U12

Long Melford U12s Manager: Adam Coleman

BEN COLEMAN

BEN KEMSLEY

CHRISTIAN READINGS

FRED STANLEY

HAYDN TAYLOR

JAMES JACKSON

JOE GIBSON

JOEL BRINKLEY

MATTHEW CHIANG

MATTHEW FLOAT

PETER MILLAR

SAMUEL KERRUISH

SEBASTIAN HAWKINS

THOMAS MASON

WILLIAM HELMS

EVAN GARTLAND

2009/10 FIXTURES

Long Melford Colts U.12�s Vs. Lawford Juniors Reds U.12�s

Bernie�s Pitch - 31/1/10

Starting Line Up:

u12s60vlawford

Subs: 5) Taylor, 7) Gibson, 8) Brinkley, 10) Float

By Gavin Taylor

Melford under twelve�s continued their impressive start to the calendar year with a six-nil win over Lawford Juniors Reds this week. Six points from six may not seem that noteworthy a start to 2010 but with Melford�s up and down form this season any consistency is good.

Captain James Jackson and top scorer Evan Gartland returned to the side after missing last week�s impressive victory over Lexden but Sam Kerruish and Tom Mason, who proved inspirational in that game, were absent for this match. Melford also had the luxury of welcoming in Jasper Boydell as extra cover.

After setting a new benchmark last week Melford had to keep the momentum going from that performance, a task not made easy by the conditions. The freezing temperatures and the previous week�s rain made for a firm yet sticky pitch which only got worse as the game went on.

Melford did start brightly but could not make the same early impact as last week. There were some early chances but the Lawford keeper used his area well and restricted Melford�s sight of goal. Will Helms went closest when his ball from wide on the left caught the keeper well off his line but just ran wide of the far post. Lawford, too, were not without opportunity but, despite working the ball up field into good positions, lacked a cutting edge in front of goal.

The game came to life in the twenty-fourth minute when Will Helms ran onto Haydn Taylor�s through ball. Helms forced his way past the Lawford defence and towards goal but his strike was blocked by the keeper. Undeterred Helms had another stab at it, this time the side foot finish finding the back of the net to put Melford ahead.

As if to prove the analogy that when it rains, it pours, Melford took less than sixty seconds to find the goal again, Matt Float finishing a left footed volley into the smallest of gaps between defender and goalpost. Ben Kemsley�s left wing cross was met by a mixture of Melford attack and Lawford defence and bounced around inside the six yard box until falling kindly for Matt Float towards the left hand side of the goal. With several defenders and the keeper back on the goal line Float had only the smallest of gaps to aim for just inside the near post but kept his cool to slot the ball through that gap with his weaker left foot.

Two-nil it stayed until the half time whistle with Melford going into the break with exactly the same lead as they had last week. Melford had begun to take control of the match towards the end of the half and the chances, including one goalmouth scramble that defied belief by not resulting in a goal, were starting to come thick and fast. The passing moves which had served Melford so well against Lexden were starting to unlock the Lawford back line this week as well.

The second half started with Melford again directing the bulk of the play. Once more it was refreshing to see Melford push on right from the kick off and their efforts paid off as Joe Gibson made it three for the Colts, just a minute into the second half. Will Helms proved the architect as his battling run again put him through on goal. This time the keeper couldn�t stop Helm�s shot but with the Lawford defender rushing back to clear off the line Joe Gibson had to make sure the ball hit the net with a simple tap in.

Gibson�s first goal may have been relatively easy but his second was a good finish from a stylish passing move. Matt Chiang�s throw in was nodded back to him by Ben Coleman, who had swapped the gloves with Jasper Boydell. Chiang searched out Haydn Taylor just outside the box who was able to turn and fed the ball through the Lawford defence for Joe Gibson to run onto. All that remained was for Gibson to place the ball past the keeper which he did with ease. Four-nil and Melford were cruising to a second straight win.

Melford added a fifth on forty-five minutes, making it two goals in four minutes for the mighty colts. Haydn Taylor�s corner from the right was blocked at the near post but the ball came back to Taylor who had another go at the cross from a different angle. This time the cross was perfectly placed towards the back post and there was a moment of desperation as several players tried and failed to make contact until the ball came to Ben Coleman at the back of the pack who pushed the ball over the line with his stomach (and there�s a muddy mark on his shirt to prove it!). A quite unusual goal but a goal nonetheless that came as a direct result of the intense pressure Melford were putting on the opposition defence.

Melford kept that intensity and the pressure turned up to the maximum towards the end of the game and Haydn Taylor rounded off a fine performance with a goal on forty-seven minutes. Taylor received the ball from Evan Gartland just outside the Lawford penalty area and had the space to run in on goal before drilling a pinpoint shot into the far bottom corner. Another fabulous goal to mark a second fantastic win in as many weeks.

Even with the game well and truly over as a contest Melford continued the search for goals. Several players went close in the closing stages but Melford couldn�t add to the tally. Six of the best was enough in the end and once again it was very much a team effort with five different players picking up goals. Lawford gave Melford a good fight but just as like Lexden last week it was a battle they couldn�t win against a Melford team in fine form. The difference between the two teams boiled down to Melford� intense passing game being just too strong for Lawford to deal with. There were still spells where Melford resorted to aimless kicks up field but when they put their minds to it they would prove a match for most teams.

Once again Melford�s play was built upon a solid foundation from front to back. Another clean sheet and an almost complete shut out of shots as well shows how well the back four did. Even late into the second half when Melford notoriously lose their shape the midfield kept the defence protected from counter-attack much better than in previous games. It may not have been quite the masterpiece we were treated to last week but was still above the standard we might expect from the average under twelve�s side. When you take into account the difficulties posed by a boggy pitch it shows how impressive it was that Melford could even mange to play the football they did. Seasons, however, are not dependant on just one or two results. As Melford have learnt the hard way it takes a season of drive and commitment with these kind of performances week in, week out to push for promotion. With the early lead that Wivenhoe and Great Bradfords� have built up the �D� league it may prove to be too late to mount a challenge but certainly Melford need to use the rest of the season to prove that they can be contenders. Performances like this every game for the rest of the season and, well, who knows?

Long Melford 6 Lawford Juniors Reds 0

Helms 24�

Float 25�

Gibson 31�, 41�

Coleman 45�

Taylor 47�

Stats

14	Shots on Target	0
11	Shots off Target	0
9	Shots Blocked	1
10	Corners	0
2	Offside	1

Melford U.12�s Scorers C & D U.12�s League D

E. Gartland	11
W. Helms	9
M. Float	8
H. Taylor	8
J. Gibson	3
F. Standley	2
M. Chiang	2
B. Kemsley	2
P. Millar	1
C. Readings	1
B. Coleman	1
O.G.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1. Long Melford	13	8	2	1	50	17	+33	26
2. Wivenhoe Youth	9	8	1	0	51	12	+34	25
3. Great Bradfords	8	8	0	0	46	11	+35	24

Melford U.12�s Assists

H. Taylor	14
M. Float	4
P. Millar	3
B. Kemsley	3
W. Helms	3
E. Gartland	3
T. Mason	2
M. Chiang	2
C. Readings	1
S. Hawkins	1
J. Gibson	1
J. Boydell	3