Kilgetty AFC

The very youngest proponent of Kilgetty Football Club showed what they are capable of in an away tie that produced seven goals and a clean sheet.

What turned out to be a very comfortable win began very cautiously, and it took 15 miniutes before Thomas Harding-Jones sloted one into the bottom left hand corner of the Hundleton goal.  This though, was the event that lifted the shackles off the little guys, and gave them the belief and confidence that they were good enough.

Another goal before the break eased the nerves, but the half time conversations were all about keeping their concentration, and not letting the opposition back into the game.  Words not lost on the captain William, who made sure again, that nothing was conceded in defence.

Five more goals in the second half saw Kilgetty cruise through to the final whistle, but Hundleton can be consoled with the fact that they never gave up, with their little fellas coming close on a number of occasions, only to be thwarted by the outstanding goalkeeping of Dominic Booth.

The new boys of Kilgetty can hold their heads up high after a spirited performance on their Pembrokeshire League debut.  Two nil down at half-time, you could be forgiven for thinking that they boys would be down-hearted, but this bunch of little guys showed great character to come out after the break and turn things round.

Man-of-the-match Zac Rowell scored a second half hat-trick to put Kilgetty back in the driving seat, but the experience of the Clarbeston Road team told in the end, as they managed to reply with three more goals before the final whistle.

Congratulations to all the players invovled, and many thanks to William’s Dad for the fantastic photos (below) - each of which tells it’s own story.

Kilgetty Under 8s’ first pre-season friendly was a tough match against strong opposition down at the Observatory Ground.  Traditionally, Kilgetty teams have never found much favour over the bridge at Hakin, but our new boys looked strong, standing toe to toe with a team that had given out a 15-0 thrashing to the visitors the previous week.

Zac was without his usual strike partner, Thomas, who was away on a jolly up at Anfield, and it was Thomas’ absence that told as the boys struggled to get past the giant that was the Hakin centre-half.

William captianed the side on this outing and put in another great performance, marshalling the defence, whilst  Dom continued in goal and again made some remarkable saves - only being beaten on two occasions, through no fault of his own. New boy Ewan joined them at the back for his first Kilgetty start, and showed that he is definately capable of being another Kilgetty star.  Ewan and William looked very comfortable at the back together, communicating really well.

The midfield of Oliver, Ollie, John & Ryan, dominated the game for long periods against much taller opposition. Although Ollie’s somewhat “aggressive” style of play cost us a couple of free kicks, he definately had them rattled in the centre of the park.

Kyle had a great start up front with Zac, but as we roled the subs on and off, Kyle thankfully was also able to play in three different positions across the midfield.

Adam and little Tom began the game on the bench but were soon called into action, with Adam getting to play for long periods up front alongside Zac. Tom put in some brave tackles, and even tried taking on the ‘Giant’!

The closest we came to scoring was when Ollie, last season’s top goalscorer, managed to push the ball past their left-back, but the tight angle for the shot meant that he was only able to hit the side-netting.

The boys were unlucky to come away with nothing, but they can all hold their heads up high after a tremendous team effort.

The players and parents all enjoyed the hospitality after the match, and would like to thank Hakin for the warm reception they recieved, and are looking forward to meeting them again back at James Park!

Zac Rowell & Ollie Gamble were singled out by former Manchester United star, Gordon Hill, as two of the most promising up & coming palyers of their age group, when they attended the recent Gordon Hill Soccer School in Tenby.

Both boys were given special awards for their contribution over the three days.  Zac can be seen in the photo above holding the football, with Ollie on his right.