Ramsbury FC U15s were drawn AWAY against a very strong and physical MYFC U15s side who play two divisions higher in Division 1 and had the advantage of their home pitch. The team was: Tom, Seb, Josh, Maya, Reece, Noah, Euan, Scott, AJ, Fred and Ben P (Capt). Subs: Barney, Hayden, Alex, Byron and Sam.
In the early stages it was all Marlborough as they dominated possession and went close twice. But Ramsbury showed great competitive spirit and even after going 1-0 down took the game to Marlborough with Noah, Ben P and Fred all going close. It was great to have Tom M in goal as although he looked a little rusty did make some very good saves and it was a lofted ball out of defence that saw Scott watch the bounce and calmly sprint forward to head over the MYFC keeper to make it 1-1 and see Ramsbury back in the match. MYFC were stunned.
The next 20minutes saw a superb midfield battle with Noah, Euan, and Scott all putting pressure on MYFC and giving them no space. Josh and Maya in the centre of defence were magnificent in their defending with Reece and Seb as fullbacks making some brilliant tackles and clearing their lines. Fred and AJ worked tirelessly on the flanks and provided great width. When the subs came on: Byron for Fred, Hayden for Seb and Sam for AJ they all made telling contributions. No more so than Sam who stretched the MYFC defence and ran up and down the pitch constantly – great to see! The half finished 1-1 with MYFC frustrated, Ramsbury elated and the MYFC Coach hugely irritated and barking at his team that they must do better!
The second half was very even until MYFC played a neat ball on the right and then back into an unmarked player who slotted in past Tom to make it 2-1. Ramsbury responded immediately with Noah terrorising the MYFC defence and going very close to make it 2-2. Alex came on for Hayden and AJ for Ben P and Ramsbury upped the tempo with MYFC on the back foot – a joy to see and definitely threatening to score. However, a nasty injury to a MYFC player going for a 50-50 ball with Josh resulted in the player not being able to carry on and not being able to be moved off the pitch. The game was abandoned with just over 20 minutes left to play as an ambulance was called. We look forward to the rematch and hope the MYFC player makes a full and speedy recovery!
A special note to all parents and especially to Andy and Geoff who assisted in looking after the MYFC player and did all they could do to minimise the stress of the young boy involved and stayed with him until the ambulance arrived some 3 hours later. A really caring and decent gesture. Thank you.
Finally, Man of the Match went to Euan for relentless midfield play, although it could have quite easily gone to Noah or Maya who both played really well. Moment of the Match went to Scott for his superb goal – great to have you back Scott! And spare a thought for poor Barney who didn’t get to play as the match was abandoned (sorry Barney) and to Ben B who although injured came and supported the team – really well done to both boys!
See you all at training next Saturday.
Jon
