It’s a mudbath, but Celtic shine back on their travels

Bishop's Stortford U-9 1 Royston Celtic A 2

HAVING not played an away game since November, Royston showed that they could still play well on unfamiliar territory.

The match conditions were far from perfect, with both sets of players struggling to maintain their footing on a rain-soaked and muddy pitch.

However, despite the difficult conditions, Celtic got off to a good start and put in a strong overall performance.

Lorcan George broke free to put Royston ahead, outpacing the hosts' defence before unleashing a well-placed finish.

Jordan Cooney and Robbie Filby kept Stortford at bay with some excellent defending, while the Royston forwards tormented their opponents.

George was unfortunate not to add to his tally and Ollie Green rattled the bar with a fine strike of his own.

In the second-half Callum Pinner extended the visitors account, before testing the Stortford keeper with another great strike.

At the other end, Royston's keeper Ben Watson made some great saves and coped with the slippery conditions well.

However, Stortford did find the back of Royston's net in the closing minutes, but could not carve out an equaliser before the final whistle.

Bishop's Stortford 2 Royston Celtic B 1

WITH the pitch in a worse condition following the A team's game, the B team had to work harder to make the pitch and the ball work for them.

Despite a strong defensive combination of Jack Ison and Ethan Lewis, Stortford managed to break through and score an early first-half goal.

Not to be outdone, Tom McGlynn tested the home side's keeper and Ian Kuenzi and Jimi Smith fought hard in the Royston midfield.

It was a close contest throughout, and in the second-half Royston continued to pressure the hosts.

And their hard work paid off when Matthew Cudmore rolled home a well-taken goal, after good work from the Royston midfield.

Keeper Ben Watson made some good second-half saves, but was unfortunately beaten with a brilliant Stortford goal late in the game.