In their pursuit of promotion, U12 Boys faced Omonia Green in a double header at Pursley, with the Sun out again, making it feel like a hot, summer's day.
The boys started fast, working many good opportunities to score but, lacking the composure to finish these off. Hones was marshalling the centre of defence very well and good distribution from Captain Marshall continued to cause Omonia problems but, the Wood attack just couldn't find that priceless goal. With the fat lady clearing her throat, George won a corner and whipped in an excellent ball that was met by the onrushing Manning, securing a valuable three points for the team and the MoM award for himself.
The second game continued much as the first with the Wood dominating possession but, failing to slot chances away or convert good situations into shooting opportunities. Marshall made a vital save to keep Omonia from going ahead, while McGuinness was in excellent form in the centre and Montgomery outstanding at left back, enjoying his best performance to date.
In the end, the boys did really well to keep another clean sheet but, were unable to secure a win, the points being shared in a fair reflection of the match. George secured MoM for a very good morning's work, threatening the opposition throughout and unlucky not to grab a winner on several occasions. Next up’s a double header against Championship rivals Harrow Stars; they don’t get any bigger than that so tune in next week to discover how things go?!
Our rapidly progressing U10 Boys faced AC Finchley North away and put in a tremendous shift to secure a well deserved clean sheet. The entire squad played with pride and determination with young Bailey securing MoM after a special all round performance. Brilliant stuff!
Meanwhile, our U11s continued their excellent first season together with another outstanding display of attacking football. After knocking in fifteen last week, they helped themselves to a further six this time round, with Lennon, Julian, Jack Hayden, Ethan & Leon hammering the Pursley nets with abandon.
Josh picked up MoM after enjoying a faultless match at the back, tackling determinedly and keeping possession expertly. Well done young man!
__
Our U10 Girls had no League fixture today, but, with the sun out boosting tans and vitamin D levels alike, our U18 Girls were in tremendous form, recording an excellent 0-1 away victory against Garston Leopards.
The girls came out the blocks fast, hassling the opposition to regain the ball and making intelligent decisions in all areas of the pitch. However, despite creating numerous chances, the Wood were unable to stick it in the goal first half.
Disaster seemed to strike second half after Garston were awarded not one, but two somewhat debatable penalties, but, after they skied the first of these, keeper Hyman somehow flung herself to the side in a passable impression of Wonder Woman 1984 to make a quite outstanding save. These heroics spurred the team on and their continued pressing paid off when Swain secured the points by calmly slotting the ball home for her third in two games. Branigan was named POM for excellent reading of the game combined with great energy and skill to provide an excellent midfield and then defensive performance.
After helping himself to some post-match hospitality in the Garston boardroom, co-manager Clarke spoke at length to BBC World Service. "The girls have been working really hard in training and that paid off today. Everyone performed really well with Makamian and Embleton consistently excellent in midfield, with some great link up play from Trainis too. Our strikers caused lots of issues to the opposition with runs and crosses, and our defence was solid, giving away very few chances. I'm simply delighted for and with them all."
Sage words indeed.
