Looking back at the U14’s last meet with Rottingdean it was a defeat many had wanted to forget. This was due to many reasons, confidence was at a low for the team having lost some players and many were unavailable meaning the boys had to take turns in goal and it didn’t take long for their heads to drop…fast forward to the last run of games they’ve had and Raiders have well and truly turned it around, having some good results under their belts and been putting the work in, they showed up to this game feeling prepared!

The game started off with Rottingdean on the back foot. Raiders have been really coming together as a team, communicating well and it was showing as the play built up and Isaac put away a beautiful volley which put Raiders on the score board first! Raiders mounted numerous attacks which were thwarted by a good Rottingdean defence, who countered but were dealt with quickly by the Raiders who weren’t allowing them to progress close enough to take any real shots on goal. Play continued very much like this throughout the first half with it ending 1-0 to the Raiders. The second half commenced with Raiders making a few substitutions to ensure everyone had a chance to contribute to the game. Rottingdean turned over our centre kick with a run on goal which was snubbed out, they seemed to be fighting back with a couple of breaks, one which saw one of their players take a touch in front of goal to set up his shot which was miraculously saved by our keeper Henry, who had been exceptional as always in goal and commanding the players around him! Raiders started to pick up the pace again and countered relentlessly until they won a succession of corners. Ellis our main man for the corners put a lovely ball in which Rottingdean got to first. It fell back at Ellis’s feet which he promptly put back in and with a well timed and directed header from Jenson, and a lucky deflection, Raiders went 2-0 up! Gameplay was really good from both sides and it was a tense watch at times with some lovely displays of skill, teamwork and creative play! Rottingdean got a lovely shot away which just went over the crossbar but their determination didn’t falter. However, Raiders were a force that could not be matched this game, they didn’t slow in their attempts and were making very few mistakes and not long after their second goal, Albie secured the final one, taking him up to a goal count of 9 this season, which is just incredible seeing that he had never played football before joining the team this year!

MOM went to Kier who held his own on the wing, continuously feeding and supporting the attacking play. You were outstanding!

Every player had a positive impact on the game this weekend and the U14’s are really starting to build momentum in the league, going from bottom of the table to mid with 5 wins under their belt. This is yet another incredible journey for one of our teams! A true testament to the coaching at our club, the character of our players and support network around them.

The game finished 3-0 to Raiders!

Well done boys ?

#goraiders