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Freeflow under 15's produced a ruthless performance on the final day of the season to be crowned league champions by one point. With the destiny of the title in their own hands Freeflow knew only a victory would give them the championship by one point ahead of league rivals Warriors.
Freeflow approached the game focused on getting the result and were anticipating a strong performance by derby rivals Aldborough. However the opponents who clearly had key players missing failed to produce a performance that would test Freeflow and allowed the home side to clinch the title with ease.
Right from the first minute Freeflow stamped their authority on the game as Aldborough packed the defense. The early breakthrough came from Ahmed after being put through by Kamel's casual pass. The forward tucked the ball home across the keeper with his weaker left foot, 1:0. Jag added the second as he fed of a long ball by Samee and he too showed composure in front of goal.
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Three Aldborough defenders can't catch him. Ahmed's pace, power and finishing posed problems for teams this season. | |
Like the previous game Freeflow rewarded the opponents a cheap goal on the counter. After showing uncertainty in defense, Aldborough pulled a goal back from close range, 2:1. Freeflow though on this occasion refused to allow complacency creep in to their game and finished the job by half-time. Freeflow mounted an attacking onslaught and Jag produced a lovely moment from the edge of the box with a superb volley that dipped into the top corner, 3:1. Mourad was introduced as a first half substitute and made a real impact on the right flank. After two step-overs and cute dribbling he laid Ahmed in on goal and the forward once again tucked the ball home, 4:1. Freeflow made tactical and personnel changes for the second half and were encouraged to finish the season in style. |
Ahmed's pace hurt Aldborough in first half and this continued early on the second period as he raced on Jaspreet's direct pass and neatly finished the ball under the goal-keeper, 5:1 and his second hat-trick of the season. Ahmed now on 19 goals for the season and one behind Manvir (on holiday) was determined to score his twentieth goal. Harj dominated the attacking third of the pitch with lovely touches and wonderful passing, he released Ahmed clear and for the fourth time Ahmed scored in a one on one situation, 6:1.
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| The Aldborough goalie looks on as Kamel's shot crashes against the under side of the bar and over the line. | |
Ahmed then turned provider as he laid the ball into the path of Kamel who from a difficult angle thumped the ball onto the underside of the bar and over the line, Vinay was on hand just to make sure, 7:1. Kamel who dominated the left flank with pace, dribbling and skill then scored his second with another powerful strike. Harj squared the ball from the right hand side of the penalty area to Kamel who produced a clever first touch to open the shooting angle and fired low and hard into the near post, 8:1. |
With the game and title won the Freeflow players took turns to express skill and at times over indulged in individual play which prevented them from scoring even more. Kamel, Jag, Drayton, Vinay and Liam were all guilty of missing guilt edge chances to either score or deliver the goal scoring assist. Aldborough also prevented Freelfow from adding more goals with debatable off-side decisions by their linesman which was another disappointing example of English grass roots football and a feature of this season. On numerous occasions the Freeflow players threaded balls behind the high line of Aldborough, timed the runs only to be flagged off-side incorrectly.
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Kamel through on goal again and strikes the ball with lovely technique but is eventually denied his hat-trick by the goal keeper.
Freeflow could and should have scored more in this match and throughout the season as a whole. | Although with the confidence buzzing through the Freeflow players and title victory on the brink they continued to express themselves. Jag executed a lovely Cruyff turn in the same position the Dutch Master did in that famous World Cup clip, Selim produced step-overs on the right flank to dazzle the left back and there was even time for the captain Jaspreet to attempt an over-head kick which went well wide and added humor to the day.
When the whistle signaled the end, Freeflow players enjoyed their moment with jubilation and grace. Despite winning the title by one point Freeflow were the best team in the league technically and played the best football by far. On November 25th 2006 Freeflow lost 4:1 at the hands of rivals Warriors and knew that they had to win all remaining ten league games to have any chance of being crowned champions.
Since that home defeat Freeflow remained unbeaten in the league, they won all ten remaining games, went unbeaten away from home all season and won the crunch game away to Warriors which sealed the fait of both teams.
All the players that played their part deserver great credit and will have to wait until April 14th to receive their title and winners medals. WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, WELL DONE GUYS!
SQUAD: YIGIT, ADAM, AMANDEEP (VC), JASPREET (C), SELIM, JAG, DRAYTON, SAMEE, RAJ, KAMEL, AHMED, VINAY, MOURAD, HARJ, LIAM, OLIVER. 2 Changes made to the previous squad.
GOALS: Ahmed 4, Jag 2, Kamel 2.
U15 LEAGUE STATISTICS click here |
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HARJ showed his versatility and lovely creativity with superb passing and great touch. |
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SELIM guarded against complacency through out the duration of the match even at 8:1. |
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MOURAD came on early and hurt the opponents with neat link play and skill, deserved a goal. |
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KAMEL started slowly but made the left flank his own, made one and scored two cracking goals. |
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AHMED scored almost four identical goals and with that joins Manvir as Freeflow's top goal scorer. |
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