Leighton United U14 Girls are crowned champions
Leighton Town U10 triumph over Woodside in a close local derby
LEIGHTON CORINTHIANS
Water Eaton Whites U7 v
Leighton Corinthians U7
A strong wind made things a little tricky for all, and keeper Joshua Lowe had to switch on the footballing brain right from the off.
Luckily he was brilliant, he made several crucial saves to stem the flow and calmly distributed low balls to the flanks to roll in Calum Elliot and Billy Lawrence, who both managed to get themselves on the score sheet .
Hayden Jones, Reece Pinder and Dillon Walker were all battling away and Hayden Jones was taking throw ins as good as corners at the business end of the pitch.
But the player who really stood out was 'battling' Billy Lawrence, an absolutely tremendous all round performance, immense skill at times, wonderful composure and finished off the scoring with a well deserved hat-trick.
Manager Steve Lowe said: "Very well done Billy, and well done to all the players, parents and coaches on a great game, and thank you all for your support and effort throughout this first season."
Leighton Corinthians U10 3
Hanslope Hornets 2
Corinthians finished their season with a win. Corinthians started off strongly with a midfield of Harry Cropper, Ben Sanders, Jack Wears and Tom Adams putting pressure on Hanslope's defence. Up front Harry Reid continued to show his great ball skills and touches.
In defence Chris Tydings cleared up any through balls. The pressure paid off when Sanders dribbled through to score. JP and Sean Hull came on and kept the pressure on and Cropper made it 2-0 following good work from Wears and Sanders. At the other end Ryan Eaton made some fantastic saves including a full stretch one to keep a first half clean sheet.
Second half Hanslope responded and put the pressure on Corinthians. They scored following a lapse in midfield and should have equalised when they were given a penalty, but second half keeper Tydings made a double save. However Hanslope equalised soon afterwards.
Corinthians upped their game and Reid, Hull, Adams and Wears all came close to scoring and Cropper, Sanders, JP and Eaton battled well to stop Hanslope attacks.
Eaton then dribbled the ball into the box and scored his first of the season, which proved to be the winner. Both teams went close to scoring again before the final whistle.
Get well soon Nathan Wilson and hopefully this win will give you a lift. MoM was a tie between Eaton and Wears.
Corinthian Tigers U14 2
Heelands Rangers 3
Following last week's win at Brackley, Tigers were unlucky not to get something from their last game of the season against the league champions.
Both teams went close early on, Heelands hitting the bar with a header and Matthew Ferguson seeing his lob drop agonisingly wide for Tigers. Rhys Richards made the Heelands keeper work from an acute angle while Alex Eaton in the Tigers goal made a couple of excellent saves.
Tigers went one up through Felix Long whose quick feet gave him a shooting opportunity he took with some style, curling the ball beyond the Heelands goalie.
However, an equaliser was not long in coming, an unstoppable volley that Tigers could do nothing about. They also couldn't prevent Heelands taking the lead when the ball broke to a Heelands player in the Tigers' area for 2-1. Back came Tigers and a Billy Pantling free kick found Long for another smart finish and two each at the interval.
Heelands were restricted to a succession of wayward long range efforts in the second half, Tigers defending solidly through MoM Chris Lawford, Thomas Knight and Adrian Nicholson. Tigers nearly won it themselves with a fine counterattack that saw Richard Batten hit a post and Conor Goodger's follow up cleared off the line. Route one secured the points for Heelands, a long goal kick landing in the Tigers' area from which they nabbed the winner.
LEIGHTON TOWN
Woodside Wanderers 3
Leighton Town U10 4
This local derby started at a pace as the Reds wanted to avenge the defeat by Woodside earlier in the season. It was the away side that started the livelier when Mathew Callow forced a save before blasting the Reds into the lead.
It wasn't all one way traffic as Town goalie Owen Cavender was forced to tip a Wanderers shot over the bar, and then the home side got an equaliser.
The pace of Mathew Callow caused Woodside problems and he scored his second after receiving a great pass from Rhys Cullen.
The game flowed back and forth but Woodside pulled another goal back before Anthony Ball hit Town's third. The attacks continued as midfield maestro Luke Mills shot just wide and Rhys Cullen hit the bar just before Alessandro Frantellizzi had a long range effort just off target.
After the break the game settled down with both teams looking to take control but despite some great defensive work by Kieran Read, Woodside got back into the game and scored their third goal.
Substitute Liam Rawlings came close to scoring with a great shot and Connor Rowson came on to bolster the defence, but just as the game looked like ending in a draw a cross found Anthony Ball unmarked at the far post with just the ball to tap in for the winner.
A great game of football by both teams and the whole Leighton team share the MoM award.
