November Match Reports

Colts - vs Ashtead-7 Dec 02

Orange Pip

Colts 4 - Ashtead 6

This was the biggest shock wave to hit Ashtead since a V2 landed in the High Street in 1944. The Colts were at their most magnificent today - right from the whistle, wave after wave of yellow attacks descended on the over-confident Ashtead team. Deft flicks, surging runs, crunching tackles and marvellous saves were very much the order of the day from the Bookham team, and despite a slightly disappointing result, this was a victory in everything but name.

The game started with good passing and running from the Colts, but Ashtead constantly posed a threat, forcing Grant in to a number of good saves, and testing the defence to the limit. After 8 minutes the pressure told and Ashtead went one up with a well worked goal.

But Bookham drove back ferociously, and a turbo-charged Steven zoomed down the right to cross to an ever perky Ben to put in the equalizer after 10 minutes.

Bookham continued to threaten, with Steven having a shot blocked on 13 minutes only to have Greg's rebound effort saved by a brave keeper. The midfield worked hard to win the ball with Alfie, Alex and Josh fighting hand to hand in the trenches to feed Gregg and Greg who were both really magnificent in terms of their penetrating runs and passes. Alfie made some great passes down the right and was able to take the ball on himself a number of times.

After 20 minutes though, Ashtead broke away down the right - Grant narrowed the angle well and was unlucky that his left handed palm away did not deflect the ball away from the net - 2-1 to the Oranges.

The Ashtead crowd were jarred out of their celebrations by another yellow attack, this time a goal mouth scramble found Steven at the edge of the penalty area, and he curled a Beckham-esque shot into the top of the net - 23 minutes gone and it was 2-2 - could the league leaders be in danger?

There followed some end to end stuff - Ben had one saved after 25 minutes, and then Grant had to pull off a save at the other end from an Ashtead breakaway. On 28 minutes, a great ball from Josh sent Steven on his way, and he was unlucky to see his shot sail over the bar.

Then in injury time a goal mouth scramble saw Greg with the ball and he stuck it away to give the Colts a 3-2 lead at half time - the whole of Ashtead was deathly quiet.

We may have been surprised to see our heroes one up at half time, but sheer amazement greeted an Alex pile driver after 3 minutes which took Colts 4-2 into the lead - WHAT A SCREAMER.

The show went on with Steven caught off side while rushing on goal (8 minutes), Greg shooting over the top (11 minutes) and then Greg having a goal disallowed after 12 minutes - offside again.

Then the game turned in a wretched 7 minutes of strong Ashtead attacks, brutal tackling and dubious decisions. On 13 minutes Ashtead won a penalty which was converted, and then equalized with an excellent goal on 16 minutes - the brave Colts were on the rack.

The defence held magnificently with tigerish tackling from Donald and Scott, and fabulous defensive headers from Jack and Nathan. As a unit they have improved week on week and this was their best effort yet. Grant made a really great pair of saves on 19 minutes to keep Colts in the game, both times diving to his right to trap squirming shots.

But the killer blow came on 21 minutes when Ashtead won another penalty - again it was converted and now it was 5-4 and an uphill struggle looked likely. All hope was lost on 26 minutes when another Ashtead attack delivered the coup de grace to a brave Bookham team.

Your correspondent feels that not only was this the best Colts performance ever, but that this team has the beating of the league leaders - with hard training and continued commitment, an orange squash is still on the cards.

What a Fantastic Performance Boys!!!

Colts - vs West Byfleet Scorpions - 30 Nov 02

Scorpions Stung by Rampant Colts

Colts 7 - Scorpions 2

Following on from last weeks Cup fever, Colts produced another great performance in the League to defeat a resilient Scorpions side whose gritty performance belied their lowly position in the table.

As early as the first minute Alex pointed the way with a sharp shot on the turn, well saved by the keeper. Two minutes later and Stephen broke from the half way line, leaving the defence in his wake and finishing superbly to make it 1-0.

Further chances fell to Alex, whose effort was pushed onto the post by the over worked keeper, and Gregg who had two shots blocked by the defence.

Scorpions tried to claw their way back into the game but the Colts defence held firm, with Scott, Nathan and Donald all making vital interceptions. Again the yellows gained the ascendancy, driven forward by the dynamic Greg in midfield and the probing runs of Gregg, Ben, Stephen and Alfie in attack.

