North Norfolk youth round-up

CROMER Youth U12 continued their great start, following up their 6-2 win at Taverham and as 9-4 victory at home to Acle with an impressive 11-2 result away to Colt Jags. Chris Carter made his debut in goal and was unlucky to concede. Some top quality saves together with his well kicked clearances earned him the man of the match award. Colt Jags continue to improve and put up a good fight. Pick of the Cromer goals came when Nathan Ellis went past two Coltishall defenders, putting in a pin-point accurate cross for Gabriel Glenn (2) to head home. Other scorers were George Martin (penalty) Nathan Ellis, Miles Jameson (2), Will Potter (3) Matty Cox and Jordan Wiseman.

EAST Coast Warriors U10 were at home to Aylsham U10 in another evenly matched game.East Coast broke the deadlock when a lovely cross from J Stearman was netted by T Oxley. A great cross from J Boggis was finished by A Galley for 2-0.

In the second half Aylsham came out fighting with the defence of C Craske and L Goodrum having to work extremely hard. S Howell was again strong in goal. B Fairclough came on as a sub in his debut and played well up front. Aylsham pulled a goal back to make the final score East Coast Warriors 2, Aylsham 1.

NORTH Walsham Panthers hosted to Wendene with two key players injured. Ryan and Max are wished speedy recoveries. The visitors took the lead with a great goal The Panthers squandered some good chances, but Lewis and Sam scored in quick succession. Wendene levelled the score towards the end of the first half. The teams went into the second half evenly matched until Jordan found some space to put the ball into the net. Some truly skilful play from Ali and an unselfish pass allowed Leon to score. Play was fast and exciting and then Jordan came from nowhere to score: Panthers 5, Wendene 3.

WORSTEAD Wolves U10 played Old Catton B and had a fine 5-0 win. The Wolves scored two early goals when Harry P and Kyle found the net with two great strikes. The first from Harry P was made by Jake with a great back-heel that left two defenders for dead. Harry P finished from the edge of the box. The second from Kyle was all his own work. He beat the defender and finished well at the near post. After some good work from both teams Worstead scored a third when Kyle first tried to cross the ball. It was cleared by Old Catton B only for Kyle to curl the ball back into the top right hand corner of the net. After half-time both teams played some good football and it was Worstead who scored again when Kyle completed his hat-trick with a nice finish from a corner from Scott. With all the Wolves playing good football Harry P shot from a free-kick and with a lot of players in the box he managed drove the ball into the net. Man of the match was Zachary for some great defending but every Worstead player played their part in a good win.

STALHAM YOUTH U12A played Old Catton A and comfortably won 11-0. They played well throughout, producing some nice football. Ryan battled well to score the first two, taking the ball round the keeper both times. Matti got the third when Kieran from defence switched the ball over to the left for Matti to beat his defender, finishing nicely with his right foot. Tom then put a nice ball out to Adam who crossed it in for Ryan to finish at back post. Rylan fired over a good corner which Ryan buried into the back of the net from close range. Just before half-time Dom M passed the ball to Ryan to smash in making it 6-0. n the second half the goals continued to flow with Ryan netting yet again from a good ball through from Adam. Aiden, who had battled hard throughout, hit a high ball into the air for Adam to sprint in and head home superbly. Matti tried a shot from distance that slipped through the keeper's hands to make it 9-0. Adam made it 10 by calmly placing the ball past the keeper. Ryan then scored his seventh to finish off a fine afternoon of football from a superb corner by Dom M. Special mention to the Old Catton lads for battling throughout. Player-of-the-match: Ryan for a very mature display of football. Well done to Jake, Kieran and Tom who had great games and Luke and Andy for excellent debut performances.

