Suffolk Ladies 2 - 0 Essex Ladies
East Anglian Counties Championship match
Thursday 16th October at Bury Town
The Suffolk Ladies team, having won their first fixture of the season with the help of 2 goals from super striker Helen Bass, took the field for this difficult fixture against neighbouring Essex without her. She had aggravated the ankle injury which kept her out for the second half of last season. But whereas the Suffolk team fared badly in her absence last season, the players were to prove in this match that they could turn in a good enough performance to take 3 points from a game without her help.
In fact manager Mark Lawrence had 5 regular squad players unavailable through injury, so he gave a start to a number of young players. The team started well – playing in a 3-5-2 formation - and after only 10 minutes Amanda Everett met a cross from the left, but her shot was scrambled off the line. Essex came back strongly and had a period of sustained pressure on the Suffolk goal. A swift break by the home team, in the 18th minute, saw Nicola Stolworthy take advantage of a defensive slip to drive into the Essex penalty box, but her shot was confidently held by Essex keeper Michelle Bridgeman. Just 3 minutes later, however, Suffolk took the lead, through Kristie Turner. An attack was cleared and as the ball dropped to her, 20 yards out, she drove it back through a crowded area and it nestled in the back of the net before the keeper could move. Confidence grew, and the 5 across midfield passed with accuracy and purpose – both short and long. The Essex team were unable to gain enough possession to exert pressure on the Suffolk goal. 12 minutes before half-time, however, Essex threatened with an isolated attack and keeper Faye Lunn got down well to save a close range shot from Nicola Carty. For all the Suffolk possession, however, they were unable to penetrate a well organised Essex defence, and chances at both ends were few and far between. Good interplay between Turner and Lauren Cartwright carved out an opportunity for Turner, but her final shot was not strong enough to trouble Bridgeman. The final chance of the first half fell to Essex as Laura Brown took a short pass inside the penalty area, but a last ditch tackle from Rebecca Thrower prevented a shot on goal.
3 minutes into the send half, the home team went 2-0 up courtesy of an Own Goal by Antonia Vassallo, who sliced an attempted clearance of a corner by Kat Parnell into her own net. This seemed to galvanise the Essex team, and they met the challenge in midfield with more determination. Little was seen of the Suffolk attack as Essex gained the upper hand in midfield, and the home team midfield unit were forced into a defensive role. They showed good cohesion and discipline, and prevented Essex from creating too many chances. Keeper Lunn was prominent in the second half; her poor clearance gave a chance to Brown, who shot wide, then she had to look sharp to stop a couple of close range efforts. Then a terrible mix-up between Lunn and Krystal Monaghan let in Andrea Wright, but fortunately she made a bad contact with the ball and Suffolk survived. With 10 minutes to go, a forceful run through the middle by Carty threatened, but she was ushered out wide by an opponent and forced into a long range angled drive which did not trouble Lunn. Then a wonderful block by Lindsey Smith prevented a shot from the dangerous Carty reaching the target. The final chance was to the home team in the last minute – an excellent corner from Parnell proved difficult for Bridgeman. Her defence scrambled the ball off the line.
Perhaps the Suffolk team was fortunate to come away with all 3 points, but they gave a good account of themselves and, with so many young players in the squad, Manager Lawrence was delighted with the attitude of the team and with their work-rate throughout this match. They can now travel to Cambs on the 20th Nov for their next fixture with the confidence high.
Bedfordshire U18s 1 - 3 Suffolk U18s
East Anglian Counties Championship match
Sunday 26th October at Biggleswade Town
The Suffolk team took the field against Beds, as current league champions, but with a new squad and a different coach - Darren Oxbrow who took charge for this match in the absence of Manager Andy Gould. The visitors started well, with a free-kick by Mayhew in the second minute warming the hands of Beds keeper Blower. Just a minute later, and Mayhew beat the keeper as he converted a fine left-wing cross from Grint to put his team in front. A special mention for the part played by Morphew, whose delightful ball over the defence, set up Grint for his cross.
