Youth football roundup

The under-14s achieved their first away win of the season with a 7-2 victory over local rivals Cobholm. The win now puts the boys five points clear of bottom club KPFC Crusaders who they hope to defeat next Sunday at North Denes. The seven goals came from four different players, Alan Mays 3, Stephen Sage 2, Miroslav Koky and Dylan Dougal. The man of the match was a player that didn’t manage to get on the scoresheet, Great Yarmouth’s Lukas Bendaravicius.

Freethorpe U9 played against Bradwell Spain with a noon kick off. Freethorpe started well and a great goal from Tobias saw the scores level at half time. The second half saw Freethorpe tire. Billy continued with some great runs and on another day could have scored or set up others. Ross was good in goal, but his enthusiasm was missed on the pitch in the second half. Alfie did well and was strong in the tackle. Eddy made a few saves and tried hard when outfield. Will and Nevie are important players for the team and both do a job wherever needed. Man of the match was birthday boy Callum, who never comes out of a challenge without the ball.

FC Bradwell U12 England faced Freethorpe. England started brightly and dominated possession. A cross-goal clearance landed at the feet of Connor who finished well. Dan’s shot was cleared off the line but Connor made sure and smashed it in from the edge of the box. Joe was alert when called upon. Kyle has grown in confidence and is now beating players before picking his pass. Kieron was a rock in defence. Asa was unlucky not score after a mazy run. Brandon has improved week after week, with Harvey battling well protecting the defence and Finley showing his skilful side. The second half saw England dominate again, Kai’s determination on the wing with Dan allowed Dan to finish well. Noel battled well on the opposite wing and Tucker showed his class picking his passes. A long ball found its way to Connor in the box who poked the ball past the keeper to complete his hat-trick. Excellent work from Kai on the wing again allowed Fenton to pop up in the box and finish from close range. Final score 0-5. A great team performance. Parents’ man of the match was Connor. Manager’s mom was Kieron.

Gorleston Rangers U9 Eagles were over the border again to Barnards Meadow to play Waveney Thundercats. Within a couple of minutes they knew they would be in for a tight game as the hosts pushed forward. It was an even affair with the ever dependable back line of Travis, George and Andrew stopping ‘Cats at virtually every opportunity, bar one. Eagles were a little stand offish and late in the challenge which allowed Waveney to wiggle their way through and go a goal up. The remainder of the first half was a fairly even affair with both teams cancelling each other out. The second half saw Ollie D go on a solo run and shoot just wide. Robbie and Ollie F then began to find their form and between them and Kye started to open up the opposition’s defence and their side were unlucky not to score on a couple of occasions, be it poor fininishing, good luck or good defending and goalkeeping from Waveney. Eagles’ goalkeeper, Jake, was then forced off after 15 minutes with the effects of the arctic blast and a lack of much to do, thanks to the boys in front of him. Ollie D went between the sticks and not long after pulled off a good save when Waveney were through on goal. From a goal kick Eagles’ best move of the game came with some fine interchangable passing between nearly all the team and a fine one-two between Robbie and Ollie F with the latter scoring the equaliser. The rest of the game continued much like the first half with both teams playing well but not giving anything away. It was nice for the boys to be tested against good oppostion and shows the character they all have to dig in and play. Mom was George. Training tomorrow tbc. Sunday’s game against Beccles Hornets, kick off tbc.

Bohemians Comets U11 welcomed KPFC Panthers for a league game, and after losing twice to the same opposition last season Comets knew they were in for a tough encounter. From the 10-minute mark Panthers began to control possession. However, they were restricted mainly to long range attempts, but when they did break through the home team defence, a couple of shots were placed wide of the goal.

This impressive spell of football from the visiting side was finally rewarded on 15 minutes when a well-struck cross was deflected straight on to an attacker by Callum and the rebound nestled in the net.

Kirkley really upped their game and Comets were second best in pretty much all areas. Callum briefly kept the score as it was when he made a great save, however, the inevitable second did follow very soon after, on 18 minutes, when a good run and cross down the right flank led to a simple tap in.

Bohemians did briefly wake up when a great Ethan K ball found Ollie whose effort was well turned round the post by the visiting keeper.

Panthers resumed their dominance to take a 3-0 lead, when a speculative long range effort was allowed to squirm into the goal.

On 27 minutes a goal out of nothing from Bohemians arrived when Ollie positioned himself to pull the ball back for Ethan K to take a touch and hammer the ball into the roof of the net from the edge of the area.

Just before the break Tyrese had to make a fantastic sliding tackle in the penalty area, to prevent Kirkley’s dangerous attacker from stretching the lead further.

The start of the second half saw a more determined Bohemians team get into their stride early and the deficit was almost reduced when Sam burst down the wing, to play the ball into the path of Liam who smacked a shot against the crossbar.

The woodwork was struck at the other end soon after, with a Comets player heading on to his own post from a corner.

This let off was seized upon instantly by the home team when Ethan K played a through ball to Ollie who squared it to Sam to slide it home to make it 3-2 on 45 minutes.

