Youngsters in rich vein of form

While the men’s first XI had the weekend off, Faversham Strike Force’s youth teams enjoyed the perfect weather as they put in a string of fine performances. Under-13 Lightning claimed a well-deserved 3-2 victory over Canterbury Eagles. An early penalty from Sol Streatfield put the Force ahead, with further goals from John Wicks and Archie Hutchinson sealing the victory. Canterbury battled gamely but came up against an excellent defence in which player-of-the-match Braden Best was the star of the show. Goalkeeper Sam Kurd was in similarly solid form between the posts and was named his team’s best player as the under-12s lost 2-1 to Ashford. Harvey Griffin scored a penalty in a closely-fought match. Harvey Pelling and Ollie Clark scored for under-11 Lightning against Tyler Hill, while Finn Cornish was brilliant in goal and George Ruffles put in a player-of-the-match performance. Chartham were the visitors to The Mount on Saturday as they faced under-10 Lightning, for whom Rhys Cleaver scored and was named best player following a good-quality encounter. There was a wonderful performance from the under-9 Lightning side in summer-like conditions at Deal Town. The team worked incredibly hard and were rewarded with goals from Archie Brazil and player-ofthe-match Toby Sears, who claimed a brace. Henry Gossling, Scott White, Albert Biscoe, Ollie Gilbert Childs, Eli Monger and Austin Warmer scored for the under-8s against Tankerton, with Childs named player-ofthe-match.