Witton Albion JFC

Match six of the league season pitted the Warriors against Barnton FC Juniors.

The team development shone through in this rather one sided game. We have continually stressed to the players that teamwork, unity & hard work will bring results & certainly today that was apparent in abundance.

The Warriors were in a dominant mood & the fast passing of the ball out of defence through midfield and up front was exceptional. The game which was played in a sporting manner by both teams was won by the Warriors 11:1 The Barnton team to their credit never gave up which presented a good game to watch from the side lines.

Witton could have taken an early lead in the game. On 5 minutes Oli got behind the Barnton defence & was one on one with the keeper. Unfortunately he slightly over ran the ball which allowed the Barton keeper to rush out & intercept. Despite this, it was certainly going to be a good game for Oli.

Witton played the bulk of the opening period in the Barnton half of the field creating a number of opportunities. On 12 minutes Ewean was clear of the Barnton defence & a shot brought out a good save from the goalkeeper.

A minute later Witton took the lead. With the defence under pressure a clearance fell to Robbie on the edge of the box. He executed a delicate chip over the Barnton keeper to give the Warriors a well-deserved lead.

Once in front the Warriors never looked back and scored a number of goals in quick succession.

In the 15th minute, great play by Robbie gave him space to slip a pass through to Ewean behind the Barnton defence. Ewean ran onto the ball and finished to make it 2:0.

It didn’t take long to strike again and on 17 minutes a typical Robbie mazy run down the right and through the Barnton defence gave him the opportunity to angle a shot beyond the keeper and into the far bottom corner.

One minute later the score extended to 4:0. A cross by the rampant Robbie found Oli unmarked in the oppositions penalty area & he hit an angled drive back across keeper into the goal.

The dominant team display allowed the Witton defenders to push up into the Barnton half of the field. The well drilled defence of Harley, Cathal and Ben easily dealt with any Barnton attack and kept the Warriors on the offensive.

A persistence run by Liam forced an error by a Barnton defender & allowed him to get on the score sheet too, after 20 minutes, with a shot into the bottom corner. 5:0

The sixth goal came after 23 minutes as a corner by Liam was headed into his own goal by an unfortunate Barnton defender.

A minute later Ciaran was unlucky not to score when a long range shot came back off the underside of the cross bar but ‘Hawk Eye’ confirmed the ball hadn’t crossed the line.

A first meaningful attempt on the Witton goal came in the 26th minute. A long range shot brought an excellent save from Callum who was standing in for Mason.

An excellent first half was capped off by Oliver. A corner taken by Ciaran, Was powered home by Oli, from just inside the box.

7:0 HT

The second half presented an improved Barnton who pulled a deserved goal back in the 36th minute. Their player powered through the Witton defence & drilled a well-placed shot passed Callum. 7:1.

Witton continued to create goal scoring opportunities. A fiercely struck shot from Robbie brought a good save from the keeper. On 42 minutes Oliver ran from his own half to the edge of the Barnton area & fired the ball into the goal for his hat-trick. 8:1.

The next goal came on the back of probably the best move of the game. Ben intercepted a Barnton attack & played a great pass to Robbie, he in turn passed to Lucas into the right of the Barnton area. A square pass by Lucas gave Oli a chance he couldn’t miss for his fourth goal. 9:1.

Despite the score line the Barnton players continued to grow in confidence, creating some opportunities themselves which Callum dealt with well.

In the 46th minute Robbie passed through the Barnton midfield to release Ciaran for a run & pass to Lucas in the Barnton area. Lucas’s shot passed wide of the Barnton goal.

Robbie achieved his hat-trick when he converted a through ball from Ciaran in the 54th minute. Robbie nearly extended the lead further from a corner kick by Ciaran which Robbie powered just wide of the post.

The goal scoring was completed by Ewean two minutes from time when he shot into the bottom left hand corner of the goal.

Full time 11:1

In a game like this there were several contenders for Man of the Match award. The award went to Robbie following his hat-track, assists and dominant midfield play. Well-deserved Robbie.

Next game is the top of the table clash with Congleton Rovers Blue, we will be hoping to maintain our fine form.