TOP PERFORMANCE AT PENCAITLAND

Pencaitland Yellow 3 - 8 MYS Black Stripes (18Apr09)

With each team having only 8 players today, all of the kids enjoyed plenty of match-time in an exciting game at Pencaitland. The home team took an early lead when the ball was chipped over the Youngstars' defence into the path of a Pencaitland striker who controlled the ball very well and slotted it past Ross in goals. The Youngstars responded well, and it was all one-way traffic for the rest of the first period as the Pencaitland defence was put under continual pressure. However, they coped well and prevented an equaliser despite some good efforts from Lewis and Morgan.

The equaliser eventually came in the second period, when a great corner from Mark was knocked back across goal from Morgan, and Lewis was on hand to smash the ball over the goal line. Pencaitland took the lead almost immediately afterwards, when the Youngstars missed a chance to clear the ball out of the box and a Pencaitland striker sneaked in to pass the ball into the bottom corner of the net. However, the Youngstars rallied again, and some great hassling from Jason out on the corner flag forced a Pencaitland defender to pass the ball right into Lewis' path and he gratefully knocked the ball past the keeper to equalise for the second time today. Jason was involved in the team's third goal as his cross from wide on the left was met by Josh's head at the far post as he played it back across goal. Once again, Lewis was waiting and simply placed the ball into the back of the net to claim his hat-trick. Calum almost put the Youngstars two goals in front with a fantastic header from distance that went narrowly over the bar. But it was then Pencaitland's turn to equalise when a brilliant strike from wide on the right sailed past Ross' outstretched hand and bounced off the far post into the goals.

This gave Pencaitland a boost as we went into the third quarter, and they were unlucky not to score during this spell. Calum took a turn in goals, and Ross played in defence - both were called on to keep Pencaitland at bay, with Ross making many great last-ditch tackles and Calum pulling off a string of amazing diving saves when faced one-on-one with a Pencaitland striker on three separate occasions. The Youngstars restored their lead following some neat inter-play between Morgan, Josh and Lewis, and although the keeper made a strong save from Lewis' shot, Jason was waiting to pounce onto the rebound and he blasted the ball low into the net. He almost scored a second from the kick-off as he won the ball on the half-way line and took an early shot that almost caught the keeper out (as he managed to block the ball with his shins). The Youngstars then went further ahead when Lewis passed the ball from the left hand side of our own half towards Jason in the centre. Jason looked up and saw Morgan on space on the right wing and played the ball into his path. Getting the ball under control, Morgan then passed back into Josh, who flicked it towards Lewis who had now run past the centre circle. With his first touch, Lewis chipped the ball high in the air towards goal and it bounced in front of the keeper and over his head, falling kindly into the back of the net.

In the final period, Calum didn't have too much to do in goals as the Pencaitland kids began to tire. A great sliding tackle from Josh resulted in him damaging his head and having to go off injured, but Sam came on in his place and had a superb game at the back with Mark as they prevented further Pencaitland strikes at goal. The Youngstars stretched their lead further when Jason strode into the centre circle and passed the ball forward to Lewis, who played a nice back-heeled pass into Morgan's path and he simply curved the ball past the keeper into the net. Seconds later he scored another when Lewis's shot, following a smashing pass from Ross, was parried by the keeper and Morgan charged onto it to knock it in for the team's seventh goal of the game. Before the final whistle, the Youngstars managed to grab another goal as Morgan won the ball down on the by-line and played it back towards Jason, who fired it low into the bottom corner.

This ended another great performance by the team, against a solid Pencaitland side. The kids are really playing well together this season and working hard for each other - and this is paying off in the quality of football being displayed during the matches. Well done everyone!

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

Goal scorers: Lewis (4), Jason (2), Morgan (2)