TOUGH TIME AT TRANENT

Tranent Colts 7 - 4 MYS Black Strtipes (25Oct08)

The wind and rain definitely played a part in today's match as the Black Stripes team suffered its first defeat since the summer holiday. In a slight change to the normal set-up, the Tranent team wanted to play 2 x 30 minute halves (which meant the Youngstars were fighting against the wind for the first half hour). This proved to be quite a challenge against a strong Tranent side.

Ross joined the squad today and played extremely well in his first game. Without Mark and Josh in today's side, Ross was heavily relied upon to make some strong tackles in defence. As Lewis was playing with Hearts FC at lunchtime, he played in goals for the first half hour to preserve some energy (and avoid any injuries!) and made a few brilliant saves. There was little he could do about the Tranent goals, though, as they capitalised on their wind advantage - scroing 4 goals in the first half. Jason and Harvey were unlucky not to score with a couple of efforts each at the other end, whilst Morgan battled hard as usual up and down the right wing.

Tranent scored their fifth goal early in the second half, which prompted a change in tactics. Innes replaced Lewis in goals, allowing Lewis to move into midfield - and this move paid off almost immediately. Ross had a great strike from just outside the box and the deflection fell kindly to Lewis who curled it past the keeper into the net. Innes then made a couple of cracking saves as Tranent piled on more pressure... but it was the Youngstars who scored next thanks to an outstanding shot by Lewis. He thumped the ball from well outside the box and it found its way into the top corner. Tranent played some great football against the wind, however, and soon managed to score a sixth goal. Then, straight from the kick-off the Youngstars struck back when a good pass from Lewis found Harvey on the right of midfield. He took the ball past the defender, and slammed it past the diving keeper. The wind began to get wilder, and a kick-out from the goalkeeper soon fell right into Harvey's path - he wasted no time in finding the bottom corner for his second goal of the game. The Youngstars had a great spell of pressure after this, with chances from Ross, Calum and Jason all being blocked. But Tranent scored another before the final whistle, when their striker managed to get clean through on goal. Innes made a great diving save from the shot, but the ball deflected back to the striker who passed it into the net. Some good covering from Sam allowed him to win many tackles in defence, preventing any further Tranent goals.

Overall this was a tough test for the kids today against a decent team, and they can all be proud of how well they played in the conditions.

Teamsheet: Innes, Lewis, Ross, Sam, Morgan, Havey, Jason, Calum

Goal scorers: Lewis (2), Harvey (2)