Bedfont 2: Abbey 0

The under 16s were away at Bedfont Sports on Sunday and we were looking for a good response from the lads following 2 disappointing defeats.

Despite the temptation to make changes, we stuck with our usual 4-2-3-1 and we were pleased to welcome Ethan Austin back to the side after a few weeks out injured. It was also good to see Ronnie Haddon starting for the second week in a row, coming in for Alfie Bennett (suspended).

The first half started well with Bedfont not really creating much – mainly sending long balls over the top for their 3 forwards to chase. This was dealt with comfortably by the Abbey back 4 (Jack, Josh, Dylan and Luca) who won the majority of first & second balls and anticipated Bedfonts passages of play before shutting them out. Going the other way Jamie Smith was working hard up top, with good support behind him from Dawid, Sammy and Ben Hall. Ronnie & Ethan also worked hard in midfield, tidying things up and slowing down the Bedfont attacks before winning the ball and looking to play forward.

With 30 seconds of the first half left, Bedfont sent a driven corner in from the right-hand side which ricocheted a couple of times before hitting the back of the net. That should have been dealt with better, but although Bedfont went in 1-0 up at the break, the scoreline didn’t do the Abbey boys justice or show how good they had been tactically and positionally. It had been a very mature first half display that just lacked a bit of creativity in the final third.

The strong and positive first half meant that we sent out an unchanged team for the second. However, Sammy Stetner was forced off with a knock after 5 minutes and George Marshall came on to replace him at CAM.

On 53 minutes Bedfont sent the ball into the Abbey box again and a brief lapse in concentration allowed one of their players enough time and space to bring the ball down before tucking it away. With nothing to lose, the Abbey boys continued to go forward and look for a goal in the remaining 25 minutes but to no avail. George Marshall came the closest though; cutting in from the right hand side before firing a cross / shot that the Bedfont keeper got a hand to and somehow managed to turn onto the apex of the bar.

Final Score: 2-0 to Bedfont.

Despite the loss we’re pleased with the attitude and response from players – especially in the first half.

MOTM: The MOTM award was shared this week between Mikey Verga (GK) and Dylan Lawrance (RB).

Mikeys standards are consistently high week in / week out, and his performance in this game (not just his saves and distribution but also his command of the back 4) was outstanding.

Likewise, Dylan put on a very strong showing, winning lots of individual battles, dominating headers & picking the right passes time and time again.

Jack Harrington was exceptional and only narrowly missed out to Mikey & Dylan.