ANOTHER GREAT COMEBACK

MYS Blue Stripes 9 - 6 Tranent Colts (6Sep08)

We welcomed Ben into the Blue Stripes today, and with Jamie back from holiday the team was starting to look very familiar. However we were still without Liam Risi and unfortunately Scott called off sick on the morning of the game.

Today wasn’t a great advert for summer football as it was blowing a gale which made it very cold and it was clear that the team who had the wind at their backs were going to gain a huge advantage. With Tranent having this advantage in the first period, it didn’t take them long to realise that they could fire the ball some distance and it was one such long clearance from deep inside their own half that led to the ball dropping at their striker's foot and for him to shoot low past Owain for the opening goal.

Even though we were playing into the wind we still maintained our discipline of passing the ball into feet and it was one flowing move involving Ben and Cameron that led to Keiron tapping the ball in after the goalie failed to hold Cameron’s cross. With the strong wind still playing havoc, Tranent quickly regained the lead when a kick in was fired in from the right and it took the slightest deflection of Jamie and flew past Owain. We quickly drew level with a flowing move which involved Ethan collecting the ball from Owain, playing it down the line to Jason whose pass then found Cameron who shot past the goalie.

Just before the end of the first period Tranent regained the lead by taking advantage of our inability to clear the ball from their corner. The ball kept bouncing around the penalty box until they dispatched the ball past Owain to take a slender lead into the second period.

At the start of the second period we brought Brendan on to replace Ethan at the back and Owain was replaced by Cameron in goal as he went to the left side of defence. Despite having much of the play and with the wind at our backs, we failed to capitalise on our superior possession until Jason and Ben linked up for Ben to draw us level with a great shot. However it wasn’t long before Tranent regained their lead with a shot from out left which beat Cameron at his near post. It looked liked we had averted the danger after we forced their player out wide and away from goal, however a great shot seemed to skid of the surface and into the net.

The third period started with Jason going into goal and he was to make two fantastic saves from point blank shots which denied certain goals and kept us in the game. During this period we drew level once again with Cameron’s cross being turned in by Keiron. Having drawn level, we seemed to think the hard work was done and we yet again lost a crazy goal from a defensive perspective when we failed to clear the ball and Tranent pounced on another bouncing ball in the box to fire past Jason.

Going into the last period Jamie now went in goal and with Jason switched to right midfield he was able to benefit from Cameron’s individual skill in beating two players and then making the right pass to Jason who shot home to bring the game to 5-5.

With the determination which is evident within the team we really started to control the game and with the wind at our back we started to exert some considerable pressure. Consequently from one of our many corners, Cameron picked out Jason and for the first time we were in the lead. As well as Ben scoring his first goal, Lennon who had been working tirelessly for the team, scored his first goal by intercepting a kick in from deep in Tranent’s half and drilled a low shot past their keeper. Thereafter Cameron controlled their goalie’s clearance and used the wind to fire his looping shot into the net with the ball bouncing over the goalie’s head.

Before Keiron scored our last goal by being in the right position to take advantage of a cross from the right which he duly controlled and fired past the keeper for his hat-trick and our ninth, Tranent scored with a speculative shot from outside the box which squirmed under Jamie’s foot. It was a great team performance with the most pleasing aspect being our reluctance to accept defeat and the strength we showed when, for the second week in a row, we won the game in the last period.

Teamsheet: Owain, Ethan, Jamie, Brendan, Ben, Cameron, Jason, Keiron and Lennon

Goal scorers: Keiron (3), Cameron (2), Ben, Jason (2), Lennon

YOUNGSTARS WIN WITH DEPLETED SQUAD

MYS Blue Stripes 5 - 3 Haddington Athletic Sky Blue (30Aug08)

The first game after the summer break saw us at home against Haddington Sky Blue but with Jamie Butler (holiday) and Liam Risi (broken arm) missing. Therefore there was a huge responsibility on the 8 players who were available including Lennon who was playing with the Blue Stripes for the first time.

Having emphasised the need to continue where we left of before the summer break by playing as a team, we started the first period very brightly and it wasn’t long before a flowing move down the right involving Scott and Cameron ended with the ball being forced home by Jason after the keeper made a good save from Cameron’s cross. Then Keiron quickly added a second from another good passing move which saw a low shot beat their keeper. Although we were playing well and looked quite comfortable, we conceded a soft goal just before half time to give Haddington some hope.

At the beginning of the second half we made some changes which saw Cameron go in goal, Ethan go to right side of midfield, and Brendan and Owain form our new defensive partnership. Despite the changes we looked quite comfortable but were unable to capitalise on the possession we had. Haddington were becoming more of a force and it wasn’t long before they drew level with a long range shot which deflected off Brendan into the goal with Cameron going the wrong way.

Despite the setback, we didn’t lose heart and just before the end of the second period a long range shot from Keiron was fumbled by the Haddington keeper and the ball spun into goal to re-establish our lead.

The third period began with more changes, this time Jason went into goal and Brendan was deployed as our striker. Without Jason in the midfield and with Ethan and Keiron now playing their third consecutive period, we were discovering the hard way that it is very difficult to only have a squad of 8. Jason played really well in goal but with Haddington very much in the ascendancy, it was just a matter of time before Haddington scored to bring the game level.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, we lost Cameron to a birthday party and with some of the boys running on empty it took a monumental effort to regain the lead through a fantastic strike from Jason into the keeper's top left hand corner. This followed a period when with Lennon now playing left midfield, Keiron in goal and Jason back in midfield, that we re-established our grip on the game. We had a number of great breaks and if only we had displayed more composure and capitalised on our possession, we would have won the game more easily.

Just before the end Jason scored his third and our fifth following good build up play involving Owain, Lennon and Brendan.

All in all, a very encouraging performance against a good Haddington team and we showed a lot of character to win the game having being pegged back 3 times.

Teamsheet: Owain, Scott, Ethan, Cameron, Jason, Keiron, Lennon & Brendan

Goal scorers: Jason (3), Keiron (2)