corner for his hat-trick. In the end, this match was a good stretch for the kids today and they did very well to come back from a disappointing first 10 minutes to make the final score 5-4 to North Berwick.

Teamsheet: Kyle, Mark, Innes, Morgan, Josh, Sam, Harvey, Lennon, Dylan, Calum

Goalscorers: Calum, Dylan (3).

DERBY DAY!

MYS Blue Stripes 2 – 3 MYS Black Stripes (24Nov07)

A wet and windy morning for the first derby match of the season, with the Blue Stripes kicking off with the wind behind them. Jason G had the first chance of the match with a strong shot forcing a great save out of Kyle. Jason then had another chance a few minutes later, and again Kyle pulled off a great save. Battling against the wind, the Black Stripes had very little opportunities to score, although Harvey played a few great crosses into the box from wide on the right. Towards the end of the first period, the Blue Stripes pressure (mainly through Jason G and Brendan) finally paid off following a great corner from Jack. Dylan did well to get his head onto the ball, but the deflection took it past Kyle and into the net.

The second period was fiercely contested by all the kids, but no one could get on the scoresheet. Kyle was called into action on many occasions and made a fantastic save from a superb Jamie B shot from outside the box. All the defenders played very well, with Jack and Jamie A proving too strong for the Black Stripes to get past and Morgan having a great game at the other end preventing the Blue Stripes attacking down the left. As usual, Mark was relied upon to drill the ball far up field into the Blue Stripes' half, towards Lennon and Jason J (both of whom linked up well together throughout the game).

In the third period, the Blue Stripes went two goals up thanks to a great effort from Jason G. Picking up the ball just inside the Black Stripes half, he drove out to the right and from outside the box he fired an amazing shot past Kyle and into the top corner of the net. The Black Stripes soon pulled one back, however, when Calum found space in the box and drilled the ball low into the bottom corner of the goals. Calum almost scored a second when Jason J played a great through ball into his path, but his shot went narrowly past the post. Keiron played well out on the wing for the Blue Stripes, with lots of runs forwards forcing a number of crucial tackles from Innes.

Kyle was called into action at the start of the fourth period. Cameron collected the ball and drove straight towards goal, and his thunderous shot was blocked by Kyle. Then it was Owain’s turn, with a fantastic high lob that Kyle just managed to hold onto to prevent another goal. The Black Stripes then managed to score an equaliser following a short corner between Dylan and Lennon. Dylan then moved towards the box and slotted a great pass into the feet of Josh who hammered the ball into the net. Sam had a good game playing in defence for the Black Stripes, with lots of good tackles and then great passes up to his midfielders. The final goal eventually came from a smashing solo effort from Dylan, who charged down the left with the ball before cutting inside and firing the ball past Jamie B to put the Black Stripes 3-2 up. For the Blue Stripes, some amazing tackles from Scott helped prevent any further goals, and Owain had a great period out on the left of midfield with fantastic runs and crosses. Keiron was unlucky not to equalise late in the game, following some great skill managing to find space in the Black Stripes box. He hit a strong shot that beat Kyle but also went narrowly wide of the goals.

Blue Stripes Teamsheet: Owain, Jamie B, Jamie A, Scott, Jack, Cameron, Keiron, Jason G, Brendan
Blue Stripes scorers: Own Goal, Jason G

Black Stripes Teamsheet: Kyle, Mark, Innes, Morgan, Sam, Josh, Dylan, Lennon, Harvey, Calum, Jason G
Black Stripes scorers: Calum, Josh, Dylan

PENALTY SAVED!

Haddington Ath Sky Blues 0 – 5 MYS Black Stripes (17Nov07)

Both teams had good starts to the match, with chances at either end. Thanks to some good defending however, the first period ended 0-0.

