MYS Black Stripes 7 - 6 Dunbar Utd Black (22Nov08)
It was the final match of the season today, and all the kids involved played extremely well in freezing cold conditions. This particular Dunbar team has always proved to be strong opposition and today was no exception. However, the Youngstars played some excellent football right from the kick-off, and forced a few early saves from the Dunbar keeper. The opening goal eventually came from some great play down the right wing, where Harvey trapped the ball and fed it back towards Jason. Jason charged towards the by-line and drilled the ball low to Lewis in the box, who looked up and rolled the ball into Morgan's path. Morgan met the ball cleanly and blasted it high into the net. Dunbar then stepped up a gear and pulled one back, and had another few efforts that went narrowly wide.
The Youngstars benefited from a Dunbar error in the second period to regain the lead. A passback to the goalkeeper was spilled and Lewis was alert enough to pounce and poke the ball into the net. Dunbar equalised once again, though, as a high ball bounced over Morgan's head and their striker was clean through on goal to finish past Innes. The Youngstars kept their heads up and were unlucky with a few chances, before they eventually managed to take the lead again. A Dunbar corner was cleared by Josh up to Jason in midfield. Jason played a great early pass to Calum who strode forward and stroked the ball past the diving keeper. Mark had a superb game in defence today, and was on hand time and time again to sweep up any loose balls and fire them down the left wing creating many attacks for the team.
In the third period, it was the Youngstars' turn to benefit from a high bouncing ball, played through by Harvey. Calum and Jason clashed into each other scrambling for the ball, and a Dunbar defender charged in to clear - but he lifted the ball over his keeper and into the the goals. As expected, Dunbar didn't give in and soon pulled one back after a bit of confusion in the Youngstars' box when a weak shot trickled past everyone and rolled over the goal-line. Like Mark, Ross had an excellent game in defence and was very calm throughout - always collecting the ball whilst maintaining control, and playing some fantastic passes down the right hand side. One pass in particular found Lewis in loads of space and he drived towards goal and, when one-on-one with the keeper, he kept a cool head and slotted the ball low into the net. Harvey found himself in space on many occasions down the right hand side, and had a number of efforts saved by the Dunbar keeper. Morgan also played well today, and kept the visitors at bay with many strong tackles as Dunbar piled on more pressure. A few more attempts were blasted wide by the Dunbar strikers, and one effort forced a good diving save by Innes as they tried to pull more goals back.
The Youngstars were confident going into the final quarter with a 5-3 lead - but Dunbar scored a couple of goals fairly early on to even up the match. Josh, Lewis and Jason combined well in this period and forced lots of scoring opportunites that we were unable to convert. Calum took over from Innes in goals, and made a few great stops as Dunbar pressed to take the lead. However, it was the Youngstars who scored next after a pass from Lewis set Jason free into a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. Jason struck the ball sweetly into the corner to put the Youngstars 6-5 in front. A couple of minutes later, Lewis again found Jason and this time he chipped the ball into the top corner as the keeper scrambled to save it. A Dunbar goal in the last few minutes set up a tense finish, but the Youngstars held on to their lead and ended the season on a high with a great performance.
This was the end of the first "Summer Football" season - and while it's fair to say that the weather has hardly been fitting of the word "Summer", the kids have all played really well throughout and put on some great performances for the supporters on the sidelines. Roll on Summer Football 2009!
Teamsheet: Innes, Mark, Ross, Morgan, Josh, Lewis, Harvey, Jason, Calum
Goal scorers: Morgan, Lewis (2), Calum, Dunbar own goal, Jason (2)
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
HAT-TRICK HEAVEN
MYS Black Stripes 17 - 1 Tranent Juniors (15Nov08)
It was early kick-off this morning (9.15am!), but the Youngstars were ready and alert right from the first whistle. The kids won a corner in the first minute and Josh's cross broker kindly for Jason in the box who wasted no time in finding the back of the net. A minute later, the Youngstars won a second corner on the opposite side, and Josh's curling effort went straight into the goals under the Tranent keeper. The visitors almost pulled one back when their striker found himself one-on-one against Innes in goals. But Innes charged out and blocked the shot with his knee to keep a clean sheet in the first period.
