Match Report

Team – Adam, Austin, Henry, Zico, Harry, Elliot, Ted, Ethan, Ryan, Yannis, Fin

After a good start by both teams, Aylesbury were the team that took the lead after 10 minutes. A Marlow attack was broken down in midfield by Ethan and he passed to Fin; who made a determined run up the pitch. After beating the defence, he shot but the goalie made a great save but Ryan had made a great run up the wing and was on hand to score with a lovely finish from a tight angle. Within 5 minutes, United had doubled their lead. This time Fin scored after his initial shot was blocked by the keeper. Aylesbury were on top now but a soft goal for Marlow got them back in the game. It was 2-1 to AUJFC at half time.

The second half was similar in nature to the first and Aylesbury continued to play fast attacking football but Marlow were far from beaten. A good cross from the wing and a strong run through the middle from the Marlow striker resulted in the equaliser and we were all square. A great move through the middle put our boys back in front but it was ruled out for offside. Video evidence later showed that it was a good decision but it was a fantastic finish by Elliott, shame it didn’t count.
Ted was strong too and saw a great effort come back off the post, he was unlucky a few times in the game and ended up with a lovely bump on his head as a momentum!
With 5 minutes to go, Elliott unleashed a venomous shot but it flew inches over the top so it looked like that was it. Aylesbury were not content to take a draw though and kept pushing forward. This almost cost us with a couple of minutes left but fortunately the Marlow striker fluffed his lines and missed from 6 yards.
With time up and the ref looking at his watch, Elliott linked with Fin in the middle and let fly, top corner from 20 yards – goal of the season!!

There were great performances from back to front. Adam made some excellent saves and his ball handling was superb. Our defence was strong with Zico in the centre. Midfield was powerful with Ethan, Ryan and Elliott all playing really well. Yannis was nifty and provided some great crosses. Ted was alive to every move and took on the defence on numerous occasions. Austin supported the midfield and attack and Fin was strong and alert up front but for me Henry was the player of the day. His work rate was second to none. Both he and Zico controlled the game with powerful tackling and strong running.

Well done boys!

That's 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in the competitive stage of the season. A couple of wins in our last 2 games will surely put us in the cup final!

Written by Phil Shanahan