What a beautiful morning to watch a cracking performance by Driffield Dragons, sponsored by Clifton Timber.
Driffield Dragons U12 9
Rockford Rangers U12 2
It was Rockford who got the first attack in with a powerful shot which Mathison calmly palmed away.
Dragons got control.Bielby, Kerry and Ellis linked well pushing the ball forward with Bielby firing a high shot into the top corner.
Dragons continued to dominate with both Dennis and Clifton playing some good balls through, Ellis turning well, controlling the ball pushing forward. The Rockford defence under pressure were a little scrappy resulting in an own goal from a corner.
Although Rockford continued to try and push up they were closed down, Riby, Bielby, Ellis and Clifton tackled hard and with determination, Thornton and Lupton fed some good balls through which Bielby and Kerry got to but were denied as the keeper was on the ball and the posts and bars took some hammer.
Rockford finally got some play and some scrappy play allowed them to score. Flemmings and Docking were straight into the game as Rockford’s goal gave them the boost they needed.
Dragons played some lovely football though and kept control of the ball denying them any further play in the first half.
Dragons started the second half enjoying most of the possession, passing the ball with control and accuracy. It wasn’t long before they scored when Riby fired a long ball to Bielby on the wing, who crossed it to Kerry who slotted the ball past the keeper.
Shortly after the same player scored two more.
Not giving up Rockford had a shot at goal which Mathison cleared, Bielby, Kerry and Ellis pushed up but it was Thornton who crossed a cracking ball to Lupton who slid the ball past the keeper.
Kerry had another good run taking on the defence scoring from close range.
Not giving Rockford chance to dust themselves off Dragons were back on the attack when Thornton lobbed the keeper.
Rockford tried to get into the game but any attempts were closed down by Riby, Lupton and Docking. Flemming and Clifton tackled well in midfield, good support came from Riby as he drove a long ball to Kerry who netted his fifth of the day.
Credit to Rockford they never gave up and a one-on-one with Mathison earned them a penalty which they fired home.
A very well deserved win for a great bunch of lads who are playing some good football, looking, passing and talking.
Just don’t get clever lads as next week is going to be a tough one against North Cave.
Parents’ man of the match: Shaun Kerry. Manager’s man of the match: Adam Ellis, however it was stressed that everyone played an important part in what was a real team effort.
Sproatley u12 2
Driffield Pumas u12 2
Another tricky fixture for Pumas against a Sproatley team used to finishing in the high reaches of the Myton division.
With the game moved to the South Holderness 3g pitch Pumas knew they would have it all to do.
Driffield started well, Peart in attack seemed to have the edge on the Sproatley defenders, well supported by Dixon, Smith and Taylor in midfield.
Good work on the right saw Driffield force an early corner, Smith took it short and following a quick one-two with Peart delivered a sublime cross for Dixon to powerfully head home, great goal and a fantastic start for Pumas.
A few minutes later and this got even better, an early through ball saw Peart sprint clear before delivering an excellent chipped finish, incredibly 2-0 to Driffield in the opening 10 minutes.
However Sproatley were not going to lie down and as Driffield faltered they came right back. Pumas were now struggling to get a hold in midfield putting the defence of Marson, Maddox and Sweeney under real pressure. This led to a Sproatley goal just before half time as Pumas allowed the attacker far too much room, half time 2-1.
Into the second half and it soon became evident that the Driffield defence and keeper Ashton would be worked overtime. Johnson, Mottershead and Warren Lambert all battled manfully to stem the tide but it was no surprise when the equaliser came midway through the half.
Morley replaced the overworked Sweeney at the back and with both Marson and Maddox defending expertly Driffield continued to remain in the game. Ashton’s positioning was excellent as he fielded two direct free kicks with superb handling and was on hand to clear another dangerous attack.
Marson in the middle was winning everything in front of him as Pumas just couldn’t get a foothold in the game.
When Pumas did finally get some momentum with the reintroduction of Smith and Peart they nearly claimed an incredible win when a tremendous strike from Taylor just whistled by the post. Final score 2-2.
A real struggle for Driffield Pumas u12 this week who despite being out of sorts still showed tremendous character and resilience to claim an excellent draw against a Sproatley side who played some excellent football.
Man of the match went to Marson whose defensive fortitude was a major factor in Driffield claiming their first ever point against this opposition.
Driffield Jaguars U11 0
Sproatley Juniors U11 6
Driffield played host to Sproatley, the current unbeaten league leaders.
The visitors started brightly, playing fast attractive football. Oskar Bishop, the home keeper being called on to make a number of important saves. Sproatley continued to mount attack after attack and were unlucky not to score with two good efforts, plus some last ditch defending from the home side.
However, Driffield did manage to break from defence on a couple of occasions, forcing a corner and a shot from Harry Webster.
As the half wore on Sproatley applied further pressure, a well taken corner seeing the visitors go 1- 0 up. Sproatley scored three quick goals predominantly from mistakes in the home defence.
Just before half time the Jaguars were awarded a free kick, Harvey Wilks firing just wide. Half time Driffield 0 Sproatley 4.
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, Oskar Bishop again pulling off four or five good saves. However, Sproatley did manage to add to their tally a well taken effort making it 5-0 to the visitors.
Driffield did have their moments with a couple of good runs from Harry Hudson up front plus some strong defending from Liam Ward, Ben Evans and Harry Webster.
Late in the half Driffield failed to clear their line allowing Sproatley to score their sixth goal.
Driffield battled hard throughout the game against a very skillful and well organised Sproatley side.
However the team must learn to retain the ball more against quality opposition.
Both Aaron Allison and Alex Innes made promising debuts against an excellent Sproatley side.