A weekend of rocketing results, banging goals and a sparkle of fun had by the youth players this bonfire weekend.
NAYFC U9 Girls Aycliffe Angels 4 – 2 Felling Magpies. After 6 wins in a row, the girls came up against a significant test today. Felling Magpies were an excellent team who took us by surprise early on. With only 9 players available everyone was going to have to work hard with little time to take breath.
We started with Izzy in goal and Belle in defence with Maddison, Erin, Charli and Sophie in midfield, with this weeks Captain, Brooke, up front. Felling took an early lead after just 3 minutes, their strong centre midfielder took a surprise shot from distance which found the net. 0-1.
Felling continued to have the better of the play, but the girls dug really deep and kept them from scoring a second. The Angels started to find their feet and gain some confidence. Evie came on in midfield as Erin moved into defence. Holly came on up front to lead our attack and passing started to flow with the girls putting into practice what had been learnt in training this week; pass and move and 1:2s.
Some great passing in midfield resulted in Sophie making a great run with the ball and sliding a fantastic pass to Charli, who took us to 1-1. 2 minutes later Felling took the lead again as they over-ran our defence, 1-2.
The girls’ heads did not go down. Evie dropped into defence and Maddison and Evie then created a superb defensive partnership which lasted the rest of the game.
With 2 minutes to go until half time, Holly showed the battling qualities that were present all game. She picked up the ball midway into the Felling half and found herself tackled and the ball going out. The Felling defence stopped, but Holly chased the seemingly lost ball, retrieved it, turned and played an excellent pass in to Charli who from a ridiculously acute angle on the edge of the pitch, scooped the ball over the keeper at the near post. A fantastic goal. 2-2 at half time.
Belle went into goal for the second half as Izzy prepared for a run outfield. We kept the game tight in the second half with Maddison and Evie in defence, good protection from Brooke, Erin, Charli & Sophie, all keeping Felling at bay.
9 minutes into the second half came a moment to remember. Good play from Charlie down the right wing exposed the Felling defence and Charli played a superb ball into Izzy’s feet. The pace of the pass was perfect and Izzy took it perfectly, spinning and smashing the ball high into the net. Izzy turned in delight with the biggest smile following her first Angels goal.
After a quick check on whether the net needed repairing we were off again. 3-2. As mentioned, the defence was strong, but when there was a breakthrough, Belle was there to make a superb double save. The first, with three attackers bearing down, was an instinctive save with her feet, before cat-like reflexes to palm out the rebound shot. 14 minutes into the second half and at 3-2, this was vital. 18 minutes into the second half, Erin finally gave us a little breathing room. Good work down the right from Sophie enabled her to have a strike on goal, the keeper saved well but Erin pounced on the rebound to slot the goal home to 4-2. Angels held out well and the game ended 4-2.
Proud coaches and frazzled parents! STAR PLAYER was Holly for her determination and team spirit, well done.
NAYFC U12 Eagles 3 – 1 Teesside Rangers. The lads started the game well, Ethan scoring an early header off Noah’s corner, 1-0. They kept playing good football in midfield, moving the ball quickly out wide to Joey and Harry who held it up well to keep possession. The passing drills from training could be seen on the pitch today. A couple of times the midfield didn’t get back in quick enough and Teesside did have a few chances, but Dylan, Joe and Jack looked relaxed and in control. In the second half a nice bit of team play, lots of good passing, ended with Kye hitting a good shot bottom corner, 2-0.
The third goal came when Noah was fouled outside the area and stepped up to hit a rocket free kick into the top corner, 3-0! Teesside kept going and did deserve their goal, but The Eagles thoroughly deserved the win.
Loads of good work all over the pitch today, defence looked solid, Harry and Joey worked hard down the wings, and through the middle Ethan, Noah and Kye were always looking to get the ball forward. Lucas came on and fit in with the play easily. Isaac put in a calm performance in goal and if he hadn’t been on his toes making good saves the scoreline could have told a different story.
Massive credit to Anth and Daz, the lads are more organised and have really shown how far they have come along these past weeks.
Man of the Match – Isaac
We Only Do Positive!
A lot of emphasis has been placed on respect since the beginning of the season. This approach focuses on the role of coaches and parents in tackling behavioural problems pitch side.
Newton Aycliffe Youth FC won Charter Standard Club of the Year and promote healthy relationships through positive role modelling and respect education. We are proud to be creating positive and encouraging environments for our players, coaches and parents.
If you or a member of your family are interested in playing football and being part of our club, please visit our website where you can find lots of information and links to teams in football age groups www.nayfc.com
Clare Williams