by Jeff King (With A Massive Nod To Anthony Johnson)
Durham County FA Under-18s Saturday League - Saturday 1st March 2025 Chester-le-Street United U-18s 3 v 1 Washington Ranger Hawks
Chester-le-Street United's U-18 quality shone through as the game progressed and they picked another win. The youngsters three points gained kept them at the top of the table after a comfortable home win against Washington.
A slow start from Chester saw the away side go one ahead on 5 minutes after a free kick from just outside the right hand side of the box which was deflected into the bottom corner.
Sam Beattie was unfortunate not to equalise on 11 mins as his shot went off the post and out for a goal kick. Liam Gribbin was next to go close with a decent chance that was well blocked by the defender after cutting in from the left and shooting.
On 15 minutes Shay Pye took a quick free kick in the middle of the pitch which found Beattie's diagonal run and he played Ethan Bell in who fired a great shot across the keeper into the bottom left corner to get us level.
Alex Lambert in the Utd goal denied Washington with a great one on one save as the Washington striker was clean through on goal on 19 minutes.
Five minutes before half time Bell and the impressive Ethan Connelly combined on the edge of the box to play Beattie in who cut back inside onto his left and cleverly guided the ball into the top corner with a great strike.
Beattie should have had a second two minutes before half time when Alex White's ball in behind saw him one on one with the advancing keeper but his lob just went the wrong side of the crossbar.
The second half was pretty much one way traffic and saw a host of opportunities not taken by the lads in gold after some fine balls into the box from wide areas with Gribbin in particular causing all kinds of problems down the right hand channel.
The third and final goal came from a Max Hepworth corner from the left which was flicked on by Beattie and it was Brooklyn Moss that was most alert at the back post to stab the ball over the line.
Anthony Johnson's Post-Game Thoughts - Not a great start from us today however the intensity and quality picked up once we got beyond the first twenty minutes as we grew into the game in particular the second half when a number of key players raised their game.
TEAM : 1)Alex Lambert 2)Cole Robson 3)Max Hepworth 4)Alex White 5)Brooklyn Moss 6)Frankie Young 7)Shay Pye 8)Ethan Connelly 9)Sam Beattie 10)Ethan Bell 11)Liam Gribbin
SUBS : 12)Harry Garvey came on at 75 mins 14)Ollie Linsley came on at half-time
SCORERS : Bell, Beattie, Moss
MAN of the MATCH : Alex White - really strong defensive performance throughout the game from Alex who showed good patience on the ball in possession choosing the right moments knowing when to play short and when long.
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