Although it was the last day of April Linslade Galaxy U11 Spartak travelled all the way to Northampton to face Delapre Dragons, knowing that this was the first of a trio of very tricky away matches to conclude the season.

The last couple of matches have been tense affairs with Spartak not quite ticking. In this match, however, the team played superbly and showed off their passing and team play qualities that make them such a formidable opponent. Meanwhile, Delapre in the their orange kit, as bright as the morning sun, are always a tough team to play due to their combination of skill and tough tackling, and so it proved again.

Overall, it was the away side who were the strongest this time around. Early in the first half Spartak had a great team move. The ball was fed to Rosie, who moved past a defender and then showed a deft touch to pass to Luke. Luke's strike into the back of the net was unfortunately ruled out offside. Unperturbed the green and blacks soon attacked again and Delapre had their goalie to thank for a fine double save, firstly saving Jack P's effort as he ran through and then the rebound from Huey. The Delapre GK was soon called into action again as he was forced to make a smart save from a Jack P free kick from 20 yards.

Eventually, all this pressure had to tell and Galaxy scored thanks to a great team goal that led to Jack P feeding Matthew, who then slid the ball into Luke, who drove through and scored.

Delapre had their own moments too, but the Spartak defence were well marshalled by Bobby and ably supported by Elliot, Joseph and Niall. Caelan looked very assured in goal and though rarely troubled was forced to make a couple of neat saves and tidy grabs.

Galaxy's second goal was probably the best headed goal at U11 for many a year! Matthew was busy in the opposition box and flicked the ball to Dylan whose diving header crashed into the back of the net from 12 yards. Brilliant!

The second half saw more chances for Spartak. Dylan shot just wide from 8 yards after a great team build up. Huey's looping header went over the bar from an Oliver cross. Luke's long range effort was magnificently saved by the Delapre keeper. Jack I whipped in a couple of beautiful corners, which just deserved a finish.

Galaxy's third goal summed up this great team performance. 5 or 6 players were involved in the build up and Huey was in the right place at the right time to tap in at the far post.

There was some late pressure from Delapre, but there were no further goals.

Coach Steve was rightly proud of his team at the end of the match. All 13 players played really well. However, Huey's tireless work on the wing, his well-timed runs into the box, and his goal, made him the obvious choice for the Gartec Player of the Match award.