The Youngstars dominated the second period, helped by an early goal. From a short corner, Josh played a quick one-two with Sam, then crossed the ball into the box for Harvey to knock it into the net. Soon afterwards Josh played a great cross in from the right hand side to Calum at the back post, who calmly struck the ball past the Haddington keeper. Josh then set up the third goal with a pass to Harvey who squeezed the ball past the keeper’s near post. To round things off, Harvey scored with a fantastic solo effort. He won the ball wide on the right, then dribbled past three defenders before passing the ball into the bottom of the net.

Into the third period, and Dylan made a number of great wide runs and with good crosses into the box, but the Haddington defence managed to clear each time. However, on one occasion, Dylan passed the ball early into Jason’s feet just outside the box. Jason showed some great skill with a cheeky “step-over” that fooled the Haddington defender and bought him some space. He then looked up and blasted the ball low into the bottom corner for the team’s fifth goal of the match. With a minute of the third period remaining, Harvey played the ball out of defence but it fell to a Haddington striker who drove quickly into the Youngstars’ penalty area. Harvey did well to chase back, but his tackle was a bit late and he brought the striker down to the ground. The referee awarded a penalty, which gave Kyle the opportunity to show what he could do in goal. The striker hit the ball soundly enough, but Kyle made a great save diving to his right and then smothered the ball.

In the final quarter, Mark and Innes played really well together at the back and didn’t give anything away (both managing to make a number of great clearances). Sam also had a strong period with some good tackling and a number of great passes. In the end, however, no more goals were scored and the team picked up yet another victory.

Teamsheet: Kyle, Innes, Mark, Josh, Harvey, Dylan, Sam, Calum, Jason J.

Goal scorers: Harvey (3), Calum, and Jason

BRILLIANT PASSING PERFORMANCE

MYS Black Stripes 5 – 2 Dunbar Utd White (3Nov07)

Dunbar started this match very strong, with constant pressure in the Youngstars’ penalty area for the first 6 or 7 minutes. However, Musselburgh broke free and started to play some excellent one-touch football (especially between Harvey, Jason and Lennon). Eventually, the ball broke to Harvey just outside the Dunbar box and he drilled the ball low into the corner past the keeper’s right hand side to start the scoring for the day. Shortly afterwards Harvey played a great one-two with Jason and then crossed the ball into the box for Lennon to tuck it under the keeper for goal number two. Then, Lennon and Josh worked a quick short corner and crossed into the box for Jason who played a one-two with Harvey before blasting the ball into the net for the third goal of the game.

Things were a lot closer in the second quarter of the game with Dunbar getting a goal back early on. A cross from the right was saved by Kyle’s feet, but it broke to a Dunbar forward who smashed it home. Dylan soon found some space on the left and charged down the wing, before cutting inside and blasting the ball into the roof of the net from an incredibly tight angle. Morgan played really well on the right hand side of defence with some great runs into the Dunbar half, keeping the Dunbar team pinned back. Calum also had a good game on the right hand side of midfield and his tireless running gave Dunbar many problems.

Dylan was involved in the team’s fifth goal with a great corner into the box. A Dunbar defender managed to get his foot to it, but it was deflected to Harvey who managed to score a carbon copy of his first goal. Dunbar managed to pull another goal back after some constant pressure, with a fantastic shot from outside the box. Josh and Innes worked well together in defence, and managed to keep Dunbar at bay for the rest of the quarter along with some help from Kyle who was called upon to make a few good saves.

The final quarter of the game had some great defending, especially from Mark who was outstanding. Sam showed great determination to win many tackles and set up attacking moves but the quarter ended without any goals, leaving the final score at 5-2 to the Youngstars.

Teamsheet: Kyle, Mark, Innes, Morgan, Josh, Harvey, Lennon, Dylan, Sam, Calum, Jason J.

