U9 Jaguars Have A Rollercoaster - 7-5 nail biting win.

The second third saw Dante Luca, Will, Ollie, Joe and Joel come on for a real battle. Joel and Joe played well in defence but Benchill's tackling held off the Jaguars at the other end. Dante and Cameron were everywhere and Will and Ollie were thwarted in trying to get down the wings. Freddie had his best performance of the season, looking very calm and controlled between the posts. No score in the second third.

Then came a spirited comeback by Benchill. Harrison took over from Freddie and Max came on for Cameron. Despite Dante's best efforts to link up with Max the Benchill midfield and defence remained solid. Benchill scored two early goals and got themselves back in the game. It could have gone either way. Max gave the Jaguars a cushion with his fourth goal. Matt came on for Dante, Jack went to left wing for Ollie who had never stopped running and Connor replaced Joe who had a solid performance at left back. Benchill kept up the pressure and scored their fourth goal to make it 6-4. Jack got pushed back into defence and stopped another ball going into the net but this time it came off his arm. Penalty to Benchill. A good strike reduced the lead to 6-5. With five minutes to go it looked like Benchill could win the game. Matt was sacrificed up front and Dante came back on to take control of the midfield. Jack was sent to his usual left back position and Max was left alone up front. With no time left, Connor, in a Paul Scholes performance, finished off Benchill with the Jaguars seventh goal.

This was a proper game of football which taught the managers many lessons. The Jaguars stuck together with great team spirit, and everyone worked hard. Matt deserves special credit for coming off without complaint in the closing minutes only briefly after coming on. This in no way reflected his fantastic contribution to the game and was a purely defensive decision. Benchill were the best side the Jaguars have faced. 7-5 is a great result for our team who remain unbeaten in the league. Well done boys. The managers are very proud of you.

Bronze award- Freddie Wallace

Silver award- Jack Hayhurst