Youth Football: Eaton Bray Lions

Posted on October 11, 2006

EB Lions Reds U10 - 3
Hitchin Town Blues U10 - 1

Lions made it four wins from five matches this season with another tremendous all round team performance.

Once again they got off to a bad start, conceding the opening goal, but as with previous weeks the defence then shut up shop for the remainder of the match. Goalkeeper Harry Rogers and defenders Cam Abdullah, Charlie Slater and Thomas Lancefield were all magnificent, not allowing Hitchin another serious chance on goal.

Ben Walsh MOM had a superb game, his pace and skill down the wings causing lots of problems for the Hitchin defence. Ben's throw-in from the left set up the Lions equaliser by allowing Jayden Newman to lob the ball from outside the box over the keeper and into the top corner. Just before half time another throw from Ben found Matt Glover who rounded a defender before shooting low into the goal to score for the third game in a row.

In the second half another great run and cross from Ben allowed William Poole to break into the box and slot past the keeper to make it 3-1. Ivan Broderick put in some great tackles in midfield.

Spartak Watling - 4
E B Lions U11 - 2

A cold sunny October morning set the scene. The whistle blew and EB Lions were soon putting pressure on Spartak's defence.

It wasn't long before Nathan Sears had scored for the Lions. Then a misjudgement by the Lions keeper resulted in a penalty being awarded against Lions and James Green from Spartak was able to level the score to one-all.

From that point the Lions seemed to lose concentration and Spartak capitalised on this and showed great tackling ability. Kyle Davidson soon scored Spartak's second goal shortly followed by a third goal scored by Darrel Millers.

The second half saw E B Lions give a much-improved performance with several attempts on goal. A well-deserved second goal for the Lions by Jake Higgs put hope back in the Lions team. However, Spartak were not to be beaten and continued to play well and just before the final whistle Aaron Mayer scored Spartak's fourth goal.

This was a good game to watch, played by two teams that showed great respect for each other.

EB Lions' MOM - James Pearce. Spartak Watling MOM - Ryan Shilleto.

St Martin's U13 - 9
Eaton Bray Lions U13 - 2

Lions got off to a flying start when Jack Coates took hold of a long kick from defence and scored after just three minutes. Unfortunately, Lions seemed to assume it was going to be easy from this point whilst St Martin's were galvanised into action and proceeded to overwhelm the Lion's defence.

Despite determined defensive play by Josh Gradley and some good saves by Lee Cavendish, St Martin's were 7-1 up by half-time.

An encouraging pep talk saw Lions return with renewed enthusiasm and they certainly played their best football in the second half. Joe Ashman made a brilliant solo attack but his shot passed across the face of the goal. Despite good tackling by Matt Lancefield and MOM Andy Scott-Lewis and brave challenges by Andrew Broughton, a St Martin's forward managed to sneak through and score their eighth.

Lions overshot a corner but Ross Taylor played the ball back to Jack who scored with a great curving lob from outside the box.

Lions were unfortunate to concede another goal during a goalmouth scramble in the final minutes but the second half showed just what they are capable of achieving if they pull together as a team.

Eaton Bray Lions U15 - 2
Limbury Saints U15 - 6

Lions certainly didn't lose this match through lack of effort.

Throughout the first half they produced a barrage of attacks on the Saints' goal. MOM Ed Poole showed great skill to work his way through the defence but had two shots saved by the Saints' goalie.

Rob Gadsden, back in the team after injury, hit a shot just wide and saw his free-kick rebound off the crossbar.

Martin Coates sent several crosses into the box but nobody managed to connect with them. Meanwhile, a couple of defensive errors allowed Saints to score twice and they made it three with a superb shot from wide on the left.

Saints scored again early in the second half with a quick counterattack and their goalie was still stopping every shot by Lions. Saints scored two more in quick succession but everybody was so convinced that one was offside that even their supporters remained silent!

Lions refused to give up and their perseverance was rewarded when Alex Smith headed in a loose ball following a corner. A free-kick by Rob provided Smith with his second goal but Lions couldn't manage another despite attacking hard up to the final whistle.

Source: EB Lions