Tranent did manage to score early in the second period, however, after a bit of a scuffle in the box. But straight from the kick-off, the Youngstars regained their two-goal lead. Lewis won the ball in midfield and played a fantastic through ball for Morgan who broke free from his marker and was one-on-one with the keeper. His shot was blocked by the Tranent goalie, but he was quick enough to follow up for the rebound and passed the ball into the net. Tranent fought back well, and forced a great diving save from Innes, who managed to push the ball out for a corner. The corner was cleared by Harvey, who passed the ball wide to Calum on the right hand side of midfield. Calum charged down the line, dribbled past two defenders and from wide on the right fired a great shot that slipped under the keeper's body and into the net.
It was the "Lewis and Harvey show" in the third period as the Tranent kids began to tire. Lewis scored first as he drilled the ball into the bottom corner from just inside the penalty box. Calum played well out on the right hand side of midfield, and fired a cracking cross along the 6 yard area for Harvey to blast the ball into the empty net. Lewis then scored a couple of quick goals beating the keeper at his near post (first from the right, then from the left), before Harvey scored his second and third with some accurate finishing. Lewis finished the scoring in this period with an amazing strike from well outside the box.
In the final period, Mark took a turn as striker and he was involved in the first three goals of this spell. First of all, he played a great pass to Jason who scored into the top corner. Sam then won the ball in defence and passed to Jason on the left wing. Jason skipped past the defenders and passed to Mark, who played a nice pass for Josh to hammer the ball straight past the diving keeper. Then came the best goal of the match. Morgan won a fantastic tackle deep in his own half and passed to Josh, who looked up and found Sam in space in the middle of the pitch. Sam took a touch, then slotted the ball through to Jason, who beat his marker and passed to Calum. Shifting the ball from one foot to the other, Calum layed the ball off for Mark to score by squeezing the ball past the keeper, into the bottom corner. Jason soon won the ball on the left wing, and yet again beat his marker and blasted the ball across the goal line for Calum to sneak in at the back post and score into the empty net. Then a poor kick-out from the Tranent keeper went straight to Jason who simply chipped the ball over the keeper to complete his hat-trick. Jason was involved in the final goal of the game when his low cross was met by Calum at the back post, who volleyed it into the corner to complete his own hat-trick.
Another convincing performance by the Youngstars today, with every kid playing extremely well and working hard as a team.
Teamsheet: Innes, Mark, Sam, Morgan, Josh, Lewis, Harvey, Jason, Calum
Goal scorers: Jason (3), Josh (2), Morgan, Calum (3), Lewis (4), Harvey (3), Mark
It was early kick-off this morning (9.15am!), but the Youngstars were ready and alert right from the first whistle. The kids won a corner in the first minute and Josh's cross broker kindly for Jason in the box who wasted no time in finding the back of the net. A minute later, the Youngstars won a second corner on the opposite side, and Josh's curling effort went straight into the goals under the Tranent keeper. The visitors almost pulled one back when their striker found himself one-on-one against Innes in goals. But Innes charged out and blocked the shot with his knee to keep a clean sheet in the first period.
Tranent did manage to score early in the second period, however, after a bit of a scuffle in the box. But straight from the kick-off, the Youngstars regained their two-goal lead. Lewis won the ball in midfield and played a fantastic through ball for Morgan who broke free from his marker and was one-on-one with the keeper. His shot was blocked by the Tranent goalie, but he was quick enough to follow up for the rebound and passed the ball into the net. Tranent fought back well, and forced a great diving save from Innes, who managed to push the ball out for a corner. The corner was cleared by Harvey, who passed the ball wide to Calum on the right hand side of midfield. Calum charged down the line, dribbled past two defenders and from wide on the right fired a great shot that slipped under the keeper's body and into the net.