On 19 minutes a perfectly weighted through ball from Alfie released Gregg in the box, who left two defenders floundering in his wake before sliding the ball past the stranded keeper for 2-0. Just two minutes later following more good work from Alfie the ball broke to Greg some twenty yards out who fired an unstoppable shot over the keeper to make it 3-0. Then Stephen made it 4-0, racing on to a through ball from Gregg before finishing in style.

The first half ended with a brief spell of Scorpions pressure, dealt with effectively by the well marshalled Colts defence in which Jack stood out with a great clearing header as the whistle blew for the break.

The second half began with the Colts piling on the pressure. Stephen made a great run down the wing and Sam and Alex narrowly failed to convert his low cross, then Sam fed Stephen only for the linesman's flag to pull the play back for offside. But the pressure had to pay off and Stephen duly made it 5-0 and completed another hat trick as he put away Gregg's pass. All through the second half, Toby made some great contributions, tackling well and making chances for the rampaging forwards - he is making really great progress.

Ten minutes into the second half it was 6-0 as a quick throw released Stephen down the left who in turn found Gregg with a precise pass for a another great finish. The two lads are showing signs of becoming a formidable partnership!

With Colts perhaps guilty of taking it a little easy, Grant was forced into a couple of sharp saves before the Scorpions grabbed a brace of consolation goals. But normal service was resumed with a couple of minutes remaining when another piece of good work from Gregg ended with a ball across the face of goal for Alex to make it 7-2.

All in all another top performance from the team in Yellow who deserve to party next week!

Neil

TOP

This was a classic cup tie, sealed by a great goal from Steven 5 minutes from the end, leaving Oakway to wonder why their relentless pressure in the first half had not turned into progress to the second round. Thick mud, heavy rain and a stiff breeze added to the challenge of beating a thoroughly professional looking Oakway team, and made the Colts victory all the more remarkable.

The match started with a red and black torrent of attacks, leaving Grant, Nathan and Scott to scramble away numerous thrusts forward. Scott had to clear from the line on a number of occasions, while Jack was at full stretch, dashing back to clear up dangerous situations time after time.

Eventually, though, the pressure had to tell, and Oakway went one up after 20 minutes with a well worked goal which left Grant stranded.

This was the start of the Colts' cavalry charge though. Greg and Gregg launched an attack from the restart, a long ball was floated into the Oakway box, and a startled defender rocketed the ball past his own 'keeper - Colts were right back in it against the run of play. The Oakway crowd was silenced as the rain continued.

Oakway came back after 25 minutes to re-take the lead, but by now, Colts had settled, and the old fighting spirit was starting to show through - big Alex was beginning to look dangerous, ably supported by Josh, while Greg and Steven were causing the Oakway coaches to stop breathing and palpitate wildly every time they got the ball.

Bookham's loyal fans' optimism was rewarded by a great move from Ben and Alfie, ending with Alfie swinging out past the Oakway 'keeper to rocket the ball into the back of the net to score his opening goal of the season - WHAT AN EFFORT ALFIE!!

The teams went in at half time with Bookham looking much the stronger - was an unlikely victory really on the cards? The Oakway fans looked bedraggled and nervous as the storm clouds gathered.

The second half started with Toby, Donald and Sam on and they seemed to make an immediate impact - Steven and Greg unleashed attack after attack, while Gregg surged forward continuously, always looking dangerous.

Nathan defended brilliantly throughout the whole match, while Grant was forced to make some great saves and clearances - but the tide had turned. Grant cleared long to Gregg, who found Steven in space - as usual he carved up at leas 6 defenders before crossing to Greg - Greg's first effort was brilliantly blocked by the keeper, but he had the balance and presence of mind to smash the rebound into the net with 12 minutes gone - 3-2 and the Colts were in the lead, and for the first time they could smell the Brasso on the cup.

The next 20 minutes saw great efforts from Alex, Nathan, Toby, Scott, Donald and Jack, keeping Oakway at bay, while Greg, Gregg, Ben, Sam, Josh and Steven kept the pressure up on a ever wobbly Oakway defence. Grant narrowed angles brilliantly and kept Oakway out with some unbelievable saves.

The coup de grace from Steven after 25 minutes put the cherry on the cake and left a confident Oakway side wondering how the rain clouds had parted to unleash a yellow cyclone…..

The Colts were put through the wringer today by a skilful, strong and pacey Ashtead team. The boys fought hard, but in the end could not withstand the surging running, hard tackling and pinpoint shooting of a rampant Ashtead who already look like shoo-ins for the league title.

The game started off very well though, with Greg and Steven driving forward, Steven scraping the post and hitting the side netting with his trade mark dashes down the left and shots from 10 metres out.