Goal scorers: Harvey (2), Lennon, Jason, Dylan

KYLE HAS GREAT GAME IN ATTACK

MYS Black Stripes 11 – 1 Longniddry Villa (27Oct07)

Another good performance from the Youngstars today, with a second victory against Longniddry this season. Only one goal scored in the first 15 minute spell, after some good defending from Innes who won the ball and passed to Calum. Calum looked up and spotted Dylan wide on the left and fired the ball to him. Dylan then charged down the wing, cut inside and blasted the ball past the keeper. Harvey played in defence for this first quarter and linked well with Sam on the right many times, with both kids causing problems for Longniddry.

In the second quarter, the Youngstars scored a further five goals. For the first of these, Lennon played a short corner to Jason who crossed the ball into Calum in the box. His first shot was blocked by the keeper, but he was alert enough to win the rebound and hammered the ball into the net. Calum was involved again as he won the ball just outside the Longniddry penalty area, and passed it through to Jason who spotted the keeper out of position and simply passed it into the goals. For the next goal, Jason made a great pass through to Lennon who was unmarked and calmly stroked the ball into the net. Jason again set up the next goal after winning the ball in midfield and playing a fantastic through pass to Calum who slotted it under the keeper. The team’s sixth goal came from Jason, with some great dribbling on the right hand side before a smashing shot past the keeper.

Longniddry played their strongest team in the third quarter and managed to get a goal back, whilst keeping the Youngstars out. This was not for lack of trying, with some great play from Josh throughout and he was unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet with a couple of good efforts.

Some great defending from Morgan and Mark in the final quarter helped avoid any more Longniddry goals, and Innes had a comfortable time in goals. Kyle was given a run-out in attack and did very well, quickly scoring a good goal after dribbling round a defender and smashing the ball off another defender into the net. Dylan then got his second of the game by dribbling past four defenders and smashing the ball high into the goals past the helpless keeper. Kyle made a real nuisance of himself in the Longniddry box and managed to win the ball on many occasions. On one of these, he looked up and passed to Dylan who shot past the keeper for his hat-trick. Later, Dylan passed wide to Calum who then fired the ball into the box for Kyle to slide the ball under the keeper for goal number 10. Then, with seconds remaining, Kyle won the ball yet again and blasted it across the 6 yard area for Mark to nod the ball into the net, rounding off another great day for the team.

Teamsheet: Kyle, Innes, Mark, Morgan, Josh, Sam, Harvey, Lennon, Dylan, Calum, Jason J.

Goal scorers: Dylan (3), Jason (2), Calum (2), Kyle (2), Lennon, Mark.

A COUPLE OF HAT-TRICKS!

MYS Black Stripes 10 - 2 Tranent Colts (13Oct07)

One of the best performances of the season from the Youngstars today, with some great defending, good passing moves and superb finishing. An early goal helped set the tone of the game, with some good dribbling from Dylan inside the Tranent box. The ball broke off a defender and fell straight to Harvey’s feet and he tucked it away into the bottom corner of the net. Some great defending from Innes was followed by a smashing pass to Calum wide on the right. Calum charged down the wing, reached the by-line and fired in a fantastic cross, past the goal keeper, for Harvey to knock in his second goal. For the team’s third goal, Dylan stole the ball from the Tranent defenders and burst into the box to blast home a smashing left foot shot. Harvey then managed to complete his hat-trick after a strong shot from Calum was deflected into his path. Harvey looked up and buried the ball under the keeper to make it 4-0. Tranent had a few chances to score, but some fantastic tackles from Mark and great goalkeeping from Kyle kept them out.

Into the second quarter of the match, and Dylan scored his second early on. A quick kick-in from Calum caught out the Tranent defence, and Dylan took advantage with another great blast into the roof of the net. Soon afterwards Morgan won the ball in his box, following a Tranent corner, and cleared it out to Dylan on the half way line. Dylan took the ball round the last defender and drove forward into the Tranent penalty box. He slowed down, looked up to check the goalkeeper’s position, and then slotted it into the bottom corner for his hat-trick. Towards the end of the period, a Tranent midfielder drilled the ball into the box from wide on the right and it was deflected into the net to make the score 6-1.

