Rhodes storm past Kestrels

Dunmow Rhodes U-8 12 Notley Youth Kestrels 0

Dunmow Rhodes were in impressive form at the weekend, putting 12 goals past Notley Youth Kestrels.

Rhodes got off to a brilliant start with Sammy Williamson netting a hat-trick within minutes of the kick-off.

Through pure team work and skill subsequent hat-tricks soon followed from Alexander Scott-Bell, which included a stunning free-kick and from Louie Wise.

Three other goals came from Brandon Frost, Michael Braithewaite's spot on penalty, and a late finish from Philip Brown.

James Maddock and Kurt Field showed tremendous work rate throughout the match.

Beacon Hill Rovers U-9 0 Dunmow Rhodes Lions 8

Dunmow Rhodes Lions came away with a comfortable 8-0 victory against Beacon Hill.

They opened their account in the seventh minute, Turner doing well to lay the ball into the path of Gallop to slot home.

In the 19th minute Carey's corner found Wise on the edge of the area and he drove the ball into the back of the net.

More goals followed in quick succession. Thompson tapped home from close range and then Carey hit a thunderous shot into the roof of the net. A minute later, his shot was parried by the keeper and Wise was first to react to stab home.

With Johnson in goal only called upon once, saving at the attackers feet, Dunmow went in at half-time with a 5-0 lead.

In the second half the home side came close, firing over the bar, but Dunmow's defence kept them out.

It took until the 45th minute before Rhodes added to their tally, a well driven shot from the edge of the area by Thompson.

A minute later Carey claimed his second when another superbly driven shot from distance found the top corner.

In the dying moments Gallop battled her way down the wing and crossed for Gunn to slot home his first goal for his new side.

Heybridge Youth Lions U-9 1 Dunmow Rhodes Tigers 4

THE Tigers returned to form with a good victory away at Heybridge on Sunday.

The first half saw Murphy open the scoring following sustained pressure by the Tigers.

A cool finish by Kathryn Stanley made it two before half-time.

Heybridge scored after the break, however it was Rhodes who went on to dominate the game, with the Heybridge keeper having to make some fine saves.

Stanley finally made it three and Murphy finished superbly from a free-kick for the fourth.

Dunmow Rhodes U-14 2 Euro Dagenham A 0

Dunmow Rhodes progressed to the second round of the County Cup with a victory over Euro Dagenham.

A great first half for Rhodes saw them dominate the game ending in a great goal from Courtney Moseley to put them in the lead.

The match was a tough one with great defending by Rhodes and saves by keeper Peter Haxell.

Dagenham stepped up their game after the break, but Rhodes still managed to keep them at bay and a great goal by Bradley Dix secured their place in the next round.

White Notley 0 Dunmow Rhodes Lions 3

Dunmow Rhodes Lions under 14s continued their impressive early season form with a solid 3-0 league victory over White Notley.

Rhodes had the majority of possession in the first half and went into the lead after a superb finish from top scorer Sam Mason-Claridge.

Goalkeeper Josh Warwick then saved a first half penalty, which was awarded for handball.

The second half continued with the Rhodes dominating the possession, which they made much better use of playing some attractive passing football. A long range goal from Oli Starling and another from Mason-Claridge sealed their third league victory of the season.

Dunmow United U-0 6 Wilvale Rangers 0

United's first home game of the season saw them hit Wilvale Rangers for six.

The first half was mainly played in the Rangers half of the pitch with United frustrated to be going in level at the break.

United continued to dominate from the start of the second half and it wasn't long before Suleyman opened the scoring with a fine strike from outside the box.

Further goals followed including a double from Windsor and one each from Jones, Monk and Cockrell.

On the rare occasion Rangers pushed forward they were met with United's solid defence.

Some outstanding saves from the Rangers keeper ensured United didn't add to the score although they still ended up with a comfortable victory.

New Latchingdon Piranhas U-9 0 Thaxted Rangers Blues 2

Thaxted Blues put in a strong performance to take the points away at New Latchingdon.

It was the home side who had the first real chance of the match from an early corner, but Thaxted, in a welcome return to form, looked to be on top throughout the first half.

It was end to end stuff again after the break and eventually Thaxted's efforts were rewarded, the first goal courtesy of Harry Kelvin, with another shortly after from

Jack Morris.

With Thaxted still looking dangerous and Latchingon determined to get back into the game more goals were on the cards, but despite battling to the final whistle neither team managed to find the back of the net again.

Maldon Saints Tigers U-9 0 Thaxted Rangers Yellows 6

An impressive display from Thaxted saw them tame Maldon Tigers at the weekend.

The game opened with both sides playing solid football, but some good interplay in midfield between William Lawrence, Tommy Croft and Declan Ireland, enabled Matt Pike to open the scoring for the visitors.

