MORGAN RELISHES MIDFIELD ROLE

Pencaitland Blue 4 - 12 MYS Black Stripes (28Mar09)

The early kick-off caused a bit of confusion this morning, as a couple of kids turned up late and missed the start of the match. However, the kids on the pitch were up for it right from the outset and Jason scored an early goal to get things underway. Innes had collected the ball in goals and threw it out to Ross in midfield, who passed it high over the Pencaitland defence. Jason rushed forward and, one v one against the keeper, slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the net. Shortly afterwards, Ross took a quick kick-in to Jason, who then played a great one-two with Josh in the Pencialtand box, before firing it past the goalkeeper for number two. Jason completed his hat-trick moments later when Josh won the ball in midfield and lobbed it over the oncoming defenders. Jason managed to control the ball, then lobbed the advancing goalkeeper and watched it land over the goal line. Pencaitland managed to break free a couple of times in the first 15 minutes, but Sam did a great job with his tackling and kept the strikers at bay.

Over the past 6 months or so, Morgan has been really enjoying his spell in midfield and he had a superb game again today, making an immediate impact when he came on in the second period. Jason played a neat pass to Lewis on the right hand side of midfield, who skipped past a couple of defenders and fired a fantastic cross towards the edge of the left hand side of the penalty area. Morgan had charged forward and with his first touch he curved the ball into the top right hand corner of the net. Minutes later, Lewis again found space on the right wing and dribbled to the by-line. He then looked up and drilled the ball low along the goal line where Morgan was waiting for a simple tap-in. Lewis and Harvey linked up well in this period, each switching from centre midfield to right wing to keep the pressure on Pencaitland. Lewis soon scored a great goal when he won the ball in the centre of the pitch, took a couple of steps forwards and rifled it past the diving keeper - the ball then bounced off the post and into the goals. Mark liked the goal so much he decided to show what he could do from distance when he found a bit of space with the ball, well outside the Pencaitland penalty box. He blasted an amazing shot into the top right corner, giving the keeper no chance. The scoring in the first quarter of the match was then rounded off by Lewis as he chipped the ball from an impossibly narrow angle into the top corner of the net.

Pencaitland fought back very well in the third period with some clever passing through the Youngstars defence resulting in three goals. Josh displayed his usual cool manner in defence, though, helping to prevent any further goals (supported by good tracking back by Innes in midfield). Calum was very unlucky not to get on the scoresheet during this 15 minute spell, with a couple of efforts going narrowly wide.

A great Youngstars goal got the team back on track right from the start of the whistle in the final period. Lewis and Josh linked up well, and Lewis' pass found Calum in the middle of the penalty box. Calum swept the ball over to Morgan on the left, and he placed the ball into the bottom corner for his own hat-trick. Calum then got his reward for some quick thinking as he charged into the box and won the ball from a Pencaitland defender who wasn't paying attention. Calum then nut-megged the keeper and enjoyed the celebrations on his way back to the half-way line. Harvey had taken a turn in goals and was called upon to make a couple of good saves, but could do nothing about Pencaitland's next goal as a fantastic shot from outside the box was blasted into the bottom corner of the net. Calum soon scored another for the Youngstars though, following a good pass from Lewis, and then Lewis set up Morgan for the final goal of the game.

So, it was another great performance by the team today and the kids all seemed to enjoy themselves despite the cold conditions. Let's hope the weather improves as we move into spring!

Teamsheet: Innes, Mark, Sam, Ross, Josh, Morgan, Harvey, Lewis, Jason, Calum

Goal scorers: Jason (3), Morgan (4), Lewis (2), Mark, Calum (2)