YOUNGSTARS DRAW, BUT A GREAT PERFORMANCE

MYS Black Stripes 2 - 2 Haddington Athletic Sky Blue (26Apr08)

Despite being a relatively low scoring game, there were a lot of positives to take from the match (particularly the rising confidence of Innes and Sam). The wind definitely played its part, causing difficulty for both teams, but all the kids tried their best to battle the conditions. Some great play between Lennon, Calum and Josh helped carve out a few early chances and the opening goal eventually came from a corner kick. Josh drilled the ball low into the box and it somehow squeezed between the keeper's legs and into the net. Haddington pulled one back though, with some great attacking play that allowed their striker to slot the ball in at Kyle's near post. Lennon displayed some great tricks and ball control out on the right hand side, but the team struggled to get past a strong Haddington defence.

The Youngstars were up against it in the second period, playing against a particularly strong wind. Morgan was worked hard out on the right wing, having to track back to defend whilst supporting our attacking moves going forward. Kyle was forced into making a couple of excellent saves as the Haddington kids took advantage of the wind behind them. Kyle was eventually beaten by a looping clearance from a Haddington midfielder. The ball was blasted high into the air and it bounced in front of Kyle, then over his head into the goals.

In the third period, the wind advantage helped and Sam had an excellent game on the left hand side of midfield. His tackling was strong, he ran back to support his defenders when needed, and showed great confidence in controlling the ball to dribble past opponents. He was involved in the set up of the Youngstar's equaliser, after winning the ball just inside the Haddington half. He skipped past his opponent with some good skill, then played a great pass through to Harvey on the right. Harvey quickly passed the ball into Calum's run inside the box and Calum kept his cool and tucked it past the advancing keeper.

The team was under real pressure in the final period, and some typically superb defending from Mark kept Haddington at bay. At one point, Mark managed to clear the ball high into the car park! Innes also had an excellent game, with strong tackling, good passing, and showing a real determination to drive forward with the ball. The Youngstars were unlucky not to score a third after Innes won a tackle in midfield and slotted the ball through to Morgan, who strode forward and played a great pass to Calum. One-on-one with the keeper, Calum hit a sound shot but, as it was against the wind, there wasn't enough power and the keeper made a good save.

All in all, the kids played well in the conditions and learned the importance of keeping the ball low when playing against the wind.

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

Goal scorers: Josh, Calum