Avon Youth League Under 16s, Division 2, 02/04/17
Severnside Nuke 3 KTJFC 1 (HT 3-0)
Keynsham scorer: Luke.
SEVERNSIDE HAT-TRICK ENDS KEYNSHAM TITLE HOPES.
A long trip for the Keynsham faithful to sunny Berkeley (near Sharpness Docks) and another difficult end of season fixture against a strong Severnside side.
In the first few minutes Luke was put through on goal by a long forward pass but his well struck left footed shot went narrowly over the bar. A good cross into the box from Tommy also saw Ben have a header on goal.
The No14 & No18 for Severnside were a threat and linked up well in limited space causing problem for the defence.
A lively Keynsham looked most likely to score and were applying good pressure on the Severnside goal with Harrison & Chaz wide plus Luke upfront but this was all undone in a ten minute spell.
On 15 minutes, the Keynsham defence were caught napping when a Severnside throw in was poorly defended and it gave the No14 (Brad) the opportunity to muscle into the box and slot the ball past Reegan for a well taken poacher’s goal.
Minutes later, following some confusion in the midfield (with two Keynsham players tackling one another) a back pass was underhit on the long grass and this forced Reegan to come off his line but the speed and strength of the No14 enable him to intercept the ball for a tap in at close range.
Keynsham were rattled and a confident Severnside now threw numbers forward applying a large amount of pressure.
On 23 minutes, following a good passing move, the Severnside No14 was again put through on the edge of the box and shot past Reegan for a fine hat-trick.
During the half Toby was introduced and there were some shots on goal from him and Max but the half ended 3-0 with a mountain to climb for Keynsham.
In the second half Keynsham had the perfect start and within minutes of the restart a cross into the box from Max saw Luke head past the goal keeper at close range to make the score 3-1.
Minutes later, following a well delivered Luke corner and scramble in the box, Tommy had a shot from outside the box go over the bar. There were also shooting opportunities for Alf & Toby and a notable performance from Sam Harris for his tenacity and long throw-ins.
Severnside were defending deep to protect their lead and despite a number of corners and free kicks for Keynsham their numbers behind the ball made scoring difficult.
With Keynsham pushing numbers forward Severnside were dangerous on the break and the defence of Brendon, Tommy & Harrison played very well in the second half to stop any more Severnside goals.
With ten minutes to go Max hit the bar with a powerful header fom yet another Luke corner but despite the much improved second half performance the score ended 3-1 to Severnside.
Mike Cooke.
