Marden Bridge – 2 : 4 – Marden High
Match Report
In awful conditions, our Year 8 team continued their incredible run of league form with a confident 4-2 win over local rivals down the road, Marden Bridge Middle School.
Year 8 warm-up in near Arctic conditions!
A late flurry of afternoon snow put the match in jeopardy and forced a switch of venue from grass to the outdoor astroturf pitch, but with shovels on hand to clear snow from the lines the game went ahead, and the visitors stormed into an early 2-0 lead, Luke Monaghan dinking a right footed effort over the ‘keeper within minutes of kick off.
After Monaghan went round the keeper but failed to convert, Marden kept pressing, and Louis Adams finished off an excellent team move, tapping home from close range after captain Thomas Stoetzel and Theo Riley combined; Theo unselfishly squaring across goal for Louis to score his second of the season.
The home side soon got their act together though, and after forcing a great save from Aidan McDonald in the Marden goal, which later forced the goalkeeper off through injury, Marden Bridge pulled the game back to 2-2 with two quick fire goals, the first a cool finish slotted home, the second a scrappy effort after some pinball in the box.
Marden held their nerve and restored their lead just before half time when Luke Monaghan got his second of the game, scoring straight from a corner. Oliver Young had a solid first half in a new look defensive midfield position, and sacrificed himself for the team to go in goal in the second half, pulling off a terrific near post save and keeping a clean sheet after replacing Aidan.
Theo’s energetic bursts down the left were difficult to deal with and after coming close himself, he powered through the defence once more to square for Luke to slide home his hat-trick, with sub Ethan Dickinson also ready to tap in.
All in all, it was a good spirited game of football considering the slippery conditions, and the commitment and attitude was superb all round. It also means that the Under 13s are still unbeaten in the league this season with 4 wins out of 4. Well done to all who braved the snow and played their part.
