U16 Boys vs EH Club Champs Rd 2 vs St Albans

The under-16 boys had their 2nd round cup match at St Albans. It was a quick start for saffron Walden with Ben getting a quick shot away beating the keeper and making it 1-0 to us in the first 10 minutes. Throughout the first half both teams had their attacks with a memorable save from Asher in goal to keep us ahead going into half time. The second half started well for St Albans as they piled on the pressure but the Saffron Walden defence held strong and again Asher made fantastic saves from their short corners including a diving stick save to his right. Despite the unfortunate green cards Walden went on the attack and with tensions rising were able to seal the game from short corner and Ben pounced on a loose ball to grab his second goal of the game. In a last ditch effort, St Albans substituted their goalkeeper for an extra attacker but were unable to capitalise with their attacking overload. The game finished 2-0 to Saffron Walden and they will progress to the next round later in January.

Reflecting on the game, Ben said, “Top performance from the boys today in what was a physical and tough match against St Albans. Everyone played their part and it was brilliant to see the boys keep theirs heads especially with some tough decisions going against us. A special mention to Asher for his fantastic effort between the sticks.”

(Old pic from the archives! Let's remember to take a fresh photo next time.)