Potton on the agony

Royston Colts U-9 A 0 Potton Colts 1 ROYSTON'S magnificent run of form finally came to an end on Saturday after a hard-fought battle with Potton. The hosts never got into top gear and on too many occasions were second to the ball. The closest Royston came to scoring was when Jordan Campbell hit the bar from a free-kick just outside the box. The game was decided in the end with a scrappy Potton goal which squeezed in between the keeper and the post from a yard out. Manager John Campbell and coach Paul Stout were both proud of what the team achieved. Not only did they go 73 games unbeaten until Saturday but won every game, 30 in total, since November 27, 2004. Hormead Hares U-8 0 Melbourn Dynamos A 3 MELBOURN extended their unbeaten run to nine games with an emphatic win over Hormead. Passing the ball well on a difficult surface, they soon took the lead as Sam Bedlow took the ball swiftly through an opening and finished confidently with the outside of his foot, giving Hares' keeper no chance. Defenders James Fowkes and Alex Maskell covered and supported the midfield well to protect the lead. Just after half-time Bedlow turned provider, cutting in past two defenders on the left then feeding James Rushton in the box, whose cool finish to the corner made it 2-0. Eddie Twyman and Rushton won the midfield battle and victory was sealed when man of the match Sam Bedlow shot home a third. Hormead Hares U-8 1 Melbourn Dynamos B 2 A thrilling end-to-end battle saw Melbourn come out on top. Hormead started brightly, creating several early chances, and were foiled more than once by good saves by Sam Carrington. Hormead took the lead when a well -struck shot beat Carrington's dive. Excellent covering defence by Tom Hollway, Ben Breeze and Greg Catlee ensured Dynamos reached half-time only one down. The second half saw the tide turn, and Charlie Weber latched on to a ball and deservedly fired home the equaliser. Hormead replied well, forcing several corners, but another Bourne run of great skill and stamina led to a chance for himself, only for the ball to stop in the mud on the line, but Owen moved in quickly to force the ball home. Harlow Town Youth U-14 6 Royston Town Colts 1 SIZE mattered in Sunday's Division 1 clash, as a towering Harlow side bundled aside their Royston visitors. The early signs were ominous for Colts as Harlow combined size, power and speed and never allowed the visitors to settle. Royston were soon three goals adrift after defensive lapses, and despite a string of fine saves from keeper Tom Monti. Typically, though, Colts refused to give up, mounting counter attacks between spells of Harlow pressure. Their hopes even flickered briefly when a pinpoint cross from Dominic Oxenford found the head of Harry Noades, who arced the ball over the keeper and into the net. But that was as good as it got for Colts. Harlow won everything in the air and were usually first to the ball, and though Royston continued to battle it was a bruising affair . More goals followed and the deficit would have been even greater but for the skill and bravery of Monti, with full-stretch saves at the feet of the Harlow strikers. n Royston Town Colts under-10 girls team have marked their first year of competitive football by reaching the Cambridgeshire S-Tech League Cup final. A pair of Eleanor Bishop goals and a strike from Charlotte Ryan gave them a 3-0 win against Comberton Crusaders to qualify for the final on May 6. Albion Youth U-10 0 Melbourn Dynamo Leopards 2 LEOPARDS made in 10 wins in a row with a hard-fought display against a very good Albion side. The ground was heavy and made it difficult to pass the ball around. However, Melbourn still managed to play some good football, and two fine strikes from man-of-the-match Tom Lee gave them another three points. After a slow start, Melbourn began to impose themselves, but they did not threaten until late in the half, when Sam Crago found Tom Lee in space and he neatly fired home an angled shot . Matt Davis then produced a strong run through the Albion defence, but he could not get enough power on the shot. Melbourn were now very much on top, but Albion were awarded a penalty for handball. The shot was good, low towards the corner. However Jack Ovens produced a fine save, pushing the ball around a post. Adam Breeze was having a superb game in midfield, running at the Albion defence time and time again and causing many problems. From one of these runs, Leopards forced a corner and Tom Lee drilled in a low shot to the near post which was too powerful for the Albion goalkeeper and he could only steer it into the back of the net. Albion then came back strongly. Jack Ovens was called into action and pulled off some great saves, one with his legs to block a shot from close range, another requiring him to dive and force the ball out for a corner. A great saving tackle from Ben Cattley also prevented another Albion chance. The defence held out once again though to make it five clean sheets in a row. Royston Colts U-9 B 1 Potton Colts 2 COLTS' B team lost on Saturday after another hard fought match. Potton took the lead in the first half with a fine long-range strike from the edge of the box. The second half saw Colts take the game more to Potton, and this led to a fine move down the right which saw Jack Pearce square the ball superbly across the goal to the on-coming Daniel Goodfellow to slot the ball home. However, Potton replied a few minutes later to make it 2-1. Royston continued to battle and put plenty of pressure on the Potton goal but could not find a way through to level the scores again. Melbourn Dynamos Tigers U-10 3 Stevenage Borough Tigers 1 MELBOURN showed just how much they have improved in recent weeks, coming from behind to see off one of their major rivals for league honours. Borough have always been a bogey side for their Dynamos' namesakes and took the lead within a minute as Melbourn failed to deal with a loose ball in the box. Melbourn were not about to lie down though and set about using a strong breeze to their advantage and keep the action penned in the Stevenage half. Joe Carrington continued his rich vein of form and got Melbourn back into the game with a superb free kick from outside the area. Spotting a gap in the Borough wall, he thundered a vicious shot that hit the back of the net before the goalkeeper moved. He then set about peppering the visitors' goal with a series of long-range shots, hitting the bar and forcing a couple of good saves before a brilliant lob sailed over the keeper to put Dynamos into the lead before half-time. Stevenage had the wind advantage in the second half but the Melbourn defence held firm with Alex Martin, Ben Jones and Josh Chamberlain working hard to keep the opposition at bay. Dynamos keeper Sam Robinson pulled out a great point-blank save, pushing a shot over the bar. Melbourn kept rotating their attack to ensure they had breakaway options, and Jamie Fothergill sealed the win when he pounced on a ball in the box to smash home number three. Melbourn Dynamos Panthers U-10 6 Stevenage Borough Blues 0 IN COMMON with the pitch, Panthers took time to thaw out before resuming normal service with another comprehensive victory. A tentative start saw Melbourn on top but struggling to break down a stubborn Stevenage defence, and it took a deflection off an unfortunate defender from a Nathan Henry cross to get the scoring underway. Byron Lawrence followed with a cracking right foot drive that found the top corner to make it 2-0 at half-time. With a more heated half-time talk than usual required, Dynamos warmed up in the second half with a couple of predatory Jack Richardson strikes settling any lingering nerves. Patrick Hopper sealed the win with another two goals, the second of which was a tremendous solo effort that saw him collect the ball on the half-way line, and beat a couple of defenders before dispatching the ball beyond the helpless keeper. The win saw Melbourn seven points clear at the top of the league with a game in hand over their nearest rivals and only six matches to play.