Another bright Saturday morning saw the team travel a long distance to the pretty village of Bourton-on-the-Water for a league game with Bourton Rovers Youth.
The Blues started brightly and following early pressure down the right forced a corner. Will swung in the corner, aiming for the on rushing Joe A, but unfortunately
there was too much curl on the cross and Bourton were able to take advantage and counter attack, forcing Henry to concede a corner. The initial corner
was dealt with by the Blues defence, but only at the expense of another corner. The second Bourton corner was whipped in and met by the on rushing head of a Bourton
striker. Fortunately the header went wide of the Blues' upright and out for a goal kick.
The Blues moved the ball to the other end of the pitch and Will fired a speculative shot from outside the Bourton area into the grateful arms of the Bourton goalkeeper.
There followed a five minute period whereby each side took it in turns to take throw-ins. The stalemate was almost broken when Dewi seized the initiative and stole
the ball off a Bourton player on the half way line. Dewi ran towards goal and just as he was about to unleash a shot, he was pushed off balance (a rugby hand off) by the Bourton
defender. The Bourton goalkeeper pounced on the ball just before Joe B could get a touch and the danger was averted. The crowd called for a penalty but the referee
was not forthcoming.
Again there followed a stalemate period whereby both teams wrestled to take the upper hand. Unfortunately it was Bourton who were to take advantage. Firstly they forced
a corner on the right which led to a good delivery into the edge of the Blues' area and resulted in a shot passing beyond Finn's post. Soon after the Blues lost the ball
on the half way line and the Bourton midfielder (a constant threat during the game) drove forward. The Blues defence backed off and Finn had to pull off a fine save to prevent
Bourton taking the lead. The scores were not to stay level for long though and following a quick throw in on the right, the Bourton winger whipped in a fabulous cross
that hit the on rushing striker on the knee, causing the ball to ricochet into the Blues' net, leaving Finn helpless in goal.
Following the restart, the Blues tried to create an attack just before half time. Will fed the ball to Tim, but his shot was saved by the Bourton keeper.
Bourton probably had the better of the first half, but the game changed in the second half.
The second half started with both sides attempting to score but to no avail. The game flowed from goal area to goal area with no end product. Bourton mounted
an attack down the left, and a cross/come shot was superbly cleared off the Blues' goal line by an alert Joe A. Joe A, Charlotte and Henry were all playing
very well in defence and put in some superb, tough tackles.
(Charlotte heads the ball away .... a rare sight to be seen.)
Up front, Dewi forced the Bourton defenders to concede a goal kick. The Bourton goalkeeper took the kick from the left of the area and kicked it straight to Tim, midway
between the half way line and the edge of the Bourton area. Tim moved forward with the ball and fortunately ignored this reporter's call to shoot. Advancing into the Bourton
area he unleashed his shot. The shot hit a Bourton defender and rebounded to the grateful Dewi who quickly pounced on the ball and blasted it into the Bourton net to level the scores.
(Dewi drives at the heart of the Bourton defence.)
The Blues' defence held strong and continued to keep the Bourton strikers quiet. They were also able to create opportunities for the strikers. Charlotte robbed the
Bourton striker of the ball and played a wonderful pass up the right touchline to Harry. Harry turned and ran down the right wing and into the Bourton area.
His shot on the run unfortunately went straight at the Bourton goalkeeper.
The Blues were beginning to control the game and were starting to look dangerous. Joe B laid the ball off to Will just outside the Bourton area. Will dragged the
ball back and unleashed a shot that went just passed the Bourton upright.
Soon after Will was awarded a free kick on the centre circle. With his confidence high from his previous effort he decided to go for goal. His long range shot sailed over
the Bourton defence and struck the shocked Bourton goalkeeper on the knee. The rebound was cleared by the Bourton defence.
Bourton were struggling to get into the game until the referee awarded them a bizarre free kick just outside the Blues' penalty area. Looking at the video replays,
this reporter is still unsure as to the reason for the decision, but as in the premiership, referees do not have the advantage of video analysis. From the free kick
the Blues were relieved to see the shot flash across the face of goal and go out for a goal kick.
Having been on the wrong end of one decision the Blues moved the ball into the Bourton area where Joe B chipped the ball forwards. The ball hit the Bourton defender
on the hand. The crowd appealed for a penalty, but for the second time in the game their pleas were waved away.
There was only time for one more attack. This saw Joe C fire in a shot that went passed the right upright of the Bourton goal. There was not enough time to take the
goal kick and the match ended in a 1 - 1 draw which was probably the right result based on the balance of play.
