Under 15 Wanderers Match Reports

Torridgeside 0 v 7 Braunton Wanderers – 25/03/2012 – League
A month since the last game, we seemed a bit rusty at the start. The passing was not quite right but we were working hard off the ball. No more so than Max who broke up the Torridgeside attack and drove through the heart of their defence. Pass the last defender and chipped it over the advancing keeper. We got the second from a cross from Jack and James was on hand to turn the ball in. Max was proving difficult for the defence and it was he who added the third with a clinical finish after out powering the defender. Half time and we were three up which was harsh on Torridgeside who played the better football. The second half we seemed to come out in a better frame of mind, the football and passing was a lot better. Max completed his hat-trick with a cheeky chip that left the keeper stranded. The fifth was the best goal of the day, James with a low cross from the right and Terry flicked the ball from an acute angle into the far corner. Raith capped a good performance with a 25 yard pile driver that gave the keeper no chance and Tyler completed the scoring with a speculative shot that deceived the keeper.
Man of the Match – :Charlie Denham – Defended by standing on his feet and just taking the ball when it was there to be won.

Braunton Wanderers 4 v 0 Kilkhampton – 26/02/2012 – League

A game in which the opponents only had 10 men, which would lead you to be believe that it should be one sided but that is never the case in these circumstances. We made all the first half pressure but Kilkhampton still looked dangerous on the break. It took us 35 minutes to break a stubborn defence down, Cross from Tyler and Max was on hand to stoop low and flick it pass the keeper. This was added to two minutes later with Max converting a cross with a firm header into the top left hand corner. The second half saw some firm tackles go in and Kilkhampton pushing to get back in the game. Owen received the ball on the right and produced a low hard cross which beat the keeper and saw Jack pounce at the back to make it three. The game was capped with a powerful run through the center by Max and a driven shot that gave him his hat-trick.

Man of the Match – : Max Goodwin – Hat-trick and an energetic performance which made our extra man tell.

Bideford Blues 3 v 4 Braunton Wanderers  - 19/02/2012 – League

A visit to a Bideford side that was unbeaten in the league was not what we wanted off the back of a narrow defeat to Barnstaple. A change of formation which took us a while to get used to, defending high and having to make last ditch tackles at times. Charlie also pulled off a good save to keep the scores level midway through the first half. Then despite the pressure when we broke it was with pace and with quality. A quick interchange in midfield between Raith and Max saw a ball through the heart of the defence with Ben latching onto it and beating the keeper to the ball and chipping it into the net. This settled us and we were more in the game and with a free kick just in the Bideford half, Max swung it in and James deathly run and glancing header gave a two goal lead. This could have been three but the crossbar denied Ben. The second half saw Bideford push forward again with purpose and got one back early. But just as we thought we were going to collapse Ben chased a through ball from Brandon and outpaced and muscled the defender and slipped it past the keeper. The lead was extended further and Ben got his hat-trick when he latched onto a back pass and then chipped the keeper with style. Bideford had to come forward and they did in numbers. With 15 to go they got one back and we looked like we needed the final whistle to come sooner rather than later. With ten to go we conceded a penalty, but Charlie made a good save to his left, also making a brave save from the rebound. With two minutes to go we gave Bideford a helping hand with an own goal. We saw the rest of the game out to record a hard fought victory.

Man of the Match – : Ben Aiken –   A hard one to call and special mention should be given to Charlie Bennett for some excellent saves, all the back three for their defending and last gasps blocks. But for a hat trick from few chances and his work rate was none stop, cool classy finishing Ben just gets the Man of the Match.

Braunton Wanderers 1 v 3 Barnstaple Youth – 29/01/2012 – League

Historically always a close game and this proved no different. Neither side dominated the early exchanges though we probably had the clearer chances with one confident penalty shout turned down. But Barnstaple took the lead when we allowed to much space on the left of the pitch. We equalized with a well worked goal, Terry getting to the bye-line and crossing deep for Ben to force the ball over the line. With time almost out of the first half we conceded a soft goal which allowed Barnstaple the luxury of a lead at half time. Second half was tight with Charlie making a couple of good saves but as we pressed for what would have been a deserved equalizer we were caught on the break. A disappointing result however a very good performance.

Man of the Match – : William Bennett –  A fast and strong attacker to mark and William was equal to it.

