Year 9 through to next round!
The Year 9 football team overcame a very well organised and drilled team and won 2-1 on the day, away from home. This result means we are now in Round 4 of the National Cup.
Match Report:
From the outset it was clear that McAuley RC School set themselves up well and passed the ball with great skill. The resilience of our defence was a pleasure to watch and Adam Kelsey was a stand out player in centre back. It must be said that the opposition seemed to dominate the opening exchanges with two shots marginally off target and one shot producing a superb save from Steven Pougher, diving to his left to parry what seemed an inevitable goal.
The remaining of the first half was a battle in midfield which was scrappy and not pretty football, however, some good touches were had by both teams, but to no avail.
After a tactical team talk at half time and some shuffling of the squad, Sirius seemed determined to get at the opposing team and started the second half on top. Sirius started passing the ball more to the wingers, Alfie Pougher and -Dominik Litwinski, who had great games despite a later injury to Alfie. (substituted for Harry Knight). With what seemed to be destined towards a bore draw, Adam Kelsey decided otherwise. From a short throw-in from Callum Baker, just into the opposing half, Adam skillfully dribbled his way through both the McAuley midfield and then the defence, to find himself one-on-one with the keeper who had no chance of stopping the lashing shot from the ‘Man of the Match’. Sirius 1 McAuley 0!
McAuley didn’t sit back at the 1-0 and passed the ball around well, but they were not the same team that started the game with such energy. It was clear that they seemed to loose the influence in the game and the pendulum had swung in Sirius’ favour. However, that being said, some determined defending saw Connor Morgan Hansen clear off the line with a brave header as boots were thrown in all directions. With the run of play in Sirius’ favour inevitably came the second goal, and what a goal it was! After some excellent pressing from Charlie Morriss and Jack Best in the McAuley box, the ball came looping out to the half way line from an opposing defender. Jack Langley poised to meet it just inside the McAuley half decided to have a punt at goal. What seemed like an eternity in the air lead to the net bulging; the ball dipping nicely under the scrambling McAuley goalkeeper. 2-0! Jack was clearly over the moon with his goal, both screaming and singing were included in the celebration that followed.
The later stages of the game mainly saw Sirius in possession but often lacked the crucial ball to make it 3-0. However, there was one last drama to be had in this game. Josh Jarvis, who had an excellent game and made many challenges in the middle of the park, was deemed to have committed a foul about 25/30 yards out from goal. A 50/50 challenge, which saw the very consistent referee, blow up for a foul resulted in McAuley clawing a goal back for their team. A stunning 30 yard curled strike caught out Steven Pougher in goal and slotted into the top-right corner of the goal. A fabulous effort! 2-1!
With 6 minutes left to go Sirius were happy to see the game out which lead to a well earned away victory!
If you see the boys around the academy please give your congratulations to: Jak Langley, Kane Tock, Charlie Morriss, Harry Knight, Alfie Pougher, Josh Jarvis, Callum Baker, Dominik Litwinski, Nathan Voakes, Stephen Pougher, Martin Jude, Jamie Gould, Adam Kelsey, Connor Morgan-Hanson and Jack Best. All gave a superb contribution to the match!
Special thanks to Daniel Rouse for coming to support the team!
