Saturday 22nd February KO 10AM at The Farm

Halse United U14s last game of the month was played at The Farm after a location change. This is the first time that the side have played there in at least two seasons.

Kick Off 10:00
And here we go! Another game with high stakes for both sides. Aspley Guise U14 Panthers and Halse United U14s are in the lower half of the table with either side fighting to stay up. The black and white can close the gap to the opposition and 10th place with a win today while the away side can gain from the hosts. This will be a different venue for Halse United U14s as they usually play at Syresham Sports and Social Club. 3 points for either side can ultimately change the season. Well, there was only one team with full control in the first minutes by winning possession early on and maintaining it. It was Halse United U14s opening up the away side and creeping around the box with the defence needing to be fully aware to keep the danger away. As soon as Aspley Guise U14 Panthers received the ball, it was won back in an instant with the black and white not giving the opposition time to settle their nerves. In the play, everyone was involved in stringing the ball around the surface causing the opposition to chase the ball and only able to sit back. Halse United U14s are able to get through and move about freely due to the holes in the opposition's midfield and defence. Dominant and possessive start from the hosts.

GOAL: Halse United U14s 1 - 0 Aspley Guise U14 Panthers
WARD BREAKS THE DEADLOCK! A superb goal from the forward and brilliant play from Mcdonald. The midfielder fights to get the ball from two opposition players and after strafe dribbling to get into space, launches an inviting ball towards Ward who coolly fires a first-time finish into the goalkeepers near post to open the scoring in this contest. Bogdan seems to get a touch on the ball before it gets to Ward but the play was all made by Mcdonald. Two goals in two for the forward and the second time in a row that Halse United U14s have taken the lead. That is also the earliest goal of the season for Halse United U14s with 9 minutes on the clock.

GOAL: Halse United U14s 2 - 0 Aspley Guise U14 Panthers
BOGDAN DOUBLES FOR THE BLACK AND WHITE! That was all made from the left-hand side and it started from the stand in keeper Cafe. The goal kick was played short to Elmer who played a lobbed pass to Jenkins, in which she controlled incredibly and the second touch was taken away from the pressing opposition player, who then released Ward down the left flank. The forward then received the ball and threaded it towards the chasing Bogdan. The striker got to the ball first with the touch taking it away from the sliding keeper and had to face two recovering defenders on the line. The first shot was blocked well but there was no way the in-form striker was going to be denied twice and put it in the back of the net. A superb team goal that started from the back with the ball going through all three sectors in a matter of seconds. That makes it four for Bogdan so far for the club and he has scored for the second game in a row! Sensational!

GOAL: Halse United U14s 3 - 0 Aspley Guise U14 Panthers
AYRES MAKES IT THREE ON THE DAY! Another great goal from the black and white. Once again Mcdonald the troublemaker in the heart of midfield as he launches a ball into a dangerous area but the defender clears only as far as Ward who recycled and deals with the defender by taking it past him to get into the box. Ward makes the correct decision in playing a low cross into the box with the ball rolling across the box with Ayres able to get to the ball and place it into the bottom right-hand corner brilliantly past the keeper. An advantage that gives the hosts more breathing space. This could get messy as Halse United U14s don’t look to be turning down the temperature any time soon. Luckily for Aspley Guise U14 Panthers, the half finishes in 2 minutes.

Half Time: Halse United U14s 3 - 0 Aspley Guise U14 Panthers
A first half that cannot be any more perfect from Halse United U14s. A clean sheet and three well built-up team goals, especially the second, is what is determining the game with attackers Ayres, Ward and Bogdan getting on the scoresheet. The defensive line containing Elmer, Stokes, Masson, Mitchell are so far solid and the opposition can’t progress into their sector. Monk, Mcdonald and Jenkins also showed their defensive capabilities in the midfield helping clean up any loose balls and bad touches. It is also clear that Cafe is enjoying his time in between the sticks after making some brilliant saves to deny the opposition and good positioning. This is the first time the black and white have not conceded in a half since October! Excellent on all aspects of the pitch and if momentum is carried on, this could turn into a drought.

