It was another busy weekend at Stratton Youth Football Club. Here's a round up of all the action.

Stratton Youth U/16s played a local county cup tie,and had the daunting task of facing Cirencester Town, unbeaten in Div 1, 4 wins from 4. The game started brightly for Cirencester going 2 up, inside the first 5 mins. The writing looked on the wall for Stratton, digging deep Stratton played out the rest of the half conceding a further 4 more goals. Second half was a resolute Stratton performance keeping the impressive Cirencester at bay right until the final 10 mins. A couple of half chances for Stratton and with the cross bar rattled, 40 mins Stratton can be proud of. Cirencester scoring 3 goals late on to finish the cup tie 9-0. some positives can be taken from the game for Stratton. Excellent team shape & defending particularly in the second half.

Stratton Youth U/13s were also in the county Cup at home to a strong Churchdown Panthers team, and despite the heroics of keeper Emanuel Meeke they exit the cup.

Stratton Youth U/11s played FC Abbey Meads in a highly competitive game, played in excellent spirit. Stratton’s defence was solid with Luke Baker, Otto Baxter and Sami Zamiri forging a strong partnership at the back, shielded by Ben Szczerkowski. Jack Miller played his usual high energy game and was unlucky not to score, hitting the cross bar. Player of the match James Bassett pulled off a number of excellent saves to thwart the Abbey Meads forwards!

Stratton Youth U/10s had two home games at the weekend. The first took place in very blustery and windy conditions against Liden. Starting brightly the U10s scored two goals in quick succession with Ez Allen maintaining his hot streak in front of goal by poking home from the edge of the area before Arthur Quli lashed the ball into the top corner from range.

The hosts continued to dominate in the second quarter and went further in front via the in-form Jaden Wiltshire before Dylan Morse scored the team’s fourth of the day and a contender for goal of the season. Sam Potter had a real impact in the middle of the field and had already thread through a number of quality balls to create attacking chances.

For Dylan's goal he won the ball on the half way line, beat one player before placing an intricate through ball to Fin Marshall, Fin produced a deft touch to release Dylan who cracked the ball into the back of the net.

The speed and quality of the move was simply sensational. Ez then scored two more goals to complete a well-deserved hat trick. All team members pitched in with Idris Thomas-Jones and Archie Walker both producing timely blocks as well as moving the ball effectively from defence to attack. Louis Kingsbury is back to his best and was a constant threat. Luke Dawson in goal was not called much into action so came out for the last quarter to great effect. The game lacked the nail-biting end of the previous fixture but was a real high-quality display from a great team. Ez was given Player of the Match for his three goals.

The second game for the U/10s was against Wanborough Wasps in their first cup fixture of the season. Over the past two seasons games between these two teams have always been closely contested and this game was no exception. Starting brightly the U/10s went into the lead via a fierce shot from Fin Stratford. However the Wasps responded with a goal through their first shot on target. The U/10s responded by hitting the post twice in quick succession and were unlucky to go into the second quarter level. However, the U/10s then dropped their intensity and the opposition began to look more threatening leading to a goal on the break. Going into the last quarter a goal down the U/10s bounced back and began zipping into tackles and winning 50/50s. A quick move between Fin, Louis Kingsbury gave Ez Allen the chance to even the game and, in his rich streak of form, there was only one outcome. The goal meant there was then extra time and the U/10s carried on dominating the game with the crucial moment coming from a long distance free kick from Fin which beat the keeper in a congested area. After a nervy final few moments the whistle blew and the U/10s could celebrate a famous victory. Both teams played the game in a great spirit and there is very little to separate them. Player of the match was given to Louis Kinsbury for his energy and tackling in the last quarter of the game but every player contributed from Luke Dawson in goal to Fin Marshall in attack.

Stratton Youth U/10s Blue, continued their development programme against a strong Stratton Juniors team. Overall they fared well but a series of basic errors meant the scoreline was less flattering than it should have been. Definite positives was the contribution of debutant, Evie Stratford, who scored from long range, the constant energy of Vivan Nembang and effective runs and goals of Leighton Emson. Bertie Jarvis and Harry Maloney battled well while the back two of Ben Seakins and Cory Stewart often dispossessed the opposition when they were in threatening positions. Oscar Omerod deputised in goal for the injured Toby Robinson and pulled off several good saves. Julian Gurung and Jack Cummins showed off their skills with some good dribbling and passes. It is very much a team still learning the game and they will undoubtedly grow and develop a lot over the course of the season so they should be pleased with their progression to date. Player of the match was Vivan who seemed to cover every blade of grass out on the pitch.

Stratton Youth U/9s played Supermarine in a cup match and it proved to be a very competitive tie. A strong start from Stratton saw the team take an early lead with an excellent left foot strike from Liam Smith. Supermarine then played some exceptional attacking football to get back into the game. Josh Price produced a goal keeping master class, but Leo Scott was given man of the match for a terrific performance and the way he took the game to the opposition.

Stratton Youth U/7s played there first home game of the season and the match got off to a flyer with Stratton grabbing there 1st goal within 2 minutes. In the nice sunshine Stratton played some excellent football with passes completed and plenty of goals scored. Another good display of football for the 6 year