Ashtead looked to have scored after 12 minutes, but an eagle-eyed (despite his age) linesman had his flag up and it was disallowed. The Colts launched another attack after 18 minutes which ended in a flurry of shots but no goal.

The boys were finally broken down after 19 minutes when Ashtead scored, only to be followed by a second after 22 minutes. Grant was doing his usual heroics on 23 minutes and his clearance found Steven, who shot past the right post.

Defensive errors on 25 and 28 minutes brought two more goals and a rather dejected team came off for a team talk that involved flying tea cups but a realisation that we had held the best team in Surrey for nearly 20 minutes and very nearly scored a hatful of goals against them - not at all bad.

We saw great performances from Alex, who won lots of ball and streamed forward frequently, while Scott, Donald, Jack and Nathan tackled hard at the back and in midfield. Josh won a lot of crucial ball and distributed well, while Alfie, Sam and Toby dashed forward to worry the Ashtead defenders on several occasions.

The second half followed an exactly similar pattern to the first. The Colts held a rampant Ashtead side for 16 minutes, before conceding on 16, 21 and 23 minutes to make it 0-7. The loyal home fans were rewarded on 28 minutes though, when that man Steven steamed through on the right to bury one in the right hand corner.

Ashtead rounded off a great performance with an eighth on full time and a rather glum looking Colts team came off to lick their wounds and go to Greg's birthday party. Your correspondent has taken plenty of encouragement away from this performance, which although ended in defeat, showed that we have plenty of potential to improve, score goals and win games.

The final goal told the story of the match - Greg streamed down the left wing, juggling the ball in a blur of deft flicks and nudges, crossed the ball to a queue of Colts strikers to see uber-hotshot Steven wallop it into the back of the net and send the Epsom crowd home, now fully realising how it felt to be caught in the slip stream of the Space Shuttle.

Colts got off to a cracking start when Greg's control and vision put Steven through for a goal after 1 minute 47. It looked like a walk over was on the cards, but Epsom fought back quickly forcing Grant to make a spectacular save to his right after 5 minutes. Poor defensive work and relentless Epsom pressure resulted in the equalizer after 11 minutes - but Epsom had peaked way too early - after this it was pretty much devastating one way traffic from the magnificent Colts.

After 13 minutes a long goal kick from Grant found Gregg in space, but a smidgen offside, and then on 18 minutes a really brilliant run by Greg on the left set Steven up for his second to make it 1-2.

The defence of Jack, Scott, Alex, Donald and Nathan looked strong and were able to cut out the bulk of Epsom attacks, while Grant really was 'Like A Rock' between the sticks. Josh was his usual reliable self in mid-field, often setting up attacks with his probing balls forward. Gregg was a constant threat, often running through at pace to threaten the wobbling Epsom defence.

After 20 minutes, another great goal kick found Steven free, and he blasted past the floundering defence to get his hat trick in record time. A deathly quiet had fallen over the whole of Worcester Park as the home fans began to sense an incoming Colts avalanche.

Halftime saw some interesting tactical substitutions, with a magnificent Jack coming off for Herculean Henry, and the ever nifty Alfie making way for a newly musclar Ben. Jack and Alfie had made great contributions throughout the first half and deserved their rest.

Ben made an immediate impact, setting Greg up for a blistering drive which rattled the paint off the crossbar after a minute of the second half. The game was effectively closed out by Gregg 2 minutes later when he blasted down the right to have his low shot turned in by a startled defender - great effort from Gregg to make it 1-4.

The defence was looking great, with Henry, Nathan and Scott challenging like tigers and clearing long balls up field, while Alex was threatening up the left with some great forward runs - none of us were ready for what happened next though - on 13 minutes Ben muscled onto a ball in the box to lay it off for Alex - I didn't actually see the ball until it hit the back of the net from an amazing left foot pile driver - what a beauty Alex!!

Toby and Sam came on to bolster the attack and both of them looked up for getting on the score sheet. Toby tackled and cleared up well, while Sam was getting into a lot of great positions.

Steven made it 1-6 with a trademark sprint down the left wing which seemed to boil the Epsom mud, before belting it past the keeper. Donald, as always magnificent in defence despite carrying a bit of a knee injury, was by this time keen to get on the sheet and had a shot saved on 25 minutes. On 29 minutes, Sam deftly set up Steven to pop one past the keeper and roll it into the net with 1cm to spare - true class from the up front pairing.

The final goal from Steven came in the dying seconds to make it a double hat trick and round off a great performance from everyone.