Start of Second Half: Halse United U14s 3 - 0 Aspley Guise U14 Panthers
Usually on these match reports, I would mention a substitution. Well, everyone playing in black and white on that pitch will be playing 70 full minutes. Despite having just the 11, everyone has shown hard work and intensity while still looking to be fit and ready to play for the longer duration. Really good to see that everyone is committed to fight out for the 3 points in this one. They have made the opposition look tired and worn despite the multiple rotations of their two substitutes in the second half. Another 35 minutes kicks off as the referee blows the whistle.

GOAL: Halse United U14s 4 - 0 Aspley Guise U14 Panthers
WOW! WARD LOOKS TO CARRY ON THE MOMENTUM! A brilliant start for the black and white as they get a fourth! A goal so quick that the match reporter unfortunately missed it! And it's another goal from one end of the pitch to the other with the ball being hooked from Stokes and it fell to Mcdonald who threaded the bouncing ball with a defence splitting pass to the running Bogdan. After dribbling towards the goal and getting as close to the keeper as possible, the striker unselfishly played the ball to Ward who finished from close range. Class team goal again and Ward is one away from getting his hat trick. Aspley Guise U14 Panthers don’t know what’s hit them, it's an inform black and white side full of hunger to increase the scoring.

GOAL: Halse United U14s 5 - 0 Aspley Guise U14 Panthers
AND THAT COMPLETES A WONDERFUL HAT TRICK! Ward gets his third of the match, and it’s those four once again involved. A bullet throw-in from Ayres reaches Mcdonald in space but doesn’t need to control and first time hits the ball towards Bogdan. The defender looked set on getting to the ball first but the new signing was not allowing it as he fairly uses his strength to nudge the opposing player out of the way and Bogdan has a free run towards the goal down the right-hand side. After getting close enough to the goal, his sights were on the incoming strike partner of Ward and chooses to pass to him and Ward does the easy job in finishing past the lonesome defender on the goal line who is unable to keep it out. Brilliant from the attackers and quick thinking from Ayres in the throw in to catch out the off-guard Aspley Guise U14 Panthers midfield. It’s also a hat trick of assists from Bogdan! Game over surely with 16 minutes left.

GOAL: Halse United U14s 6 - 0 Aspley Guise U14 Panthers
HE’S NOT DONE THERE! WHAT A GOAL AND ASSIST! That is simply sensational from the pair up front. Bogdan gets his fourth assist as he plays an inch perfect cross with the right amount of power and height into the box. The mindful Ward used brilliant awareness to get away from his marker and found himself in acres of space in the box to head home his fourth of the day. That strike partnership is unstoppable and it's a sixth. A huge scoreline and what a performance from Bogdan and Ward with that Premier League like goal summing up how difficult they are to play against. Can Halse United U14s get one more?

GOAL: Halse United U14s 7 - 0 Aspley Guise U14 Panthers
SHE’S DONE IT FINALLYYYY! JENKINS GETS ON THE SCORESHEET. After many chances in the final few minutes of the game, it looked like it wasn’t going to be her game to score but she did with a powerful finish. It all starts with Ayres again from a throw-in as he intelligently locates Bogdan who supplies Jenkins with a pass into the box. From close range she hits the crossbar but fortunately gets another go and makes no mistake with it and rifles it into the top right-hand corner. Limbs and scenes at The Farm with everyone clearly happy to see Jenkins finally get what she deserves from this game. She will most definitely be relieved to finish that chance off! Once again, an exquisite team goal and all started from the powerful throw in. Halse United U14s get 7!

