U15As keep strong Elgin League campaign going with narrow 1-0 win
By Alex Watson
After a disappointing group stage exit in the Elgin League last year, Hampton U15As have begun the season determined not to allow history to repeat itself. Despite a 3-1 defeat against Bedes School, they have been in great form in the competition, with wins against Whitgift, Eton, Bradfield College and Ardingly. Their next opponents were Charterhouse, the fixture to be played at home on the 3G, and it’s safe to say that after five successive wins coming into the game, the U15As were extremely confident.
After a quiet beginning to the match, Freddie Thwaite delivered a dangerous cross into the box which was somehow not bundled into the Charterhouse goal. Not long after, Rio Felonov-Tzanev was played through by midfielder Dom Stenning, but he dragged his shot wide of the far post.
Neither side were playing a particularly attractive brand of football, and very little was created in the first 40 minutes. However, on the brink of half time, Felonov-Tzanev received the ball with his back to goal, turned quickly and rifled home emphatically into the top-left corner. The half-time team talk reflected that whilst the U15As were admittedly in front, their lead was not particularly deserved.
Filled with a new energy, Hampton came into the second half on the front foot, pressing Charterhouse hard and playing some attractive one-touch football. Without the heroics of the visitors’ keeper, the game would have been won for the U15As long before the final whistle; first, an Alex Watson flick from a Thwaite cross was tipped round the post; Faris Salman’s curling effort was tipped onto the crossbar before Marcus Solomon blazed over the rebound; and Felonov-Tzanev was denied on multiple occasions following some great work to get through on goal.
As the game approached its final minutes, and Charterhouse started to push forward in search of an equaliser, Hampton surely began to wonder whether their lack of clinically finishing would be punished. ‘Keeper Seb Rautenberg was forced into a couple of straightforward stops, before deep into the second half he produced a heroic fingertip save onto the crossbar, to deny an acrobatic effort following a corner.
The final whistle blew soon after, and whilst the Hampton performance was far from perfect, they deservedly got the three points. The U15As’ Elgin League group stage campaign will culminate with an important fixture against Royal Russell after the Christmas break. Next Tuesday, they host Downsend School in a Round 4 ISFA Cup clash.