Thaxted extended their lead when a William Lawrence corner was slotted home by Graydon Thorpe.

Rangers continued this fine performance after the break when Pike scored his second and Thaxted's third. A third for Pike and a second for Thorpe brought the tally to five, and the scoring was completed by Charlie Kinnerley.

Thaxted Rangers U-12 0 Corringham 6

In spite of a resolute defensive display, Thaxted Rangers went out of the County Cup thanks to a classy all round performance from Corringham.

In a fairly even first-half, Thaxted had plenty of possession, but failed to turn this into goal scoring chances and went in 2-0 down at half-time.

The second-half saw Corringham dominate, with Chris Larkin pulling off some great saves in the Thaxted goal. Rangers best scoring chance came from an Ashley Allington free-kick that flashed past the far post.

However, Corringham ultimately ran out comfortable winners.

Flitch Youth U-9 4

Notley Youth Kestrels 2

Flitch Youth continued their strong start to the season, with their third win from their third league match.

As in previous games, Flitch had a lot of the possession in the first half, but failed to convert this into goals.

Steady defending and swift counter attacking by the visitors saw them take an early lead which they then doubled on the stroke of half-time.

Flitch stepped up a gear in the second half, led by Jamie Dicker. A close range strike by Tommy Bull pulled Flitch back into it and thereafter it was largely one way traffic with Cory Frost scoring twice before Bull also netted his second and Flitch's fourth.

It could have been more, with Bull hitting the crossbar twice, but a couple of excellent saves from Connor Worthington ensured that the visitors couldn't regain the initiative.

Plantation Youth U-9 4 Cambridge Celts 1

Plantation continued their great start to the season by grabbing their second victory in a row with a very convincing win over Cambridge Celts at Herberts Farm.

Once again they conceded early on and against the flow of play. But a fantastic finish from Elliot Paublan in the second half brought Plantation level.

Plantation continued to play well and took the lead with Fimbar Potter scoring his first goal of the season.

Plantation's third goal came from the defender that just can't stop scoring, Bill Stanley, grabbing his fourth of the season.

The last goal came from Fimbar again, earning him the man of the match to round off the victory.

Plantation Youth U-12 1 Comberton Crusaders 1

Plantation were held to a draw by Comberton at the weekend.

Both sides created good opening chances, however, it was the visitors who seized the initiative in the 15th minute. As the ball ricocheted around the Plantation box it was a Crusaders forward who managed to stroke the ball home from close range.

Spurred on, the visitors attempted to capitalise with Plantation forced to defend for long periods, but with centre back Toby Jones in outstanding form Plantation held firm until the half-time whistle.

A determined Plantation took to the field for the second half looking for the equaliser and with nine minutes remaining, Jonathan Briscombe fed the ball out to Canning on the left wing. Cutting in he unleashed a shot from the edge of the box that flew into the right hand corner of the net.

From here on in the action was end to end with either side capable of snatching victory, but neither could make a further breakthrough.

Great Bardfield U-10 1 Newmarket Town 4

Great Bardfield entertained Newmarket Town in their first ever home league fixture at the Kennel ground on Sunday.

The visitors with some good passing football created some early pressure and took the lead following a goalmouth scramble.

Gradually as the half wore on the hosts came back into the game and equalised when keeper Robinson raced out to clear the ball and a fine clearance found Muir who passed through to Mercer who slotted the ball away.

The second half found the visitors starting very brightly and there were constant raids into the Bardfield half. With the Newmarket pressure beginning to take its toll the goalkeeping heroics of Robinson couldn't hold them out any longer and a second goal came.

Within a minute came a third for the visitors. The best goal of the match came when some lovely passing football found the Newmarket striker with just the keeper to tuck past.

Sawston United Youth U-12 3 Soham Town Colts 1

Goals for Wills Abercrombie, Nathan Hardwick and Thomas Saunders secured Sawston United Youth's third consecutive win of the season at the weekend.

Soham Town Colts replied with a late consolation, but Sawston had done enough to take the points in the Under 12B Colts League.

Harlow Town U-7 Reds 0 Elsenham U-8

Elsenham came good for a second week running, this time without conceding a goal to give goalkeeper Bradley Molloy his first clean sheet.

The match started off well when Rhys Daltrey scored the first goal, after being set up by Alex Best.

Elsenham weren't able to add to their lead before half-time, but quickly put that right in the second period.

Alex Best netted a second and Owen Palmer a third before Alex Best and Rhys Daltrey grabbed goals four and five. With time running out, Dennis Earle struck his first goal for the club to round off a fine victory.

Waltham Abbey U-9 4 Elsenham 1

Four goals in the last five minutes gave Waltham Abbey victory after Elsenham had led for almost the whole game.

