Heighington U11 6 v Darlington RA Rockets U11 2
No league action for the lads this morning. It was a good opportunity to give our new signing, Dom Hullah, his debut against a great Darlington RA side in a friendly match. It wasn’t long before Dom was in action with two crucial goal line saves to keep the score at nil each. Heighington quickly reacted and got themselves in front after Jack netted to settle us down a little. A period of relentless pressure saw Heighington go two up due to an own goal before Bruno added our 3rd and 4th respectively. The lads seemed to be relentless in their approach and work ethic today and got their rewards with Matty sneaking in for our 5th. A debut goal for Dom rounded up our scoring and a fantastic performance we can all be proud of from these boys. We were treated to a very entertaining match. Every kid gave everything for their team today. They should be very proud of themselves, they were a joy to watch for long periods.
MOTM: Dom Hullah, a superb debut by any standard, some important great saves, an assist and a fantastic goal to round off a great game.
MOTM: Jack Collingwood, caused havoc for the opposition in the first half on the wing. Created a hat full of chances and took his goal well. Fantastic all match.
Many thanks to all involved, both sets of parents, both teams and, of course, the Ref Gary Oyston who was great as always. He even carried one of our boys off the pitch when he took a knock, a grassroots hero right there.
Stanley 2 v Heighington FC 4
A long trip up north for an away game in the league saw the boys grab three points.
Started off strong going 1-0 up with a Martin Butterworth tap in after an unreal effort from Louis Whensley 30 yards out.
Lead didn’t last too long as we conceded a sloppy goal from a corner.
With about 5 minutes to go in the first half, David Parker made a Miggy Almiron-esque dart into the box and was brought down, with Sean Carr stepping up and slotting the pen away to make it 2-1.
Abysmal start to the second half, conceding within 2 minutes from a long ball over the top and then giving away a penalty. But, Matty Wheeler took some free real estate out in their strikers head and made a fantastic save, bosh.
Heighington took the lead with a fantastic ball over the top from Luke Catchpole to Shane Dodson who blasted home for the first of his two goals.
And then an even better ball over the top from Andrew Jinks found Dodos head as he rose like a salmon and headed home a beauty.
* Heighington U13s 2 v Washington United Gold U13s 1 *
The Heighington team arrived at an overcast, damp and foggy ground looking very smart in their new warm-up tops, kindly donated by Wired Up Electrics.
The game kick off, and much of the play, was determined by the slippery underfoot conditions which made it difficult for both sides to play their usual passing games. The opening passages were keenly fought until Nic Connors released Dan Connolly down the right wing. A superb cross from Dan was finished by Will Moffat at the second attempt, to add to his impressive goal return this season. Neither side were able to gain a solid foothold on the game and, just before half time, Heighington failed to clear a free kick and the Washington skipper finished superbly in the bottom corner past a helpless Harry Irvine.
Half time: Heighington 1, Washington United 1. The Heighington coaches made a raft of changes at half time including moving the influential Joel Evans into a midfield role. This gave a more solid platform on which Heighington could build attacks. From this pressure Washington conceded a corner. Olly Wallace delivered a superb cross which appeared destined for the head of Joel until he was clearly pushed by the Washington defender. Referee Gary Oyston had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Joel calmly stepped up and hit powerfully into the top corner giving the Washington keeper no chance. The final 15 minutes saw little in the way of clear opportunities as Heighington gained a valuable 3 points to resurrect their push back up the league table.
MOTM: There were several notable performances amongst the team. Olly Yale was impressive on the right hand side as was Olly Humphrey on the opposite flank and Dan Connolly was a constant threat upfront with his pace and hard work. Joel Evans had another great game rounded off with an outstanding penalty but both coaches agreed that the MOTM award went to Jensley Mondele. Jensley was simply relentless in his determination to ensure the Washington attackers were kept at bay. His display was imperious and he has become a real leader amongst the group.
A massive well done to Ref Gary Oyston for officiating and to the parents for their support. Many thanks to sponsors Fracks Transport, Wired Up Electrics and Tees Valley Trailers.