Date	Sunday 25th September 2011
Match	Royston Town Youth Colts v Stevenage Borough Junior Lions
Competition	U12 County Challenge Cup
Result	Won 5-3
Royston Scorers	Bruce 3, Callum 2
Spectators Man of Match	Kyle

It was a beautiful Sunday morning, the sun was shining and the pitch looked superb as we welcomed Stevenage Borough Lions to The Heath for this 2^nd round County Cup match.

Stevenage Borough were ideal opponents for these conditions, they too like to play football in the right way and always meet us with a friendly welcome. It was set up for a good game of football.

Knowing how Stevenage liked to play we started with a five man midfield with a view to stopping their flowing football. Callum anchored the midfield flanked by Matt and Tom F allowing the two wingers Lynson and Keiran to play wide and get the crosses in for Bruce who played as the lone striker.

It worked a treat, the three in midfield broke up the play well and pushed the ball wide at every opportunity. Lynson and Keiran were seeing a lot of the ball and it was Lynson’s run down the right that won us a corner.

Keiran crossed an inch perfect ball which found Callum at the back post who met it with his head and it was 1-0.

But this was Stevenage Borough Lions we were playing and they were not going to give up that easy, straight from their kickoff they pushed the ball wide, their winger crossed the ball quickly which was met first time by their striker and it was quickly all level again at 1-1.

The back line of Brad, Tom T, Kyle and Jack D had had very little to do up to then but were beaten by a well taken goal.

Keith and I were impressed with the boy’s spirit today and pushed forward looking to re-take the lead. It certainly wasn’t easy, the Stevenage back four held us at bay for another 10 minutes before a superbly weighted ball from Keiran was played through to Bruce who looked up and chipped it over the on-rushing keeper and into the top corner to make it 2-1.

There was only a minute or two until half time and we instructed the lads to settle and see out the half. Clearly they had other ideas and now had the bit between their teeth, Mat raced forward with the ball and his shot was deflected out for another corner. Keiran crossed it in and it was almost a replica of our first goal, the ball found Callum at the back post and leading by example he made it    3-1 and it was half time.

Keith and I sat the boys down and told them how well they had all played.  They now needed to keep working hard and ensure we didn’t let Stevenage play. We gave Lynson a rest who had worked hard up and down the line and brought on George in his place. Jack H came on for Foxy who took a knock late on but had worked extremely hard in the middle.

We left the defence as it was as they had all looked very comfortable in the first half. Jack D looked strong at left back and Kyle never stopped running. Keith and I were also impressed with Tom T who won everything in the air and although not his preferred position, he has quickly impressed in the centre half role. Brad was also looking strong today and they looked a tight unit together.                   

The second half got underway and obviously the Stevenage management team had fired their boys up too as they came at us very strong. And it wasn’t long before their hard work paid off. A lovely exchange down the left wing found their striker who tucked the ball under Rory and the score was now 3-2.

Again, give credit where credit is due, the boys heads didn’t go down. In fact quite the opposite, from the kick off Jack H pushed the ball wide out to George who first time slotted it through to Bruce who tucked it away in the corner making the score 4-2. It was exactly one minute from Stevenage scoring their goal, what a response!!

Again Stevenage came at us, never letting up and playing some of the attractive football we know they can play. And they very nearly scored. A quick one two on the edge of our box meant their striker was through on goal but Rory stood tall and pushed the ball wide for a corner.

Jack D had run his socks off marshalling their tricky winger and we gave him a well earned rest and sent on Lynson again with the instructions to run at their defence. And that is exactly what he did, he cut inside two defenders crossed for Bruce in the box who scored his first hat-trick of the season and made the score line 5-2.

We knew Stevenage wouldn’t give up and they pushed forward again. A cross from the right was controlled by their striker and as he looked to shoot the ever impressive Kyle tackled him and it looked to have prevented a certain goal. The ref judged that Kyle had caught the man first and pointed to the spot. Even Rory’s impressive record at saving penalties couldn’t stop this one as it was placed very well into the corner to make the score line 5-3.

A minute or so later the ref blew the final whistle on what was a thoroughly entertaining game. Credit must be given to all 22 boys for trying to play football throughout. Both sides never gave up and it was a pleasure to be involved in such an exciting game. Our best wishes go to Stevenage Borough for the rest of the season.

Keith and I sat the boys down and it was noticeable that they all had smiles on their faces. For the first time this season they looked like they had enjoyed playing football. It wasn’t so much the result that pleased Keith and I, it was the way they had all played. Well done to you all.

Team: Rory, Brad, Kyle, Tom T, Jack D, Lynson, Callum, Matt, Tom F, Keiran, Bruce, Jack H, George