A very frosty Saturday saw Scotton travel to Burton Leonard for their latest Nidderdale Friendly League matches.
The Under 7's, after securing their first win and goals in their previous fixtures against Beckwithshaw, the boys were looking to bag a few more against the Bullets.
We had just enough on the day to split into two teams of 6, with the Reds being made up of Ethan, Jonathan, Jack S, Owen, Dan and Luke and the Blacks being Ben, Jack A, Joseph, James, Cameron and Sam.
The Reds had a shaky start, with the Bullets getting an early goal. However, showing great spirit the boys got themselves back into it. Great goalkeeping at one end from Ethan was matched by Jack S getting a brace at the other to see the Reds run out 2-1 winners in their first game.
On the other pitch, the Blacks were playing some of their best football so far. Some lovely touches saw Joseph put Scotton one up, and at the other end Ben kept himself warm in goal by flinging himself around and making some great saves. The second half saw us take a firm hold of the game with Cameron scoring on his debut for the club. The Bullets had a period of pressure towards the end but the boys held out for a 2-0 win.
The Reds second match saw the Bullets bite back, and Burton Leonard eased to a 3-0 victory. And over on the Blacks pitch, Burton Leonard took the lead in their second match. However there was no panic and Scotton kept playing their football. Sam took control at the back and James went foraying forward and grabbed two quick goals. With another from Cameron Scotton got another deserved win, this time 3-1.
The U9's played out a competitive, hard-fought game. A slow start and some slack defending gifted Burton Leonard an early goal but straight from the restart Alex Shaw combined with Callum Penny to score a fantastic goal to level the score. Another well-taken goal by Alex Shaw gave Scotton a deserved 2-1 half time lead. The second half produced much of the same end-to-end action with man of the match Seb Corbett showing some excellent skill and determination and Jamie Foster almost added to the lead. Nick Parsons and Alfie Wells in defence, along with Daniel Haase in goal, kept the opposition at bay until the final minute when Burton broke away to nick a point with a well-taken low shot.
In the second game, the boys got into their stride with a comfortable 3-0 win. Scorers were John Gnapp (2) and James Broady.
The Scorcher U11s were outplayed in the first match by a physical and skillful Burton Leonard, who managed 4 to our nil. In the second match the Scorcher goals came fast and furious from a very motivated squad. The goals were provided by Charlie Phillips, Robbie Granger, Giovanni Passerello, Luke Walmsley, and Joe Wallace, with the Scorchers prevailing 6 to 2.
