Dereham and Fakenham area youth football scene

LITCHAM U13 visited Scole in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final. Litcham took a lead into the match but took nothing for granted and were up against a determined and well organised side. Litcham passed the ball confidently and created attacking opportunities and took an early lead. Scole rallied and pushed players into midfield to try and stop Litcham playing. Scole scored a break away goal and a strong run from midfield, through the defence to slot the ball into the corner. Scole pressed again and scored another before half-time. Litcham came out after the break full of energy and running, pressing their opposition into mistakes and created several chances, one of which was a thundering shot from outside the area from Charlie which hit the bar. Felix scored his second of the game for a final score of 2-2 with Litcham winning through to their second consecutive Cup final with an aggregate score of 6-2. Team: Kyle, James, Brad, Brandon, Harry, Ben, Harvey, Nathan, Jake, Charlie, Liam, Felix, Kai.

TOFTWOOD U9 travelled to Drayton, next week’s cup finalists, who did not ease up in their approach to this game. From the start the game was played at a fast pace, with both teams playing good football. The first goal went to Drayton, the turning point of the game occurred as Drayton scored again, the ball handled over the line but the goal was allowed. Toftwood replied when Oliver hit the woodwork but failed to score. The half-time score was 2-0, the second half dominated by Drayton who went onto score another four. A game played in a tense atmosphere but unfortunately ifs, buts and maybes don’t win games. The Toftwood players can hold their heads high because they did not give up and continued to enjoy their game, the players were Purvik in goal, defence Angus and Alfie, midield Nathan, Jamie (captain), up front Oliver, Peter and Charlie with Leon going in goal for the second half. MoM: Jamie for his work rate.

FAKENHAM TOWN U11 travelled to play Mattishall for their final match of the season. Looking to finish off in style Fakenham soon gained controlled of the match and enjoyed a lot of early possession but the small pitch meant the play was too congested and clear cut chances were hard to come by. George flashed a couple of early shots past the post but everything else was dealt with quite comfortably by the home keeper. Fakenham did start to have more joy however when they got the ball into wider areas where Reece and Matthew were waiting to deliver telling crosses. Ben was causing the home side lots of problems with his movement up front and he broke the deadlock when he latched onto Jack’s long pass and finished from a tight angle despite the best efforts of a defender to clear the ball off the line. The lead was soon doubled when a home defender handled in the box and Jack stepped up to score his first goal of the season. At the other end Fakenham’s defence had to be on their toes to deal with the threat of Mattishall’s quick forwards and as has been the case all season they protected their goal with great determination. The second half followed a very similar pattern to the first with the young Ghosts having the lion’s share of possession, this time however they were using the ball much more wisely which in turn lead to an abundance of chances. True to form however Fakenham didn’t convert the simpler chances and the goals they did get were of the highest quality. Firstly Reece scored with a fine left footed shot from wide on the right wing and in doing so confirmed himself as the sides leading scorer. Hot on his heels all season has been Aaron and not to be out done he got himself on the score sheet with a rising drive into the roof of the net. The goal of the day though was saved until last and it came from Charlie who took one touch on the edge of the box before turning and unleashing an excellent shot into the bottom corner. Credit to the Mattishall lads who had battled gamely to the end but it wasn’t enough to prevent Fakenham gaining a victory which was a fitting finale to a fine first season at 11-a-side. Final score 0-5. Team: Jamie, Kai, Rahul, Josh, Jack, Reece, George, Aaron, Matthew, Charlie, Ben, Callum, Daniel and Thomas.

DEREHAM WANDERERS U14 girls hosted Taverham and had a full squad available. Dereham started poorly and it was Taverham who virtually camped in the Dereham half for the first 10 minutes but failed to turn possession into goals. Dereham broke when Robyn showed great determination to get to the ball first to set up a Dereham attack that result in Bea opening the scoring. That seemed to ignite Dereham and five minutes later Bea grabbed a second following a terrific corner by Chelsea, Bea then completed a first half hat-trick on 24 minutes with another smart finish. Dereham were playing some fine football and none better than Chelsea who was flying down the wing and showing great strength and desire. Lanti got goal number four as Dereham cranked up the pressure, Lily got a deserved goal before Lanti grabbed her second and Dereham’s sixth. Chelsea rounded off her player of the match performance with a fine strike to make the final score a resounding 7-0. This was a great team performance.

DEREHAM U15: After dominating the early possession Dereham took the lead when Quirke converted a penalty awarded for a trip on Williams. Dereham continued to pass the ball well, but good discipline from the defenders and a lack of pace in some of Dereham’s movement meant that clear chances were hard to find. With 30 minutes played Mulbarton broke forward and won a corner that was well converted at the near post to make the score 1-1. Before half-time Dereham re-established their lead when Howett and Skipper combined to set up Williams to prod the ball past the keeper after his initial shot came back off the post. Churchyard put Dereham 3-1 after Mason’s shot had been blocked, then within the space of a further 10 minutes Dereham added three more goals. Williams scored his second after good work from Ward and Skipper, Upton headed home a great cross from Ramm and Mason curled a fantastic shot into the top corner from Lake’s lay off. Dereham remained dominant but with the game won some urgency went out of their play. As the final minutes approached Dereham stepped up the pace again and following a weaving run by Howett Williams completed his hat-trick with a super flick from outside the near post then Quirke completed the scoring when he gathered a loose ball, beat a defender and fired high into the net from a narrow angle. Final score: Dereham Town 8, Mulbarton Wanderers 1. MoM: Jason Ward.

DEREHAM TOWN U11 clinched the Norfolk Youth Combination league title with two games in hand after a tough 1-1 draw away at second placed Taverham. Both teams gave everything they had in a physical and somewhat scrappy encounter. The small pitch led to a tight but incident packed first half. Jake made a crucial goal line clearance then Ben made a fantastic penalty save before Dereham opened the scoring when Marcus slotted one in from Mason’s corner. Taverham were quick to respond, a dangerous ball into the box went unchallenged for a simple tap in and 1-1. Taverham then hit one over the bar. Dereham won a succession of corners that were well defended then came close with Harry shooting just wide. The second half was even tighter with neither team creating much up front, both defences were on top form. Derehams best chance came when Harry broke free his shot was well saved falling to Kyle who shot wide. Late in the game Taverham nearly snatched a winner when a great cross was hit just inches over the bar. What a great result and a fantastic achievement and still a cup final to look forward to. MoM: Ben Jarrett.