Under 13s hit the Bullseye against Arrows

Horncastle Town U13 v Welton Arrows U13 Warm up Match – ‘U13’s hit the bullseye against Welton Arrows'

On a bright Wednesday evening Horncastle entertained Welton Arrows at the Wong for their penultimate warm up match before the start of the season. Full of anticipation a healthy crowd gathered from home and away fans.

Town started purposely Alfie Baird and injury doubt James McKeag looking lively in the early exchanges, threatening from the opening minutes.

The Wongers quickly settled into their rhythm with midfield duo Ellis Roberts and Archie Kirk controlling the pace of game.

With Arrows growing in confidence they started to play further up the pitch, sensing the opportunity Baird broke forward down the right playing a perfectly weighted pass to Connor Toulson who slotted the ball into the left hand corner, 1-0.

Town continued to press with chances for Ryan Woollard and Joshua Baxter coming in quick succession however Welton stubbornly resisted.

With Town on top, an innocuous challenge took Archie Kirk to the ground, clearly in pain and unable continue, later x-rays showed revealed a fractured ankle growth plate.

Arrows unable to play through town, started to use route one tactics - the keepers long clearance the start of all attacks, Towns quick response force Aaron Smith sweeping up all advances.

With Towns keeper Peter Smith a spectator the whistle blew, HT 1-0.

Horncastle coaches half time team talk was reinforced by the inspirational Captain McKeags rallying call, “let’s do this for Archie”.

Town started the second half positively immediately putting Welton under pressure, their central defender slicing the ball into his own net, 2-0.

The Red & Whites continued to push for more goals, Baird determined to break his season duck going close, however it was Toulson latching onto a loose ball in the box who forced his second, 3-0.

With their spirits high it was only a matter of time before the goal rush continued, Woollard continuing his excellent form curling a shot in from the edge of the box straight into the top right hand goal corner, 4-0. At the time of the goal Horncastle Town senior player and last seasons Michael Harness even made a comment about Woollard being a talented player.

Next to join the scorers was Alfie Baird his dogged determination forcing an opportunity in the box, skilfully slotting the ball into the right hand corner for a well-deserved goal, 5-0.

Head coach Bruce Baxter shuffled the pack to 4-4-2 with central defenders Aaron Smith and Daniel Cobban leading the line, the move quickly paying off with Smith blasting the ball into the net, 6-0.

With the light fading and still carrying an injury Mckeag came on for a cameo, finding the net with a rifled right foot shoot, 7-0.

More chances came for Town, the Arrows keeper providing a man of the match perform to deny any further bounty, the referee blew for time, 7-0.

The coaching staff were delighted by the team’s performance and their humility in victory without belittling the opposition. The victory was dedicated to injured Archie Kirk - the coaching staff, players and parents wishing him a speedy recovery.

Town look forward to their final pre-season match against Cherry Colts this Sunday afternoon.

Match Report By Shaun Smith