After battling through two previous rounds, Rising Stars u9s found themselves into the last five of the competition at this weekend’s EKYL Festival Finals.  With Risers currently in their first season in the EKYL in division B, perhaps unsurprisingly they were set to face four division A sides in the finals, in the form of Thanet Colts, Deal Town Rangers, Folkestone Invicta, and local rivals Herne Bay Wanderers. Late team news involved the unavailability of new signing Omar due to family reasons (congratulations on tying the knot, Mum and Dad!) but the remaining eight members of the squad reported fit and healthy for the finals.

First up, the derby. Risers had secured a creditable, backs-to-the-wall draw in the last game of the previous round of the tournament against their illustrious rivals to secure their place in these finals, and were anticipating another tough match this time round.  Conditions were challenging for both teams, with a strong wind and a sloping pitch behind Herne Bay.  Some strong early driving runs from Jacob  and Sonny up front created some nervy moments for the Wanderers back line but Risers couldn’t quite turn the possession into clear cut chances. Despite no obvious early warning signs, a long clearance from the Herne Bay keeper caused confusion in the Risers backline and Herne Bay’s striker popped up to take advantage and break the deadlock. Risers battled hard to get back into the game, but Ethan was forced into a couple of smart saves and Theo called upon to sweep up some promising Herne Bay raids.  

In the second match, Risers faced off against regular opponents of the last couple of years in Thanet Colts. Again, Risers started positively with Theo and Charlie exchanging passes with Max and narrowly failing to get in behind down the left flank several times. Against the run of play, and after a breakdown in possession in midfield, the Thanet Colts central midfielder unleashed a thunderbolt into Ethan’s top corner, a shot three keepers wouldn’t have got near to.  Goalmouth action was limited for the remainder of the game with two evenly matched sides largely cancelling each other out, Dylan and Jacob in particular halting several attacks in their tracks.  

For their third match, Risers came up against Folkestone Invicta, in their traditional black and orange stripes. True to their kit, the Invicta attack buzzed around the Riser defence in the early exchanges, looking to pressure mistakes.  The long grass was ill-suited to Risers’ passing game and with passes not reaching their destinations, Ethan had to come out to smartly smother an Invicta breakaway.  Lorenzo was a force of nature up the left flank throughout the game; his tireless running meant he was the subject to some heavy treatment from the Invicta tacklers but he kept his composure well.  Risers ramped up the pressure, with Lorenzo fizzing a low cross through the box and Sonny forcing the keeper into a smart save. From the resulting corner, Theo lofted the ball into a dangerous area only for Max’s shot to edge the wrong side of the upright.  Invicta rallied, hitting the bar with a cross-shot.

With a tough run of fixtures behind them, Risers started the final game against Deal Town Rangers keen to get off the mark with a goal. Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan as they scored with their first shot of the game, a good finish that Ethan could do little about.  Risers fought back, with Charlie going on a weaving run past three players but the Deal Town keeper was out quickly to make the block. Risers upped the tempo further; first, a corner bounced around the Deal Town box and was hacked clear, before Theo rolled his man and surged past two defenders, only for the ball to bounce up awkwardly as he went to shoot.  Max and Charlie combined to force the Deal Keeper into another save and Dylan followed up to tuck the rebound home. But disaster struck as the referee gave a free kick to the Deal Goalkeeper instead. With Risers understandably pushing for the equaliser, they left themselves stretched at the back and Deal broke away to double their advantage. But in the spirit they have shown all season, Risers didn’t let their head down and with almost the last kick of the game, Charlie finished with aplomb to give the team some late cheer.

All in all, a tough day at the office for the Rising Stars u9s but, considering the standard and strength of the opposition, not to mention the challenging playing circumstances, they can feel proud of the tournament journey this season.  One might venture that this won’t be the last good cup run this team goes on!

Andrew