Friendly match
Linslade Galaxy U14 Spartak 5 v 0 Willen U14 Rockets

In dry and slightly overcast conditions Spartak kicked off in this friendly match against Willen Rockets, currently third in Division 2.

Ethan had Galaxy’s first effort after 5 minutes but the keeper got down to make the save and the defender cleared the loose ball.

Most of the early pressure was coming from Linslade as they sought to dominate the match from the start.

Spartak were knocking the ball around well and were creating chances. Their keeper made a couple of saves but could only parry another Ethan effort to the feet of Theo, who hooked in from 2 yards to give Galaxy the lead after 11 minutes.

There were further long shots from Jack J, Matthew and Luke but the Willen keeper had them covered.

It took until the 32rd minute for Spartak’s possession to work a second goal. There was earlier good play from Charlie on the left and eventually the ball reached Jack R on the right. He passed back to Owen who was waiting at the edge of the box to drill home a fantastic low effort and double Galaxy’s lead.

The first half ended with Spartak still on top and the final effort saw Joseph smash home an effort just outside the box slightly over the bar.

Spartak were playing possession football and whilst they didn’t create many clear cut chances it opened up the space for shots at a range to trouble the keeper. Willen were completely kept at bay and chasing the Spartak passing will have taken a lot of effort.

With 10 minutes on the clock in the second half a good press from Charlie gave him possession. He passed inside to Ethan who duly turned and fired into the far corner to make the score 3-0.

Not long after Willen had their best moments in the game and they bundled the ball into the net after a free kick, but it was disallowed for offside.

26 minutes into the second half Spartak turned defence into attack perfectly. Owen cleared well to Theo who controlled the ball deftly and strode forward. His diagonal pass fed Jack R on the right by the goal line. He passed back to Luke at the edge of the box and his curled shot was fumbled by the keeper. Again Theo was at the right place at the right time to prod home from 3 yards after out battling the defender for the ball.

With a minute to go. Luke W put the icing on a solid performance as he collected the ball in the box and his shot from 12 yards gave the keeper no chance.

All in all a very positive performance from Spartak as they build towards some huge matches at the end of the season.