U9 Vipers
Rotherfield started the game strongly, with early shots from Jack Stevens and Morgan Green just missing the target. The opener came from an Adam Fearnside corner which was parried by the keeper but only as far as Stevens who was perfectly placed to force the ball home from a yard out. Two minutes later, United added a second from a similar set-piece; this time another dangerous Fearnside corner was diverted into the Kestrels net after taking a deflection from an unlucky defender.
Woodley struck back almost straight away with a well struck shot from the edge of the box, putting them right back in the game. Not to be outdone, Rotherfield responded immediately with their best goal of the game; Green collected the ball mid-way inside his own half and threaded a delightful pass between two defenders to Stevens who then ran on and slotted the ball past the advancing keeper with a deft flick. Just before the break, Stevens crossed the ball for Liam Ruiz to make it 4-1 with a composed finish from close-range.
In the second-half, the Kestrels showed good spirit and continued to take the game to United. They added a second goal after ten minutes and a third right at the death, but thanks to some solid defending from Jack Williams, Kalhan Shah and Owen Lowe, they were unable to claw back the deficit from the first period.
The effort award was given to Morgan Green for a typically robust performance augmented with some excellent passing.
Squad
Jack Williams, Daniel Jordan, Liam Ruiz, Owen Lowe, Adam Fearnside, Jack Stevens, Harry Sayer, Jamie Hammant-Cracknell, Kalhan Shah, Morgan Green