FULL TIME: Halse United U14s 7 - 0 Aspley Guise U14 Panthers
AND THAT’S THAT! IT’S DEMOLITION DAY FOR HALSE UNITED U14S. A dominant statement win for the black and white who didn’t want the game to end and they have every reason to believe this. They have had the momentum since the first whistle blew from the referee and never went down a gear. Aspley Guise U14 Panthers simply couldn’t contain them today and the hosts get revenge against their opposition after losing out to them earlier in the season. For the second week in a row, no negatives, just appreciation and applause for Halse United U14s. Everyone worked their hardest in this game and definitely fought for the badge for 70 whole minutes of football. There were so many goals that I was beginning to get tired of the number of times I had to type ‘GOAL’! Every aspect of the pitch was outstanding from control to passing to communication and from every area of the pitch it was controlling from striker to goalkeeper. Speaking of the defence and keeper, A CLEAN SHEET and their first since late last season. One of the hardest tasks in youth football is keeping a clean sheet and wow did this team deserve it. Now along with all his goals, Cafe can now add a clean sheet to the list. And speaking of GOALS, more applause goes to Ward who grabbed another hat trick for the club with the supplier, Bogdan, also to be recognised for his passing and unselfish mindset after his four assists. That makes eight goal contributions in two games for the new signing. What an impact he has had since joining the club! One more thing to mention that it is great to see, a smile on everyone’s face after the win. Everyone not only worked hard for the whole game, but seemed to have fun and enjoyed the victory. This was seen in the celebrations, the defensive challenges and even the missed chances. I hope to see this more and more throughout every game as I want everyone to enjoy playing and having fun as that is mostly what it is all about! This aspect cannot be forgotten about! Well done everyone and congratulations on a win that changes the season and one that may scare future opposition defences. Second win in a row with many more to come! On to the next one and this is just the start!

Player Of The Match?
So, for this week's Player Of The Match, I am going to be doing something different this week! I shall not be awarding this one to a specific individual and instead think that it is right that everyone receives this! This game was won with a team performance with everyone contributing and showing that Halse United U14s have scary potential. The display wouldn’t have been put on and the deficit wouldn’t be that huge if everyone didn’t help out! The stand in keeper Cafe, made some brilliant goalkeeper-like saves and showed good decision good making throughout the game in high pressure situations which ultimately is one of the two reasons the opposition didn’t reduce the advantage in the limited chances they created. The second reason that Aspley Guise U14 Panthers had created so little was the defensive line in front of Cafe stopped them getting through on almost every attempt of breaking through. All four of Elmer, Mitchell, Masson and Stokes showed this and covered each other if the opposition attacker had got past a defender. There was leadership in the backline from all of them and they also put in some important passes to attacking players centrally and down both flanks as shown with Elmers contribution in the second goal! One of the most important battles to win earlier on is the war in midfield. Monk and Mcdonald won it for the entire 70 minutes from winning the ball defensively to defence splitting balls to the forwards. They supported everyone around them by cleaning up with ease and found space in-between the gaps with such composure. Ayres and Jenkins in the left and right midfield areas also controlled both flanks by putting on the pressure on the full backs and central midfielders to give them no space to breathe whatsoever. Similarly to the central midfielders, they both were great and dangerous going forward with both getting on the scoresheet with emphatic and powerful finishes. Ayres has also proved himself as a threat on throw ins as two goals were started off with the winger. Finally, the front two of Ward and Bogdan! Now that is a partnership that everyone in the league should fear, five goals of the seven between them and the new signing has clearly settled in at the club nicely. They both have between them a staggering amount of 15 goal contributions in the last TWO games. Simply incredible but as mentioned, if not everyone contributed and worked for it, they may have had less but that most certainly was not the case in the last two matches. Well done everyone for this award and be proud of this performance! Only one word describes this fixture defensively and offensively... Clinical!

What’s Up Next?
The black and white will be travelling away from home to play against the difficult side of Willen U14 Warriors who have also won their last two and are in need of points to grab a promotion spot. The intense match will be played on Saturday 8th March and will be the first game of a busy month.

Goals: Luis Ward X 4, Alex Bogdan, Harry Ayres, Naomi Jenkins
Assists: Alex Bogdan X 4, Luis Ward
Clean Sheet Bonus: Louis Cafe
Player(s) Of The Match: Louis Cafe, Jaden Elmer, Louis Masson, Riley Stokes, Austin Mitchell, Naomi Jenkins, George Mcdonald, William Monk, Harry Ayres, Luis Ward, Alex Bogdan