The game got off to a flying start for the visitors as Thomas Blake scored the first goal within two minutes direct from a corner kick.

Buoyed with confidence, the Greens played very well with flowing football and several attempts on goal.

In the second half, Abbey tried desperately to level the score and Elsenham defended well. With energy levels running low, Abbey equalised five minutes from time and then struck three more times before the end to give a flattering final scoreline.

West Wratting Yellows U-10 2 Elsenham 2

A great second half comeback gave Elsenham a share of the spoils in an entertaining game at West Wratting on Sunday.

Two well taken goals from the Wratting attack were the difference between the teams in the first half, leaving the visitors with an uphill task.

But as the second half progressed, it was clear that Elsenham had no intention of giving up easily. William Beanland's well taken corner found William Golden whose header crashed against the bar, and as the ball bounced down onto the line Alabaster prodded it home.

The away side pulled level when Cavanagh passed to Golden who controlled the ball onto his right foot and unleashed a powerful shot into the top left corner.

Notley Youth Hawks U-14 1 Elsenham 1 (AET Elsenham won 5-4 on pens)

Jon Booth was Elsenham's penalty shoot-out hero as his three saves helped the team edge past Notley in this first-round County Cup tie at Black Notley.

With the scores level at 1-1 after extra-time, the teams traded blows in a nail-biting shoot-out until Booth made the match-winning save from his opposite number to send the Greens through by a 5-4 scoreline.

The result was tough on Notley, who contributed fully to a pulsating cup tie where either team might have won.

Seaman eventually broke the deadlock five minutes into the second half of normal time after a superb move by the visitors. Michael Jarvis brought the ball out of defence and twice exchanged passes with Mason Duckett, who played the ball on for Dean Clayden. Clayden's centre found Adam Mace, whose initial shot was blocked by the keeper only for Seaman to rifle home the rebound.

Notley equalised midway through the half after a rare lapse by Elsenham's otherwise outstanding back line.

The away team thought they had won it right at the end when Clayden converted from close range, only to see his effort ruled out for what must have been a very close offside decision.

Both teams created chances in extra-time, but they couldn't convert and that allowed Booth to make himself a hero in the shoot out.

Austen Arrowheads U-17 1 Elsenham 7

A fine all-round team performance gave Elsenham a comfortable win over Austen Arrowheads at Canterbury Park.

Nick Rains started the scoring with the only goal of the first half, beating a defender and the keeper to a through ball.

Sam Southgate doubled the lead soon after the break, smashing in Mark Collar's pass.

Rains headed in Charlie Hibbert's corner for the third and Russell Stonehouse then fired in the first of three goals before Austen pulled one back.

Stonehouse met a cross at the near post for his second and Joe Baker headed in a corner to get on the scoresheet for the second week running.

Sam Southgate won a late penalty as he skipped through the Austen defence, which Stonehouse converted to complete his hat-trick.

Saffron Walden U-11 4 Witchford Colts 1

Walden recorded their first win of the season with an excellent performance against Witchford in the League Cup.

Will Clark and Charlie Pitt both struck in the first three minutes as the home team stormed ahead.

Daniel Page and Harry Clark were tenacious in midfield as Walden dominated the first half.

Witchford began the second half well putting Walden on the back foot, but resolute defending kept them at bay.

Pitt nearly grabbed a second when he flashed a shot wide from a breakaway, but after 49 minutes Daniel Murphy-Moore rounded the goalkeeper and tapped in the third.

A series of offside decisions thwarted Walden, but Alex Hancock wasn't to be denied as he collected a long pass and lobbed the ball in to make it 4-0.

Witchford pulled one back through an own goal after 56 minutes, but there was no way back.

Saffron Walden Town A U-13 1 Priory Parkside A 1

The Young Bloods continued their great start to the new season with a hard fought draw against a well organised and sporting Priory Parkside side.

Archie Adams put Walden ahead in the first half, cleverly lifting the ball over the oncoming keeper, however Priory quickly equalised and despite great efforts from both teams the score remained level at the end.

Saffron Walden Town U-16 Godmanchester Rovers B 1

An excellent all-round team effort by the Walden boys showed just how well they can play and proved too much for their visitors from the league above.

The young Bloods took charge from the start, taking just three minutes for David Makepeace to score from a Foxley corner.

Numerous efforts followed and Sean Stock had an effort ruled out for offside.

The visitors equalised just three minutes into the second half from the penalty spot which gave them some hope but Walden continued to both defend and battle up front with the scores equal.

Ten minutes each way of extra time and with just two minutes to go, Luke Bunting planted a header into the back of the Godmanchester net to seal the victory.

Spartak Blacks U-12 3 Priory Parkside 3

A thrilling game at Herberts Farm ended with honours even and a share of the points.

