Letchworth Yellows out of the League Cup (U12)

Youth Football

Letchworth Yellows out of the League Cup (U12)

The Yellow Scribe 05/11/2007, 10:12 AM
Letchworth Yellows v Bishops Stortford Town

A disappointing day for the Yellows, but congratulations to Bishop’s Stortford on a fine display of football. The good news for the Yellows is that they refused to let their heads drop, and in every game they play, I see signs of improvement from all the players.

Both sides deserve credit for their performances today. Bishops Stortford for their fine movement, passing, and possession play, and the yellows for their tenacity, their determination and their never say die attitude.

And I’d like to spare a thought for the Yellows goalkeeper, Sam Luck. It’s not easy being a goalkeeper and it’s not a lot of fun being one when you’re losing. I know he won’t be enjoying his season a great deal, but Sam never gives up, never shirks his duties, and he never blames those around him. He deserves a medal, or maybe a couple of tickets to a Chelsea game for his efforts. I’ll have a word with the team sponsors.

Ollie Priest continued his good form of late and Danny McCarthy again showed us how well he can defend against very good opposition. Ryan Fells, deputizing for the injured Ryan Gillham, did himself proud today. He tackled well and he was never scared of putting his boot through the ball to give the strikers something to chase.

But Bishop’s Stortford deserved their victory today, and they will be one of two teams who I’d predict could win this cup. They played at the kind of speed The Yellows are working hard to match, and they play both the short and the long game with conviction and no small amount of skill.

But Man of the Match for The Yellows has to be Ollie Priest. As coach Terry Morris said to your roving reporter after game “ I thought he was outstanding today, he held up attackers, showed them away from goal and tackled and cleared very well.” Well-done Ollie. There’s a bottle of non-alcoholic bubbly in the post.

But there is one lesson the players must take from today PLAY TO THE REFEREES WHISTLE. IF HE DOESN’T BLOW IT, KEEP PLAYING UNTIL HE DOES. At the same time, simply ignore any players involved in Drogba-esque histrionics. They should be left to their own embarrassment.

The Yellows have endured a very steep learning curve over the past few weeks, and have had to play all the top teams in quick succession. This was, for example, our third game against the same Stortford team who I think are the best footballing side in Royston Crow League.

And just to show what a confusing game football can be, I am reminded of a quote I once read by the footballing genius Paul Gascoigne, who once said “I've had 14 bookings this season, 8 of which were my fault, but 7 of which were disputable”.

So boys, keep working, keep learning, but most of all have fun and keep your sense of humour. As footballers, you’re going to need it.