NORTH WALSHAM ANGELS U13 GIRLS beat Thorpe Rovers 2-0. Angels struggled to find their rhythm in the first half and although they were on top for most of the match the home side came closest to scoring first with a shot against the bar. Angels gradually wore down their opponents and when a shot from Lauren was blocked Kiera followed up to smash home her first goal for the club. Emily was introduced for her first competitive match. Following a corner the ball went in off a defender for a final score line of 2-0.

EAST Coast Warriors U13 beat Aylsham 5-3 with Liam Jackson scoring all Warriors' goals.

CROMER Youth U11 continued their winning start to the season with a 7-3 victory away at Holt. Cromer piled on the pressure from the start but the Holt defence managed to hold out for almost 15 minutes before Jake Zelos, who had another fine game, broke the deadlock for Cromer. Just two minutes later, it was Jake again who scored his second. A well organised Cromer defence, led by the rock that is Jordan Davies, soaked up some fierce Holt pressure and were unlucky to concede a penalty late in the half. The conversion left it 2-1 at half time. A stunning volley from Zeke Downes gave Cromer a 3-1 lead. Then two goals in quick succession from Will Harwood, the second a superb lob from the edge of the box, gave Cromer a 5-1 lead. Holt pulled a goal back before the tireless Stevie Foster slotted home to give Comer a 6-2 lead. Holt pulled another back before Will completed his hat-trick to make it 7-3. Late in the game a superb penalty save by Alfie Woodrow in the Cromer goal completed an excellent match. MoM: Stevie Foster.

Cromer Youth U9 had all the play early on against a very strong Sprowston Lads team and were unlucky not to score with Noah Downes going close. Tight defending by Kyle Jablonowski and William Copelston. Chris Vesey in midfield battled well. Calamity, on a breakaway attack Sprowston scored against the run of play. With chances going begging at both ends it was still only 1-0 at half time. Substitutions were made by Cromer resulting in a disjointed team. Sprowston exploited this and scored two quick goals before Cromer got back their shape. Strong running by Ronnie Harwood created a couple of chances. James Cooper worked very hard in defence and was unlucky to see a deflection fly in. Jack Sayer, again playing the lone role up front, worked tirelessly but had nothing to show for his efforts. A good display by the team against the league leaders. Final score 4-0 to Sprowston. MoM: James Cooper.

NORTH Walsham Youth U9 got their season off to a great start with a 5-0 win over Stalham. The game started very evenly and the first goal arrived when Connor burst through the middle and finished well. Walsham continued to probe the Stalham back line and George was unlucky when his shot smacked the outside of a post from 20 yards out. Walsham's continued pressure eventually paid off as Ethan slotted the ball in from close range. Despite Stalham's valiant defending they were unable to prevent the away side taking a three-goal lead. Tom D managed to evade two tackles before rifling in a shot that took a wicked deflection and found its way into the net. This seemed to rally Stalham and they had a good shot saved by Jordan. With Sam and Connor working hard in midfield Walsham were also looking to create chances and they added to their tally when Max despatched a penalty from a resultant hand ball. The fifth goal arrived shortly after as Tom W finished well to claim his first league goal for the club.

NORTH WALSHAM's first home game of the season against Old Catton B proved to be an all-action affair as both teams worked hard. A couple of early opportunities for Catton came to nothing but the away side must have been pleased with their start. Walsham tried in vain to get the ball down and play and when they did the first goal arrived very much against the run of play. A great run from Connor saw the ball end up at Ethan's feet via the keeper and he finished well. As half- time approached Walsham almost snatched another but Tom W failed to make good contact with the ball. The second half provided much of the same from both sides. An absolutely fantastic save was made by the Catton keeper. A ferocious 20-yard shot from Sam looked destined for the top corner but somehow the keeper tipped it over. A couple of minutes later Old Catton equalised. Walsham were still playing well with Connor, Mitch, Sam and Ethan all working hard in midfield but the Catton keeper saved three efforts. Despite Jordan and George having strong performances at the back they were unable to prevent Old Catton taking the lead. It was harsh on Walsham but Old Catton had stuck to their task and got their reward. Connor went on a mazy run before smacking a shot against a post. As Max ran in he somehow managed to get a touch on the ball and force it over the line. Despite lots of effort and a surging run from James at the end, the scores remained level as both teams claimed a deserved point.

