Match Report
Norton Lees Juniors 0; Earl Marshall JFC 6
Sheffield & District Junior Sunday League – Division D
Herdings Park
After a closely contested first half, in which they struggled to really assert themselves on a very heavy pitch, Earl Marshall brushed aside Norton Lees with a fine second half display.
Earl Marshall started cautiously, as they did their best to come to terms with the difficult playing surface, and in the opening ten minutes the sides were evenly matched. Elijah came close in the fifth minute when he hit the post, two minutes later Norton Lees responded, beating the offside trap with a through ball.
Dominic (MH) was on hand to make a crucial save to keep the scores level. It was Seymour who finally settled Earl Marshall’s nerves in the 12th minute when he sent a powerful low drive through a crowded penalty area into the net. Despite going a goal up Earl Marshall were unable to take advantage of their lead, instead it was Norton Lees who looked the more dangerous towards the end of the first half. However with just 1 goal conceded in the last two games Earl Marshall again looked solid at the back. Lahkem made some effective headed clearances but was also on hand to make an important tackle late on to deny a clear goal scoring chance. Then with two minutes of the first half remaining Calum put in an excellent challenge to prevent what looked like a certain equaliser (HT: 1-0).
The late threat from Norton Lees made it clear the Earl Marshall would have to up their game if they were going to be sure of taking all three points. However despite some probing runs their were no real chances until the 9th minute when Aaron received the ball and delivered well placed shot that gave the keeper little chance.
With a two goal lead Earl Marshall grew in confidence and were now looking the stronger side, a minute after the restart Elijah saw his shot tipped wide. Their third goal came in the 11th minute with Aaron delivering a great finish after holding off two defenders. A minute later a corner from Adam allowed Aaron to claim his hatrick when his close range shot took a deflection off a defender, past the keeper, and into the net.
With the game increasingly one sided Earl Marshall were able to push forward giving Norton Lees little opportunity to get the ball out of their own half. Earl Marshall’s fifth goal came in the 14th minute when Joe sent a perfectly weighted pass through to Aaron who eluded the defenders before slotting the ball past the keeper. Earl Marshall were now looking dangerous each time they went forward with Joe, Jordan and Seymour controlling the midfield and Adam, back from injury, enjoying the opportunity to have a more attacking role. Then with five minutes remaining Earl Marshall scored a well worked goal which summed up what was another impressive team performance. Edwin delivered a neat pass to Jordan who spotted Aaron in space. Aaron received the ball, controlled well before setting up Elijah who scored with a composed finish (6-0). Earl Marshall had further chances and could easily have won by an even bigger margin but Lahkem and Seymour were frustrated when they saw their shots go wide.
Coaches’ Man of the Match: Dominic Justice
Mick A