24/11/2007 - 25/11/2007
Under 10s 'A'
Match report by Rob McMurdo.
On a freezing day it was hard to get warmed up, we did our best and got ready for the game. We started well and with a great strike from Southern we took the lead, it was Southern pulling all the strings and with a great run down the wing he squared for Campbell to slot home.
Half-time came and it just seemed to get colder, players came off to try and get warm and the match started to break down, as a freezing Harper couldn't get to shots, the score was soon level. In the end we decided to call it a day half-way through the second-half and a draw was just result for the effort of the two teams to turn out on such a day. Man of the Match was given to Jacob Southern for a superb display.
Under 10s 'B'
Match report by David Wilde.
With the 'B' team manager Steve not turning up it allowed me the opportunity to manage the 'B' team, and see what a great team these guys are turning into. The amount of effort and team spirit they showed together was fantastic and some of the passing was breathtaking. The weather was not ideal as conditions were freezing, but the lads kept on their toes and kept warm, and seemed to really enjoy the game. The first goal came from the skipper Bayley, after a pre match chat I asked Harry to lead by example what more could I ask for, the ball fell to Bayley from Jarrad's out swinging corner and the centre half coolly slotted the ball into the corner of the net 1-0 High Lane. The second soon followed when Skiba played a lovely one two with Doherty then beat the last defender with a cute turn and then fired the ball into the bottom corner a great individual goal. Smith, Bayley and Whittington were communicating very well and limited Woodley to only a few shots which Whittington dealt with very comfortably. Smith had a few runs down the left and was looking very calm at the back. It was 3-0 when Hanson got down the right wing and pulled the ball back to Bayley, who sent the ball flying into the top corner of the goal, another fantastic goal.
Half-time saw a few changes as Cubbon (unlucky not to start after recent performances) came on, along with new boy Fraser. They settled very quickly to the teams passing and move groove, as we went looking for more goals. The fourth was again thanks to a great link up with Hanson and Bayley, which saw Bayley's shot come back off the bar straight to Jarrad to slot home. Jarrad then in search of his second saw the Woodley keeper make a great save, luckily Skiba was on hand to round the keeper and hit home the rebound for 5-0. Doherty was rewarded late on for his tireless running when Smith played a ball through the defence for Doherty to run on and smash past the keeper 6-0, and that's how it finished. Man of the match was skipper Harry Bayley who didn't put a foot wrong all day scored two set one up and was awesome today, I was very pleased with effort and commitment all the players showed, and they should all be proud of themselves as we look for another win next week.
Under 11s
Match report by Kevin Lofthouse.
The Under 11s first ever knockout cup game resulted in a huge victory, but at half-time the score seemed close with George Noon once again demonstrating great finishing on this cold wet windy day, with two great finishes, his second lashed into the corner of the net from the edge of the box, and with Milo in on the scoring 3-2 at half-time.
In the second-half with a couple of changes poor Blue Star didn't stand much hope, with a special request for the High Lane players to warm up the spectators, the goals started to mount up, at 7-2 with george bagging his fifth of the match from outside the box leaving the keeper no chance he came off, to great applause for his Man of the Match performance as did hat-trick scoring Milo. With Matt getting two Alex netting one and Myles back on track with one, the score could have been higher. On the plus side for struggling Blue Star, they brought out some fine saves from the High Lane keeper and never gave in, although the score was high, most pleasing was the way the Blue Star youngsters kept plugging away, sure enough they will become a much better side in the future.
Special note the week for High Lane's proud manager was that the team were impeccable in victory and did not gloat on such a huge difference in score-line (fortunately we remember the good lessons learned from previous seasons when the taste of this sort of defeat is not pleasant) once again another impressive refereeing display from today's official George Mitchell. Now the contest gets tasty as High Lane reach the last 16, What can you all achieve?