Royston Town Youth 3 Soham Town Rangers 1

Royston Youth Team won their opening group game in this year’s Eastern Junior Cup competition with an encouraging performance at Garden Walk on Wednesday.

Royston’s creativity was a particularly good to watch and but for the woodwork coming to Soham’s rescue in the first half and some fine goalkeeping by the Soham stopper the margin of victory would have been far wider.

The Crows took a fifth minute lead when George Duffin scored an outstanding goal.

Both Duffin and Luke Hennessey then had efforts turned onto the woodwork and Duffin also had an effort disallowed for offside.

At the other end Soham were a particular threat from set plays and went close on a couple of occasions but otherwise young ‘keeper Owen Bentley played admirably in his first full game for the youth team this season.

Despite only having a one-goal lead at the interval the game was literally sewn up 10 minutes of the second half with Royston scoring twice more.

First Hennessey ran powerfully into the box and skipped past a couple of tackles before unleashing a powerful 16-yard drive just inside the far post. And minutes later another run and cross from Hennessey was turned into the net from close range by Daniel Bond.

The hosts never looked like throwing the advantage away despite a well-taken consolation goal from Soham with 10 minutes remaining.

Royston continued to create chances up until the end but they had already done enough to secure the win.

Royston Youth: Bentley, Monti, Richardson, Mullings, T Spencer, Worbey, Luzinda (Reed), Hennessey, Duffin, Bond (J Spencer), Webb (Pemberton).