2009/2010 Season - Under 16's

Blackheath Schools' Under 16s 2 Croydon Schools' under 16s 2 (12 December)

A somewhat weakened Croydon Schools' Football Association's Under 16 borough team side earned a hard fought, 2-2 draw in a tough English Schools' FA South East Area league match against a strong Blackheath Schools team. A fast-paced match saw Blackheath nudge in front after a tight opening ten minutes.

After the ball seemingly ran out of play on the right flank, it was crossed into the Croydon box, where a Blackheath striker nodded the ball past helpless Michael Baverstock (Harris Crystal Palace) in the Croydon goal. The goal seemed to stun the Croydon players and Blackheath piled on the pressure. However, Emmanuel Akokhia (Shirley High), expertly played the role of captain and began to dominate the centre of midfield, alongside an equally impressive Daniel Hughes (Harris Crystal Palace).

After twenty minutes, some outstanding play on the wing brought about an Akokhia shot from the edge of the Blackheath penalty and the ball was rifled nestled the corner of the net. Once back on terms at 1-1, the game turned into an end- to-end thriller, where both sides looked capable of creating scoring opportunities every time they went forward.

Hughes was formidable, breaking up the Blackheath attack, and Nathan Hardy (Riddlesdown Collegiate) was having the game of his life in defence. Actual shots on goal by both teams were few and far between, with Blackheath having a few long range efforts, although none really troubled Baverstock.

The latter stages of the first half were quite scrappy, with neither side being able to string many passes together. This was due to the intense pressure being inflicted on both teams. Neither side were given much space in midfield and attack. Both teams strove for a goal which would put them 2-1 up, after the 1-1 interval score.

Blackheath's defence began to show cracks as Andre Thompson (Shirley High) began to apply pressure on the central defenders. However, some clever wing play from Blackheath led to a cross which Joel Grant (Harris Crystal Palace) slid in to intercept. However, as he slid in, the ball rolled under his foot and was pushed to a Blackheath player, who made no mistake, from close range.

At 2-1 down, Croydon pushed even harder for that all elusive equaliser. Immanuel Akiotu (Harris CTC) looked dangerous down the left wing and some slick passing play between Raheem Simms (Harris Crystal Palace) and Akiotu resulted in him being fouled just outside the Blackheath penalty area. Hughes, Akokhia and Jonathan Sentongo (Shirley High) stood over the ball free Akokhia and Sentongo dummying for Hughes to power the ball past a stranded Blackheath goalie.

Both sides had chances to win the game, a few Blackheath shots testing Baverstock. The performance of the captain Akokhia was outstanding, and he deserved to win the game when an attacking run of his was stopped by an excellent challenge from a Blackheath defender.

The game ended with the scores 2-2, which was a fair reflection on the way the game had gone. Croydon remain undefeated at U16 level and march on to their next opponents South London Schools in another ESFA SE league game.

Croydon Squad: Michael Baverstock (Harris City Academy Crystal Palace), Aidan Kennedy (Woodcote), Raheem Simmsand Eden Hobbs (both Harris City Academy Crystal Palace Seb Breggar (Thomas More), Adam Hollidge, Stuart Lee, Matt Wilkinson and Nathan Hardy ( all Riddlesdown Collegiate) Emmanuel Akokhia, Andre Thompson and Jonathan Sentongo (all Shirley High), Emmanuel Akiotu, Joel Grant ,Daniel Hughes (all Harris City Academy Crystal Palace)

Croydon Schools' U16s 4 Redbridge Schools' U16s 4 (aet) (Croydon won 3-1 on penalties)

Croydon Schools' Football Association's Under 16 borough team edged their way through to a memorable victory in a nervy but action-packed exciting, first round London Schools' Hawke Trophy tie against Redbridge Schools' at Croydon Arena last week, winning 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out after the scores were tied 4-4 after extra time.

Dan Buss' (Harris Academy Crystal Palace) was team manager in his first Croydon game in charge. It turned out to be quite an entertaining match, with Several players making their Croydon Schools' debut. Croydon started the match well, writes Raheem Simms, having the greater share of possession. They were rewarded after six minutes with a goal from Daniel Hughes, who placed his shot neatly past the Redbridge keeper. However, five minutes later, a mix-up between goalkeeper, Alexander Salsano and midfielder, Emmanuel Akiotu allowed the Redbridge left back to intercept the Croydon keeper’s throw and power the ball past him into the top corner from 30 yards. Despite this setback, Croydon continued to press and began to make a few clear cut chances. Emmanuel Akokhia hit the crossbar and then saw another effort well saved. Croydon were completely on top and a goal looked likely. The breakthrough came on 32 minutes when a free-kick from Callum Harriet was headed back across goal for Louis John to blast in from close range. At half time, with the score 2-1, Croydon looked odds-on favourites to push on and win the game.

The second half began in a similar fashion to the first, with Croydon pressing and Redbridge being limited to long balls and counter-attacks. Daniel Hughes then scored his second goal of the game, again slotting home after taking advantage of sloppy defending. This goal seemed to spark Redbridge into life and they began to create chances of their own. They then scored what seemed to be a consolation goal after a shot could only be parried by Salsano, and a Redbridge striker finished from a tight angle. The game then became more end to end, with both teams looking to commit players forward. However, with just seconds to spare, Croydon were hit with a devastating counter-attack, which left a Redbridge midfielder one-on-one with Salsano He coolly slotted home and sent the game into extra time. Redbridge now looked the more dominant force and began to est the Croydon defence.

Four minutes into the first half of extra time, a Redbridge forward jinked his way through the Croydon defence and slotted past a helpless Salsano. This kicked Croydon into gear and they continued with the flowing football that they had played in the first half. Their tactics helped Croydon find Callum Harriet on the left flank, who used some clever footwork to skip past a defender and power a low drive into the bottom corner. At 4-4, the game the match ebbed and flowed, with both teams looking as though they could win it every time they attacked. However, the whistle blew for full-time, which meant a tense penalties finish. Croydon players, Andre Thompson, Jeff Kimoto and Daniel Hughes, were all successful from the spot, but, in contrast, Redbridge hit the crossbar with one of their penalties and two heroic saves from Salsano meant a 3-1 win. Croydon had anticipated that this win would put them through to a home tie in the quarter final against Brent. But Brent's withdrawal now means a home semi-final against a borough side to be determined.

Raheem Simms, a 16 year old student at Harris Academy Crystal Palace (his first for the local press)

Under 16s v Redbridge (14/10/09)

Croydon Squad: Alex Salsano, Ryan Nestor, Joel Grant, Emmanuel Akiotu and Daniel Hughes (all Harris Academy, Crystal Palace), Nathan Hardy and Adam Hollidge (both Riddlesdown Collegiate), Harry Osborne and Louis John, (both Oasis Shirley Park), Matthew Drury (St Joseph's), Callum Harriet (St Andrew's), Emmanuel Akokhia, and Andrew Thompson, (Shirley)

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Thursday, 11 March, 2010

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