U12 Colts vs Perdiswell Colts Bobcats (06/09/20)

Worcester City Youth Colts commenced the new season campaign with a keenly-fought draw at home to Bobcats on a bright Sunday afternoon at Perdiswell Park. For the first time in almost 6 months, the blue-and-white jerseys were donned in (almost) anger as the much-anticipated return of competitive football finally arrived.
After an extensive pre-season programme of friendlies and preparation which began on 13th June with non-contact training, full training in July and then a solid base of friendlies, the squad had given Manager Stephen Coopey much to think about in his first league team selection of the year. They lined-up with Cam Elton in Goal, Oliver Beale, Dylan Sivaharan and Caleb Clarke at the back, Reg Perks and George Heywood in the centre, with Josh Coopey on the right and Ollie Boulsfield on the left; Conner started up front after a sparkling display in the last pre-season friendly a day earlier. The ‘full-to-bursting’ bench consisting of James Glazzard, Zac Johnson, Ewan Fisher, Harry Davies and Nathan Box.
Colts started on the front foot (a fact which will have pleased the management team) and were soon applying some sustained pressure. Some neat interplay down the right-hand side seemed to be the most likely avenue for success, and so it turned out as after 7 minutes a searching ball from Oliver Beale found George Heywood who turned and neatly struck the ball beyond the keeper to open the scoring.
Colts kept the pressure on as the half progressed, and should have added to their tally, striking the bar and post (most notably Josh Coopey, beating the ‘keeper from the tightest of angles only for the ball to slam into the far post and bounce back across goal to safety). Bobcats came into the game more as the half progressed, thanks in part to the introduction of some accomplished-looking latecomers that shifted the balance of play in the visitors favour. Cam Elton was called into service more and more as the half went on and had to be alert on a couple of occasions, Bobcats looking menacing without creating any clear-cut chances.
Half-time came with Colts pegged into their own half and the manager made changes which saw Harry Davies, Nathan Box and Ewan Fisher enter the fray in play of Conner, Josh and Caleb respectively. Despite this the second half started in the same way the first half had ended, with the visitors in the ascendency. Colts switch to a back four with the Introduction of James Glazzard, with the intention of wrestling some control back. Some last-gasp defending from Dylan in particular kept the score at 1-0, but with holes opening up in the middle of the field it seemed only a matter of time before Bobcats made a telling contribution. And so it was, with the opposition striker collecting a loose ball on the edge of the box before launching an unstoppable drive into the top corner.
The goal did indeed stir Colts into a resurgence of sorts, and as the game entered its final stages, Colts looked like the more likely to win; Zac Johnson came on for his outfield debut, but it was Heywood who came closest to snatching a winner as another drilled effort was pushed onto the bar by the keeper, before bouncing on the goal line and being hacked clear. The game came to a nail-biting conclusion with both teams having further half chances that would have ultimately seen them take all 3 points. However it was not to be and the game finished 1-1, probably a fair result on balance in a tightly contested match between 2 good-quality teams.
Man-of-the-match was Dylan after a gritty performance in Central Defence.