Under 10's D

The Ashtead U10D team got their first ever win with a fine, if somewhat nerve-racking, performance at Caterham.

It was a confident start by the Ashtead players who were passing the ball more than they have all season (especially in midfield). Joseph Young picked up where he left off last week and seemed to be everywhere in midfield winning tackles. However,  Caterham scored with an early breakaway goal that left keeper Lorcan Marrett no chance.

In typical fashion this setback only spurred Ashtead on and they began to push forward with great ambition. Captain Giovanna Thomas led the midfield 3 with purpose and it was this pressure that led to the equaliser. A move down the right involving Giovanna led to Adam Thornton having the ball on the edge of the area – he was held up by a tackle but Owen Thompson-Smith arrived in support and thumped the ball into the corner of the goal with some determination (Owen’s third goal this season). Ashtead continued to press forward and won a series of corners that George Bartlett sent over and Owen almost scored from one straight off the training ground. Caterham responded well but Lorcan’s trademark confident goalkeeping meant there were no real threats to the Ashtead goal.

The second half followed much the same pattern with Ashtead pressing for a goal and Caterham’s only chance coming when the Ashtead team were too ambitious, but second half keeper Joseph displayed good awareness of any danger and showed cool handling. Max Pariss was also having a good game in a deeper role and his tackling and running with the ball led to several attacks. Will Douglass and Matthew Hawthorne were having a solid game in defence and have added good distribution of the ball to their usual strong tackling skills. Then it happened….George ran at goal, had a shot that was parried out to Lorcan who crossed the ball, hit a defender and into the goal. Ashtead had the lead..! To their credit, the Ashtead team went looking for a third and this came in spectacular fashion. Adam ran at goal and went through 3 or 4 tackles before smashing the ball into the goal with a slight deflection from a despairing defender……5 minutes left and a 3-1 lead - unchartered territory..! To add to the drama, Caterham scored with another breakaway and had a corner immediately after (just to give heart attacks to the Ashtead supporters). However Will Douglass cleared well and Max Parris collected the ball and ran the length of the pitch to shoot narrowly wide. After what seemed like another hour or so the ref blew the whistle and Ashtead had their historic win.

.Player of the Week. A real team effort this week but Max stood out for his immediate impact in a new midfield role and his good control and intelligent runs down the wing to relieve the pressure in the last minutes. Well done Max..!