Colts U14s gallop to another double (From Barry And District News)

Colts U14s gallop to another double

SULLY Sports Club was the scene of great jubilation as Sully Colts U14s completed another fantastic league and cup double, their second in three seasons and their third successive league title.

Sully entered their final game against Dinas Powys requiring just a draw, which on paper seemed an easy enough task.

After the opening 15 minutes, Sully wished the game had been played on paper, as they trailed by two excellent Dan Jose goals.

Dinas' attacking tactic is well known to all teams. They defend deep and get plenty of bodies behind the ball.

They then look to break down the opponents' attacks and hit the ball long to Jose, hoping that his pace and strength will get them a goal.

From the opening exchanges it was evident that Sully thought that they only had to turn up to win, and to the coaches' frustration, the team ignored the instruction to deny Dinas the ability in midfield to play the long ball and to closely mark Jose.

Although the Sully strikers Tim Dunne and Rhys Howells went close early on, there was not the usual bite and tempo to the Colts' play.

The Colts' midfield of Matthew Green, Haidn Dibble, Peter Fordham and Nathan Whitehead are the finest unit in the league - but on this occasion, apart from the excellent Fordham, they went "missing" for the opening 15 minutes.

The defence of Max Wootton, Lee Shapcott, Rob Gill and Shaun Jachontow has only conceded 11 league goals this season, but like their midfield, they also decided to ignore their coaches' instructions and allowed Jose time and space on the ball.

They learned the hard way that Jose is too good a striker to pass up the opportunities presented to him.

The second goal stunned the team into realisation and they noticeably raised their game.

Dunne looked to have pulled one back when his strength and awareness won him the ball, but his shot fell the wrong side of the post.

Within minutes, Dibble missed a header from close in and when a challenge on Fordham inside the box went Dinas' way, the Sully supporters could have been forgiven for thinking that this may not be their day.

But Dibble had other ideas and, as on so many occasions, the midfielder found the net with a superb header.

The Colts were now controlling the game and Dinas had Jacob Stone in goal to thank that they took a 2-1 lead into half time, as he pulled off two superb saves, both low down, from Howells and Green.

Within minutes of the restart, Whitehead beat two defenders out wide and laid off a superb ball to Dibble, whose shot came back off a post before being cleared by Chris Hignett, who was enjoying a huge game at the heart of the Dinas defence.

Soon afterwards, Dunne was fouled in the box and Dibble made no mistake from the penalty spot.

Dunne was next in on the act and his superb shot from the edge of the box gave Stone no chance and Sully a 3-2- lead.

Sully were a little disappointed that they were not awarded a second penalty through an unseen hand ball, but the midfield were now in complete control and creating chances.

The game was eventually made safe when the superb Nathaniel Taylor-Moore and Gill combined to put Dunne into space.

The striker showed why he has been at Cardiff City and Southampton, as he glided past two defenders before pulling the ball back for Howells to fire into an open net.

It was evident that the Sully coaches' half time talk had worked, as the midfield and defence had successfully restricted the long ball and Jose was seeing very little of the ball from open play.

Dinas' best chance in the half resulted from a free kick on the edge of the box, but Lewis May in goal pulled off a smart save.

The introduction of Sam Wooster in the final quarter nearly led to a Sully fifth, but he was denied by the excellent Stone. There was nothing the keeper could do, however, when Dibble completed his hat-trick with an unstoppable shot.

At the end, the Colts knew that this had been an overall poor display, but the 5-2 result was far more important than the performance.

The team and coaches would like to wish Nathaniel Taylor-Moore a speedy recovery from a nasty leg injury which required stitches.