Percy Fields was the setting for a round robin tournament between teams from the Nidderdale League on a rather wet and cold Sunday morning. Despite this everyone had a fantastic time thanks to the usual excellent organisation from the coaches. Scotton Scorchers had two teams, Year 3’s were the blacks and Year 4’s the reds, they were joined by teams from Ripley, Tockwith and Burton Leonard.
The Red’s had a tough start with a game against Ripley, Darren picked Liam in goal to start with and an outfield of Tom, George, Cameron, Max and James. Ripley started well, creating a couple of early opportunities which the Red’s defence were equal too; it wasn’t long before the Red’s found their shooting boots, Tom down the left finding Cameron who thrashed the ball in to make it 1-0, as the half went on there were further chances for Tom, Max and George to extend the lead whilst at the back James and Cameron were alert to any danger, the half time whistle went with the score still 1-0 to the Red’s. Darren made a couple of changes at half time bringing on Dan and Jack for Max and George. The second half started like the first with both teams creating chances, The Red’s extended their lead in excellent fashion, James finding Tom on the break who nearly broke the net with a shot from the edge of the box. 2-0 to the Red’s. Ripley were not done however and Liam was busy in the Red’s goal, showing some excellent agility to keep the 2-0 lead. As the clock ticked down Ripley got back into the match with an excellent goal to make it 2-1, despite this the Red’s kept going and George and Tom went close but right at the death Ripley equalised to make it 2-2 at the final whistle.
Game 2 saw the Red’s come up against Tockwith Greens; Darren made a couple of changes to the starting line up, Liam remained in goal with Elliot, George, Tom, Max and Cameron starting in the outfield.
The Red’s were straight on the offensive; George and Cameron seeing good chances go just wide, Max also went close with a good chance before Tom opened the scoring with a shot from the left to make it 1-0, George was causing all sorts of problems in the Tockwith defence but had no luck with shots being blocked by defenders. Just before half time Tockwith equalised to make it 1-1, slightly against the run of play.
The Red’s kept their heads up as they started the second half despite being pegged back, Darren replacing Elliot, Max and Cameron with James, Dan and Alex to freshen things up. Tom had an early chance which went just wide whilst Liam again was on top form to keep Tockwith at bay, the Red’s defence held firm with Alex and James in good form, James also got forward and saw a good chance tipped over, just as it looked as though another draw was on the cards Tom fired in another shot to make it 2-1 at the final whistle and the Red’s were on their way.
And so to game 3 and the local derby against the Blacks, the atmosphere was tense as the coaches and players eyed each other up in the warm up, the game kicked off with George having a go in the nets, and an outfield of Tom, James, Cameron, Liam and Elliot. The opening exchanges were understandably cagey as no one wanted to make the first mistake, Cameron and Elliot both went close early on whilst George made a good early save to give him confidence. As the half time whistle approached Tom saw a shot well saved and Liam had a free kick which went just wide, 0-0 and an even first period. Max, Daniel and Danny came on for the second half replacing Liam, Elliot and James.
The changes saw the Red’s take the game to the Blacks, Max and Daniel both doing well to create chances. And before long Max got his name on the score sheet, whipping in a cross to make it 1-0. Further chances were created by Max and then Tom but the game remained very tense and 1-0 it stayed as the ref blew his whistle to end the game, bragging rights to the Red’s.
Game 4 saw the Red’s line up against the Tockwith Whites. Another change of goalie saw Cameron take the yellow jersey with Liam, Tom, James, Elliot and Alex lining up in the outfield. The Whites started well creating a couple of chances which were well saved by Cameron, but he could not stop Tockwith taking the lead with a well worked goal. 1-0 and the Red’s were behind for the first time. Darren changed things with Dan replacing James and Tom almost immediately scored, his shot blocked on the line as the half time whistle went. Max, Daniel and James joined the game for the second half and the changes worked again, Max and Tom had chances before Tom scored to make it 1-1. As the full time whistle approached George almost won it for the Red’s his shot going just wide. Full time 1-1.
So four games played and the Red’s had won two and drawn two as they lined up to play Burton Leonard for the final league game before the knock out. Alex went in goal with an outfield of James, Dan, Max, George and Tom. The Red’s got straight into the Bullets, Tom feeding George who made no mistake to make it 1-0. The Red’s continued to press the Burton defence for the rest of the half, Tom, Max and George all seeing shots saved but they could not extend the lead. At half time Darren brought on Cameron, Daniel and Liam and this led to a second goal as Tom breezed past three defenders before slotting the ball home. A third goal soon followed as Tom whipped in a freekick from the edge of the box and Liam pounced to make it 3-0. Liam then got a second goal and the red’s fourth after good interplay with Max. The Red’s kept attacking the Burton goal and just before the end Jack almost scored, his shot well saved. Full time and a 4-0 score line meaning the Red’s were into the final having finished second in the league, where they would play the group winners Ripley.
Alex continued in goal for the final, and the outfield line up selected by Darren was Cameron, Tom, George, Max and Dan. As with the first game between these two sides no one was able to dominate the play as they cancelled each other out, George saw an early effort go wide whilst Cameron and Max were on top form in defence to keep Ripley at bay. When called upon Alex was equal to anything Ripley could throw at him in goal and Tom continued to try and work openings when he had the ball. Half time came with the score goalless. Daniel and Liam came on for the second half as again both teams tried to create that first opening, Elliot tried his luck and saw a shot saved as did Tom and George, finally the Red’s made the break through, Tom crossing the ball from the left and Daniel was on hand to fire in the shot to make it 1-0, with only a short time left Tom then had a chance to wrap it up breaking from his own half he fired in a shot which was saved after pressure from the Ripley defender. Almost immediately Ripley equalised however, a break leading to a shot which went in, 1-1 and heartache for the Red’s who were so close to winning the cup, had their chance gone? The referee blew for the end of the second half, extra time was needed to see if either side could win or it would be the dreaded penalty shootout.
Extra time was a tense affair with all the teams and parents watching from the sidelines as the players started to look a little tired after so many games, despite a couple of chances for each side the referee blew his whistle at the end of the game, 1-1 it finished and the lads now faced a penalty shootout.
Ripley went first, Alex saving the shot well; George then put away his penalty coolly to make it 1-0 to the Red’s. Alex then saved the second penalty but Dan saw his saved as well, 1-0 to the Red’s after the first two penalties. Ripley scored with their third attempt and Cameron stepped up to do the same to make it 2-1. Ripley scored their second with the fourth penalty and Danny stepped up and calmly fired in the Red’s third to make it 3-2. Ripley had to score the last penalty in order for Tom to step up but he wasn’t needed as the shot went wide of the goal. The Red’s had done it, winning the cup on penalties having remained unbeaten throughout the competition, an excellent team effort.
