Boys' U14C v Kimbolton

Date:
Saturday 12th September

Venue:
Home. 2.15 kick-off on Hall Close.

Team:
LEE,AFOAKWAH,SHIRES,BELL,COTTER,WILCOCK,PRUTTON,LI,READMAN,COHEN,McCALLUM-SUAREZ,MORRIS

Result:
Repton 6-1 Kimbolton

Match Report:
A scratch C team acquitted themselves admirably in the first half of a game that was not, initially, a fait accompli. Mikey Li was unlucky not to score with a crisply-taken drive to cap a trademark burst onto a through ball within the opening minutes, but was judged off-side. If truth be told, he has sufficient pace not to have to risk such decisions, and, with more patience, could have had a hat-trick today. Repton were pleasingly sanguine at this apparent setback, however, and their positivity – and good sportsmanship – was repaid within minutes when Bell screamed in from the right after a fine run up the wing to score from a challenging angle. Straight from the re-start, Kimbolton converted a penalty from a shove in the area which was, frankly, beneath the quality of Repton’s defence, all of whom showed composure beyond their years in the challenge and when distributing the ball. Repton soon restored their lead when Ben Readman cut in from the right to slot home with considerable self-possession.

At half-time, and 3-1 up, Repton were in control of the game, Kimbolton’s ‘keeper having been man of the half, but, in what one can only put down to a nod towards Nietzsche, chose to ignore the half-time team-talk, failed to put together two consecutive passes in the first five minutes of the second half, and became bogged down in pin-ball in the centre of midfield, which stronger opposition would have put to the sword, though Repton’s goal was never threatened. Out of nowhere, a blinder of a volley from outside the area from Danny Afoakwah stunned the crowd and, it soon transpired, knocked the stuffing out of Kimbolton, whose heads dropped thereafter, at times literally. Despite being down to ten men with the loss of Bell to the Bs at the break, Repton surged into the breach and gave a coruscating display of overlapping wing play, with some mazy runs and incisive crossing from Readman, Afoakwah, Li and Marcus Wilcock; a cricket score was only averted by an occasional lack of finishers making themselves available in the box. Sam Cotter’s undemonstrative but pivotal homage to Claude Makelele was rewarded with a beautifully-struck volley from the edge of the area. Inevitably, the game opened up as Repton gained in confidence, but Kimbolton’s attacks were stifled by some assured recovering play by Li and George Cohen, stepping in as ad hoc centre-backs. Byung Moo Lee, in goal, was rarely troubled throughout the game, so his brave and alert double-save, at the feet of a forward who was steaming in in fierce pursuit of a consolation, was all the more to his credit.

Despite the score-line, there are lessons to be learnt: the squad will have to communicate more to support men on the ball and to organise a defence; in attack we shall have to stretch our opponents across the width of the pitch, and at the back we tended to leave ourselves exposed to the break, but it is clear that this team is not without talent and has a desire to win and play the game in the correct manner.