Battling Celts edged out at the death
Eagles’ u16 Celts went into their cup semi-final with Margate Youth as definite underdogs, ‘The Gate’ currently sitting top of Division 1 and unbeaten this season. But the Celts have shown they are no pushovers in the league this season, and had run Margate close a few weeks ago, so they went into the match feeling capable of getting a result.
The start of the match was very even, with both sides testing the keeper. However, on 16 minutes, Eagles gave the ball away and were punished when a good strike from outside the box found the top right-hand corner of the net.
It wasn’t long before Eagles levelled things up though, as Bayo Ajibade’s pass found Harvey Brown and the powerful centre-forward made no mistake. Margate almost hit back immediately but were denied by an excellent save with his legs by Thurston Potter. As the game continued to swing from end to end, Eagles nearly scored themselves, as a header from a corner went just over the bar.
In the latter stages of the first half, Eagles were incredibly unlucky with a shot that struck the crossbar, but were thankful to Potter once again a few minutes later when he produced a fingertip save to keep out a Margate free kick.
Half time 1-1
The second half continued in the same way, with both sides pushing hard for the next goal. Eagles’ keeper Potter made a string of good saves to keep Margate out, while at the other end the dangerous Brown had an excellent shot well saved.
With so much at stake, the game became increasingly fractious as it wore on. Eagles players’ passionate appeals to the referee after two perceived off-the-ball incidents, led to a booking and a sin bin, leaving the Greens to face the closing stages with 10 men. Margate began to dominate possession, though Eagles were defending resolutely and were not giving away any clear-cut chances.
Finally, and incredibly cruelly, the excellent Potter was beaten by the muddy conditions as a speculative long shot somehow managed to squirm past him and give Margate the lead. Eagles’ bad luck was compounded moments later when what looked like a brilliantly-timed challenge by Ali Ridge was given as a foul and Margate scored a third from the resulting free-kick.
Eagles had taken a very strong Margate side all the way, and on another day could easily have pulled off a shock result. But they can be incredibly proud of their performance and were a credit to the club.
Full time 1-3
Player of the match: Thurston Potter
Squad: Thurston Potter, Adebayo Ajibade, Jax Biju, Harvey Brown, Harrison Evans, Joe Garrard, Oscar Greenwood, Lucas Grimbleby-Bonilla, Max Headhouse, Isaac Hough, Danny Nacif Higson, Freddie O’Keeffe, Oliver Richards, Ali Ridge, Will Saunders
Photography by Stuart Woods, Zero Three Photography
