Rippingale & Folkingham Vs U13 Deeping Clarets, Kick off 14:00, Walcott Street

Team Sheet: Nat Manders Jones, Callum Cawthorn, Ewan McCracken, Sam Bell, Dan Malcolmson, James Russell, Owen Jacob, Matt Holland. Joe Goldsmith Subs: George Cushen, Isaac Fleming.

Result: Rippingale & Folkingham 4 – 7 Deeping Clarets

This was not a game for the faint hearted.

The Clarets were welcomed by Rippingale & Folkingham to Walcot Lane. Both teams had met in previous years with the Clarets arriving undefeated on past exchanges.

The two teams lined up on what was difficult weather conditions with blustery winds playing havoc with passes. This did not deter the determination of the Clarets who played against the wind in the first half, whose objective was to maintain their current performance.

Rippingale & Folkingham (R&F) kicked off the game, it was during the early exchanges that R&F lost possession and the Clarets has two consecutive throws down the left touchline, it was from the second throw the ball reached Ewan McCracken who forced his way through the R&F defence, he lined up a shot at goal, the ball passing the R&F keeper to land at the back of the net, 0-1 Clarets on 57 seconds.

Nobody expected what was to come, and the conditions and slope on the pitch played its part in what followed. R&F restarted the game, heads up and prepared to give the Clarets a challenge they were no expecting, 2mins into the game, the Clarets defence opened up to allow R&F a shot on goal, they equalised, 1-1.

The Clarets restarted the game for the third time just short of the 3 minute mark, from the centre the ball was received by Dan Malcolmson, who saw Ewan McCracken making headway through the centre towards the R&F defence. Dan made a pinpoint pass to land in front of Ewan, who without breaking stride struck the ball towards goal, the ball flew past the R&F keeper,
goal, 1-2 Clarets.

As the game progressed there were a number of exchanges between the teams, but the Clarets started to get into their stride, and Nat Manders Jones making an impressive save to keep the Clarets in the lead.

18 minutes in the Clarets on the attack and Sam Bell let off a rasping shot off, only for the R&F keeper to pull off what was a fantastic save to stop his team drifting further behind. It was on 21 minutes though and completely against the run of play that R&F found themselves in the Clarets half and let off an opportune shot which somehow found itself inside the Clarets net, score now 2-2.

After the restart, the Clarets were awarded a throwing which Matt Holland quickly took and found James Russell who cut in from the right and launched the ball towards goal, in fact, it was a goal, Clarets 2-3. It didn’t stop there, on the stroke of half time, R&F broke down the Clarets left beating Joe Goldsmith, Callum Cawthorn although trying to block the shot couldn’t, the ball through a melee of legs found the back of the Clarets net. 3-3. The referee blew for half-time.

The Clarets made the following changes, Isaac Fleming for Joe Goldsmith Isaac Fleming, Right Back, moving Matt Holland to Left Back, and a straight swap up front George Cushen for Owen Jacobs.

The Clarets found it difficult to impose their game on R&F and for the majority of the game, R&F frustrated the Clarets. It was in the 39th minute Dan Malcolmson receiving the ball from a throw in saw Ewan McCracken making headway towards goal, the pass split the R&F defence and Ewan lined up ready to fire off another shot towards goal; Ewan managed to release the shot under challenge which hit the inside netting, Ewan’s hat-trick and the Clarets 3-4 up.

The goals didn’t stop there, on 41 minutes into the game R&F found another opportunity to break through the Clarets defence to get a shot off, on target, goal, and score now poised at 4-4.

During the game the Clarets through George Cushen saw two goals disallowed which would have changed the course of the game. The Clarets kept pushing in the belief that the game was there for the taking. It was on 62mins that the Clarets persistence paid off, Dan Malcolmson again linking with Ewan McCracken who had an eye on goal wasted no time in lashing the ball goal bound, leaving the R&F keeper with no chance, Ewan scoring his 4th of the game and the Clarets go 4-5 up.

The Clarets now in complete control wasted no time getting onto another offensive move, trying to break down the R&F defence. It was George Cushen who had previously had two goals disallowed, on the 68th minute managing to get in between defenders to get a shot away, goal, Clarets up 4-6.

As the end of the game approached The Clarets sensing the win, continued their attack, pinning R&F into their own half, James Russell let rip a rasping shot which the R&F keeper could only push out, the ball landing at the head of George Cushen who was first to react, who headed the ball over the R&F Keeper and into the net, Clarets up 4-7.

As the game restarted it was the referee who ended the match, The Clarets maintain their unbeaten run and secure 12 points from 4 games.

Man of the Match: Nat Manders Jones