It was a super Saturday for our U12 boys with victories for both sides and here are the reports
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In a thrilling encounter at Galmington, Wellington Town U12s overcame a two-goal deficit to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory against the Galmington Dragons.
The match started brightly for the home side, who dominated the first half with quick passing and sharp finishing.
Two well-taken goals saw Galmington take a commanding lead into the break, leaving Wellington with a mountain to climb.
However, the visitors came out with renewed determination in the second half, and it took just five minutes for Felix Emes to halve the deficit.
The Wellington winger rifled a low shot past the Galmington goalkeeper to breathe life into the contest.
Ten minutes later, Felix struck again in spectacular fashion. A misplaced goal kick from the Dragons keeper fell straight to the striker, who showed incredible composure and vision to lob the ball into the net from 25 yards, levelling the score at 2-2.
Felix nearly completed his hat-trick in the 50th minute with a stunning effort from 20 yards. His curling strike beat the keeper, hit the underside of the crossbar, and appeared to bounce over the line but the assistant waved play on.
Despite the setback, Wellington continued to press, and their persistence paid off with just ten minutes remaining.
A perfectly weighted through ball from Felix found forward Charlie McAlpine in his stride. He kept his composure and slotted a low shot past the advancing keeper to complete the comeback and secure all three points.
Wellington’s defence was also instrumental in the victory, with Max Masland and Arthur House putting in heroic performances.
The duo made crucial tackles and blocks throughout the match, repeatedly putting their bodies on the line to deny the Dragons any late chances.
After the final whistle, Wellington co-manager Jamie Tooze praised the team’s resilience.
“The boys showed tremendous character,” he said. “To come back from two goals down against a strong side like Galmington is a fantastic achievement.
“Felix’s goals were outstanding, and our defence was rock solid when it mattered most.”
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After a week of postponements due to Storm Darragh, Wellington United U12s came back with a much improved performance against Sydenham Rangers with their first clean sheet of the season.
From the off, Wellington showed great movement and link-up play to keep getting up the field and creating chances.
An end-to-end first half finished with the scoreline goalless.
After the break, a few fresh legs meant Wellington kept pushing to get the goal, dominating the second half until Sydenham Rangers concede a penalty after 54 minutes, put away by Harry Newstead.
This spurred on the hosts to keep fighting through the dying minutes until Blake Mead found the back of the net assisted by Theo Keep.
The game ended with a 2-0 victory for Wellington and manager Steve Newstead said: “Once again, this showed how much the lads are improving – well done to all.”
Coach Richard Upham added: “I’m so proud of all the boys. What a performance”
Man-of-the-match was goalkeeper Vinnie Taylor and player-of-the-match was Denny Hayes.
