The U13’s finished their season on a winning note collecting 25 points from a possible 60 and likely to finish 7th out of 11 (if Ongar fail to collect four points from two games against top opposition). The team dominated proceedings throughout the game but were never comfortable after they beat the Stanford goal-keeper with a nailed-on penalty which Jamie smashed into the net off the underside of the bar. The pressure was on as the Stanford goalkeeper is also keeps goal for Westcliff so Jamie and the boys were well aware of his shot stopping ability. The boys played a solid if unspectacular game which was hardly surprising given the injury list. Jack Matthews failed a late fitness test while Safe-Hans was on crutches leaving our other Jack to sit in between the posts. For 99 per cent of the game he had little to do but when called upon he produced a finger-tip save to prevent a Stanford equaliser. Congratulations to all the players for a solid season.

Perry Street faced table topping Cougars for a second straight match, knowing that last week’s victory counted for little as the opposition were unlikely to take Perry Street as lightly as they had in the last game. The match started off at a very high tempo producing two goals in the first five minutes, with Jamie bundling in a quick equalizer as the goal-keeper failed to deal with a through ball. In a hard fought first half, Cougars had the edge and seemed on the way to victory when they hit a third goal just before half-time. However, manager Howard Knight rallied his team and switched Jack back to his familiar left side to increase the attacking impetus. The ploy paid dividends as James finished off an attacking move to bring the boys back into the match. Unfortunately, as Perry Street pushed for the equalizer, they got hit on the break, and Cougars No8 slide the ball past the onrushing Safe-hands. During the final minutes, the loss of the effervescent Matthew began to tell as Perry Street began to tire. The team put in a creditable all-round performance which bodes well for the two remaining fixtures. Congratulations to Ed the Head, for a magnificent display at centre back… closely followed by Tommy and Mitch who continued to drive the team forward from start to end.