Yate Town F.C. U18’s 2 v Bristol Manor Farm F.C. U18’S 0
Yate welcomed Manor Farm to the South West Interiors Stadium for this WCFL league fixture.
Setting up in a 3-4-1-2 formation, the team looked to return to match play after a lengthy break.
Off the back of an impressive victory on Monday the visitors took the game to Yate in the opening fifteen minutes, exerting pressure on the ball and looking to play with pace. The home back three of Ben Cook, Joe Steward and Dalton Ross were superb as a unit on the night, and aided by Billy Pullin’s shot stopping kept Manor Farm at bay.
As the half progressed the hosts started to gain a foothold in the game, with Captain Nico Baird and Yigithan Kepil beginning to combine with Kevin Contreras in the midfield zone. However, the visitors always posed a threat and got behind on the counter, where only Joe Steward's last ditch tackle negated a goal, the opposition demanded a penalty, but the request was waved away by the referee.
With the lively James Fortune and ever industrious Will Down being fed more regularly in wide areas, Yate started to create chances of their own. Nico Baird went close in quick succession with a header cleared of the line and a volley that narrowly cleared the bar. But this pulsating game saw The Farm break the defensive line with Billy Pullin managing to put the striker off on the edge of the box, to the annoyance of the opposition’s bench who pressured the Officials with another penalty claim.
Pleasing at this stage of the game was Yate’s young team’s effort to maintain a high work rate and keep looking for inroads into the oppositions defensive third. Their cause was rewarded on forty minutes when following good play by Rowan Smith a forward was brought to ground, with the referee not hesitating to award a penalty. The impressive Tyler Wood found the corner of the net to send the hosts one up. Yate needed to soak up pressure and a high number of free kicks in their defensive third as the half drew to a close, but defending in numbers and with conviction, they took the lead into the interval.
The same eleven took to the field for the second period, with the coaching staff warning of the need to negate the number of free kicks conceded, and a challenge to match the first half performance. The team were soon on the front foot and playing more in the opponents half , forcing several corners, but being unable to deliver with quality. At this stage the opposition were causing less inroads into Yate’s defensive third, with the back three and the two holding midfield players looking compact out of possession. As the game became more stretched and with the introduction of replacements Antony Batt and Max Davies, the hosts created several opportunities. The lead was deservedly increased on seventy minutes when good approach play by Tyler Wood and the pacey Antony Batt played in James Fortune who confidently rolled the ball under the advancing keeper from eighteen yards.
This saw the opposition throw extra players forward and secure a number of successive corners and a dangerous free kick which Yate kept out by any means necessary. Into the final quarter, the final replacements, Luke Money and Kris Olah took to the field, with further opportunities in the opposition’s box just failing to fall for the sharp Max Davies, Yigithan Kepil and Tyler Wood.
As the game entered its final minutes, Manor Farm’s good approach play saw them in on the blind side of the defence but put the chance wide of Billy Pullin’s goal. Despite a period in excess of five minutes stoppage time, this was effectively the opposition's last chance on the night. Yate managed the game well to see play through to the final whistle, which heralded an extremely impressive result.
The performance of the boys on the night cannot be overstated, a growing understanding of when to play, matched with undeniable effort and discipline, saw victory secured against good opposition. The challenge is to repeat that in the forthcoming fixture against Hengrove Athletic.
The M.O.T.M award on the evening went to Ben Cook, who displayed the ability to defend and play on the ball in the right areas as part of an excellent back three performance.
Starting XI: Billy Pullin, Ben Cook, Joe Steward, Dalton Ross, James Fortune, Nico Baird(Capt), Yigithan Kepil, Will Down, Kevin Contreras, Tyler Wood, Rowan Smith
Replacements: Max Davies, Antony Batt, Kris Olah, Luke Money, Zach Gillies