Colts vs Areley Kings (14/12/19)

Under 11s Colts were looking to end the footballing year on a high when they took on an Areley Kings team at a rainswept Perdiswell that boasted only one defeat so far this season. Conditions were (yet again) far from ideal, with a strong westerly wind pushing in waves of, quite frankly - horrendous weather. The warm-up (if it could be called such a thing) was conducted in an icy downpour which thankfully abated part-way through the first half, leaving the players with sodden shirts, numb fingers and ruddy complexions.
Colts started with Zac in goal, Tom and Ewan at the back joined by the brave Dylan, freshly raised from his sick bed; George and Caleb started in the middle with Reggie and Josh wide, and Harry resuming up front. Substitutes were Cam, Ollie and Nathan with Louis and Connor unavailable through illness.
Starting in wet, blustery conditions, neither side managed to impose themselves on the match in the early stages, however as the game opened up both sides had chances to open the scoring. Zac was forced into a fine save and showed his current level of confidence by reacting quickest to clear danger on a couple of occasions. Harry was denied twice by the impressive Kings keeper, and the first half developed into an end-to-end encounter. The away side opened their account after a harshly awarded free kick wasn’t dealt with and the ball was swept into the Colts net. This seemed to spur the boys into action – Josh was particularly lively and George, despite being kicked, trampled-on and generally ‘knocked around’ put in some sterling work in the middle of the pitch. Reggie looked dangerous on the left-hand side, whipping in a sharp free-kick (echoed by Josh a short time later) and Ewan continued his good form at the heart of the defence, looking as assured as ever.
Manager Stephen Coopey was forced into a double change halfway through the half; Caleb was replaced by Nathan and Dylan succumbed to his illness and was replaced by Ollie, who made an immediate impact by threading a sublime through-ball to Harry who in turn deftly flicked the ball past the central defenders before taking the ball forward and slotting the ball into the net. Moments later he was denied by another fine save, the rebound falling to Josh who couldn’t keep his shot down; the rest of the half was entertaining fayre with battling displays from George and Ollie helping keep the scores level at half time.
The second half was a different story however, as Areley stepped up the pressure. Hesitation in the defence allowed the Kings livewire right-winger to advance on the area and smash an unstoppable shot past the newly-introduced Cam; the goal did have the affect of temporarily strengthening Colts resolve and only some fine goalkeeping and last-ditch defending prevented them from drawing level. George in particular had some joy in finding space on the edge of the box which his endeavour deserved, however couldn’t find the target. As the match progressed, the Kings tackling became more ‘robust’ and several of the Colts players found themselves feeling the effects of some ‘agricultural’ encounters, with several free kicks being won but not converted. The re-introduction of Caleb steadied the ship in the middle of the park, and a series of corners and some sustained pressure typified the middle part of the second half, unfortunately all of which proved fruitless. Ollie came close with a shot that many thought had crept in to the top corner, however the ball slid the wrong side of the post having beaten the keeper. Colts were hit with a sucker punch when Areley broke away and scored a third, and soon after a fourth as they failed to clear effectively. The scoreline was however made more respectable with almost the last kick of the game, Harry spinning and firing low into the corner to cap an assured display.
So a slightly disjointed end to 2019 for the boys, although the general consensus will be that the first half of the season has been very positive with some excellent progression from the team; January will see them continue in both league and cup competitions and the coaching staff will be keen to see a continuation of the upward trajectory that the Under 11s Colts have followed until now.