U15 Boys v Surrey

Surrey vs Kent – Saturday 25th January 2020

We arrived in Surrey knowing it would be a tough game however a draw or win would automatically qualify us for the knockout stages.

We started brightly and won our first balls and tackles on a small pitch which was hard to play football on.  Although we were moving the ball around nicely and getting it into some good areas we didn’t really test their keeper.  Neither team had many chances but the first real break came for Kent midway through the first half when Elliot Nimmo whipped in a corner which Jack Vine poked towards goal but the Surrey keeper kept it out and it remained 0-0.  It was a fairly equal game with neither team dominating and it looked like we would be going into half time 0-0 but a long ball sent the Surrey striker through and he slotted it home to make it 1-0 to Surrey.  The half ended just after this.

The second half started well for Kent.  A change in formation helped us to pressure the Surrey defence and forced them to make mistakes.  We quickly got a goal back thanks to Finley Cotton who swivelled on the edge of the box and put it in the bottom corner to make it 1-1.  From here, we tried to push on but the game became equal once again but we defended well and tried to nick another goal.  This nearly happened when Harvey Welford was sent through with a ball over the top and volleyed the bouncing ball which crashed against the underside of the crossbar and somehow stayed out.  Undeterred we continued to push on and minutes later Harvey got his goal as he converted on the volley from a cross.  With ten minutes to go we knew that this win would be very important and managed the game well and made it 3-1 thanks to Rasheed Tijani who smashed it into the bottom left corner.  The game ended 3-1 to Kent with a very impressive second half display.

Thanks again to our families who travelled down to support us and as always thanks to James and Chris.

By Jack Beerling