A minute later the scores were level, thanks to another Ethan K assist, when a ball over the top found Ollie who slotted it past the goalie to bring the hosts level.

With the game entering the final five minutes of normal time, Comets really hit a purple patch. Ollie went close after a well hit Samuel corner fell at his feet and the keeper clutched his goalbound shot more or less on the line.

On 57 minutes Tyrese played a fine ball over the top of the defence for Ollie to take perfectly in his stride and calmly put Comets ahead for the first time at 4-3.

A minute later the lead was increased when hesitant defending from Kirkley resulted in Ollie being given the chance to run clear to score with ease.

Incredibly Bohemians made it 6-3 at the end of normal time when Ethan K played a through ball to Haydn, who dribbled through the defence to score a lovely goal.

Six minutes of time was added on at the end of the 60, due to a few injury breaks, as well as a couple of stoppages for undone shoelaces, allowing Kirkley to pull a goal back with a fine finish from just outside the penalty area.

It was a cracking game of youth football, a great midway first half period from Kirkley to race into a 3-0 lead, but to Comets’ credit they never gave up, pulled a goal back before half time, and went on to dominate the second half to eventually thoroughly deserve a fine victory.

Next week it’s back to cup action at home to Bungay Town United, with a 10am kick off.

Bohemians Galaxy U11 played their first match since December 7. On five minutes Galaxy burst forward and Charlie hit the post. On seven minutes a great surging run by Joshua beat all the defenders but he just dragged his shot wide. Galaxy were in full attack mode and some great play resulted in pinball wizardry in the penalty box with shots galore and some frenetic defending resulting in the home keeper pulling off a great save.

On 15 minutes a great through ball by Joey found Charlie in space who calmly opened the scoring. There was some great link up play by Matty, Joshua and Mitchell and this bought Mitchell’s first goal of the day. On 19 minutes another great run by Mitchell found himself in acres of space and a fiercely struck shot went over the keeper’s head. On 29 minutes the move of the half involved Kalvin, Joshua and Joe with some great passing that opened up the home team and there was Joshua to provide Joe with his first goal.

In the second half Galaxy started in the same vein with the whole team playing their part in winning tackles and putting the home team under pressure and stretching the play. On 35 minutes Matty set up Charlie for his second. Charlie didn’t have to wait long to bag his first hat-trick with a strong run and cool finish. Mitchell not wanting to be outdone found the back of the net on 40 minutes with an assist by Joe. Credit goes to the home team as they never gave up and worked hard to gain a foothold in the match, but there was Joel and Floyd to mop up the danger. On 48 minutes Mitchell grabbed his fourth with some great link up play between Joey and Joe. Kieran was causing problems down the right with his pace and vision and his hard work was rewarded on 51 minutes when Mitchell turned provider and Kieran hit a fierce shot into the roof of the net.

The home keeper pulled off a great number of saves to keep the score down, but take nothing away from the boys as they played with a tempo and passing ability that was most impressive and with a precision that we had lacked on a few occasions this season.

FC Bradwell U12 Spain took on perennial Division One champions Gorleston on Sunday and the FCB boys were fantastic from the outset. FCB made some tactical and positional changes and every boy gave 100pc to make these work. It wasn’t until nine minutes from the end that Gorleston scored, via a rebound from a well saved shot and the game finished 1-0. Max was man of the match for an outstanding first attempt at a man-marking role. Hayden was clear runner-up after a perfect performance in goal, saving many shots that he simply should not have got near. Toby, Harvey, Harry and Marcus were outstanding in defence, showing real spirit and team work from the first whistle to the last. Camron continued his outstanding run of form and Curtis and Macey’s work rate on the flanks was massive in terms of the FCB performance. Dalton, Jack and Chester made a massive difference in this game by defending from the front and looked really good when playing together as they went in search of the equaliser whilst Marshall was unfortunate as he struggled with a bad injury. It was a real shame for the boys that they finally conceded when it looked like their hard work and commitment was going to get them a point. However, it really shows how the boys are improving as the season goes on. It was one of, if not, the best performance by the boys this season. Well done all and good luck to Gorleston for the rest of the season. Thanks to sponsors Kingfisher of Burgh Castle.