It was the "Lewis and Harvey show" in the third period as the Tranent kids began to tire. Lewis scored first as he drilled the ball into the bottom corner from just inside the penalty box. Calum played well out on the right hand side of midfield, and fired a cracking cross along the 6 yard area for Harvey to blast the ball into the empty net. Lewis then scored a couple of quick goals beating the keeper at his near post (first from the right, then from the left), before Harvey scored his second and third with some accurate finishing. Lewis finished the scoring in this period with an amazing strike from well outside the box.
In the final period, Mark took a turn as striker and he was involved in the first three goals of this spell. First of all, he played a great pass to Jason who scored into the top corner. Sam then won the ball in defence and passed to Jason on the left wing. Jason skipped past the defenders and passed to Mark, who played a nice pass for Josh to hammer the ball straight past the diving keeper. Then came the best goal of the match. Morgan won a fantastic tackle deep in his own half and passed to Josh, who looked up and found Sam in space in the middle of the pitch. Sam took a touch, then slotted the ball through to Jason, who beat his marker and passed to Calum. Shifting the ball from one foot to the other, Calum layed the ball off for Mark to score by squeezing the ball past the keeper, into the bottom corner. Jason soon won the ball on the left wing, and yet again beat his marker and blasted the ball across the goal line for Calum to sneak in at the back post and score into the empty net. Then a poor kick-out from the Tranent keeper went straight to Jason who simply chipped the ball over the keeper to complete his hat-trick. Jason was involved in the final goal of the game when his low cross was met by Calum at the back post, who volleyed it into the corner to complete his own hat-trick.
Another convincing performance by the Youngstars today, with every kid playing extremely well and working hard as a team.
Teamsheet: Innes, Mark, Sam, Morgan, Josh, Lewis, Harvey, Jason, Calum
Goal scorers: Jason (3), Josh (2), Morgan, Calum (3), Lewis (4), Harvey (3), Mark
Monday, November 10, 2008
MEADOWMILL MAGIC!
Pencaitland Youth Blue 2 - 10 MYS Black Stripes (8Nov08)
With a waterlogged pitch at Pencaitland, the venue for this match was changed to the astroturf pitch at Meadowmill Sports Centre. Given that the squad trains there every Monday night at the moment, it was almost like a home match and this showed in the kids' performance as they played with great confidence.
Harvey opened the scoring on the day, and was followed by Josh. Harvey then scored another three before Josh scored his second of the match.
Ross proved to be very adaptable and played in a few positions (including a spell in goals) on the day, which was especially useful as the Youngstars only had seven players available for the game. Once again, Sam's tackling was brilliant and Mark had his usual great display in defence - and he even hit Pencaitland's post with a great effort at goal.
Harvey managed to score his fourth goal, and Josh completed his own hat-trick before the game ended. Lewis and Calum also got on the score sheet (as usual), and with Pencaitland scoring a couple of goals too there was plenty of excitement for the supporters on the sidelines.
A comfortable day in the end for the Youngstars, and they did especially well given the lack of substitutes available.
Teamsheet: Ross, Mark, Sam, Josh, Lewis, Harvey, Calum
Goal scorers: Harvey (5), Josh (3), Lewis, Calum
With a waterlogged pitch at Pencaitland, the venue for this match was changed to the astroturf pitch at Meadowmill Sports Centre. Given that the squad trains there every Monday night at the moment, it was almost like a home match and this showed in the kids' performance as they played with great confidence.
Harvey opened the scoring on the day, and was followed by Josh. Harvey then scored another three before Josh scored his second of the match.
Ross proved to be very adaptable and played in a few positions (including a spell in goals) on the day, which was especially useful as the Youngstars only had seven players available for the game. Once again, Sam's tackling was brilliant and Mark had his usual great display in defence - and he even hit Pencaitland's post with a great effort at goal.
Harvey managed to score his fourth goal, and Josh completed his own hat-trick before the game ended. Lewis and Calum also got on the score sheet (as usual), and with Pencaitland scoring a couple of goals too there was plenty of excitement for the supporters on the sidelines.
A comfortable day in the end for the Youngstars, and they did especially well given the lack of substitutes available.
Teamsheet: Ross, Mark, Sam, Josh, Lewis, Harvey, Calum
Goal scorers: Harvey (5), Josh (3), Lewis, Calum
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