The Youngstars picked themselves up again in the third quarter, with a couple of great goals. For the first, Josh made a great tackle just outside his penalty box and then played a great pass to Calum on the half way line. Calum managed to turn his defender, and made another great drive down the right wing before blasting the ball past the keeper. The team have been working hard recently on taking quick short corners, and this paid off for the next goal. Josh waited patiently before taking a short corner on the left, and slotted a great pass through to Sam who dribbled past a couple of defenders in the box and hit a great shot low into the net.

Tranent scored an early goal in the final quarter, but the Youngstars scored yet another straight from the kick-off. Dylan beat a couple of midfielders in the centre of the pitch and moved to a position wide on the left. He then fired a great pass in between a couple of defenders to Harvey on the right hand side of the box. Harvey’s shot was saved by the keeper, but the ball fell kindly to Lennon who simply passed it into the empty net. Some great play from Dylan again led to the final goal of the game. From the centre of the pitch he dribbled past a few Tranent players before being brought down by a strong challenge, but the ball broke to Lennon who then scored his second of the match. A great all round team performance today, and a thoroughly deserved victory.

Teamsheet: Kyle, Innes, Mark, Morgan, Harvey, Josh, Lennon, Sam, Dylan, Calum

Scorers: Harvey (3), Dylan (3), Lennon (2), Calum, Sam

BACK TO WINNING WAYS

Pencaitland 4 – 8 MYS Black Stripes (6Oct07)

Having suffered a few defeats against Pencaitland last season, it was good for the Youngstars to start with an early goal today. A fantastic cross from Lennon on the left hand side found Harvey 6 yards from goal and he smashed the ball high into the net. The Youngstars managed to earn a number of corners in the first 15 minutes, and the second goal came from a great short corner. Dylan nudged the ball to Calum, who played a great pass back to Dylan. He stepped past a Pencaitland defender and blasted a cross into the box. The ball missed everyone and bounced past the keeper and into the net. A string of great saves from Kyle managed to keep Pencaitland out and gave confidence to the Youngstars defence.

Pencaitland managed to pull a goal back in the second quarter, but Jason stole the show with a superb hat-trick. The first was a great solo effort, beating a few defenders on the right hand side and driving forward to slot the ball past the keeper. For his second, Calum won the ball in his own half and passed the ball to Sam, who then saw Jason free and placed the ball right into his path. Jason wasted no time in firing the ball into the goal. About 2 minutes later, some confusion in the Pencaitland defence allowed Jason to win the ball just outside the box, and he stroked the ball comfortably past the helpless keeper making it 5-1 to the Youngstars.

Into the third quarter and Pencaitland scored early on to keep the game reasonably close. However, another fine pass from Lennon left Jason free in the box and he scored yet again. Mark and Innes worked well together in defence and prevented a lot of attacks from Pencaitland, but were unfortunate when the Pencaitland attackers broke free and blasted the ball past Kyle into the roof of the net.

In the final quarter, Pencaitland managed to score another goal, but the Youngstars proved too strong and made many more chances to score. The pick of the bunch was an effort from Josh, who picked up the ball in his own box and drove forward right into the Pencaitland box before firing a smashing shot at goal. The Pencaitland keeper was forced to make an excellent save to keep the ball out. Eventually, the seventh goal came following some great dribbling skills by Dylan and a powerful shot which the goalkeeper managed to save, but the ball was deflected to Jason who passed it into the net for his fifth goal of the game. Shortly afterwards, Sam won the ball with a header towards Dylan, who then drove towards goal and buried it under the keeper for the final goal of the game. A great result for the team against one of the stronger teams in the league.

Teamsheet: Kyle, Mark, Innes, Josh, Sam, Harvey, Dylan, Lennon, Calum, Jason J.