LEIGHTON UNITED
Leighton United U10 Girls were crowned winners at the Chiltern Junior 7s end of season tournament.
The girls finished with the silverware at the end of a promising season, which was a fitting end to what has proved to be a great year with the all round levels of skill and teamwork improving with each game.
United started well against Flitwick, running out comfortable 2-0 winners before having to work very hard to overcome Sacred Heart by a single goal in blizzard conditions.To determine the semi-final ties, United had to avoid defeat against Stotfold but went a goal down direct from a corner against the run of play.It proved to be the only goal conceded during the day and United's attacking prowess earned a 1-1 draw and top spot in the pool.
The semi-final pitted United against Sacred Heart once again.Despite huge pressure and several good chances, United could not score and the tie went to extra time.Lizzie Richardson squeezed home two goals in as many minutes to see United into the final, remarkably against Flitwick again.
Flitwick were dominated from the start and United scored twice early on. The defence held firm for another match and United went on to a 2-0 win and a large trophy!
Richardson was top scorer with five, and Rachel Moffat, Jasmine Page and Charlotte Mulford netted one each.Moffat was voted player of the tournament, and fell one short of 40 goals for the season.Another milestone reached was 100 goals scored during the season by the team, who now sadly will not play again together for a while as the age-group rules mean that some players will be moving to the U11 squad next year. But what a fantastic finish for this group!
Leighton United U16B 7
Bushmead U16 0
After recent disappointments, United secured third place with an emphatic win.
After a slow start in their first seven games United went on to win 14, draw four and lose one of their remaining 19 games.
Webb was excellent in goal, keeping six clean sheets in the 11 games he was able to start this season.
Before his injury Holden was outstanding at right back, and contributed well at dead ball situations.
Nichols' season was also marred by injury. However he always gave a quiet but confident performance, using his pace well down the flanks when playing.
Dyer and Lynch were outstanding in the heart of defence, and the team owe a lot to the way these two guys played in important positions.
Perrin and Corbett stood in as keepers for the injured Webb for over half the season and although they didn't manage a clean sheet, it takes big team players to take on this role. A big thanks to these guys for stepping up.
Butler had a slow start to the season on the left, but really came on when filling in for the injured Nichols. As the only left footer he put in some terrific crosses as his confidence grew.
Lafferty always showed a lot of potential, but really came into his own in the last five or six games where he used his pace and crossing ability to good effect.
King used his pace well during the season scoring four goals, and he could have had more. He played well with a smile on his face in a variety of positions, what a nice lad.
Cheshire has always been a good player, he reads the game well, can strike the ball well, and started to assert himself physically as the season wore on. Arguably the most gifted player in the team.
Ratcliffe and Goodyear are exactly the sort of players you need when you are up against it. They are fierce tacklers and give 100 per cent effort, scoring 16 goals between them from midfield and assisting in many more.
Mulvihill arrived late in the season and made an instant impact, scoring one and assisting in another in his first two touches. In 14 games he has scored three times, won at least three MoM awards and featured in end of season nominations for awards.
The strike partnership of Roberts and Minney produced 34 goals between them. Roberts' hold up play, battling up front and finishing was superb. Minney's pace was electrifying and he provided excellent crosses.
A great bunch of lads who produced some brilliant football and should have finished higher. They were undone by some dubious decisions, too many games over a short period, exam study and occasional mistakes.
WOODSIDE
Woodside Rovers U10 2
Woburn Lions Whirlwinds0
The Lions had already beaten Woodside twice this season, netting five goals in each game and so Rovers were desperate to prove that they were better than those previous scorelines implied.
For the first 15 minutes Woburn threw everything at Woodside but keeper Noah Heath was on good form and Sam Cook and Ben Crallan defended their socks off.
It was all Woburn, front man Joseph Raymen was doing plenty of running but wasn't seeing much of the ball. In a tactical switch midway through the half defender Blake Lewis found himself in unfamiliar territory playing on the left wing.
He was everywhere, making tackles in defence and then surging forward supporting the front men. Rovers found the net shortly before half time; Joe Harley flicked the ball to flying winger Owen Claridge who made no mistake with his firm shot.
In the second half Woburn attacked swiftly but saw their shot ping off the crossbar. Rovers scored again after a mazy run by Mason Coleman down the wing. He crossed to Joe who made no mistake from close range.
The last ten minutes needed a huge defensive team effort to keep Woburn out. Winger Luke Williams defended brilliantly heading away countless Woburn corners.
Wolverton Tigermoths Blue U11 7
Woodside Wanderers U11 3
This was a result that flattered the home side as Woodies closed their season in a game played in driving rain throughout.
The home side started brightly but the Woodside defensive unit of Thomas Cooke, Billy Green and Harry Webber repelled the early attacking threats. The away side finally woke up and broke away to score on 10 minutes as Francis Wright slotted home after great work from Tom Worden and Seb Daggett.
