Castle Combe Colts U12s Whites and Swindon Supermarine J on FA Respect Set Your Stall Out day

A spirited performance earned the Whites their first North Wilts League Division 1 victory of 2015-16 as they edged out Swindon Supermarine J in an absorbing battle at Castle Combe.
After opening the league season with a pair of draws, a third was not beyond the realms of possibility for the Colts after the two teams finished a point apart in the top half of the table last season.
This time, the hosts – resplendent in their new kit, kindly sponsored by Jerry Pearce of Sharland Roofing – were able to hold on to their hard-earned advantage until the final whistle and claim the scalp of a very useful team in the process.
The Colts gained the upper hand thanks to a fine first-half display, Liam opening the scoring with a confident finish after Matthew’s superb through ball set him free.
Supermarine’s lively attack was largely contained going down the slope by some assured defending from Josh, Bradley and Luke S, all of whom showed great awareness in and out of possession.
Tom was unlucky not to double the Colts’ lead when he powered down the right flank and thundered a shot against the bar, with Liam unable to convert the rebound, while George twice went close.
The woodwork denied the Colts again in the second half when Matthew’s wonderful drive from distance cannoned off the underside of the bar and, again, Supermarine were able to clear their lines.
With Brandon H probing well in midfield and Toby and Callum involved some excellent moves out wide, the Colts made it 2-0 when Matthew, who had an outstanding game, tricked his way past four players on the right and send a ball across the face of goal for the alert Luke VDB to force it home at the far post.
Supermarine then enjoyed their best spell of the game and keeper Max saw his workload increase as the pressure began to build. They hit inside of a post before a terrific shot from the edge of the box halved the deficit and made for a nervy final 15 minutes.
Max then made a magnificent stop from point-blank range to deny the visitors a leveller and came from his line on more than one occasion to snuff out dangerous attacks.
Colts appeared to have wrapped up the points with five minutes to play when George showed superb technique to follow up and score with a powerful drive after his initial effort again came back off the goalframe.
But they switched off from the restart and a couple of botched clearances led to a swift Supermarine reply.
A frantic finale saw neither team give the other an inch as, to a man, the Colts fought hard from back to front to keep hold of their precious lead.