Youngstars Stage Great Comeback

MYS Blue Stripes 5 - 3 Dunbar United White (15Mar08)

After the torrential rain of last week against North Berwick Hawks, it was nice to play on a reasonably dry day albeit it was evident that the pitch still bore the effects of last week’s rain in being very soft under foot.

We were able to pick from almost a full squad as only Ethan was missing through illness. In the first 15 minute period we started really brightly and quickly pressed Dunbar back into their half. It did not take long for us to score with a good move involving Jason Grossart and Jason Jarvis whose pass found Cameron and he managed to force home the ball after his initial shot was blocked. Our pressure soon produced a second goal which was created by Cameron. He squared the ball from wide on the right and it was turned in by Jason Jarvis. It continued to be one-way traffic but as is sometimes the case, we stopped playing as a team and it was individual errors from players trying to do too much, which allowed Dunbar back into the game. Shortly before they did score, Owain pulled off a fantastic save from a vicious shot which he managed to turn away for a corner. The goal we conceded was a quite soft as we lost the ball in midfield and rather than come and collect the ball, Owain thought that our defenders would clear the danger. However the Dunbar player outran our defence and fired a low shot past Owain.

We made changes at the beginning of the second period and this seemed to disrupt our fluency as quite quickly we went from being one ahead to being one behind as a big Dunbar forward fired two shots past Jamie in quick succession. We still created chances with a quick Owain clearance finding Keiron whose cross was met by a Jason Jarvis header which just glanced wide.

At the beginning of the third period we seemed to resume our composure and started to pass the ball. This led to a period of sustained pressure which was rewarded with Jason Grossart striking home a very sweet left foot half volley from the edge of the box which levelled the score. The goal had been created by Cameron and Jason Jarvis.

We seemed much more secure at the back and this gave us the platform to take the lead again. The move started with Brendan who was playing in goal, rolling the ball to Scott. He played a great pass to Jason Grossart down the right who then found Cameron in midfield. He in turn picked out Jason Jarvis who after hearing a shout from Keiron, played a great pass which allowed Keiron to turn and shoot low past a very good Dunbar keeper – a great example of allowing the ball to do the work and playing as a team. Our confidence was high and after forcing a corner on the left from a deflected shot by Darrell, Jason Jarvis delivered a fantastic corner which came at a great height for Jason Grossart who merely angled his head to guide a bullet header into the net.

After the defeat by North Berwick last week the team responded in the best way possible with everyone contributing to defeat a very capable Dunbar team whose goalie made some truly inspired saves particularly early in the game when we were the dominant team. Finally a special mention for Brendan, who was in goal for the last 2 periods and kept a clean sheet. However he would be first to acknowledge the efforts of his defenders Scott, Jamie and Owain in helping him achieve this.

Teamsheet: Owain, Scott, Jamie, Jason G, Cameron, Keiron, Jason J, Brendan, Darrell.

Goal scorers: Cameron, Jason J, Jason G (2), Keiron

GREAT START TO SUMMER FOOTBALL

MYS Blue Stripes 11 - 2 Haddington Athletic Clarets (1Mar08)

A windy, dry Saturday at Wallyford for our first game of the new Summer League football. The game started really well for the boys, as all the early pressure came from us. The opening goal coming from a fantastic corner taken by Jason G and knocked past the keeper by Jason J. Some neat football followed with Jason J, Jason G, Cameron and Kieron all passing well as a team and capitalising on some slack defence from Haddington by scoring 6 goals in a matter of minutes, and with Jason .G getting his hat-trick from a cracker of a penalty.

The second quarter started of at a great pace and both teams were moving the ball around well. Darell and Ethan were pressurising Haddington well, and both just missed out, with their fantastic efforts just going wide past the post. The game continued to move at a fast pace and much respect to Haddington boys who held their head high and tried a few times to break the solid defence of Owain and Scott. Some great tackles and Jason G took the game to a different level just before the whistle, with a fantastic pass from Jason J, he slotted the ball right past the keeper.

Haddington played much better in the third quarter, but great defending and link passing from Scott and Jamie ensured the result stayed much the same. More chances came from Ethan and Kieron who worked the wings hard and passed the ball perfectly across the goalmouth for Cameron and Brendan to take full advantage, and put the ball pass the keeper and into the net.

The final quarter started well and Haddington had our boys defending well. They had a tough tracker in midfield who broke up our chances. They pushed hard and caught us on the break with a well deserved goal flying passed the keeper into the bottom corner. A second goal from a fantastic run from the half way line followed just before the final whistle.

A great performance from the boys and a great start to Summer football. Well done boys !!

Teamsheet: Owain, Jamie, Scott, Ethan, Cameron, Keiron, Darrell, Jason G, Jason J, Brendan

Goal scorers: Jason J (2), Jason G (4), Cameron (2), Keiron, Brendan, Own Goal