Rotherfield Raiders Black 1 - 5 Caversham Kites
Saturday 15th September 2007
KITES GIVE RAIDERS A LESSON
On a bright, sunny Saturday morning at Arborfield Garrison, the Raiders Black squad entered into their first game of the season with high spirits and expectations of a good performance. It did not take long however for their hopes to be dashed. They faced a talented, competitive and highly organized Caversham Kites side, who quickly made their mark on the game.
The Kites immediately took the game to the Raiders and after a few early shots and possession around the Raiders box, their pressure was rewarded with a goal in the 6th minute. The Raiders failed to find and hold their shape and they visibly were struggling to contain the passion and aggression that was being shown by the Kites. Liam Peachey in the Raiders goal made a number of excellent saves, but the defense and midfield could not hold back the Kites and they went on to score three further goals in the 9th, 12th and 14th minutes.
The introduction of James Back & Kai Carlisle in the 15th minute seemed to stabilize the Raiders and they started to hold off the Kites and create more penetrating runs into opponents half. That said, the Raiders only managed one shot on the Kites goal, an excellent shot from Rowan Stacey that was unlucky to get a deflection and drop just wide of the post.
The second half started in much the same fashion as the first, with the Kites running completely unchallenged through the entire Raiders side to score easily. This seemed to kick the Raiders into life and almost straight from the kick-off, Rowan Stacey did a great run down the right, did a neat one-two with James Back and slotted the ball past the Kites keeper.
After the goal the whole team seemed to up their game, and the lax defending and poor tackling seen in the first half was rarely in evidence. Kit Greengrass replaced Will Young who took a knock to his knee, but it was Kai Carlisle, with a solid second half performance who became the mainstay in defense for the remainder of the game. Louis Walsh and Max Sweetman did some excellent runs and crosses from the wings, but no further chances were converted by the Raiders.
The Raiders goal had a few more scares, but some further excellent goalkeeping from Liam Peachey stopped the Kites increasing the scoreline and earned him the man of the match award. The Raiders had a much better second half (1-1) but on the day they were beaten by a stronger, more competitive and organised side. Here endeth the lesson - Onto next week ……..
Team: Liam Peachey, Will Young, Kit Greengrass, Guy Thurlow, Rowan Stacey, Kai Carlisle, James Back, Louis Walsh, Max Sweetman
