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UNDER 16 |
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SUFFOLK 0
v 2 ESSEX |
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East Anglian
Counties u16 Championship |
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Sun 2 Nov at Millfield |
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Goals either
side of half-time from Tony Martin and Christy
O'Donoghue earned Essex Under 16s an impressive 2-0
victory in their season opener against Suffolk at
Hadleigh United F.C.
Boss Dave Agass, enjoying his first match in charge of
the County team, was delighted with his squad as they
got their campaign off to a flyer. "We were
extremely pleased with the result and I'm very proud of
how we played," Agass explained afterwards. "A
lot of the boys were playing together for the first time
and we soon settled down, with Captain Harry Lerner in
particularly good form. The back-four of Farai Hallam,
Reece Meyer, Gareth Madden and Jack Delooper was also
very solid."
Essex took a deserved lead early on just 11 minutes, Jay
Nash's corner finding its way into the net as Tony
Martin managed to bundle the ball home ahead of home
defender Henry Cage. Suffolk did begin to press later in
the first half, however, and Essex 'keeper Richard
Robins produced a fine finger-tip save to push George
McCallum's angled lob over the crossbar before the Essex
stopper clung onto McGeorge's low drive from the
resulting Sam Peters corner.
Robins was again in fine form as he bravely blocked at
the feet of Matt McKenzie with the Suffolk front man
racing through on goal. The closing stages of the first
period then saw Essex denied a second though, Suffolk
goalkeeper James Greygoose doing well to deny Nash after
a fine ball into the box by Martin.
Two minutes after the interval, Suffolk's best move of
the afternoon saw a neat interchange take place between
Tom Hills and McKenzie before the latter fired over the
top from an acute angle. Suffolk forward McKenzie also
hit a free-kick from the edge of the area just wide of
the upright before Essex substitute Levi Mathurine was
excellently denied by the diving Greygoose having been
played in on goal.
The clinching goal soon arrived on 72 minutes, however,
a pin-point right flank cross by Larner being flicked
inside the far post by the head of Christy O'Donoghue.
Mathurine could have extended the visitors' lead on the
stroke of full time, but he smashed a loose ball wildly
over the crossbar after a neat header by Larner.
"We certainly had the better of the second
half," continued Agass afterwards. "Some
indifferent finishing probably prevented us going
further ahead, but I'm really pleased with how we
played. It was an excellent pitch, too, considering the
conditions the previous day. It made for a good game.
It's a great start to the season for us and hopefully we
can go on to achieve a lot more." |
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Essex:
Richard Robins (Maldon Town), Reece Meyer (Dagenham
& Redbridge),
Farai Hallam (Redbridge United Boys), Jack Delooper
(Dagenham &
Redbridge), Gareth Madden (Thurrock), Tony Martin
(Dagenham &
Redbridge), Harry Larner (Dagenham & Redbridge),
Jake Brown (Maldon
Town), Ryan Kay (Mauritius Sports Association U.K.), Jay
Nash
(Chelmsford City), Matt Hart (Mountnessing Boca).
Substitutes
(rotating): Reece Hewitt (Elite Youth), Lewis Lockyer
(Chelmsford City),
Levi Mathurine (Dagenham & Redbridge), Christy
O'Donoghue (Dagenham &
Redbridge), Daniel Tcheko (Prostar).
Suffolk: James Greygoose (Bury Town), Josh
Richards (Woodbridge Town),
Sam Peters (Woodbridge Town), Josh Curry (Woodbridge
Town), Matt Cripps
(Cornard United), Henry Cage (Woodbridge Town), Tom
Hills (Cornard
United), Luke Ingram (Woodbridge Town), Matt McKenzie (Felixstowe
&
Walton United), Luke Wade (Woodbridge Town), George
McCallum (Stowmarket
Town). Substitutes (rotating): Sam Nunn (Cornard
United), Will Fuller
(Felixstowe & Walton United), Ryan Daniels (Stowmarket
Town), Gianfranco
Mallardo (Woodbridge Town).
Referee: Andrew Chapman (Ipswich).
Assistant Referees: Glenn Yellop (Ipswich) and Bill Case
(Ipswich).
Bookings: None. |
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