Match Report

Corringham Cosmos Utd 3 - 3 Dunton Dynamos

Friendly match - 7th September 2008; Conditions: Mild and overcast

The beginning of another new season! Fresh from their summer break, the Dunton Dynamos U12 squad started the 2008/9 campaign with a friendly game away to Corringham Cosmos. These have always been two closely matched sides, and this was proved to be again on this occasion as the two teams produced a thoroughly absorbing and entertaining match.

The match was played on the Gable Hall school field and this was in remarkably good condition considering the large volume of rain which had fallen in the preceding days.

Dunton lined up in their new kit of red shirts and royal blue shorts whilst our hosts wore their familiar yellow and green kit. Team captain for the day was our goalkeeper Liam, whilst our back four comprised Jack on the right, Chaz on the left and Calum and James M in the middle. In midfield we had Harry on the right, Sonny on the left and Dave and Ben in the middle whilst up-front were Billy and Jordan. On the bench we had George and Cameron.

Dunton won the toss and elected to kick off with a strong wind at their backs. From the off, the team looked well-organised with the back-four in particular looking solid and together. Chaz settled in well in his first game and clearly was not phased by the role of left-back. James M and Calum also settled in well together and were able to deal with most of the Corringham attacks without fuss. Jack was his usual dependable self on the right side of the quartet.

Dave and Sonny worked particularly hard during the early stages and looked to have the midfield sewn-up. Indeed it was their perseverance and determination which resulted in us mounting the first serious Dunton attack from which we opened the scoring - a fantastic through-ball found Jordan who smashed the ball into the bottom corner. Within five minutes however, Corringham had equalised - a through ball split our defence in half and left the forward one-on-one with Liam. The striker shot and his effort was superbly saved by Liam only for the forward to latch on to the loose ball and curl it into the top corner past out stranded keeper. And so the score remained until half-time.

Cameron and George had been introduced to the play at the end of the first half and both struggled a little to settle in - Cameron was playing out-of-position on the right-side of midfield (he's usually left-back) whilst George was clearly under the weather with a headache. Nonetheless, they both battled hard to help the team.

Corringham took the lead early in the second half when a well-worked move down the right side resulted in an excellent cross which was volleyed into the net from six yards. There was little Dunton could have done about this as our hosts continued to pile on the pressure. To our credit however we battled away and were eventually rewarded with an equaliser - a superbly struck shot from Jordan on the edge of the box which seemed to float past the keeper into the top of the net. He was clearly fired up by this success and was now keen to get his hat-trick. Indeed moments later, we thought he had it when a fantastic free-kick was fired into the Corringham box by Calum which Jordan latched on to and slid it past the keeper, only for the linesman to flag for offside! A well-worked move from which we were unlucky not to score!

Soon after, Coringham took the lead slightly against the run of play. A defensive mix-up resulted in a Corringham forward poking the ball into an empty net. Dunton continued to battle, with Billy and Dave making a real nuisance of themselves up-front. Sonny battled for every ball and it was from his through-ball that Dave raced in to score our third goal - and a well-deserved one at that.

This was a thoroughly entertaining game to watch and was a fantastic start to the season for the Dynamos following their difficult time in the Premiership last season. With a full squad and the new additions settling in well, we've all got great expectations! With a few more matches under our belt we'll be match-fit and should give a good account of ourselves against solid opposition this season.

Man-of-the-match was awarded to Jordan for his excellent goals and off-the-ball running. His work-rate was exceptional and he thoroughly deserved the award. That said, every other player also deserves a pat on the back for a great team performance - Liam made a number of fine saves in goal and made himself heard issuing his instructions in his role as captain. The back-four were very impressive throughout, with new boys James M and Chaz looking like they've been part of the team for years. Sonny was once again superb in midfield and probably covered more ground than any other player on the pitch, whilst Dave, Cameron, George, Ben and Harry all worked hard to support the defence when required and launch attacks when possible. The front two of Billy and Jordan also worked well with Billy using his speed to good effect and Jordan showing what he can do with that lethal left foot on several occasions.

This was a fantastic team performance. With Joe, Luke and James G likely to be available for the next game, competition for places will be tough - and on this performance they've got a tough act to follow!

Our thanks go to our hosts Corringham Cosmos United who gave us a good workout today. They're clearly a well-organised outfit with a very strong squad. They're likely to do very well in their league this season and we wish them well and look forward to our next encounter!.