Colton Juniors U-15s 2
Seacroft U-15s 1

Date: Sunday, February 17
Competition: League Cup

On a clear bright sunny day more accustomed to the ski slopes of San Moritz, Colton took to the pitch to take on local rivals Seacroft Colts in the League Cup.

Rob 'the Cat' Hamblett rung the changes as a result of last weeks first defeat, 4 – 3 to Bramley Juniors, in over 5 months. Sam Rudd replaced Adam Hamblett in goal and Sam Parker came in at centre back to partner Dalton Fotherby. Colton kicked off and started strongly with neat inter play between Ryan White and George Walker. The first strike on goal was a tame effort and one which James Green guided wide of the Seacroft keeper's left hand post. Josh Gould then set up a neat attack which James Hazelgrave trying his best but being quelled by the Seacroft defence.

Shortly after the 5 minute mark Colton struck. Once again good midfield work linking Ryan White then James Green left George Walker with quite a lot to do but George finished well with a good strike. 1 – 0 to Colton and the team were buzzing. Seacroft were on the back foot now and conceded a number of free kicks in the first quarter of the match with Josh Gould, Ryan Brogdan and James Hazelgrave all going close.

George Walker and Ryan White continued to run the midfield to good effect and setup James Green to surge down the left wing and cross a ball in for Ryan Brogdan to shoot wide of the Seacroft post. It was n't long before swift interplay between the Colton midfield and attack resulted in the ball finding its way to the Colton right wing where Josh Gould ran on to the ball but he could n't finish.

The defence partnering of Sam Parker and Dalton Fotherby alongside the wing backs of Matt Young and Sam Bateman looked to be secure but Seacroft then began to apply pressure of their own. Sam Rudd, team captain and new goal keeper, came out strongly on a number of occasions to stifle the Seacroft attacks. As the half time whistle approached there was just enough time for a vibrant Colton to try and add a second but it was n't to be and the half finished 1 – 0 to Colton.

The second half saw Adam Hamblett take his usual position in goal with Sam Rudd going to centre half and Lewis Tyas replacing Sam Bateman at left back. Seacroft then come out seeking to reduce the arrears and as the supporters of Seacroft spurred their team on, the midfield pairing of Sam Parker and George Walker nullified their attempts. With the ever industrious Ryan White now up front, and supporting James Hazelgrave, there appeared to be so many options for Colton.

The balls were flying in left right and centre. With Matthew Young, Lewis Tyas and Josh Gould all playing well and supporting the others and successive Colton corners had Seacroft on the back foot. One corner from Josh Gould finding its way to James Green's head where he decided to play cross bar challenge rather than bury it in the back of the net.

With fifteen minutes of the second half having passed it was Adam Hamblett proving he was a confident keeper as he saved a number of times at the feet of Seacroft attackers.

You could sense Seacroft knew they were still in the game and they pushed for an equaliser. With little more than 10 minutes to go it was the exuberance of James Hazelgrave, and the fact he tracked back what appeared to be a lost ball, that lead to Colton increasing the score line. That tracking back lead to George Walker receiving the ball in midfield. George then passed to James Green who then drifted past the Seacroft centre back and planted the ball swiftly past an on rushing keeper. 2 – 0 to Colton with little more than ten minutes to go.

Seacroft did continue to push and scored a goal with 4 minutes to go. Whilst that did cause a few nervy moments in the closing minutes, Colton held on for a deserved victory and the opportunity to progress to the next stage of the League Cup. Good defensive, midfield and attack play had enabled Colton to come away with a hard fought victory.

Next weekend Colton travel to top of the table Chapeltown.

Squad: Adam Hamblett, Sam Bateman, Sam Rudd, Dalton Fotherby, Lewis Tyas, Josh Gould, Ryan White, George Walker, James Green, James Hazelgrave, Harrison Brazier, Matthew Young & Sam Parker.