On a chilly afternoon, the boys began brightly with an early shot from Dylan. At the other end, Ellis cleared well into the safe hands of Blake. The Risers had the majority of the play with some good through balls from Hayden and great forward passing from Harry and Gideon. Monkton were still fighting and earned a corner which was defended by Ellis. Theo, too was strong in defence, passing well into midfield. Dylan was looking more and more threatening with some brilliant runs on the right wing, troubling Monkton every time. Harry and Dylan worked well to keep the ball in play, crossing to Sam, who scored the opening goal. There was nearly an immediate second after yet another great run from Dylan. Ryan and Ashley worked tirelessly in midfield, getting more and balls through to Fin, who was looking strong up front. Ryan put in a great run down the right, passing to Fin, who shot just wide. The half ended with the Risers dominant and confident.

The second half saw more of the same, until Monkton had a couple of chances, well saved by Blake. Noah went on a skillful run, shooting just wide. The next attack saw Ryan score from a great shot from outside the box. More strong attacking led to a free kick and a great goal from Ellis. It seemed that Fin had added a fourth, but it was called offside. Not to be denied, Fin ensured he was on the score sheet, just moments later, with a confident strike. It was all one way now, with Harry and Noah working hard in midfield and a great pass from Sam to Fin giving Fin his second within minutes. An unfortunate own goal from Monkton added another and we were into the final minutes of the game. Blake had one more save to make before a final corner led to a cool header from Hayden, adding the afternoon’s last goal. An absolutely brilliant team performance from the boys; as Sam said in his post-match talk, ‘that is how you play football!’

Jan