Trowbridge Town Youth E 1 Larkhall Eagles 4

With only 6 Eagles available on the day and coming up against 7 on the opposition side plus several substitutes on hand, this victory can be described as nothing short of fantastic! A David & Goliath surprise you might say, but that wouldn’t do justice to the skill, effort and spirit of Ryan, Nick, Jack, Joseph, Charlie and Harry.
The reason we won when outnumbered was down to the fact that for 40 minutes we played as a true team… for each other, and with each other.
It would be wrong to single any one player out from this Sensational Six as every player - without exception - ran non-stop, covered back constantly, tackled relentlessly and defended doggedly, but without the cream of Ryan White’s splendid hat-trick and Nick Atwell’s well-deserved goal on this unexpectedly delicious cake, we wouldn’t be celebrating such an unexpected, but highly satisfying win.
Having said that without Harry Williams’ brave saves in the first half and Charlie Bird’s vital stops in the second half, we might have lost despite scoring four!
The first half passing between Nick, (who never stopped running into excellent positions), Ryan (who showed a different class with his awareness, ball-winning and silky dribbling) and Jack Day (who really deserved a goal for his fine, determined attacking play throughout) was outstanding at times; Jack’s magical, mazy dribbling left us breathless; Joseph Bateman’s awareness and marking of the opposition plus his and Harry’s timely last man defending kept us safe in the second half when Trowbridge threatened to come back into the match; and Charlie’s constant running, concentration, infectious enthusiasm and intelligent eye for both a pass and an interception all contributed to a team performance in which the spirit and effort was beyond my expectations.
This was a real team performance, full of running off the ball, battling to win the ball time after time even if at the first attempt it seemed lost and digging deep to find touches of skill that can only get better.
The attitude of all of you was truly first class and that never-say-die approach frequently paid off handsomely with a break and a goal.
Extremely well done boys! You deserve a proud pat on each of your backs for not only succeeding against the odds, but doing so in real footballing style. Russ, I and all the watching parents and family were really proud of you and this fabulous win.

Larkhall Falcons 5 White Horse Juniors 2

A very different - and no less difficult - game faced the Falcons in the afternoon. White Horse had held us to a hard fought draw in the first game of the season and, when allowed, they can play fine, passing football with no shortage of skilful players and good shape to the team, so the Falcons were up for their sternest test yet. And so it proved to be in a very evenly matched first half.
But despite missing several valuable players due to the half term holidays, today it was Larkhall Falcons who showed that they are made of tough stuff too!
With no opportunity for a substitution (unlike the opposition…), a much-wanted win to keep our proud place at the top of the division would call for nothing less than a total team performance just like the Eagles in the morning and the Falcons didn’t disappoint; they were inspired.
Tom Walker led by example, showing a captain’s commitment, running his socks off and getting more involved than I have ever seen him this season. Robbie Cashell was his usual confident cornerstone in goal, his kicking strong and his technique very sound. It took a blistering strike from a White Horse free kick and an unfortunate deflection - which he could do absolutely nothing about - to beat him, but his presence in goal gives the whole team confidence and we mustn’t take him for granted.
Actually, Robbie had much less to do than usual mostly because of the fabulous defensive display by Charlie Aldred, playing out of position for the sake of the team, but cleaning up any threats or long balls immaculately throughout the whole match.
Charlie formed a strong back partnership and excellent understanding with Joe Han-Hauser in the first half when the game could - and did - go either way. However in the second half, Joe moved forward to his preferred striking role and despite a series of frustrating near misses, finished with a superb hat-trick thanks to a pair of brilliant long-range shots and a crucial close-range strike from a lightening low Freddie Isaksen corner which tipped the balance of the match in Larkhall’s favour to 3-2.
Freddie again got on the scoresheet, first giving us the lead with a typically skilful dribble capped by an excellent finish and then a cracking shot from the edge of the box to retrieve the lead after White Horse had equalised.
Saving arguably the best for last, the most improved performance - which absolutely delighted his coaches - came from Alex Pippard. The new-found confidence on the ball, speed surging forward with the ball, great eye for a telling pass and occasional flashes of brilliantly cool skill and control on the ball to beat a player bearing down on him was amazing. Alex played a fabulous match and - like every one of the players - played above his usual ability to surprise and delight everyone watching.
The final score might even have seen the Falcons fly higher, as we missed a penalty and had a number of goalbound shots either headed over or somehow just saved by the White Horse goalkeeper.
Today saw us come up against a good side, meet the often physical challenge and emerge as worthy winners. Very well done to everyone. You grew as individual players and as a team today!

Now for an entertaining Cup game at Bradford next Saturday. Good luck and good shooting!

Best wishes, Otto Hauser Under9s coach