Under 12 Colts Division Three Match Reports (last report 10 Feb)
10th February Div. 3
On a warm sunny afternoon, completely different to the first meeting between these sides, Colts let the game slip away, only to give Monkton something to think about in the second half. After some initial sparring, Colts began to find it difficult to get the ball out of their half. Very muddy areas in midfield made play difficult, and it was not against the run of play when Monkton opened the scoring. Colts continued to be under pressure, but managed a couple of breaks. From one of these, while Monkton were waiting for an offside whistle, Michael Barry managed to latch onto a ball played through midfield, and his shot beat the keeper to bring the score back to 1-1 The celebrations were short lived, as Monkton scored two more shortly afterwards. Colts compounded their problems by conceding a penalty at a corner, which was calmly dispatched despite a despairing dive from keeper Philip Hague. A late rally came to naught, and a poor first half was rounded off when Monkton scored their fifth to go into half time with a commanding lead.
A few harsh words at half time seemed to work wonders, and Colts were the superior team after the break. Monkton seemed to lose their composure and conceded numerous fouls, giving the referee a hard time. Just over half way through the second half, Billy Eales went on a mazy run from defence and from his pass upfield the ball broke to Michael Barry, who scored his second, once again giving the keeper no chance. Colts continued to have the better of things, but had left themselves too much to do after a poor first half.
Colts man of the match, was Thomas Dunford, who gave a much improved performance on the wing.
Team: Philip Hague, Samuel Pither, Elliot Fox, Sean Rice, Billy Eales, Ryan Currid, Grant Phillips, Michael Barry, Jonathon Smith, Thomas Dunford, Matthew Barrett, Joseph Jordan and Matthew Efremi.
3rd February Div. Three
Canterbury Youth Colts lost a game they had under control for long periods.
On the back of a good performance the previous week, Colts started quickly and were two goals to the good within 10 minutes. Matthew Barrett scored both, the first from a through ball by Thomas Dunford, the second following up after the ‘keeper had parried an excellent shot from Michael Barry.
In the second half, Colts were again the first team to score, this time Michael Barry giving the ‘keeper little chance. Colts kept up the pressure and had a succession of corners which just failed to result in the goal that probably would have killed the game off. Herne Bay were mustering few chances, but with quarter of an hour to go, had a stroke of luck when centre half, Sean Rice appeared to be barged off the ball and while Colts waited in vain for the referee’s whistle, Herne Bay managed to equalize.
Colts pushed forward in an attempt to regain their lead, but were caught on the break, and went behind for the first time in the match with 5 minutes to go. Now chasing an equalizer against frenetic defending, there was time for a few goalmouth scrambles and Jonathon Smith almost saved the day, but his shot rebounded off the post to safety.
Colts man of the match, for the second time this season was Michael Barry, who gave the
Team: Joseph Jordan, Samuel Pither, Elliot Fox, Sean Rice, Billy Eales, Ryan Currid, Grant Phillips, Michael Barry, Jonathon Smith, Thomas Dunford, Matthew Barrett, Christopher Wells and Jamie Hughes.
27th January Div. Three Kennington Colts 3 – 1
Canterbury Youth Colts put on a spirited performance against a good Kennington side, in another game where the result was in doubt until near the end of the match.
After 10 minutes, Sean Rice was harshly penalized for handling in the area with Kennington being awarded a penalty. However, justice was done when ‘keeper, Philip Hague saved the resultant spot kick.
A Kennington breakthrough did come shortly afterwards when a clearance hit their striker and rebounded into Colts goal. This misfortune was compounded by a defensive mix up which allowed Kennington to go 2-0 up with 10 minutes of the half remaining. Earlier in the season this would have been the signal for the floodgates to open, but Colts came back with a few chances of their own. Michael Barry had a fine shot well saved by the Kennington ‘keeper, and then did actually get the ball into the goal only to see his effort ruled out by the offside flag.
Their was not much between the teams in the second half as periods of pressure were traded, and then Jonathon Smith scored his first goal for Colts. He weaved his way round two defenders and slipped the ball past the ‘keeper to put some fear into opposition. For a period, it looked as if the next goal would be crucial, and indeed it was, Kennington regaining their two goal advantage after a melee in Colts penalty area from a corner. Although there was still time for some action this was the final score.
After the match the Kennington manager made a point of complimenting Colts on a vast improvement from the earlier season fixture. Colts man of the match, for the second time running was Jonathon Smith who battled for every ball and topped off an excellent performance with his well taken goal.