Suddenly Woodies were in the ascendancy and further chances fell to Worden and Danny Snowden before Danny White deservedly put Wanderers two up. It was one way traffic now but Woodies somehow allowed Wolverton to pull one back just before half time.
Tigermoths came out for the second half with belief and within minutes of the restart found themselves ahead with two quick goals after Woodside failed to deal with the conditions.
Wolverton went further ahead as Woodies' defensive duties deserted them leaving Joe Stonell helpless in the away goal.
Ed Bond and Thomas Critchlow worked hard to get a foothold in the game and Worden worked tirelessly upfront. White pulled a goal back for Woodside but once again defensive lapses saw Wolverton go further ahead.
A period of prolonged Woodies pressure towards the end almost brought reward as Wright saw his shot well saved by the home keeper but the damage had been done early in the second half.
Woodside Rovers U11 1
Old Stratford 2
Two weeks ago Woodside were convincingly outplayed by this good Stratford side.
However, this time Woodside were equal and at least deserved a point in this enthralling match. Once again the Stratford number 5 dominated the early play and he scored after eight minutes, despite Morgan Bell's man marking attentions.
Woodside with Alex Batty, Harvey Jones and latterly Nathan Winters and Conor Drosihn keenly defended the ever increasing attacks.
Goalkeeper Mark Roberts inspired with a range of saves and catches and Kerry O'Connor, Callum Connew, Stuart Mathews battled against the strong midfield. Prior to half time however tiredness was beginning to show.
At half time assistant coach Jones spoke of an increase in urgency and effort and Woodside duly delivered this within four minutes, when a defence splitting pass from Max Coleman found Peter Ulyett and he restored parity, rounding the keeper and smashing the ball home.
Woodside and Stratford then tore into each other with Coleman and Michael Davies dominating the Woodside attacking plays.
An unstoppable long shot restored the Stratford lead but Woodside responded by dominating the last 15 minutes with multiple near misses for Ulyett and Coleman. Warm applause greeted the players as they left the field.
WING RAIDERS
Wing Raiders U11 7
Bletchley Colts 2
Despite conceding an early goal, Wing showed great character and team spirit to seal an impressive win.
A McSweeney corner was cleared as far as Wiggins who laid it back to McSweeney who found MoM Goode.
Wing pressured and Goode thumped home an outstanding goal.
Bletchley rallied but a great save from M Jones and powerful defending from Giltrow and Allen (captain) maintained Wing's lead.
Wing won a corner, which was well defended, but a second from W Jones was magnificent and curled into the top corner.
Shots came in thick and fast from Wing – first Goode then Barrett were denied before McSweeney hit a screamer.
Bletchley battled and pulled one back, but Raiders dominated and Wiggins blasted home. Half time score was 5-2.
In the second half, Chapman and Giltrow pushed into midfield – they linked up with Goode whose tremendous run ended in a pass to McSweeney.
Giltrow then cleared off the line when M Jones came out bravely but was beaten.
In the dying seconds, W Jones and Chapman combined to set up Goode for his hat trick. Full time 7-2. MoM Goode for a great attacking performance.
EATON BRAY LIONS
EB LIONS U13 GIRLS
After being knocked out in the semi-finals two weeks ago in the Cranfield Colts tournament on penalties the Lions were determined to go one better this week in the Chiltern Junior Sevens tournament – and they did.
After coming second in the group stages the Lions were up against Leighton Utd in the semi-final. After extra time the match was drawn and went to penalties.
This week was different, penalty takers Darcy Ashby, Hattie French, Shannon Byrne, Megan Viljoen, Elsa Kirkwood and in goal Nancy Oliver (who made some great saves) did what was needed to send the Lions into the final.
The opposition was Biggleswade, in a great match, and with defenders Katy Thiel, Eden Scott and Devon Ferguson keeping it tight at the back and Ashby, Hudson and Kirkwood controlling midfield it looked like the Lions were going to get a result.
Strikers French and Viljoen pushed forward to try and score and then against the run of play Biggleswade scored and with only a couple of minutes remaining there wasn't enough time to get one back.
The girls collected their medals and are looking forward to the presentation on Tuesday evening when they will collect another medal for finishing runners up in Division 1.
Team: Oliver, Thiel, Scott, Ashby, French, Viljoen, Hudson, Byrne, Ferguson, Kirkwood.
See eight team photos in this week's youth soccer section of the LBO out on Tuesday.
Also for more photos and an end of season round up, complete with league tables, get your copy of the LBO'S On The Ball supplement in the Tuesday June 23 issue of your sports loving Observer.
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Weather for Leighton Buzzard
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -8 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -5 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North east
