Report

The last match of a long but rewarding season saw the Barnton pitch in near perfect condition for the visit of Congleton.
Congleton are a very good side who've put together an excellent run of results recently so we knew we'd have our hands full, and that's exactly as it transpired....

The first few minutes were typically cagey as both sides tested each other out, but before long we started looking a bit more dangerous, and Aaron L showed great strength to hold off his defender and get his shot away only to see it drift just wide of the far post. We took the lead soon after - a short corner on the right between Paul and Rio led to Paul's deep cross to the far post where Adam showed real determination to win the header, and then he still needed to have his wits about him to score from the rebound after the defender blocked his header. At the other end we were defending superbly to keep the dangerous Congleton strikers quiet, but then our good work was undone by a slightly fortuitous cross-shot from a tight angle following a throw-in which somehow managed to trickle in to the far corner of Ed's goal!
So one-all at half time, and we asked the lads to try and raise it a notch in the 2nd half. They responded magnificently, dominating the possession and the territory, and it was no surprise when we took the lead. And what a goal it was, a Rio thunderbolt from just outside the box. The Congleton keeper made a wonderful effort to reach Rio's shot - he was horizontal as the ball went past his fingers - but such was the accuracy and the power of Rio's shot the keeper's effort was in vain.
We've been on the receiving end of a few last minute twists recently, and it looked like there was going to be another one today, when Congleon equalised directly from a free-kick with just a few minutes remaining. But cometh the hour cometh the man - in the last couple of minutes Aaron W fed a great ball down the line to Rio. Rio went past his man and pulled the ball back from the byline. At first it seemed he'd pulled it back too far, past our onrushing strikers, but as the ball reached the edge of the box up stepped Callum and cool as  a cucumber passed the ball into the bottom corner to win us the game! Well done Cal - what a goal and what a fantastic way to finish a season!

Overall, both teams should be proud of their efforts - this was an excellent game, with both sides looking to pass the ball and play enterprising, attacking football.

Man Of The Match

Today was one of those nice occasions when every single player made an important contribution :
Ed - great handling and kicking, and showed great attitude : everyone makes mistakes, it's how you deal with them that matters
Michael - back to his best today, barely missed a tackle - and wasn't his heading great?
Sean - a strong performance, showed great pace and bite in the tackle
Gabi - a cultured display from Gabi, looked unflappable and continues to grow in to the sweeper role
Aaron W - has been one of our most consistent performers all season, and had another great game today
Callum - topped a fine performance with a wonderful, Scholes-like goal : brilliant!
Adam - a solid performance across the midfield, including a well-deserved goal which got us up and running today
Hayden - got in some great positions out wide, especially in the 1st half, unlucky not to win a penalty from one
Matt - it's not easy coming on as sub, but once Matt had got into his stride he played well, I especially liked his passing
Cian - some nice touches whilst in midfield in the 1st half, and looked lively up front in the 2nd
Rio - another storming performance, Rio was involved in all 3 of our goals today, including scoring a belter from outside the box
Will - once again pleased me because he made a difference when he came on, always looking to play pass and move
Paul - some fantastic hold up play and movement up front
Aaron L - led the line well, unlucky not to score with his shot in the 1st half

All things considered, the MOTM award this week goes to .....Aaron W. Aaron wants to play further up the pitch, which we're going to give a try next season, but he's played full back without complaint and done a fantastic job of it. Today was one of a string of great performances, so very well done Aaron : great job!

Champagne Moment
Well, there is only one contender here, our Last goal of the match, from start to finish was beautiful to watch..
this move started from the back where Ed rolled the ball to Will, who passed it to Adam, who found Rio with a progressive pass down the wing, Rio Skipped pass one or two defenders, then cut a low ball across the box, just a perfect weight for Callum to run onto it and passed it into the Congleton Net. Brilliant, What's pleasing was that the boys did not start to lump the ball into the air because we were under pressure at 2-2...
Well done Boys!!


So today's result means we've finished at least 3rd in Divison One, and we could finish 2nd if Egerton fail to beat Congleton on Monday night.
All in all, a wonderful 1st season of 11-a-side, I hope you've all enjoyed it as much as I have

Well done to all the players for their efforts today, and indeed over the course of the season,
John.

N.B we finished 3rd in the League as Egerton defeated Congleton on Monday night 2-0