Team: Philip Hague, Samuel Pither, Elliot Fox, Sean Rice, Billy Eales, Ryan Currid, Grant Phillips, Michael Barry, Jonathon Smith, Matthew Efremi, Matthew Barrett, Joseph Jordan and Christopher Wells.
13th January Div. Three Folkestone Invicta Youth Colts 2 – 9
To use a footballing cliché this was a game of two halves. Colts had the better of the first half, but faded in the second against the slope and wind.
Despite creating chances Colts were unable to take advantage early on and it was slightly against the run of play that Folkestone went one up after 20 minutes. This setback seemed to galvanize
The second half started badly, as trying to cope with the slope, wind and a sticky pitch, Colts conceded two soft goals, before the parents had even finished their half time cups of tea. Folkestone lived up to their position at the top of the table by maintaining pressure, bottling Colts up in their own half for virtually the remainder of the match and scoring at regular intervals. On a brief foray into Folkestone’s half Joe Johnson managed to trouble the keeper with a cross come shot, but the home defence snuffed out the few Colts attacks with aplomb.
This was a disappointing result after a run of much improved performances but at least Colts will not have to face the slope again this season. Colts man of the match was Jonathon Smith who continued to battle for every ball right until the end of the game.
Team: Philip Hague, Elliot Fox, Jack Kelley, Sean Rice, Johan Holmberg, Ryan Currid, Michael Barry, Jonathon Smith, Samuel Pither, Grant Phillips, Matthew Barrett, Joseph Jordan and Thomas Dunford.
6th January Div. Three
Late illnesses meant Canterbury Youth Colts were only able to field eleven players for the first game at their new home venue (the
The first good chance of the game fell to Tom Dunford, whose shot from close to the penalty spot was cleared off the line by a Faversham defender; Faversham were lucky to scramble the ball clear from this chance, but managed to get the ball upfield and make the most of a defensive lapse of concentration, their unmarked striker putting the ball past Phil Hague in the Colts goal. The remainder of the first half was evenly matched, but it looked like the equalizer had arrived when Michael Barry weaved his way through only to see his shot parried onto the bar by the Faversam keeper. Further chance fell to Matt Efremi and Matt Barrett but both shot wide of the post.
The second half continued in a similar frame to the first, with the central defenders Sean Rice and Elliot Fox snuffing out any threats. Up front Matt Barrett eventually beat the offside trap only to be thwarted by excellent last ditch tackles on a couple of occasions, and a late foray by Johan Holmberg almost resulted in the elusive equalizing goal. With the lack of substitutes and tired legs starting to tell, Faversham managed to score their second goal in the last minute of the game.
Once again the opposition was surprised by Colts improvement from earlier in the season and were delighted to go away with the points. Colts man of the match was Elliot Fox who maintained his central defensive position superbly.
Team: Philip Hague, Joseph Jordan, Sean Rice, Elliot Fox, Johan Holmberg, Samuel Pither, Michael Barry, Jonathon Smith, Matthew Efremi, Thomas Dunford, and Matthew Barrett.
16th December Div. Three Eythorne Rovers 4 – 1
Canterbury Youth Colts approached the game with some confidence following their second win of the season in their previous match, but remembering that they had conceded 12 goals last time they met high flying Eythorne Rovers. Despite conceding an early goal, the Colts retained their composure and traded chances with Eythorne for the bulk of the first half. Goals were exchanged shortly before half time, Colts goal being an excellent free kick from just outside the area, coolly converted by Grant Phillips.
The Colts had most of the attacking play in the second half as they tried for an equalizer. The sporadic Eythorne attacks were dealt with by the Colts defence, marshaled by Sean Rice and Elliott Fox and it seemed to be only a matter of time before Michael Barry’s promptings from midfield led to a second Colts goal. However chances came and went, with the result in the balance until the final couple of minutes, when as the result of over committing in desperation to equalize, Colts conceded two breakaway goals in quick succession.
The final score flattered the home team, and Colts took heart from another solid team performance going into the Christmas break. Colts man of the match was Samuel Pither who gave a good performance playing out of position at right back.
Team: Philip Hague, Samuel Pither, Sean Rice, Elliot Fox, Johan Holmberg, Ryan Currid, Jonathon Smith, Grant Phillips, Matthew Efremi, Michael Barry, Matthew Barrett and Thomas Dunford.