U16 Boys in Local Derby Victory

The Henley U16 side came together for a friendly game against local rivals on Sunday and with many of the core Henley team now demonstrating they can hold their own in the club’s men’s sides this was a last chance to show their superiority at youth level over long term rivals.

Henley started strong with the core of Fred Newbold and Tim Herbert clearing up any thing that came through the middle. The team started to use the width very nicely with Nico Cheesman making some great runs down the right wing. He fired a ball into the D which was stopped and converted by Centre Back James Rechner. Fred Newbold then made a great run through the centre of the pitch and finished with a reverse shot into the bottom left. With the Henley side looking strong they began to experiment a bit more, the approach was soon shown to be flawed as they were caught out by an attempt to run from defence which was expertly picked by the Phoenix Centre-Half who bore down on goal and superbly rounded the Henley keeper and found the net. A quick redemption was forthcoming, from the restart a long ball forward found Tim Herbert who’s bouncing shot was saved but fell into the path of Ewan Watkins who finished with a reverse hit in the air from close range. Before half time Henley had one last goal as Newbold converted for his second and Henley's 4th following some really good play down the left by Dino Cheesman. More goals looked inevitable but the Phoenix keeper was on great form and pulled off some excellent saves to keep the score to 4-1 at half time.

Even though they were 3 goals to the good Henley knew they needed to get a couple more goals to combat the sting of the Phoenix counter attack. However the home side didn't start the half well, a Phoenix attack led to a firm shot which Rechner helped on its way past his younger brother David in the Henley goal to bring the score to 4-2. Henley buckled down and some of the younger players in the team started to show their mettle with great contributions from Elliot Fielder up front, Owen Beaumont rock solid in defence, and Charlie Shaw improving by the minute in midfield showing that they are ready and able to step up and be key contributors in the team for the coming years. Henley again started to take control and Shaw executed a great long ball that sliced open the Phoenix defence for Watkins to pick up and convert for his second of the match. Into the last 5 minutes and all the Henley players were looking for another goal and with the clock ticking down it eventually came as Newbold completed his hat trick, by slamming a shot into the top left corner to finish off a remarkable game.

EW