Braunton Wanderers 5 v 2 Bideford Youth – 15/01/2012 – League

First game of 2012 saw us play a Bideford AFC side who have been getting some good results in the league and who we drew against at the start of the season. Windy Lobb would mean the team who played the wind best would win the game. First half we had the wind and we had a lot of the ball, with chances falling to us from either Charlie’s long goal kicks or neat little through balls which dissected the oppositions defence. The breakthrough came from a ball over the top and Max out running the defence and with a cool head to chip the ball over the advancing keeper. Our lead was doubled when Ben got the ball in the left hand side of the box. A step inside the defender then a precise finish pass the advancing keeper. Bideford struck back on the break with a clinical finish. We needed a cushion of an extra goal before kicking into the wind and it came from a beautifully flighted free kick from Tyler and Max was on hand to head backwards into the net. Second half and substitutes on we looked to play football on the ground and this proved to be the best way in the wind. We looked better the second half playing some precise passes to get down the right and a cross from Ben found a Bideford hand. The resulting penalty was coolly put the opposite side to the keepers despairing dive by Terry. Our dominance was shown when Max ran three quarters of the pitch out pacing three defenders to then skillfully round the keeper and tap it over the line. With the last kick of the game we conceded which brought Bideford some reward for their effort.

Man of the Match – :Charlie Denham –      Strong performance at the back, did not miss a tackle.

Braunton Wanderers 6 v 0 Bradworthy – 18/12/2011 – League

A return match against Bradworthy and with the first game being tight we were expecting the same. Kicking against the wind we had to play the ball on the floor and use our speed. This we did to great effect, we were ahead within 15 minutes a ball down the left and a cross from James saw Ben arrive on the back post to make it 1-0. The second was a goal to admire, Tyler received the ball midway in the opponents half, drop of the shoulder and away from two players. Twenty five yards out a curling shot that gave the keeper no chance. The third saw Ben get his second, a save by the keeper from a Max Goodwin shot and Ben was on hand to make it 3-0 at half time. The second half with the wind against our backs was all one way traffic. Ben quickly got his hat trick with a shot from an acute angle. Brandon scored a clean volley at the far post after Owen had done some good work down the left. Max claimed the sixth with a powerful run that split the Bradworthy defence open. In truth the score could have been greater with Charlie hitting the bar  and some excellent saves by the opposition keeper.

Man of the Match – : Ben Aiken –  Poacher in the box, reacted well and finished his chances with clinical accuracy.

Braunton Wanderers 4 v 3 Holsworthy – 27/11/2011 – League

A home game, high winds blowing straight down the pitch. We kicked against the wind first half and needed to keep the ball on the floor. We did really well for the first 25 minutes, keeping Holsworthy away from goal and only allowing them half chances. We took the lead from a corner, Raith drilled it low towards the near post, Brandon with quick movement arrived just before the near post to flick the ball home. We seemed to sit back at this point maybe considering we had done enough to win a difficult half. But as we got deep, Holsworthy pressed and scored three quick goals as the wind seemed to spur them on. This all happened after William had to go off with a bloody nose, we just did not reorganize quickly enough. Second half saw a quick response, Raith receiving the ball which he slid into Ben’s path and the finish was precise and clinical. Five minutes gone in the second half and we were level and this was all about the strike. Ben received the ball at the right hand edge of the box and with minimal back lift he curled an unstoppable shot in to the far left corner. With so much time left you would of expected more goals to be chalked up but we had to wait until two minutes from time to see a corner from Raith forced home by the ever dangerous Max on the goal line. A tight game, that we probably just played the wind better than our opponents.

Man of the Match – : Ben Loftus –      An excellent display at the back against a strong striker.

Staddiscombe 3 v 2 Braunton Wanderers  - 20/11/2011 – County Cup (AET)

County Cup game at Plymouth yet again. This time the journey seemed to affect us, we started slowly and fell behind barely 5 minutes into the game. We had to battle to stay in the game and on a rare break Max powered his way forward and chipped the keeper to level the score at half time. The second half was much better from us with Max going close and Terry just shooting wide. This time it was our turn to get caught on the break, despite two last ditch tackles the ball rolled to a Staddiscombe striker to put them 2-1 up. This is how it stayed until the final minute, Terry took a corner and Max headed home from 2 yards. Extra time which was always going to be tight with few chances. Staddiscombe took the chance we gave them to make it 3-2, the chance we had we had a clear penalty ruled out. That’s football I guess. Our Plymouth cup games come to an end for this year anyway.

Man of the Match –  : Charlie Bennett – Showed some sound and confident handling.

Braunton Wanderers 2 v 1 Morwenstow – 06/11/2011 – League

It seems a long time since we last played at home, but today we played host to Morwenstow. A strange game with both teams playing the ball forward and missing the midfield out and it was all very quiet. We took the lead in the first half, Owen made a decisive run down the left, flicked the ball up and James headed home from 4 yards. The rest of the half was very much played in the air. Just half chances for both sides but neither team really looked like scoring. The second half was very much the same, we conceded when over committing players forward and just got over run and were unable to stop the centre midfielder from scoring. Time running out it was from a corner that Morwenstow could not clear and Raith swung the ball back in and Max headed home from two yards. A win and we are thankful for the three points.

Man of the Match – : Charlie Denham – Battled hard and made some telling tackles.