Shortly after this, another fine move involving Clark, Grint and Bemment ended with a tame shot at Blower. Then Morphew tried a cut back to set up Grint, but this was intercepted by a defender and the chance was gone. Beds then re-grouped and got a foothold in midfield. Their first concerted attack produced a good chance for Peverall, but Suffolk keeper Waters blocked the shot and then had to scramble across goal to prevent a second effort finding the net. Waters was beaten, however, in the 13th minute, when Smith seized on a loose ball and lashed it into the corner for the equaliser. The excitement – and the scoring – continued and Suffolk regained the lead 3 minutes later. In a similar move to that which produced the first goal, Clark played over the top of the defence to a wide position. It found Bemment whose short pass to Mayhew was simple and accurate – Mayhew beating the keeper who had come off his line to try to block the effort.
Although there were to be no more goals for a while, the excitement continued and Newman drove a 30 yard free-kick at the target. A great strike, but a magnificent save by Waters as he tipped over for a corner – quite breathtaking football from both players. Although Beds showed what they could do in moments like this, it was the visitors who had control, and at times looked like they had been playing as a team for months. In fact it was only their first match together, and the players all deserve great credit for a performance which was wonderful to watch. They moved so well off the ball, and their passes flowed accurately into the paths of moving team-mates. They almost made it 3 on the half-hour, as Morphew met a free-kick, but watched as his header beat the keeper, struck the inside of a post, travelled along the goal-line to hit the other post and come out!. Beds were dangerous on the break and came close when Fazal struck a 30 yard free-kick inches over the bar, Then Clark for the visitors missed a good chance, but converted a low cross into a tame pass straight at the keeper. Beds came close as Waters struggled to deal with a low cross from Fazal, but he scrambled it to safety, and then saved well from a close range shot – although on this occasion, the offside flag had been raised. So the first-half ended with the visitors ahead, and the players were warmly applauded as they came off for the interval – well earned applause it was.
The second half started well for the visitors as Bemment broke into the box, turned his defender, but was foiled by a wonderful recovery tackle by the defender. Then Boreham floated a lovely cross over the defence to the far post where Grint headed back towards goal, only to see the ball come back off the post. During the final half-hour, both teams used substitutes, which affected the flow of the play, and Beds were now showing greater determination to close down the space in midfield. The expansive flowing football of the first half had gone, and play was now rather scrappy. Chances were few, and although a fine cross by Morphew nearly deceived Blower, the ball was cleared for a corner. The game came to life again at the end as Suffolk were scrapping for every loose ball as they hung onto a slender lead. Bloomfield relieved the pressure by carrying the ball down the right for over 50 yards, to try to keep the ball in the corner. He managed to put in a lovely cross, but there was no-one in the box to take advantage. In the final minute, a desperate clearance by the away defence fell to Morgan and his snap-shot was deflected wide. Suffolk broke quickly, and with the game in injury time, Grint collected a clearance on the right, spotted Severy inside and ahead of him and the substitute took the pass in his stride to despatch a low drive under the keeper and into the corner of the net. For their wonderful 1st half performance, Suffolk deserved the win, although the loss of the final goal was not what a plucky 2nd half by the home team deserved.
An excellent workout for Suffolk ahead of the first round tie in the FA Youth Cup – against Hunts. Another trophy which Suffolk will seek to defend.