Spartak got off to a perfect start on three minutes when Harry Stark nodded on a high ball just inside the opposition's half and turned towards goal down the right, and having shaken off the defence, rounded the keeper and squeezed the ball inside the post.

However, the lead was short-lived and on seven minutes Parkside equalised when a superbly taken corner was fired in low giving the keeper no chance.

The game continued on an even keel for the remainder of the half until on the stroke of half-time, Parkside broke quickly catching out the Spartak defence, scoring to gain an important psychological advantage going into the break.

While weathering further attacks, the Blacks pressurised the visitors and won a series of corners.

David Boyd went very close, neatly heading against the bar and then Jack Holliday swung in the next corner and this time, following a goalmouth skirmish, Mousa Charaffdeen's looping header crept inside the far post.

Spartak continued on the offensive and with five minutes to go, Jack Holliday fired his shot hard and low across goal from the edge of the area scoring just inside the post to restore parity.

Histon Hornets U-12 1 Spartak 78 'Reds 2

Spartak Reds defeated Histon Hornets on Sunday, in this first ever league encounter between the two sides.

The initial exchanges were even but the Reds began to exert more pressure on the Hornets, however despite several chances, they couldn't find a breakthrough before the break.

From the restart, Histon took control, however gradually Spartak played their way back into the contest.

The breakthrough came on 45 minutes when a long throw by Clay found Duck who raced into the box and shot just wide of the diving Binge, to give the Reds a well earned lead.

However, the goal fired Histon who surged forward forcing Ritchie, Procter and Mitchison to clear before Pooley came running

out to dive at the feet of Histon's, Tommy Robson.

A five minute period of end-to-end counter attacking ensued with both 'keepers again, making important saves. Histon continued to pile on the pressure, looking for an equaliser when, on 55 minutes, they won a free-kick, just outside the Red's box. Jake Brown's direct shot bounced over the advancing Pooley to earn Histon a deserved equaliser.

With five minutes left, it looked to be a draw, but Spartak again, surged forward. Jafari threaded a ball to Hunt who shot off across field, passing to Duck on the left wing. Duck cut inside his marker and headed toward goal. Binge ran out to narrow the angle but Duck's clever flick over him found the far corner of the net.

Spartak held firm in the remaining stages making sure of the points.

Spartak 78 U-14 4 Bottisham 9

In a tougH match Spartak lost away to a strong Bottisham side.

Spartak created plenty of chances and goals from Wes Gilkes, Sam Mitchell, Tim Wade and Sam Jeffs kept their hopes alive.

However, with the opposition scoring at twice the rate at the other end it was not enough to prevent a heavy league defeat.

Gidea Park Ranger U-17 3 Takeley Youth 5

Takeley Youth have started the new campaign strongly, shrugging off a poor start to take all three points at Gidea Park Rangers in a style which promises good things for the season ahead.

Takeley could not have got off to a worse start as they found themselves a goal down within the first five minutes when Dan Fletcher could only turn a low cross into the path of an onrushing home striker.

To their credit, the visitors settled quickly after this early setback, and equalised when Phil Hammond attacked Billy Ryan's corner and it deflected in off a home defender to give Takeley the goal their sustained pressure deserved.

Just three minutes later, the visitors went ahead for the first time, Warin combining well with skipper Tom Le Masurier feeding Ryan, who cut inside onto his left foot to hit a great shot into the far corner of the net.

Gidea Park were unlucky when the crossbar denied them a second goal, and half-time arrived with the game still finely balanced.

Unfortunately for the visitors, the second period started in the same way as the first - with Takeley conceding a soft early goal from a good left wing cross which was well converted at the far post.

Tom Speller hit the bar, before hitting a firm low drive across the keeper and into the far corner to make it 3-2 to Takeley.

The visitors allowed Gidea Park to draw level again, following a disputed free-kick which was poorly defended.

With just five minutes remaining, Troy Featherstone set off on a strong run through the Gidea Park defence to beat the keeper with a firm left foot shot for the goal of the match.

There was still time for Takeley to add another and finally make the game safe, when Goody's firm cross found Jake Buckland unmarked and he controlled and finished calmly to make the final score 5-3.

Barnston Youth U-17 4 Belmont Juniors 1

Barnston under 17s opened their 2007-08 Chelmsford Youth Football League Division Three campaign with a convincing victory against Belmont Juniors

on Sunday.

In an exciting game with both teams creating a number of chances Barnston took a first half lead with two fine finishes by Shane Pyne.

Belmont started the second half the stronger of the two teams and scored from a well taken free-kick.

Both teams continued to create good goal scoring opportunities before a further two goals by Barnston, one from Jack Curtis and another from Shane Pyne completing his hat-trick, decided the game.