Walsham U11 continued their good run of form with a 4-1 win over Worstead Wolves at Millfield. The game started with both teams looking to keep the ball on the ground and pass. Walsham had the better of the early exchanges and Bradley was unlucky not to get his shot on target with only the keeper to beat. Ryan was working hard on the left and creating chances for the home side on a regular basis. A great run saw his cross just evade Josh at the far post and then another surging run resulted in his shot on goal being blocked well by the defender. Walsham did eventually make the breakthrough midway through the half, the ball finding its way to Josh who finished superbly. Wolves were dangerous on the counterattack. But with the captain, Tom, putting in a MoM display in the middle of midfield Walsham was able to break any Worstead raids. Despite one or two more opportunities the home side failed to add to their total before the break. Walsham returned in the second half with a more determined look about them and this proved to be the case as Josh added his second. He managed to steal the ball from the keeper, who had saved well from the initial shot, to finish from close in. Bradley and Will began to stretch the Worstead defence with penetrating runs. Equally, the defence was looking strong and being well marshalled and it was one of these defenders who added to Walsham's advantage midway through the half. A corner was cleared to the edge of the box and Luke chipped the ball back over the keeper's head. Worstead never stopped competing and they were rewarded when their striker finished well. With only five remaining Walsham clinched a fourth. A great run by Josh saw him finish well to claim his hat-trick and all three points for Walsham.

STALHAM YOUTH U10 played Firside on Sunday. Disappointedly they lost 1-0 (from a Firside free kick). Stalham started slowly and did not look themselves. Josh came on half way into the first half and worked hard. Stalham began to switch on and their work rate was better from this point. The second half saw a much-improved performance and Stalham battled harder and won more balls. However, they just could not find the back of the net. They had several very good chances but did not score. Troy put in a couple of good crosses and corners but Stalham failed to get on the end of them. Daniel made a couple of excellent runs into good space to shoot but again just could not find the net. Harry worked hard upfront but did not see much of the ball. He fired a good free kick which just went over. Both Joseph and William made some good saves in goal and Chris was strong at the back. Ryan had a great second game and deservedly won player-of-the-match. Jake had another fantastic game in defence and could have also won PoM.

EAST COAST WARRIORS U11 hosted Aylsham, providing them with the toughest test of the season. Coast started brightly, with forward runs from Howell and Othon, but were soon confined to sparring in midfield. Only the resolute back line of Wilkinson, Glasgow, Smith and Richardson, and acrobatic saves from Baker kept Coast in the game. After a spell under the cosh, Paterson replaced the injured Wilkinson, and the team showed great spirit and some nice passing to set Lee up for a cracking opener, followed quickly by a second, stabbed in by Lozeau off a curling pass from Brown. Aylsham came back strongly but went into half-time without a reply. They opened the second half determined to pull the game back, mounting a sustained attack, with Coast's defence and midfield combining to keep things clean. Despite that, Baker still had to make more fine saves. Coast then began to push back, but the Reds broke down the wing, Coldham chipping a great ball over both defence and keeper to keep the visitors' hopes alive. Play opened up, with Brown running the length of the pitch, and round five Aylsham players to slot home. Lee followed with another shortly afterwards, and Lozeau had a steaming volley denied by a great save. Still Aylsham didn't cave in and Smith had to show some extraordinary turns of speed to cover the left wing, while Paterson, Glasgow, and Richardson were also very solid. A great Lubbock cross was spun into the net by Brown and Lozeau grabbed his second off a cross from Howell, leaving Coast 6-1 winners. A deserved score-line, but one which didn't do justice to Aylsham's great skill and determination. An excellent game. Every Coast player should be proud they worked very hard.