Goal scorers: Harvey, Jason (5), Dylan (2)

A TOUGHER TEST

MYS Black Stripes 3 - 3 Dunbar Utd Black (29Sep07)

Today’s match was, by far, the toughest test for the Black Stripes this season against a strong Dunbar side who took the lead after 10 minutes. The game was very evenly contested throughout and the Youngstars equalised in the second quarter. Morgan had won the ball in his own half and hammered it up to the midfield. Dylan collected the ball and played an excellent pass through to Jason, who then calmly slotted it into the net. Dylan and Lennon played well together and some brilliant passing lead to other opportunities to score but the Dunbar goalkeeper was on good form and made lots of fantastic saves.

Early in the third quarter of the game, Josh was wide on the right hand side and looked up to see Jason making a run towards goal. He played a superb pass through and Jason blasted it past the keeper to make it 2-1. Dunbar bounced back, though, and despite some good tackling from Mark, Innes and Calum, they managed to break through and score a second goal. Sam made some good runs down the left hand side with the ball, but great defending from Dunbar prevented any further goals in this quarter.

In the final quarter, the Dunbar goalkeeper kicked the ball out of the box but it landed straight at Josh’s feet. Josh wasted no time getting the ball under control and hammered a fantastic shot high into the net. Again Dunbar bounced back with some excellent football forcing Harvey to make numerous saving tackles, and some great saves were required from Kyle. Eventually, however, the ball broke to one of Dunbar’s midfielders just outside the box and he fired it into the top corner to make it 3-3. Overall, this was a great performance from both teams and a really enjoyable game.

Teamsheet: Kyle, Innes, Mark, Morgan, Josh, Harvey, Dylan, Calum, Lennon, Sam, Jason J.

Goal scorers: Jason (2), Josh.

THIRD WIN IN A ROW

Haddington Ath Clarets 0 – 6 MYS Black Stripes (22Sep07)

The team played well today, with its first visit to Haddington. The first quarter was a well-contested game, with no goals scored thanks to some good defending (especially from Josh and Innes). Early in the second quarter, Harvey won the ball deep in his own half and passed the ball up to Sam on the wing. Sam then played a nice through pass into Dylan who drove forward and fired home the fist goal of the match. Soon after, Dylan found space in the box and blasted a shot towards goal. The ball deflected off a defender and fell straight to Jason who wasted no time in slotting the ball into the net. The Youngstars kept up the pressure, and Dylan found himself wide on the left hand side, close to the by-line. In an attempt to cross the ball into Jason’s feet, he whacked it as hard as he could and it fizzed into the goals straight under the Haddington keeper.

Into the third quarter, and Jason managed to score a similar goal to Dylan’s previous one. Jason was close to the by-line on the left hand side and spotted Sam making a great run into the box. He fired the ball towards Sam, but it crept under the keeper and found its way into the net for the fifth goal. The team came close to finding a 6th goal many times, thanks to some excellent passing from Lennon, but the Haddington defence made some excellent clearances.

In the final quarter, Calum went in goals to give Kyle the chance to get more involved, and was called upon to make a couple of great saves. Kyle, meanwhile, was full of running and had an excellent performance out on the left wing (and was unlucky not to score with a cracking shot that was saved by the keeper). The sixth goal eventually came, though, with some great play by Harvey. He won the ball in the middle of the park, and then dribbled through the Haddington defence before slotting the ball cleanly past the keeper into the bottom corner. An excellent finish to the game, and another great result for the team.

Teamsheet - Kyle, Innes, Josh, Harvey, Dylan, Lennon, Sam, Calum, Jason J.
Goal scorers - Dylan (3), Jason (2), Harvey

A COMFORTABLE WIN

MYS Black Stripes 16 – 0 Tranent Juniors

Another comfortable game for the team this weekend, with an early goal helping to boost the boys’ confidence. Dylan hit a great shot from outside the box, which hit the post and Calum was on hand to slot the ball into the net from the rebound. Dylan then scored a great goal himself, followed by one from Harvey and another from Calum. An unfortunate own goal gave the team a 5 goal lead, before Lennon finished off the scoring in the first 15 minutes with a smashing shot from just outside the box.

