12 Dec Youth Round-Up

With slightly milder weather this weekend, most of today’s scheduled (and re-arranged) games were on. Out of the Kent Youth League teams today there were two county cup wins and a postponement and two league wins. In the East Kent Youth League there were two wins, a draw and two losses.

Kent Youth League

The Under 18s progressed to the next round of the County Cup after a 7-2 win over Faversham Town at Southwood, thanks to a Dan Fowler hat-trick, a brace from Perry Cray, and singles from Jack Kirkby and Ollie Frewin. The next round will be at Southwood next Sunday against Dartford.

The Under 16s maintained their unbeaten league record with a superb display of skill and determination away to Herne Bay, where a strongly contested match was settled from a scoring point of view when a volley out of the top drawer from 20 yards was despatched into the home side’s net from the foot of Daniel Todd on 15 minutes. The goal was obviously massively important, but it was only the beginning of events to unfold in this contest. Five minutes after taking the lead, and with their game plan working perfectly, the Rams had a player sent off for a poor tackle on the Bay winger, the red card being fully deserved. Knowing there were 60 minutes to play with 10 men was a daunting task, and when ‘keeper Josh Mattless had to make a great save with his feet within a few minutes of the dismissal it looked like being a very long hour. However, as it turned out that was the last clear cut chance that Herne Bay were allowed, and the remaining 10 men and 2 subs played brilliantly to secure the win. Todd’s reward for scoring such a quality goal was to be tactically substituted to introduce a full back and go to 4-4-1, and the lads proceeded to outplay the 11 man Bay team and even create a number of chances and goal mouth scrambles in their area. The work rate and application of the side was simply a different class and at no time were they “hanging on”, they were working hard, closing down and passing the ball quickly and accurately and using what little width there was on the pitch, thus creating many chances. With only five goals conceded at the half way point of the season says all that needs to be said about the team work ethic and spirit, they defend from the front when they don’t have the ball and attack in numbers when we do. Just to add to the drama, the match was nearly abandoned after 60 minutes when, following a collision with a Bay player, the referee was concussed and unable to carry on. A deputy qualified referee was available however, and after a 20 minute delay all parties agreed to play on (hopefully the ref will make a full recovery).

The Under 15s played host to Tonbridge Angels at Hereson in the County Cup and, after the score was 2-2 at the end of normal time, went on to the next round with a late winner in extra-time from Dominic Crawford (who also got the Rams’ first with a penalty).

The Under 14s were due to visit Corinthian in the County Cup but the lingering snow in northwest Kent saw the game cancelled, and is now likely to take place next week.

The Under 13s’ first game after the enforced layoff due to the bad weather was against Ashford in a top of the table clash. With players back from injury it was almost a full strength squad for this vital game, and Ramsgate started the stronger with continued pressure on the Ashford goal. James Mileham, back after a broken arm, was outstanding as he continuously troubled the Ashford defence, who held firm during the first half. The second half saw the introduction of Alfie Dickinson, who promptly blasted home an Alfie Foster cross. More Ramsgate pressure saw an Ashford defender head a Jack Paxman cross into his own net to make it 2-0. Ashford tried to get back in to the game and went one-on-one with ‘keeper Harry Mitchell, but good positioning forced the shot wide. Ramsgate continued to press and Dan Vinson won possession in midfield and slotted a pass through to Dickinson to make it 3. Dan Adams came close to adding another and Dickinson again hit the woodwork, while Ashford would not give in and hit the crossbar, but it was an excellent team performance to keep the young Rams top of the league. Ramsgate: Harry Mitchell, Jack Paxman, Dan Adams, Sam Munday, Gianni Birch, Seb Rowland, Dan Vinson, Mitch Laing, Harris Rodgers, Jacob Price, James Mileham, James Price, Alfie Foster, Alfie Dickinson, James Brown.

East Kent Youth League

The Under 18s visited St Margarets in the league with only 10 men, but lost 3-0.

The Under 16s visited Herne Bay Youth where they played some excellent football in what turned out to be a very good all round team performance. Mitchell Knight was in superb form scoring four goals and earning the player of the match award. From the start Ramsgate controlled the game, with Captain Weston Beckwith and Charlie Stokes controlling central midfield. Unbelievably, at half time, the score remained 0-0, with Ramsgate very unlucky not to have been at least a couple of goals ahead. The second half was a different story, with Knight hitting his first in the 41^st minute. Five minutes later he scored his second to put the Rams 2 goals ahead. On 55 minutes Knight was involved again, crossing from the left for Connor Lintott to make it 0-3. Knight completed his hat-trick on 60 minutes, and eventually took his tally to four, when he put Ramsgate five goals up in the 75^th minute. Tommy Armstrong completed the scoring on 80 minutes to make the final score 0-6. The Rams’ attacking play, and quality of passing and movement, was a treat to watch, but just as important was their defending, with Sam Coupland and Josh Bradford deserving special mention. Dean James worked extremely hard up front, and Charlie Stokes put in a really fine display, twice going close to scoring. Overall though, a good team performance, and nice to keep a clean sheet. A great way for the boys to head into the Xmas break.

The Under 15s were due to play Canterbury Youth at Clarendon, but the game was postponed as Canterbury had a cup fixture.

The Under 13s faced Kennington Juniors at St Lukes, but after ‘a bad day at the office’ wound up on the wrong end of a 1-7 scoreline, the Rams’ goal coming from Billy Ingram.

The Under 12s hosted Folkestone Invicta Youth where they put on an improving performance winning 3-1. The young Rams kept Folkestone on the back foot for much of the 1^st half, creating chance after chance. Their perseverance paid off when Tom Perriam struck for the Rams, the 1^st half closing 1-0. The Rams started brightly in the 2^nd half, with the Rams going 2 up after Kit Whalley-Payne slotted the ball home, but soon after Folkestone pulled one back after some goalmouth pinball at the Rams’ end, which brought Folkestone back into the game. The game became end to end for a time before Perriam hit the back of the net for the Rams 3^rd. The Rams’ precision corner taker, Michael Curtis, created many of the chances and was instrumental in each goal.

The Under 12 As played Kennington Juniors at Clarendon where the game got off to a strong, promising start with the Rams holding a firm possession of the ball. Following a Matt Short corner, Hayden Telles passed the ball through to Ollie Harris who confidently brought the score to 1-0. Play continued to still be secure after this first goal, and the midfield then managed to pass the ball through to Telles who made a sharp, swift pass to Harris who notched up his second of the game, making the score of 2-0 for the half-time whistle. The score changed within the first few minutes of the second half, with Kennington fighting back strongly bringing the score to 2-1. Some rough pushing and barging from Kennington gave the Rams a penalty, which was unfortunately missed by Matt Short. However, a hand-ball fault gave Kennington a penalty that they converted to equalise the score. A hard fought battle from both sides then began, with some great football, trying to secure all three points, but there were no more goals and the game ended with both sides sharing the points. A strong effort from all the boys, well done!

The Under 11s were without a game today.