Heighington U11 3 v Leam Rangers Greens 2
Heighington played yet another game on a knife edge against a very stern Leam Rangers side. The lads were quick out of the blocks for this one and quickly went 1 nil up thanks to tremendous footwork and spirit from Mathis Gordon – a delightful finish to boot. However, the tide slowly began to turn and Leam found themselves 2-1 up just after half time …. and deservedly so. That lead lasted around 3 minutes when Lucas created himself a chance and scored a world class left foot shot from just inside the box. The game flowed back and forth until Matty headed a wonderful ball onto Bruno who calmly slotted into the bottom corner and earned himself yet another winning goal of the season. These are becoming increasingly common. Leam fought tooth and nail until the end and Heighington just about managed to cling on to victory. A game which was played in a wonderful manner with two footballing sides going at it. This game could have gone either way ….. what an incredible advert for U11 football. Every player on the pitch can be proud of themselves, what a great match.
Every player deserves a mention today (from both sides) but there’s too many moments of magic to fit into one match report.
MOTM: Mathis Gordon, the kid had fire in his boots from the first whistle. Did a fantastic job in two positions. Made his goal himself and should be very proud of his performance.
MOTM: Dom Hullah, an iron curtain between the sticks, kept his team in it at times and his distribution was a great outlet. Had a busy evening and was a reassuring presence at the back.
Heighington U13s 2 v Ryton & Crawcrook U13s 1
Heighington made it two wins from two this week as they continued their recent good form. Both victories were indebted to Olly Humphrey who, after scoring the only goal in a midweek 1-0 victory against Consett, conjured up a moment of magic in the last minute to defeat a very competitive Ryton and Crawcrook side.
Heighington began brightly but went behind when an unmarked Ryton attacker headed in at the far post from a free kick. Heighington then pressed forward and, following a series of corners, the impressive Joel Evans headed in at the near post.
Half Time: Heighington 1 – 1 Ryton & Crawcrook.
As the teams changed ends a similar pattern emerged with Heighington dominating possession without created clear chances whilst Ryton continued to pose a significant threat on the break with their pacy attackers. The game seemed destined to end as a draw until the stalemate was broken in the final minute with a piece of real quality from Olly Humphrey. The Heighington press won the ball back and it fell to Olly in an unfamiliar right hand side position. Taking one touch, to gain a yard of space, he used his wonderful left foot wand to bend the ball superbly into the far corner past the despairing reach of the impressive Ryton keeper. The celebrations amongst players afterwards highlighted the great spirit amongst the group. It was a cruel way for a very sporting Ryton to lose but Heighington will be grateful to move on from this game with a hard fought win
Player of the Match: It was a very workmanlike performance from the team. We defended well, worked hard in midfield and continued this effort up front however, there could only possibly be one winner of this award today. Olly Humphrey was superb today and crowned it off with a real contender for goal of the season. Olly plays a number of positions for the team without ever dropping his standards, he has also now begun to add goals to his game too.