EAST Coast Warriors U9 entertained Worstead and earned themselves another victory despite the blustery conditions.

The first goal came after EC linked together nicely to fox the Worstead defence. Shots from Hammond kept Worstead’s keeper under pressure but when Worstead gained the break their goal quickly followed. EC nearly scored again when Wells lobbed the keeper but the shot sailed over. In the second half Lambert’s corner landed with Barrell who fired home EC’s second. Armstrong, not to be left out, scored from Lawes’ flick-on. With accurate passing between EC the fourth came when Lawes cut inside and feigned the first shot only to belt the ball into the top corner. EC then earned the throw-in which released Lambert who switched to Richardson, who then fired home the fifth. Strong keeping and defending from Lees and Paul made further Worstead attacks tricky and with another EC break, Hammond’s speed and agility made the final score 6-1.

EAST COAST WARRIORS U10 got back to winning ways away at Horsford. EC had the wind behind them in the first half and spent the early exchanges in the home team’s half. Jarvis opened the scoring with a shot from the edge of the box that deceived the keeper. Horsford equalised after a mix up in defence, but EC pushed forward to regain the lead. Long broke up an attack, made a forward run and passed to Macmillan who turned his man to score with his left foot. In the second half Horsford tried to push forward with the wind advantage but Long, Redgrave and Tucker in the back line and Simmons in goal dealt with any threats. Jarvis’ corner was volleyed in by Long and then Tucker released Copeman who made it 4-1.

NORTH WALSHAM ANGELS U14 girls recorded a 4-0 home win against Costessey Sports. The teams battled a swirling wind in the first half and at the interval there was no score but Angels gradually took command in the second period. Keeper Emily controlled her area and made a really fine save, diving at the feet of an opposing striker. The unfamiliar trio of Sophie H, Jess F and Izzy gelled both in defence and going forward. Zoe and Robyn rained in crosses from the wings for strikers Ellie and Olivia who were backed up by Charlotte. The breakthrough came when a move down the right got the ball to Olivia who laid it off to Charlotte, she rounded the keeper and scored with a left-foot shot. From one of many corner kicks, Robyn sent the ball i n from the left, Costessey failed to clear and Izzy pounced on the loose ball to shoot home through a ruck of players. Soon after Izzy knocked the ball forward to the edge of the penalty area to Charlotte whose left-footed half-volley hit the roof of the net with a slight deflection off an opponent’s head. The final goal followed a run down the left from Robyn, her pass reached Charlotte, she made space and scored with a low left-foot shot.

NORTH WALSHAM U14 enjoyed an evenly-matched game in blustery conditions. During the early minutes of the game, though, a strong, fair challenge from Hall led to a lengthy stoppage for injury to Hall and a Hethersett forward. Hethersett had the better of the pressure, though North Walsham had their chances from corners. Late in the half, Hethersett had a free-kick come off the underside of the bar and onto the line before being cleared, but that was as close as either side came. With the benefit of a tailwind, North Walsham pressurised early in the second half, and forced two great saves before the keeper went off injured. Hall caught a soft yellow card for back chat, but North Walsham continued to have chances. Late on, however, Hethersett scored with their only clear chance of the half, with a good shot past a diving Walker in goal. North Walsham continued to push for an equaliser, but to no avail.

North Walsham Devils U16 played Wymondham Town United in front of a large crowd in this quarter-final cup fixture as the A League took on the B. With the strong wind acting as an extra man, the Devils soon took full advantage and pressure the Wymondham defence who were struggling with the conditions. C Kerry and C Harkness up front worked the opposition defence well, with M Seago and J Edwards both aggressive in midfield and supplying plenty of balls over the top. Despite the North Walsham superiority, it fell to a fluke to open the scoring when E Collier’s drop-kick in goal found the opposition keeper in no-man’s land and the ball bounced over to make it 1-0. J Cork was in fine form down the left flank, supplying an alternative channel towards goal. Then another E Collier drop-kick outfoxed the Wymondham keeper and C Harkness was unselfish in shepherding the rolling ball into the net. Unfortunately, a Wymondham defender managed to get around the back and clear off the line. C Harkness picked up a pass and slotted home to make it 2-0. Changes made at half-time saw T Knight playing wide right with A Nichols tucked in behind. Wymondham scored from a wind-assisted free-kick. Despite being under the cosh for a while, H Ward and G Ash were immense in defence and protected E Collier well. As the half wore on, North Walsham created chances with J Roper, T Knight and C Harkness all going close. Final score: 2-1.

