Match Details

Sunday 12th October 2008
Home to New Beckenham

Shirley Town FC  7    New Beckenham  2

Having already picked up 2 points (by default) for our first league fixture against South East Elite, the under 13´s were looking for a first home win on the back of an 8-3 defeat away to Glebe Tigers last week and a Surrey Cup exit at the hands of Links FC the week before.

From the outset it looked like Shirley Town were really ready to go about their business and headed forward with a purpose but were caught out by a breakaway goal as New Beckenham went into an undeserved 1-0 lead. Almost immediately Chevron pulled one back for Town but again a break at the other end and a lack of concentration on our part allowed Beckenham back in with a 2-1 advantage but once again some quality attacking football allowed Town back in to pull level once more.

Half-Time 2-2.

The fact that we had an almost full squad (15 players) paid dividends after the break with a number of substitutions and ´fresh legs´ saw Shirley Town totally dominate the second period with goal after goal and the game played almost totally in the opposition half.

If it was not for our eagerness to get forward and getting caught offside on far too many occasions the score could have (and probably should have) been double figures. Five goals did the job though, with notable contributions from Mauro (hat-trick) and Kieran in midfield. However, man of the match went to Charley for some really good work at centre back (he listened to the Managers instructions!) doing a great job at clearing away any aerial danger with his head and using the ball with simple, effective passing that made a real difference.

All the boys worked very hard and everyone played some football (nobody wants to be subbed but it´s important to remember that we are a squad of players).

I saw real improvement in all the players and good teamwork that can only help us through this season. If we continue to work hard in training and listen to instructions we will have a very good season

Richard - Manager, Shirley Town, Under 13