UNDER 16'S MATCH REPORT

BLUES HELD IN OFF-SHORE MATCH

Our fixture for this weekend took us over to the Isle of Wight for a league match against Brading Town.

A closely contested match saw the points shared in a 1-1 draw. Rustington were put under a good deal of pressure for the first quarter with Gary Peters having to clear a Brading effort from beneath his own crossbar as early as the fifth minute. Both teams seemed to cancel each other out until about 10 minutes before half time when Rustington started to take control and a flowing move down the left saw the ball rolled across the front of the penalty and a shot from Sam Barrett was blocked by a Brading defender who threw his body in front of the shot. On the stroke of half time another quick passing move down the right ended with a low cross into the box and into the path of the on rushing Tom Molnar to score with a low right foot finish.

The second half was very similar to the first with half chances created at either end but being snuffed out by some excellent defending from both teams.

The turning point of the game came on 50 minutes when referee Keith Ruth harshly gave an indirect free kick inside the Rustington penalty area for what he deemed a deliberate back pass. With the entire Rustington team lined up on the goal line Brading took the free kick and Rustington managed to block it and clear the ball away only for the referee to blow his whistle and order a retake due to encroachment by the Rustington defenders. This time they made no mistake and managed to squeeze the ball through the defenders and into the net.

Brading's best chance to score a second came ironically from a Rustington corner when the ball was cleared upfield and they attacked at such pace that they were 3 on 2. As one of the forwards skipped past James Harris he unleashed a tremendous shot towards the top left hand corner of the goal only for keeper Darryl Rebbetts to launch himself at full stretch to his right to push the ball high and wide of the Rustington goal, thus drawing applause not only from the watching spectators but also the Brading team.

With 65 minutes gone some neat one touch passing opened a chance up for Sam Barrett to score but with only the keeper to beat he shot straight at him and allowed the Brading keeper to smother the shot and the defence to clear to safety. With five minutes remaining after a scrappy piece of play in the midfield the ball broke to Adam Plummer who shifted the ball from under his feet and hit a swerving shot that crashed against the bar and away to safety.

All in all a fair result in a very keenly contested match and i am sure we all are looking forward to the reverse fixture.

Special praise has to go to captain Jordan Tribe for what can only be described as a thoroughly outstanding performance in the heart of our defence but overall well done to all who took part in a good entertaining game.