Boys' U14B v Lady Manners

Date:  Tuesday 10th November

Venue: Hall Close 2

Team: Lee; Afoakwah, Shires, Cartlidge, Teal (Carter 15); Buckley, Cotter, Clarke, Reynolds (Teal 15); Bell, Dykstra

Result: W 3-1

Buckley 10, 20           
Clarke 55

Match Report:

After several weeks of more intensive training, and with far more focus than has at times been their wont, Repton beat an attractive Lady Manners side who could easily have put them to the sword in the second half. That they created several chances in the first half, and defended so resolutely in the second, spoke volumes for the aggression, commitment and vision with which they played.

Without several key players, on loan to the As, Repton started with considerable urgency, with (comfortably) man-of-the-match Will Buckley first to every ball, spreading and following up the ball assiduously, and urging his team-mates to follow his example. Jack Clarke, operating in the centre of midfield for the first time, controlled play admirably, twisting and turning and putting balls through to Buckley on the wing and Barnaby Dykstra and Charlie Bell, who were forging a useful partnership up front. Against their trend for games hitherto, Repton pressed with skill, accuracy and drive, and it was no surprise when Buckley converted this dominance into a lead; what was unexpected was the sheer beauty of the goal – Clarke chipped the ball from the edge of the area over the centre-back with a pass worthy of vintage Paul Scholes, and Buckley ghosted past the defence, who were left with no chance as he latched onto the pass and finished with considerable composure.

His second goal was equally outrageous: at the end of one of his characteristically controlled and incisive runs down the wing, and almost on the bye-line, he looked up and chipped the ’keeper, finding the far corner of the net with all the necessary precision from a seemingly impossible angle; unfortunately for the opposition 'keeper, it wasn't, just. Will's team-mates’ applause was immediate and spontaneous.

The second half had an entirely different complexion: Repton were forced to defend for most the half as Lady Manners won a stream of corners. That they only found the back of the net once was in part due to their inability to produce the telling final ball, but also to sterling work in defence, not least from the metaphorically giant figures of James Shires, who twice cleared the ball off the line at crucial times to save the game for Repton, and Adam Cartlidge, whose no pasaran approach to the game was again the bedrock of Repton’s success, and an inspiration to his peers. Sam Cotter, again, had a pivotal part to play, tidying up in midfield and laying off simple but crucial balls to Bell, Clarke and Henry Teal, who capped a very solid display at left back in the first half with some consistently testing runs down the left wing. So high up the field had Lady Manners been forced to play that Clarke’s goal, from yet another break, had a certain inevitability about it, but it made sure a result that had hung in the balance for most of the half.

Our visitors, who played some attractive triangles on a conducively slick pitch, probably deserved more from the half. That they were denied it was testimony to the character displayed by the whole team; let us hope that they can ride this wave into the game against Chellaston next Tuesday.