In the second 15 minute spell, there was some great passing in particular between Josh, Jason and Lennon. This resulted in Josh scoring a hat-trick, with Jason and Lennon bagging a goal each. Another great pass from Jason found Sam on his own in the box, and he calmly stroked it past the keeper. At this stage, the Youngstar’s defence was under very little pressure, with Mark managing to sweep up any threat from Tranent that came his way.

The team changed things around in the final 15 minutes, with Innes talking a shot in goals and Kyle playing as a striker. This worked well, with Innes saving a couple of straightforward shots, and Kyle taking his opportunity with a goal at the other end. Morgan was pushed into midfield and, having made some excellent runs into the box, was rewarded with a couple of goals. Calum managed to complete his hat-trick and the team ended up with 16 goals for the second week in a row.

Teamsheet - Kyle, Innes, Mark, Morgan, Josh, Dylan, Harvey, Lennon, Sam, Calum, Jason J.

Goal scorers - Calum (3), Dylan, Harvey, Lennon (2), Josh (3), Sam, Jason, Morgan (2), Kyle, and an own goal.

GREAT START TO THE SEASON

Longniddry Villa 0 - 16 MYS Black Stripes (25Aug07)

The first game of the season, and the kids were really looking forward to the match. The team settled very quickly with an early goal from Dylan following some great ball control from Lennnon wide on the left hand side. Lennon then scored a cracking goal himself with a shot from just inside the penalty area into the top corner of the net. Minutes later, Lennon was again involved, with an excellent pass through to Dylan who buried the ball into the net for goal number three.

Jason came on after 15 minutes and made an immediate impact. Dylan picked up the ball on the half way line, drove forward and then released a terrific pass through to Jason who shot low and hard into the bottom corner for the fourth goal. The fifth goal was probably the best of the match. Innes won the ball in his own penalty area and cleared it out to his own corner flag, where Harvey collected it and passed it across the penalty box to Morgan. Morgan then squeezed the ball past two opponents toward Sam who then passed it wide to Jason. Jason dribbled forward before releasing Dylan in the centre who slotted home comfortably. A great passing move! Shortly afterwards, Jason scored a fantastic volley from about 3 yards out from a superb corner by Dylan, and then completed his hat-trick following some great dribbling in the box.

After 30 minutes, Josh was moved out of defence into midfield and was given licence to move forward. He relished this opportunity and after a weak kick-out by the Longniddry goalkeeper, Josh quickly brought the ball under control and smashed the ball into the net for the team’s eighth goal of the day. The ninth goal came soon after, with Jason dribbling past two defenders and slotting the ball smoothly past the keeper. Jason was involved in the next goal too, with a great pass from the right straight to Josh’s feet. Josh then calmly passed the ball into the back of the net for his second of the match, and then quickly followed this with a third after some good dribbling skills. Another great pass from Lennon set up Jason for the team’s twelfth goal and, after a great shot from Josh was saved by the keeper, the ball broke to Jason who hammered it home to complete his double hat-trick.

In the last 15 minutes, Harvey joined in the scoring with a brilliant hat-trick. His first goal came after dribbling past three defenders before lifting the ball into the net, out of the keeper’s reach. Calum was unlucky with a great shot that hit the post, but he had been full of running all day and after yet another burst forward he layed the ball off to Harvey who slotted home his second. The final goal was scored after a great short corner ended in much confusion in the box, and the ball eventually fell to Harvey who finished with confidence.

Throughout the game, the team played really well to deny Longniddry any real chances, and when Kyle was forced into action during the game, he kept his concentration well and made a couple of good saves. All in all, a great start to the season.

Teamsheet - Kyle, Innes, Morgan, Josh, Sam, Harvey, Dylan, Lennon, Calum, Jason J

Goal scorers – Dylan (3), Lennon, Jason (6), Josh (3), Harvey (3)