Date	Sunday 11th September 2011
Match	Royston Town Youth Colts v Knebworth Youth Blacks
Competition	Royston Crow Youth Football League U12 Division 2
Result	Drew 1-1
Royston Scorers	Billy
Man of Match	Jamie C – for his constant hard work and never say die attitude

Team  – Jamie C (captain) Stephen, Lewis W, Frankie, Charlie C, Charlie M, Charlie A, Lewis A, Billy, Jamie P, Tom, Jordan, Bailey, Callum

 

So the season kicks off!

 

It seems forever since last season and with a new squad, new league and same kit, we faced off against Knebworth on a blustery Sunday lunchtime.

 

We knew it was going to be a tough game today. Knebworth had finished in a strong position last season and we told the lads to focus, commit to their tackles and make sure they didn’t get muscled out of the game. Without exception, they stuck to the plan and gave a great account of themselves.

 

We played up hill for the first half, which was also against the wind. Strong defensive play from Jamie C and Stephen helped to clear our lines of any long balls played through. Frankie and Lewis on the right and left of defence also made sure that our lines were cleared quickly.

 

Jamie P took on a holding midfielder role and was instrumental in many of our attacks through the middle of the pitch. On the wings, both Charlie A and Tom made sure that we kept the Knebworth players on their toes and fed to Lewis A for some of his nipping runs through.

 

Charlie C carried on his fantastic pre-season form in goal, with some excellent saves and commanded his area really well. He was quick to get the ball moving from the back and helped build for any attacks we mustered.

 

Towards the end of the first half, Jamie P mazed his way through to the edge of the box and had a shot pushed onto the post and away for a corner. Tom sailed the ball over and Billy was on hand to tap the ball in at the far post. 1-0 to the Crows!

 

The half ended and Steve and myself told the lads to keep going, work hard and don’t be afraid to play the long ball game. The wind and hill were with us! We asked Billy and Charlie M to continue their hard yards in midfield and we hoped to pin Knebworth back in their half.

 

Knebworth came out looking for the equaliser, and were quick and physical. It took some stalwart defending to keep them out and many a time Jamie C was there to clear the ball away. The wind was not helping as much as we had hoped and the ball was carried too long on many occasions ,stopping us building any form of consistent attack.

 

Eventually the pressure told and Knebworth grabbed the equaliser with a well taken goal. It would have been easy for our heads to drop, but to their credit, all the lads stood up and carried on working really hard.

 

We had a chance to win the match when a Lewis A goal was disallowed for offside. A tight call that could have gone either way. However, the match ended 1-1 which was a fair result given the amount of play each side had.

 

So a great start to the season. Everyone can take heart from a fine display, and if the lads work that hard all season, we will do well. Steve and me were proud.

 

A special thanks to Jack Anderson for stepping in to ref. at short notice.