Suffolk U16s 0 - 2 Essex U16s
East Anglian Counties Championship match
Sunday 2nd November at Hadleigh United
This was the first fixture of the season for both teams, and it was a bright start as both sides showed plenty of energy in an effort to impress. The visitors took the lead in the 11th minute, as a corner from Nash came over, Richards sliced his attempted clearance and the ball spun off his boot into the net. A harsh lesson in the need for composure. Suffolk took time to recover from this early shock but eventually they were winning their fair share of the midfield and pushed on occasionally to the Essex area. Mid-way through the first half, McCallum crossed from the left and the cross would have found the top corner of the net had not keeper Robins dived to tip it over the bar. The corner from Peters was cleared to Hills on the edge of the box, but his strike was straight at the keeper. The home team were now creating the better chances, and Ingram set up McKenzie, but Robins did well to come out quickly and block the shot. In first half injury time, however, the home team survived a scare as defender Cripps tried to head back to his keeper, but only succeeded in heading into the path of Essex striker Kay. However, from only 8 yards out he delayed his shot and somehow Greygoose and Richards combined to scramble the ball off the line.
Early in the second period, Wade and McKenzie combined well to set up Hills, but his decent strike from 15 yards was just too high. Essex then pressed in midfield and sustained this for some time without creating too many chances. Martin did create one for O’Donahou, but he dragged his shot wide. At the other end, a McKenzie free-kick went just wide. With 11 minutes remaining Mathurine ran on to a good through ball, but a wonderful double save from sub keeper Fuller kept the deficit at just 1 goal. However, 2 minutes later it increased to 2 as O’Donahou leapt high – and unchallenged - to meet a cross from Tcheko and head gracefully into the net. This completed the scoring, and the game came to an end, with the memory of this goal being the outstanding highlight.
Suffolk huffed and puffed throughout, and there were no complaints at the effort of the players. In the past the Suffolk U16 team has often been outclassed by their counterparts from Essex, but not this time – there was little to choose between these sides. Essex, however, just deserved the win. Suffolk should go forward to their next fixture – v Herts on the 30th November at Old Newton – with confidence.
Huntingdonshire U18s 0 - 6 Suffolk U18s
FA County Youth Cup Round 2
Saturday 8th November at St Neots Town
Suffolk started the defence of this trophy with a convincing victory over Hunts at St Neots Town FC.
The visitors faced a strong wind in the first half, and early sparring between the teams was soon dispatched with as the visitors got down to business with the opening goal in the 10th minute. Kempson did well defensively, then found Mayhew with a swift pass down the left. Mayhew flicked into the path of the strong running Gray who found the corner of the net with a low drive. Hunts then took control of the midfield, as the Suffolk players found it difficult to get the ball forward against the wind.
In the main, however, Suffolk defenders Marsh and Hunter were composed and withstood the challenges presented by the home team, and their keeper, Pope was in top form. He did well with a high corner, which moved dramatically in the wind, then saved well from Gray’s angled drive, and from Isaac’s snap-shot. Then he stopped a wonderfully struck free-kick by Furness from 35 yards. 5 minutes before the break and Suffolk scored again against the run of play. A ball over the defence put Gray in the clear and the striker made no mistake.
The second half was to be quite different as Suffolk quickly scored 2 more goals. In the 55th minute, good work on the right by Grint produced a high cross which picked out Kempson on the goal line beyond the far post, and his quick low pass into the middle found Mayhew for a tap in. Shortly after this, another ball over the defence by Mayhew gave Gray another one-on-one with the keeper, and again he showed great composure to collect his hat-trick. Shortly after this he was one of three players substituted as Suffolk could afford to relax. For a while, Hunts threatened as Suffolk took the foot off the pedal, but with 8 minutes left, the visitors scored goal number 5 through Hunter. A well directed low free-kick by Grint was steered past the keeper by Hunter, and 3 minutes later number 6 was scored by Mayhew after good work from Ingram. He beat sadly dispirited defenders and fed Mayhew in space. Mayhew beat the final defender and placed the ball neatly in the far corner of the goal with an angled drive. It was nearly 7 as the tireless Steed saw his 20 yard drive beat the keeper only to crash against the bar in the final minute.
Suffolk were worthy winners, although the margin of victory may have flattered them. Hunts were not a bad team – they had scored 5 themselves in a first round tie – but Suffolk now go on to meet either Cornwall or Worcs in Round 3.