On a blustery November morning, Bergholt Heath Under 8s took on Stanway Villa Reds in a friendly match due to both teams having a free week in their respective leagues. As seems to be the case in most Under 8 matches nowadays, the boys seem to take a little while to get into the game and within 5 minutes Stanway took an early 2-goal lead. The rest of the first half was played mostly in the Bergholt half but the defence held firm. HT 0-2.
The second half was a different affair with Bergholt showing more attacking flair and they got they reward when Theo was pushed off the ball just outside the area to gain a free-kick. He stepped up to take it himself and hit a wondrous strike which flew into the roof of the Stanway net. This gave Bergholt a big lift and they started to take the game more to Stanway in order to get the equaliser. However, in one of the Stanway attacks a blocked shot spun high in to the air, it bounced just in front of Daniel in the Bergholt goal but unfortunately the spin took it away from his grasp and straight into the path of a Stanway striker. He coolly slotted the ball home to make the final score 1-3. A really good performance against a strong Stanway side. Well played to both teams.
The Under 10s ‘home’ match Vs Bures United – due to be played at Bures due to the continued unavailability of the Poors Field – was unsurprisingly postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. In fact it was almost under water!
Contrastingly, the pitch at Long Melford for the Under 14s was in good condition given the weather in the previous 24 hours. The Under 14s took to the pitch with a warning from the manager about the importance of winning matches, and duly put in a much more spirited performance than the previous week. Bergholt took the game to Long Melford with some crisp incise passing and after a few half chances, Bergholt took the lead mid way through the first half when a neat exchange of passes saw James Holden lay the ball back to new signing Max Booth just outside the area and he rifled his shot into the roof of the net. The Bergholt ‘keeper was a virtual spectator as the game continued to be played in the Melford half. A few minutes before half time the second goal Bergholt deserved came when a superb run, a cross by Owen Bernhardt from the right, saw James Holden head into the net unchallenged inside the 6 yard box. The second half started in much the same way and soon it was 3-0, Ollie Sanderson getting on the score sheet. The game was starting to get stretched with Bergholt piling forward, sometimes a little gung-ho, but mid way through the half the fourth Bergholt goal arrived, again Ollie Sanderson was there to stab home after a game of ricochet in the Melford area. Unfortunately a clean sheet wasn’t to be as, after another period of pressure, a couple of Bergholt defenders were caught thinking themselves to be midfielders, leaving Melford to break 3 on 2, with the striker doing enough to get the ball into the corner of the Bergholt goal. However this did not affect the game too much as another good passing move saw James Holden released in the inside right channel and he coolly passed the ball into the net as the Melford keeper advanced to the edge of his area. With the last kick of the match Melford pulled another goal back courtesy of the wind! The ball was played forward by Melford but headed clear by the Bergholt defence. As the ball dropped a Melford player in the centre circle volleyed it high into the air where it was caught by the wind to look like it was flying off for a goal kick. However a sharp gust saw the ball veer back in the direction of the goal and over the Bergholt ‘keeper into the net. Final score: Long Melford 2-5 Bergholt Heath. Bergholt ‘man of the match’: Max Booth.
The main pitch on the Poors Field was in almost perfect condition for the Under 18s game against Broomfield Youth Blues. A pulsating match saw Bergholt run out 4-3 winners. Andy Parsons, Jack Lugar, Alex Enright and Nathan Swampillai scoring the Bergholt goals.
Next weeks fixtures, Sunday 2nd December:
- Under 8 – No game (mid season break)
- Under 10 – No game (mid season break)
- Under 14 v Bures Utd, KO 10.30am
- Under 18 v FC Clacton, KO 2pm