CALLOWBROOK SWIFTS JUNIORS U16S 4, NEWTOWN SPORTS BOYS U16S 2

IN a match of many chances, Newtown were denied by the brilliance of the Callowbrook goalkeeper whilst sloppy defending cost them dear at the other end.

A pulsating and entertaining match ensued with Newtown welcoming back Hatch and he brilliantly turned aside an early Callowbrook effort whilst at the other end Preece and Bannister saw efforts drift agonisingly wide.

When they did hit the target the Callowbrook keeper showed his brilliance with fingertip saves, however on 30 minutes it was the brilliance of Preece who outstripped the defence to slot home the opener. The Newtown midfield and defence had contained the Callowbrook advances but when Kyte went off injured the new look back four failed to adjust and were punished with two goals in the two minutes before half-time leading to a very different team talk.

The second-half saw Newtown bombard the goal and fully test the keeper. In an exhibition of brilliance the keeper had the Boys and Newtown supporters shaking their heads in bewilderment as Preece and Higgs turned to celebrate only for the ball to be diverted away from the goal. With so much pressure the Boys momentarily forgot about defence and were cruelly punished when a Callowbrook five-man break was met by two full backs and a goalkeeper and Callowbrook scored. Newtown continued to bombard and were frustrated until once again Jack Preece had that touch of class that was too much for the keeper and Newtown were back in the game.

They huffed and puffed and were denied time after time but failed to heed earlier warnings and were caught once more on the counter to slip two goals behind.

Man of the match for Newtown was Jack Preece.

NEWTOWN SPORTS GIRLS U14S 2, WARNDON VILLAGE WILDCATS U14S 3

THE final game before the Christmas break, ended with Newtown losing for the first time this season.

In a hard fought match, and with only 11 players to call on, Newtown started sluggishly, and struggled to cope with Warndon's one dangerous player. She caused the Newtown midfield, and defence, numerous problems, and by midway through the first half had given Warndon a two-goal lead.

Newtown came to life after Matthews-Jones pulled a goal back with a well-taken strike just before half-time. Newtown were unlucky not to level when McBain had one effort tipped on to the post, and hit the woodwork a second time with a thunderous shot from outside the area.

The second half was far more even, with both teams creating a number of chances through a combination of good play and slack defending. Newtown equalised when Hill picked-up a loose ball in the Warndon area and slotted home from 10 yards, but they were eventually undone when Warndon's best player latched on to a through ball to complete her hat-trick.

Newtown Sports Girls U14s thank their new sponsors, the Café in the Library and Telecoms Direct Limited.

MALVERN WANDERERS COLTS U11S 1, NEWTOWN SPORTS JUNIORS U11S 1

NEWTOWN Sports Colts visited local rivals Malvern Wanderers on Saturday.

Newtown started the game well passing the ball to feet and playing some neat football, but not threatening the Malvern goal. In their first attack on 11 minutes following a long throw-in Newtown's defenders left the ball and a Malvern forward nipped in between the defenders to give them the lead. After this it was all one way traffic with Newtown piling forward and some last gasp defending kept the Malvern goal intact till the 22nd minute when from a free-kick from Ashley Hill found the top corner of the net with a 20-yard finish.

The second-half belonged to Newtown, who thought they had scored after a goalmouth scramble and Sam Daffin's shot seemed to have crossed the line, but the referee waved play on. With five minutes remaining Newtown where awarded a penalty when Sam Daffin was tripped. Newtown missed the spot kick when the ball crashed against the crossbar and over the top. Newtown pressed for the winner but it was not to be. Credit must go to the Malvern keeper and defenders, who worked tireless all match.

Newtown's man-of-the-match was Ashley Hill.

Newtown go into the Christmas break in a good position in the league dropping only three points so far and into the quarter-finals of the cup and remain unbeaten this season.

Newtown would like to thank their sponsors Malvern Catering Services.

CRADLEY SPORTS CLUB U10S 6, NEWTOWN SPORTS JUNIORS 0

CRADLEY provided an entertaining display of football and showed some excellent passing in a game which during the first-half was evenly matched.

However, it was Cradley who took the lead with a good finish from Josh Davies, he followed this up when after a good run down the wing was set up by Ben Finch to fire number two home.

Newtown battled well and had a good chance on goal but Kurt Poppleton was quick off his line to deny the visitors.

After some good work by Finch a good ball was put through for Charlie Jones to finish and then a quality ball put in from Finch saw a picture goal which was headed home by Thomas Fairclough.

Cradley continued to pass the ball well and another good run from man- of-the-match Josh Davies set up Charlie Jones to fire home number five and another quality ball in to the box by Finch set up Thomas Fairclough to strike number six.

WELLAND JUNIOR LIONS U9S 2, CRADLEY SPORTS CLUB 0

THIS last fixture of the calendar year pitted together two teams who had played each other on the opening day.

Keen to avenge that previous defeat, Cradley immediately took the game to Welland. As the first half progressed the exchanges evened out and Welland increased their possession. The deadlock was broken on 12 minutes after Sam Witton played the ball across the penalty area and Henry Dyde followed in at the back post to bundle it over the line. Shortly afterwards there was an opportunity for an equaliser when the ball flashed across the Welland line but no-one could find the necessary touch to send it over.

In the second half, Welland applied more pressure and on 25 minutes Jonny Amery scooped the ball over the Cradley defence and released Dyde to score his second. With a couple of minutes remaining Will Manuschka nearly made it three but his shot hit the outside of the post.

Welland's manager Andrew Witton was pleased to end the year with their 100 per cent record intact.

Welland are sponsored by HR Cars, Evesham.

NEWTOWN SPORTS JUNIORS U8S 0, OLDBURY PARK TIGERS U8S 0

NEWTOWN'S 100 per cent record in the league finally came to an hand at the hands of a very determined Oldbury side.

As expected, Newtown had most of the play but were unable to breakdown the opposition's defence, and when they did, they found the goalkeeper in fine form. Jack Wickett had several shots well saved, but the closest Newtown came to scoring was when some fine wing play from Harrison Smith resulted in his cross evading the lunges of both Lewis Hill and Matthew Brookes on the line.

The inclusion of the tricky Harry Phillips in the second half caused the defence problems, but they always managed to get tackles in at the last minute. The midfield trio of Adam Dickinson, Eli Bray and Lewis Rodway worked tirelessly but were enable to produce a breakthrough.

The game was played in good spirit, in particular Senan McCollough, who returned from the substitute's bench in his coat, and continued to play in it.

11:05am Wednesday 19th December 2007

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