Illness to some of the squad meant Scotton travelled to Boroughbridge Blues with a small but determined group of players looking to get another good result in the Harrogate & District Development League.
The coaches had to revamp the starting 7 due to the absence of Elliot, Michael and Christopher; Liam was selected in goal; Harry and Ben in defence; Tom and Daniel in midfield and a front two of Jack and George.
The game started with Scotton playing with a strong and blustery wind behind them and it was not long before they used this advantage to fashion an early chance, Tom crossing deep for George whose knock down found Jack and he made no mistake to score a fine goal and make it 1-0 to Scotton.
Scotton were on fire in the early stages, Tom creating a chance down the left which went for a corner, then again down the left George did what he does best, cutting in at the edge of the box to fire in Scotton’s second, 2-0 and the visitors were on top.
Tom then fired in a shot which went over the bar; but it was not long before Tom got on the score sheet, picking the ball up in his own half he broke into the Blues half and unleashed a powerful shot from distance to make it 3-0; again the players using the conditions to great effect.
Scotton were all over the Blues at this stage; George getting a sniff on goal but his shot was saved; then Harry got in the act, a cross / shot from 25 yards out on the left hand side was buried into the top corner with the home goalie given no chance. 4-0 to Scotton and there seemed like only one winner with half time approaching.
The second half kicked off with Jonah replacing Ben in defence and Tom going up front with George as Owen replaced Jack and took the midfield place vacated by Tom. Scotton had a bit of defending to do as the second half got under way, but they broke excellently from a Blues corner; George found himself clear on the left and crossed for Daniel in the middle, only to see it evade Daniel’s outstretched leg.
The blues were showing more attacking intent in the second half as they tried to take advantage of the wind to their backs; Liam was called upon to save well from a good shot. Tom then tried his luck with a shot that went just wide as Scotton struggled with the wind in their faces.
The Blues again created another chance and they looked in on goal only for Daniel to make a fantastic blocking tackle to concede a corner; this was whipped in and only the quick thinking of Liam who tipped over the cross from beneath his crossbar kept the score at 4-0.
The Blues continued to pressure the Scotton defence and before long they had pulled a goal back as the Scotton defence struggled to clear the attack. Scotton did not sit back however, George creating a couple of good chances for Jack then Daniel but the Blues defence held firm. George then saw an excellent shot go just wide as Scotton continued to look for more goals.
At the other end Jonah got in an excellent defensive tackle then Tom blocked a shot as the home team pressed for another goal. With the clock ticking down, George saw a chance go just wide; but there was still time for the Blues to get a second goal as the Scotton defence was put under more pressure. But it was no more than a consolation as the ref blew for full time with Scotton coming out 4-2 winners.
An excellent team effort by all nine squad players made it difficult for the coaches to choose a man of the match but Harry just shaded it for his excellent defensive play; long throw-ins and a fantastic long range goal.
Game 2 started with Daniel in goal, Jonah and Ben in defence; Tom and Owen in midfield with Jack and Liam up front.
Again Scotton started with the wind to their backs and tried to take advantage from the kick off; Tom saw a shot which was heading for the back of the net hit the defender and loop up on to the bar and over.
Tom then peppered the Blues goal with three shots all of which were saved as the home goalie looked on top of his game. Tom then headed just wide from a corner as Scotton started to get frustrated at being unable to turn their pressure into goals.
Liam then tried to get into the act, shooting well but again the goalie was equal to it and saved low down; Liam then won a corner with an excellent break down the left; the corner was cleared but the ball found its way to Tom who unleashed a shot from the edge of the box to make it 1-0 to Scotton.
The Blues then tried their luck but Daniel was equal to the challenge saving well to his right. At the other end Tom was jinking through the Blues defence before being pulled down at the edge of the box; he picked himself up and fired the free kick just wide. With the half time whistle approaching, Tom then tried his luck from the half way line, again using the blustery conditions only to see the ball go just wide of the goal; Liam then had a shot which went just wide. Half Time 1-0 to Scotton.
The Blues had the wind behind them in the second half and they started off brightly testing Ben who had replaced Daniel at Half time in the nets; there was nothing he could do when the next shot came in as the Blues equalised and then with their next attack they made it 2-1 as it looked as though Scotton’s inability to get more goals in the first half might prove to be costly.
George then came on for Jack and Tom for Owen as the coaches looked to push for an equaliser; despite playing with the wind in their faces the Scotton players rolled up their sleeves and went to attack the Blues goal; Harry saw a shot go just wide as the play moved in the Blues half; George then created three chances from just outside the box in quick succession as Scotton pushed for an opening, but George was denied by some good keeping, and the Blues defence held firm; Liam then tried his luck but again the keeper saved well but conceded a corner. Liam whipped this in and found Tom’s head but his glancing header went agonisingly wide of the post.
That was the last chance for Scotton and the whistle went with the Blues winning 2-1. All the players again put in an excellent shift; even when they went 2-1 down their heads did not drop; picking a man of the match was another difficult task for the coaches but Jonah deserved the accolade for an excellent defensive display.