NTH WALSHAM DEVILS U16 despite taking the lead after only four minutes, had a poor half which saw them go in at the break 2-1 down. A poor playing surface didn’t help matters, although the Devils just did not gel as a team. Early on, T Knight played a long pass cross-field that found C Kerry who ran on and scored past an outstreched keeper. Further chances went begging for both teams and, with Diss now getting on top, equalised following some sloppy play by North Walsham. Within a few minutes it was 2-1 to Diss and with half-time approaching the manager prepared his talk. The second half saw a marked improvement with J Edwards equalising within five minutes and North Walsham then taking the game to Diss. M Seago fired in a number of shots and with both the goal scorers going close again on a number of occasions, the Diss defence were kept very busy. Diss had a couple of chances on the break but J Cork, G Ash and H Ward tidied up. T Knight continued foraging down the right and with C Harkness moving to the middle, were unlucky not to get a third.

NTH WALSHAM DEVILS U16 had a local derby with Aylsham who took the early advantage, utilising the slope of the pitch to pressurise North Walsham into a defensive posture. The back four of G Ash, T Knight, J Cork and A Nichols were kept busy and it was down to them that Aylsham for all their pressure were limited to a small number of chances. Up front, C Kerry was fighting for everything and despite linking well with C Harkness, could not break through the opposition defence. Half-time remained 0-0. The second half saw North Walsham take advantage of the slope and G Ash flicked the ball into the goal after 56 minutes straight from a corner to give the Devils the lead. With J Edwards and H Ward being physical in midfield, the Devils failed to capitalise with further chances, Aylsham equalising after 61 minutes. M Seago played some neat passes and with A Nichols playing high up the right wing with L McCrory, only the Aylsham keeper kept out an equaliser for the Devils. Some tight offside decisions frustrated the Devils, but they kept battling.

SHERINGHAM WARRIORS U16 took on Horsford U16 in very windy conditions in the quarter-finals of the Norfolk Youth Combination League Cup. Horsford, with the wind in the first half, kept the Warriors pinned back with Ali Burghall, Tom Harrison Josh Dyde and Tommy Bywater having to be on top form in defence with the ball going everywhere in the gale-force conditions. Horsford had chances but could not take them either shooting wide or Nathan Lomax pulling off some fine saves. When Sheringham did get forward they caused Horsford problems with Will Parker who went close, as well as Harry Stamatov having a shot saved by the keeper. Warriors managed to get to half-time 0-0. In the second half with the wind, Sheringham kept Horsford pinned in their own box. Jodi Norris and Shane Cox in midfield drove the Warriors forward and after a tense opening quarter the ball dropped in the penalty area to Will Parker who lifted it over the keeper to make it 1-0. Harry Carrington then made it 2-0 when he hit the ball from some 30 yards out, and with the wind it flew into the top of the net. Cameron Humphrey and Tom Todd both went close, but it was Harry Carrington who made it 3-0 after Harry Stamatov was brought down on the edge of the box. With the referee playing advantage, Harry picked up the ball and put it past the keeper, to send Sheringham into the semis.

Stalham U11 played the very sporting Mundesley this week after beating Holt 5-3 last week. They dominated the game from start to finish and ran out comfortable 14-0 winners. Goals came from Harry (4), Troy and Josh (3), Sean, Joseph, Matthew T and Jake, with assists from Matthew T and Troy (3), Harry (2) and Matthew M, Tom and Josh. A pleasing clean sheet was kept with great defending from Matthew M, Chris and Josh, with Will having a very quiet game in goal. A good team display and also a ‘well done’ to the Mundesley lads for never giving up.

Cromer U11 entertained Aylsham U11 in a closely-contested match. Cromer started strong and were unlucky to concede a goal in the first 15 minutes but good passing and teamwork saw Charlie equalise with a great shot just before half-time. The second half saw Aylsham take the lead again but Cromer fought back with some good patient play from Harry and Mathew Catton which led to a good goal from Ben Grand. Both teams continued to have chances before Aylsham were awarded a penalty, which was easily saved by Maciek. A mistake by Cromer saw Aylsham take the lead for the third time but Cromer continued to apply pressure and with only minutes remaining, another well-worked corner led to Aaron Bunting scoring the equaliser. Final score: 3-3. MoM: Charlie Baker.