U15As book their place in Elgin League Final

By Daniel Mills

After successfully winning the group, the Hampton U15A team faced up against a strong Highgate side that had finished second in their respective group. At home on F2, the match kicked off and Hampton were quickly on top, with constant pressure paying early dividends by the way of a corner. The ball was aimed at the back post by Ollie Swetman and Quinn Schutter was there to head the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 Hampton. 

The U15As kept up the pressure and soon after the first goal came a second. Once again, it was Swetman with the delivery into the box and this time Nicholas Avetoom was there to score the goal that doubled Hampton’s lead. The home side stayed on top during most of the first half until about 5 minutes before the break when Highgate put some pressure on the Hampton defence. In spite of this, they couldn’t get past the Hampton back four and the half-time whistle blew with the two-goal cushion still firmly in tact. 

Hampton ran out of the team huddle ready for the second half. Both teams restarted with urgency and defended well. With 5 minutes to go in the match, Highgate put a good ball into the box that one of their players got on the end of. 2-1. This set up a tense end to the match.

One last chance for Highgate; they had a drop ball on the right-hand side and tried to cross into the box, but it went out for a goal kick. The referee blew the final whistle and the Hampton U15As earned their place in the Elgin League final against either Aldenham or Charterhouse.