This was the first opportunity I've had to watch the under
17's this season, and I'm glad to say I was very impressed.
After three months of watching the under 19's draw and lose at
the Academy, it was nice to finally see a win.
It finished two nil, but that doesn't tell the story of
this game, as the young reds hit the woodwork three times and
the Crewe keeper pulled off a couple of stunning saves to keep
the score down. The reds defence was particularly strong,
with Zak Whitbread and Andy Nicholas outstanding, although the
other two lads at the back, David Chambers and Andy Wright also
had good games as well.
Crewe rarely threatened, but when they did they were unable
to find a way past impressive goalkeeper Andy Marsh, who caught
every cross and twice saved bravely at the feet of onrushing
strikers. He looked an assured figure and I'm looking
forward to watching him again.
Right from the start the reds took control, with the bustling
Leon Noel and darting Mark Smyth causing the visitors defence
numerous problems. All too often though the final ball
into the box failed to match the quality of the approach play.
One eception to that though came when Mark Peers skinned his
marker down the right wing and set off on a run to the byline.
He whipped over a wonderful ball which was met by the head of
Smyth, who did exceptionally well to climb and control a header
back across the goal, only to see it hit the far post.
Peers should have scored himself a few minutes later when
he played a superb one-two with Leon Noel before shooting wide
from about eight yards out. It was a bad miss, but a wonderful
move. Peers was fairly quiet in this game, but when he
did have the ball you could see the quality he possesses.
He's been sensational in the youth cup games this season, and
should he make it through to the first (which I'd love to see)
he'll become a real crowdpleaser due to his direct style and
close control.
The reds were totally dominant, with the stocky figure of
Ian Dawes - ably assisted by the elegant Darren Potter- running
the midfield. Dawes - known to his colleagues as 'George'
- was snapping into tackles, spraying the ball about effectively
and getting forward to good effect. He's an all action
type of player, and although I'd heard a bit about him this
was my first look at him. I was impressed.
A goal simply had to come, as it was constant pressure on
the Crewe goal. A succession of Peers corners and Andy Nicholas
long throws gave the reds the chance to send Whitbread forward,
and eventually he came up trumps, striking home a low shot after
the ball dropped to him in the box. That was his seventh
of the season, not bad for a centre half!
The goal was the least the reds deserved, and Crewe will
have been mightily relieved to be only one down at half time.
The second half was more of the same, with the reds dominating
possession and playing some fine football. Dawes was proving
to be very influential, and was linking up well with the exciting
Peers. One delightful interchange between the two sent
Dawes racing through the middle, and he was desperately unlucky
to see his powerfully struck shot from twenty five yards hit
the foot of the post.
'George' was fairly prolific from midfield last season,
but the goals seemed to have dried up this time around.
On this evidence it's hard to see why, as he strikes a ball
very well and likes to get forward. Anyway, a short while
later he was forced off the field through injury, and was replaced
by Carl Clampitt.
Whitbread also had to leave the field after being struck
in the face by the ball. He seemed to be suffering from
double vision and was replaced by Chris Butler, which meant
skipper Nicholas switching from left back to the centre.
Nicholas is a dead ringer for Sami Hyypia. He's the same
build, and has the same loping running style. His feet
are bloody massive though, and even puts Steve Nicol to shame!
But despite losing their two most impressive performers
through injury, the reds were untroubled. They were two up by
then anyway, as Smyth, who had seen another effort strike the
woodwork early in the second half, finally got the goal his
performance had merited. He'd been switched to the left
wing following the introduction of Matty Murray for Mark Thomas,
but he picked up the ball from a throw in and ran unchallenged
into the box before emphatically beating the keeper with a high
shot. Earlier, the Crewe keeper had denied Smyth with
a stunning close range save, but this time the young reds striker
would not be denied.
Potter was outstanding in the second half, and showed some
lovely touches on the ball. He looks a good player, and
with the exceptional David Mannix (who along with David Raven
and Stephen Vaughan missed this game due to being with England
under 15's) also vying for a place in the centre of midfield,
the reds are well stocked in this position.
Dave Shannon could even afford the luxury of leaving top
scorer Jason Massie on the bench. The strikers worked
very hard, particularly the tireless Noel. He's not the most
naturally gifted player in the world, and sometimes he holds
on to the ball too long, but his contribution to this game was
valuable. He's a game lad who'll run all day and work
hard for the team, and he was a good foil for the livewire Smyth.
TEAM: Andy Marsh; Andy Wright, David Chambers, Zak
Whitbread (Chris Butler), Andy Nicholas; Mark Peers, Darren
Potter, Ian Dawes (Carl Clampitt) Mark Thomas (Matty Murray);
Mark Smyth, Leon Noel:
