Match Report - Barnes Eagles U14 - 20 Feb 2022

The CTYFC U14 Rebels made the long journey into South West London to take on Barnes Eagles in a Surrey County Cup quarter final tie. Despite the inclement weather the grass pitch was in fair condition and a place in the semi final loomed. We got off to the perfect start when Josh E was fouled down the right and Freddie whipped in the free kick. The keeper spilled and Oli was on hand to tap the ball in. We were in control with lots of territory and possession and created a few chances but didn’t really test the keeper. This changed in the 18th minute when Hayden picked up a weak clearance and from the right found Luca on the left side of the box, he beat his man and finished under the keeper at the near post for 2-0. It was 3-0 in the 27th minute when a corner from James found Oli at the back post who turned it in from close range. With the wind against us JJ, Isaac and Freddie dealt with any threats and stand in keeper Erim was doing well to manage anything coming his way. HT 0-3. We wanted to keep things going in the second half and looked for Kris, George, James, Luca and Zahir to try and keep the ball moving quickly but on the bobbly pitch the quality of pass was proving tricky. A moment of magic arrived in the 38th minute when Oli picked up the ball with his back to goal 25 yards out after the ball was half cleared. He turned and shuffled the ball onto his left foot and let fly and found the top corner to compete his hat trick. We kept probing and made some changes but finding a rhythm in the worsening conditions wasn’t easy. Luke got his reward for his efforts with 10 minutes to go when he turned in a low cross from close range following good work from Zahir down the right, finding a good cross from the byline. There was time for 1 more and a long ball from Oli was helped on by Luke which found Zahir clean through. With Hayden in support looking for his first goal of the season a simple square ball would have left him with a tap in, but Zahir decided to round the keeper and slot home as any good attacker would!! FT 0-6. A good win against spirited opposition whilst battling tough conditions and a place in the semi final of the county cup our reward. MoM. Oli gets the nod this week for his all round contribution. He played out of position at the back for part of the 2nd half to do a job for the team. He also scored a good hat trick, his 3rd being a great long range effort. Well done lads.