There's a lot to admire about our brave Risers. Whichever team they face, they are always outnumbered and playing either with less players or certainly less subs! But it never seems to ruffle them. They certainly give credence to the saying 'less is more'.
The conditions were perfect for football, a slightly cool autumnal Sunday morning on the well-kept fields of the Simon Langton Boys’ Grammar, as the green and white stripes of Canterbury Youth welcomed our yellow-shirted Risers.
Right from the off, it was a tight, hard-fought game where both sides battled to create decent opportunities. The Canterbury front line were fast and it took some incredible defensive work from Kai and Lari to keep them on a leash. The first 15 minutes flew by and Ruby was like a superhero in goal, making save after save to deny the skill of Canterbury’s No 12 – one of Risers’ former Wildcats!
In midfield, Izzy started to really settle into the match and was a constant menace, chasing down balls and making effective niggly tackles that broke up the home team's rhythm.
Most of Risers' most dangerous opportunities came from Ruby's excellent goal kicks, which Sunee would take on the turn and run at the Canterbury defence. But it was an uphill battle as Canterbury put 2 and sometimes 3 players to mark Sunee. There was a Messi-like moment of brilliance from Polly down the left when she pulled the ball back, swivelled and beat the defender but Canterbury soaked it all up and moments after hitting the post they finally broke the deadlock with a pacey shot from inside the box that even safe hands Ruby couldn't keep out. 1-0 Canterbury.
Risers came right back with Aaliyah linking up well with Sunee down the right and creating some great half chances but there was no way through the green and white swarm.
Half time and Ruby and Sunee switched positions and once again the duel re-started. It was compelling to watch and Risers were still very much in the game and pushing hard. Lia sprayed some lovely passes around in the centre of midfield and along with Aaliyah created some good opportunities for Ruby to run onto. It was end-to-end stuff and several times as Risers started to press hard for an equaliser, Canterbury hit on the break and broke through to be one-on-one with the keeper, only to be denied by some diving acrobatics in between the sticks from Sunee, whose gloves seemed to have magnets in them!
Ella had dropped back into defence for the second half and looked instantly at home, tracking back and clearing the lines as Risers continued to fight back. Eventually though, Canterbury made the home advantage tell and grabbed a second, firing past Sunee to make it 2-0 with only 10 minutes to go. For a moment it looked like our heads might drop, but as we've learnt this season, our yellow-shirted Risers never give up and fought right to the end. Amelia was brave in midfield, slowing the ball down well and Captain Fantastic Lari capped off a Player of the Match performance by popping up all over the pitch and carving out one last opportunity for Polly, which she hit hard and fast from range to blaze past the right post.
The final whistle blew and the game finished 2-0 to Canterbury but on another day and with a different bounce of the ball it could easily have been 2-0 to Risers. If anything the result is a distraction from the clear progress our brave Risers displayed. They ran faster, completed more passes and tackled harder, and are developing into a great team!
Bring on Ramsgate..... the only way is up!
Opponents player of the match: Sunee
Coaches’ player of the match: Lari
Keith Maynard
Photos: Tom Bonner