Acle Utd U12 welcomed Shrublands on a crisp Sunday morning. Within five minutes they had the lead with a move down the left-hand side with Ben putting the ball into the box and in the scramble Reece popped up to put United one up. Ten minutes later Acle had another goal from a corner. Ben swung the ball in and whilst it was loose Sam stole in to make it 2-0. The hosts continued having many chances in front of goal but the Shrublands goalkeeper made some very good saves. Shrublands carried on making chances for themselves and 10 minutes before half time they had a break down the left hand side with a one-on-one allowing the ball to be pulled back and then finding its way into the bottom right hand corner. As Acle carried on pressing, just before half time they got themselves another corner which was flighted perfectly into the box to be half cleared by Shrublands only for Jacob to shoot at goal from around 25 yards. It smashed against the cross bar. The second half started and after making a few changes with Theo coming in at right back for Alfie, Acle carried on in much the same vein as they finished the first half and started to exploit the spaces, knocking the ball out wide taking the attacks down the wings. Around 10 minutes in, Ben stole the ball and with some smart interchanging he was free to fire the ball home from just inside the box to put United 3-1 up. With the whole team defending and attacking as a unit and now controlling the game from midfield, Ben got himself another goal from a loose ball in the box to make it 4-1. Shrublands were limited as an attacking force with the defence and the central midfield of Josh and Reece breaking up the play and turning it into attack. Ben got his third from a throw in on the right side, Sam throwing long for Ollie to head into Ben’s path. He neatly side stepped two defenders and found the top left corner for a beautiful finish and he grabbed his hat-trick to make it 5-1. With making further changes, Jack came into the central midfield and Max going up front, the hosts looked to push on and consolidate their position. Acle got two corners in quick succession, one from the left then the right. Both were great deliveries with the second one dropping into the box to be half cleared outside the box to fall again to Jacob to shoot back in. It was heading to nestle in the top corner but the Shrublands keeper covered the ground at full stretch to palm the ball away. It was a brilliant save from the keeper from an excellent shot.

As full time approached Max won the ball on the halfway line to flick it up for Ben to play him in beating the offside trap and with the keeper rushing out to close down the space he shot over the advancing keeper to find the top right hand corner. It was a perfect finish to the game to make it 6-1.

Gorleston Rangers Ospreys U12 had to get back to winning ways to have any chance of second place. At home to Heigham Park Rangers, Ospreys started brightly with some good moves. Good hold up play from Zak, created the first chance for Max but his effort was well saved. Cam and Max were constant thorns in the opponents’ sides as on both wings they ran the defence ragged with their pace and skill. Ospreys opened the scoring when Bailey and Zak linked well and Tayler finished with a finely taken goal. The second came soon after as again Leo, impressive at full back, ventured forward and Max made it two. Leo, Liam A and Liam W all had chances before Tayler had a low drive go into the bottom corner after a very good play down the left from Tristan and Bailey.

Ospreys were on fire and chances kept coming as Fletcher came up from his defensive duties and shot over the bar from 25 yards. Bailey then shot wide before Liam A watched his effort saved well. Tristan got in on the act but again was foiled by the keeper. Man of the match was Liam W with a great performance in midfield and two great goals before Cam made it six. It was a brilliant team performance from the boys and it could have been more. Alex, in goal, only had half a dozen touches all game. Not just the goals, but the performance was the pleasing thing. Thanks to Aquazone, JLCN2 Services and JHDK Developments for their continued support.

Ormesby Lads U15 travelled to Waveney Snowleopards for the replay of the game abandoned due to Luke Brooke’s injury, sad news that a recurrence of the injury has ended his season. Everyone sends their best wishes to Luke. Ormesby started well with good midfield play from Shane, Louis, Dylan and Sam Dix backed up by excellent defending by Ralph, Sam Dyson, Cain and Luke D. Ormesby deservedly took the lead when a great run and cross from Sam Dix was headed home by Louis. Jamie, Jordan, William, Brady and Daniel were introduced from the bench and Daniel, playing his first game in seven years, did well in midfield and Brady passed the ball well. Waveney equalised with a breakaway goal to make it all square at the break. Ormesby had good chances to retake the lead through Nathan and Louis before Waveney went ahead and then had a spell where Andrew had to make some important saves to keep his team in with a chance. Then Billy had a good goal controversially ruled out to leave Ormesby feeling very frustrated to lose a game where at the very least they deserved a point. Man of the match was Sam Dix who produced great wing play with an end product. It was a good performance from all, especially Louis, Ralph and Sam Dyson. Next match against Oulton Mariners away, kick off tba.

Blundeston Magpies U11 are looking for an experienced goalkeeper to join their team. Training will be on Wednesdays at 6pm at Cliff Park School with matches taking place on Sundays at Lothingland School in Jay Lane. For further information please contact Rod on 07917 665071 or John on 07921 091393.

Gorleston Rangers U5/6 mini Hoops are currently recruiting boys and girls aged five and six for their mini Hoops groups. Training takes place in Wroughton Junior School hall, via Burgh Road, as follows: Wednesday 5.30pm to 6.30pm for reception year, Wednesday 6.30pm to 7.30pm for school year one. For more information please contact Chris on 01493 601256. Friday 4.30pm to 5.30pm for reception year and school year one. For more information please contact Chrissy on 07795 661707.

Gorleston Rangers U10 Ospreys are currently looking to recruit a goalkeeper to complete the squad. Interested players should be in school Year Five. For more information please contact Chris on 01493 601256.

Due to injuries, Gorleston Rangers Falcons U14 are currently looking to recruit another player to complete the squad. Interested players should be in school Year Nine. For more information telephone Chris on 01493 601256. Training is as usual tomorrow on Wroughton Junior School field via Burgh Road entrance 9.30 to 10.45am.