Under 14 Boys

Match Report

U14 boys

Slazenger U14 Boys Match Report 💚🏑

A newly formed U14 boys’ team, with several players playing their first ever full-pitch match, travelled to Chesterfield with a squad of just 10 players.

Despite the small squad and the nerves that naturally come with a new team, Slaz started brightly and immediately put Chesterfield under pressure, earning three short corners in quick succession. The defence remained calm when Chesterfield managed to clear the ball and launch attacks, dealing with the pressure well and working hard to regain possession.

Another short corner, earned through good attacking play from Alistair, was converted by Noah to settle the nerves and give Slaz a 1–0 lead.

At the back, Harry and Oliver formed a strong partnership at centre back, with Ewan and Caleb working hard at left and right back. They marked well, channelled the opposition into areas where they could be challenged and made some excellent tackles, consistently looking to move the ball forward into midfield.

Behind them, Nikolai appeared to be enjoying a fairly relaxed afternoon watching the action unfold, but when called upon he produced some excellent saves, showing off his trademark ninja-like reactions to keep Chesterfield out.

At half-time, Slaz were 1–0 up — a fantastic position considering they had just 10 players. Following captain Trysten, everyone was working incredibly hard for each other. Noah, Alistair, Trysten and Matthew were particularly tireless in midfield, working both ways and making sure they were back supporting the defence as well as pushing forward to support the attack.

Slaz started the second half with the same intensity and soon doubled their lead. A well-worked passing move between Alistair and Noah created the opportunity, with Noah delivering the final ball across to Matthew, who calmly put it past the Chesterfield goalkeeper. Their keeper had made several excellent saves throughout the match, so it was a well-earned second goal for Slaz.

Freddie, playing as the sole centre forward, certainly had his work cut out with plenty of ground to cover. He worked tirelessly to pressurise the Chesterfield defence, making himself a constant nuisance and causing them plenty of problems.

Slaz continued to push forward, with Noah going close after getting onto the end of another attacking move and hitting the crossbar. His persistence eventually paid off, though, as he found the back of the net again after some skilful attacking play to make it 3–0.

As the match progressed, Freddie dropped back into centre midfield and immediately made an impact, timing an excellent tackle to win possession and set Slaz away on another attack.

The final whistle went with Slazenger securing an excellent 3–0 victory and, more importantly, a fantastic team performance from a group playing together for the first time.

A huge well done to all of the boys who played their first full-pitch match, and to the U12s who stepped up to play an age group higher. With only 10 players available, every single player had to contribute — and they did exactly that.

🏑 Player of the Match: Noah for his exceptional contribution to today’s game including two goals ⭐️

A special shout-out to Nikolai for another clean sheet — his second of the weekend! A very successful weekend for the Slaz goalkeeper. 💚