under 13s Greens and Blues in action

The latest under 13s tournament in the Eastern Counties First Division saw both the Ely Greens and Blues in action. With Ely the only club with two teams at this level getting full squads on the day can sometimes be difficult and this was one such day, with the Greens playing their first match with only 3 outfielders. However against the seasons form team of Bury St Edmunds it was difficult to tell at times that Ely were a ‘man ‘ light. Ely actually took the lead only for Bury to hit back with two quick goals. Ely soon pulled level again but Bury soon gained  a two goal lead at half time. Ely started the second half brightly and the link up play between Masterton and Ford opened up several chances.  With only 5 mins or so left the scores were 5 -5 and a shock result was on the cards. However with Ely tiring Bury found the late goals to win 9 – 5 (scorers Masterton 3, Ford 2).
 
The Blues still looking for their first win of the season started against Herne Bay Utd the other form team in the league. Poor defence in the  first half saw Ely 6 – 0 down, however the second half was a different story but for two late goals giving The Kent side an 8 – 0 win.
 
The Greens back to full strength took on Norwich a team which they should have done better than the 4 – 2 loss with Masterton and Ford on the score sheet again.
 
The next match was full of controversy with poor refereeing spoiling what is normally the highlight of any tournament when the Greens play the Blues. The match was a tight affair from the beginning with only one goal splitting the team for much of the match. Towards the end some strange decisions gave the Greens the initiative and a 7 – 4 win (scorers for the Greens, Masterton, Ford and Chambers, for the Blues, Barrow 2, Hart and an own goal).
 
The Blues game against Bury started badly with a quick goal for the opposition. However Ely defended well against some strong players. Whilst the score ended 10 – 3 getting more goals which have been difficult to come by this season was a positive aspect of the match (scores Moffat twins 1 each and an own goal).
 
In the final Greens game against Herne Bay Ely started to play some of their best hockey against a team that move the ball around well. At 4 – 4 the match could have gone either way but Herne Bay finished stronger to win 9 – 6 with two goals each for Masterton, Ford and Chambers.  Walsh in goal played particularly well as he had all day.