Chelmsford City Youth Football Club Under 9 Clarets

The Clarets versus parents match this evening was played out in poor conditions, with the sun shining all day, but deciding to disappear and rain arrived. However, it didn’t seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the two teams or the mass of spectators, who were equipped with umbrellas and rain gear.

The Clarets won the toss and chose to kick off, defending the Clubhouse End. An even start to the half, with some good possession enjoyed by both teams. The young legs of the boys worked very hard and used the wide open spaces, playing lovely football to feet. The parents, with their years of experience, sprayed the ball around the pitch quite majestically at times, although one spectator was later heard to say: “they just hoofed it anywhere” (thanks Dad!). Stacey was certainly the man to watch from the parents’ team, as he managed to pick out his team’s striker, Mark on several occasions, with some sublime passes, but sadly, Mark’s touch and finishing let him down on a couple of occasions!!

After nine minutes, the Clarets took a deserved lead, with Marley receiving the ball somewhere in Chelmer Park and cutting on to his favoured left foot and unleashing an unstoppable shot (what else do you expect?) into the top corner of the net. Sam did say that Richard was blocking her view, but would she have saved it? 1-0.

The equaliser came on 13 minutes, when Mark lobbed Tom N in the Clarets goal with a miss-hit shot that just about found the back of the net. The ref was looking for an infringement, but sadly, couldn’t find any excuse to disallow it! 1-1 at half-time.

The second half saw the Clarets defend the Tile Kiln end. An early yellow card for Stacey for kicking the ball away after handling the ball while on the ground was one of the early talking points. This was soon followed by a straight red, when he rugby tackled Benjamin and Henry Jr, while Ben T managed to escape with the ball. Shocking display of one so experienced! In between, a yellow was shown to Wendy for telling Jack (her son!!) that he’d be grounded if he didn’t pass the ball to her! Disgraceful tactics!

Sadly, the parents took the lead when Richard found the back of the net. No one can really remember it, as the spectators were trying to shelter from the heavy rain! Sorry Richard. I think it was bit of pinball in the area and a good finish past Jack.

Mark soon followed Stacey along the walk of shame, as he questioned a fine refereeing decision and then wouldn’t let it go. Two yellows mean a red! The game then went downhill, as Tony then followed Mark for taking it too seriously with a straight red – under orders from the management! Finally, Chris had to go as he had been nagging the ref and questioning every decision from the start, which left the parents in a bit of mess, and some good passing from one end of the pitch to the other, led to a well deserved equaliser for the Clarets, with Tom N calmly slotting home just as the referee (who had a fine game, it must be said) was putting his whistle to his lips for the end of the game!

A good evening. Thanks to everyone who took part. Some new faces out there this year and you all entered into the spirit of the game for the boys. Thank you and well done.