U9s Warriors - Fortress Coxley

At fortress Coxley, the Warriors took an early lead against a much-improved Bruton side, with a lovely one-two between Isaac and Ethan opening up the Bruton defence to allow a great goal to the bottom left by Isaac.
Excellent saves by Alfie, combined with Warriors getting stuck in to tackling and throwing bodies in the way of shots, kept the well-organised Bruton team from scoring in the first quarter. Some well-timed tackles from Eddie, and some very good passing, particularly from Ethan and Freddie to put Isaac through on a few occasions, were notable in the first quarter.
The second quarter saw some early pressure from the Warriors, often starting from defence with Eddie up the right, but the quarter was dominated by a resurgent Bruton pressurising the Warriors' area. A commanding performance by Alfie in goal produced some fine moments, including an excellent unsighted late save just inside his right post, and a head-height reaction save from the other wing. This allowed the Warriors to soak up the Bruton pressure and finish the half with a clean sheet.
After a good headed attempt at goal from Ethan early in the third quarter, Bruton broke quickly up the pitch to equalise and leave spectators worried that the visitors would go on to take the lead. However, the Warriors fought back, with an Isaac free kick dropping to Freddie in the box who struck it first time into the bottom right corner.
The Warriors quickly extended their lead with a good cross whipped in from the right by Isaac to Freddie, who with the keeper close hit it first time into the bottom left. The Warriors then dominated with a good long range shot from Sonny, and Freddie attempting to volley a goalkeeper clearance effectively passing it to Ethan, who shot from the edge of the box to the right side, beating the keeper comfortably - 4-1.
A fairly even fourth quarter saw Bruton take advantage of the energy from their extra subs on a drizzly day on soft ground, and also got some of the breaks their way. The Warriors perhaps lost concentration a bit, and saw Bruton come back into the match to reduce the home lead to one goal. But after conceding the last Bruton goal the Warriors sharpened up a bit to see it through to the end and take the win.
For an accurate story of the ebb and flow of the Warriors-Bruton match, just see the Liverpool-Man City match from last weekend, which had an identical timeline of scores and match domination (if not quite identical goals).

Goals: Freddie (2), Isaac, Ethan
Martin's man of the match: A two-horse race between Alfie and Freddie, saw Freddie taking the man of the match for his effort and control, and 2 goals. Alfie was commanding in goal, making some excellent saves, which particularly in the second quarter kept the Warriors in the match.