Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Confidence high for second half of season
Fav Strike Force
Faversham Strike Force ended 2019 with another strong performance as Jordan Simpson’s double secured them a 2-2 draw at Farnborough Old Boys Guild.
With both teams flying high in the Kent County League Premier Division, the Force knew they were in for a tough game on a heavy pitch. They made light of the difficult conditions, however, to take the lead following a fine team move involving four players as man-of-the-match Simpson added the finishing touch. The hosts were battling hard and got themselves back on level terms before taking the lead prior to the interval – following a dubious handball decision that went against the visitors. Faversham were on top after the break and claimed a deserved equaliser when Simpson drove down the lefthand side and finished well. They carried on pushing but couldn’t find a winner. Despite dropping points, buoyant manager Gary Axford feels an excellent first half of the season augurs well for 2020. “The Force were banging on the door but could not find the winner,” he said. “It shows how far we’ve come this season that we can visit a quality side like Farnborough and feel like we perhaps should have left with a win. We’re a young side and we’re getting better all the time, but now we’ve got to continue to progress in the new year.” n It was also the final weekend of action for the youth sides ahead of Christmas and under13 Thunder travelled to face Sittingbourne Youth. They struggled to recover from a one-sided first half but fought hard after the break to score through Freddie Baurharrison.
They made further chances in a 9-1 defeat but failed to take them. Sid Sparkes was named player of the match. Under-12 Lightning hosted Monkton and stormed into a 3-0 first-half lead through strikes from Charlie Hope and manof-the-match Sam Clucus and a well-taken one-on-one from Jake Crawley. Monkton battled back strongly to level the match before a last-minute volley from Gabriel Smith won the game 4-3.
Ethan Taylor was in form for under-10 Thunder – scoring four times and being named best player against Dover Rangers. Rufus Mcintyre and Sammy Laker were also on target in an entertaining match.
Under-9 Hurricanes finished the year with an exciting game against Ramsgate Youth. Player-of-the-match William Edwards helped to keep the score down with some excellent defending, while there were two well-taken goals from Toby Smith.
The excellent progress of under-9 Thunder this season was highlighted by a cracking display against East Kent FC – Kailan Wallace, Dexter Willmott, Isla Saunders, Liam Deveson and Harry Wilson all finding the net. Ethan Stanley was named top player for his unrelenting effort all over the pitch that also earned him a hat-trick.
The whole under-9 Lightning team took match honours following the match at Canterbury after an excellent passing display. The side’s hard work was rewarded with a goal for Henry Gossling. Under-7 Thunder played out an entertaining match against Rising Stars Colts with goals coming through Ellison Gashi’s hat-trick, a brace from Tyger Pharoah and Kian Gardner’s strike.
There were no goals for under-7 Hurricanes against Whitstable Town at The Mount but the team’s spirit was exemplified by Zach Luong’s brave performance that saw him named best player.