On a bright sunny Sunday afternoon, the U13 Risers Blue team tackled a strong and physical Margate team.

Divided into 4 quarters due to the heat of the late summer sun, the first 15 minutes was a tight affair where both teams started to settle and test the opposition.

As always Ruby was a commanding presence in goal and made some good saves as Margate’s No. 14 started to prove problematic.

The second quarter saw Margate strike first and add two more in quick succession.

They could have had more if the tight central defensive partnership of Kai and Lari hadn’t worked so hard to try and keep Margate’s No. 14 on some kind of leash.

After the half time oranges, Ruby switched to defence and Sunee took over the gloves.

The Risers kept their heads up and came out strong, with Ruby and Polly linking up well down the right. Despite the brighter signs of a fightback and against the run of play, Margate scored two more – one a flukey header at the back post that the scorer didn’t even know about.

At this point, 5-0 down, most teams would drop and lose confidence – but not our brave U13 Risers!

A final tactical switch was made in the final quarter, with Aaliyah moving in between the sticks after some of her typical pacey runs down the left wing.

Something finally clicked for our yellow shirts, and pressing hard, they started to push Margate back.

Sunee took the ball on the turn, sprinted past the Margate backline and – sensing their keeper was out of position – struck from outside the box burying the ball in the top right hand corner. 5-1.

Tails up, the Risers continued to press, and after another overzealous Margate tackle on Amelia, the ref finally decided enough was enough and awarded Risers a penalty.

Sunee stepped up, hit the ball with pace, making it 5-2.

Just moments later, Polly capped off a great performance with a swivel volley struck at close range, and it was 5-3.

More chances followed and one thing was clear: at the final whistle, Risers were the dominant team, and Margate seemed happy that time was up.

Well played Risers!

Photo: Ruby was opponents’ player of the match, Sunee was coaches’ player of the match.

Keith