£5 FOR A HEADED GOAL!

Longniddry Villa 1 - 10 MYS Black Stripes (2May09)

After a good warm-up session focussing on heading technique, the Youngstars convinced the coach to offer a prize of £5 for any player who managed to score with a header during the match. Unfortunately, for the kids at least, there were no headed goals today - but that wasn't for the lack of trying with many excellent crosses being played into the box.

The first 15 minutes was a very close game, with chances at either end of the pitch, but neither team able to score. Morgan came the closest when he met Jason's cross a couple of yards from goal, but the Longniddry defence recovered well and cleared the ball in the nick of time. Mark had been practicing taking corners in training recently, and he got the opportunity to take plenty today as the Youngstars kept up the pressure. This left Sam on his own at the back, and on a few occasions throughout the game he was called on to sweep up as the ball broke out towards the Youngstars' half. Not only was he able to tackle cleanly, he also constantly found one of his team mates with some good passing skill.

Harvey almost opened the scoring early in the second period when his strike had to be tipped over the bar by the goalkeeper. However, a few minutes later he found some space again and this time his shot hit the back of the net to get things underway. Ross was playing in goals for this spell, and after a good bit of Longniddry pressure he managed to clear the ball out to Lewis at the edge of his own box. Lewis charged forward down the right wing, then cut inside at the Longniddry box and fired the ball low into the opposite corner of the goals for the Youngstars' second of the game. Then, following some good passing between Harvey and Morgan, Lewis was on the scoresheet again as his shot struck the Longniddry keeper's shin and trickled over the goal line.

Jason and Josh linked up well throughout the third period, creating loads of scoring opportunities for the team. At one stage, with both of them battling it out against the Longniddry defence in the box, the ball broke to Jason who wasted no time in rifling it into the net for his first of the match. Then after Lewis found Josh in the middle of the pitch, Josh skipped past his marker and played a great pass to Jason on the left. Jason drove further wide, then turned back in-field and dribbled past a couple of defenders before placing the ball neatly between the keeper and his near post. Calum lead the front line with his usual enthusiasm and kept the Longniddry defence under pressure for the whole of this period, meaning that their was very little for the Youngstars defence to do.

Jason completed his hat-trick in the final quarter, when the ball fell kindly to him in the Longniddry penalty box and he struck it sweetly past the diving keeper. Then, following another superb curling corner from Mark, a Longniddry defender got on the wrong side of the ball and knocked it into his own net. The Youngstars continued to make many chances, and Ross was next on the scoresheet with his first goal since joining the club last winter. From out on the right wing he drove forward towards goal and, with his right foot, curled the ball beautifully into the top corner of the net giving the keeper no chance. The Longniddry team kept their heads up though, and managed to pull one back following a great clearance from their defender. It flew over our midfield and defence, and landed at their striker's feet who still had a lot to do to control the ball and squeeze it past Josh right into the bottom corner. It was good to see the Longniddry players getting a reward for their efforts as they had put a lot into the game and really deserved their goal. The Youngstars then scored a very similar goal with Jason's pass flying over the Longniddry players into Harvey's path and he controlled it perfectly on the bounce, tucking it past the advancing keeper into the net. Just before the final whistle, Lewis played a nice pass for Harvey to hammer the ball into the goals for his hat-trick.

This ended another great display from the Youngstars, and each player can be very pleased with their own individual performance today.

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

Goal scorers: Harvey (3), Lewis (2), Jason (3), Ross, and an Own Goal