Kilkhampton 5 v 1 Braunton Wanderers  - 30/10/2011 – League

The joy of going to Kilkhampton twice in a season is not any ones idea of fun. My starting line up was disrupted when James could not play so after a quick rethink we kicked off. We started well and were very much in the game. Our front three were causing Kilkhampton all sorts of problems and we were unlucky not to be up by a couple before we were hit on the counter and found ourselves behind. This did not last long with a surging run from Max who slid it past the keeper. We then fell behind again through an unfortunate goal which squirmed in the net, almost in slow motion. Just before half time Max was clean through when a player brought him down. Penalty and what should have been a red card, but you don’t get those sort of things away from home in this league. Max was unlucky to see his penalty saved by the keeper. The second half was even but as we pressed in the last ten minutes we conceded 3 goals.

Man of the Match – : Oliver Bennett – Swept well and made some key challenges.

Activate 1 v 10 Braunton Wanderers  - 16/10/2011 – County Cup

First game in the County Cup saw us travel to Plymouth to play Activate. On a small pitch we set about our business quickly and we soon took the leader when James was pushed in the penalty area and Terry dispatched the penalty. We were then pegged back against the run of play with a well taken goal, by the Activate striker with a glancing header. Charlie then pulled off two great saves as we wobbled a bit under the pressure. Then Max stormed forward to get clear of the defense and produced a delicate chip to beat the advancing keeper. We increased the margin within a couple of minutes, Max with a driving run and a square pass to James who fired past the keeper. We were on a roll and from a Terry corner Max arrived to place his header into the top corner. Just before half time we put the game beyond doubt, Oliver placed the ball down for a free-kick. A curling free-kick which went up over the wall, bounced beyond the despairing dive of the Activate keeper. The second half saw us take our foot off the gas, we added to our lead from a Max shot which hit the crossbar and Ben was on hand to make it 6-1. We conceded midway through the half but eased through to the next round.

Man of the Match – : Charlie Bennett: A couple of key saves at important parts of the game.

South Molton 1 v 10 Braunton Wanderers  - 09/10/2011 – League

Unable to provide a report as I was not at the game.

Man of the Match – : Terry Robertson: An excellent overall performance.

Braunton Wanderers 5 v 2 Braunton FC – 02/10/2011 – League

After the disappointment of last week we had another tough game against Braunton FC. We needed early goals to settle us and our two strikers supplied them. The first from a deep cross by Terry and a brave header by James at the back post gave us a deserved lead. We were proving too powerful and from another whipped in ball Terry leapt above all the defenders to make it 2. We could of built on it all but the cross bar stopping Max getting a goal. The heat was telling but we came out the second half strong and a powerful run and slick finish gave us a 3 goal lead. That was queue for us to take our foot off the gas as we did FC enjoyed more of the possession. We were caught on our heels and before we knew it we were back to 3-2 and looking nervous. With 20 to go Terry’s powerful run split the defence and he rolled the ball past the advancing keeper. The game was put beyond doubt with a clinical finish from Daniel through a crowd of players 12 yards out.

Man of the Match – : Daniel Brice: An uncomplicated game, worked hard for the team and was effective when going forward.

Kilkhampton 8 v 2 Braunton Wanderers – 25/09/2011 – Cup

A cup game we wish to forget, the first half we did not turn up and I hold my hands up to say I made the mistake with placing players in certain positions. 8 down at half time we were always struggling to progress. But with goals in the second half from James and Brandon we managed to get the moral victory of winning the second half.

Man of the Match – : Ben Loftus: Came off the bench and showed determination and got his tackles in cleanly

Bradworthy 3 v 5 Braunton Wanderers – 18/09/2011 – League

A trip to sunny Bradworthy in gale force conditions and only eleven men. We started by conceding early against the wind, ball from their keeper went straight to a striker who finished beneath Charlie. We had a clear shout for a penalty for a handball which was waved away by the referee and this was then made worse when we conceded a free kick when it was hard to know why it was given. The ball was swung in and skipped off the ground and straight into our net. We then conceded a penalty when our player was fouled and as he was stretching from falling was adjudged to have tripped the attacker. Free-kick at worse as it was outside the box was given as a penalty. Three down at half time we needed to get on the score sheet quickly and from the kick off Terry drove forward and chipped the ball over the keeper. Within a minute we were right back in it with a cross from Terry and a head at the back post from James which looped into the far post.  Ten gone in the second half and we were level a swinging cross by the influential Terry and Ben on hand to turn the ball in. Plenty of time left but we needed to be patient and with ten to go a swinging corner from Terry was helped in by a defender. The comeback was complete when Ben rounded a flowing move with a smart finish.

Man of the Match – : Terry Robertson: We needed a player to ignite us and Terry’s driving runs was the key factor.

Braunton Wanderers 3 v 0 SAS Colts – 11/09/2011 – League