(Many thanks to Peter Hamer for the match report)

Having had their league match called off due to Storm Eunice, Sporting managed to arrange a friendly at short notice against Mursley United U11s.

Mursley play a few divisions higher than Sporting, so this was going to be a tough test for the boys.

The first half was a relatively even affair that saw few clear cut chances for either team, with defenses firmly on top.

For Sporting, it was the George-Michael combination back together in central defence, possibly for the first time since Last Christmas (ask your parents to explain that one kids). Just in front of this was Joshua Goble and then later in the half Lewis as well. This formed a strong defensive unit that largely kept the lively Mursley attack at bay.

Going forward it was tough for Sporting against an equally well marshalled Mursley defence. There were some dangerous counter attacks, in particular from Hayden on the left wing and Ollie Mitchell on the right wing, but the final ball didn’t quite fall Sporting’s way. There were also some nice moments of interplay for Sporting, with Joshua Green dropping off his man and laying off simple balls to link up with the midfield, something that had been worked on in training over recent weeks.

Mursley came out for the second half on the front foot. They generally had the better of the play and created more chances.

However, the Sporting defence continued to put in a sterling effort. Jack Wag, George, Lewis and Michael all put in some great tackles, blocks and clearances. In front of this Will, Ollie Morgan and OJ were battling in midfield. And behind everyone Christopher pulled off a number of smart saves in the Sporting goal.

Unfortunately, this effort couldn’t stop Mursley notching the only goal of the game midway through the half, which they fully deserved for their play.

Sporting pushed to the very end to get a goal of their own. Harry had a couple of driving runs and the team did get into good positions, but just couldn’t quite create that clear opportunity.

Well done to both teams today, conditions weren’t easy in a biting cold wind, but they still put on a really competitive and well matched game.

Sporting should be proud of their performance today, the boys battled all the way through, showing great effort and attitude. This week’s Gartec Player of the match was a joint award. George for his tough tackling in defence and Christopher for his string of saves in the second half. Well done both.

Lastly, big thanks to Darren for running the line, especially tough in today’s freezing conditions, glad you brought your gloves.