Spirited performance ends in defeat for Stratford Town Youth

ALVECHURCH Youth maintained their grip on top spot in the MFYL Premier Division South with a deserved 3-0 win over Stratford Town Youth at the MoodChimp Stadium on Thursday evening, writes Bryan Hale.

Nick Ballinger’s side went into this game missing a number of regulars including Ben Couki, Harry Hartin, Yussuf Saleem and Bradley West, but they put in a spirited performance against a physically stronger and far more experienced and streetwise Church line-up.

Town were still in the game until Church secured the points with their third goal with just over a quarter-of-an-hour to go.

As expected, the Church piled on the pressure straight from the kick-off and Town keeper Archie Donaldson pulled off a couple of smart saves in the opening ten minutes to prevent them taking an early lead.

But with Sacha Everard and Jamie Ford in commanding form in the middle of the Town back line, the Church were unable to break through until the 24th minute when Callum Debar seized on a Town defensive error to cut in from the right and fire past Donaldson from a narrow angle.

Town responded with Tom Rowe particularly lively wide on the right, and they came close to equalising on the half-hour mark when George Dawson’s shot from 20 yards out fizzed inches wide.

Soon after, a thunderous effort from the Church’s leading scorer Aiden Vaughan rattled the Town bar, and three minutes before the break the Church went two up when a long cross from the right was finished off at the far post by Ben Tilbury.

With Walsall-bound Dylan Parker watching his now former team-mates, it was Town who made the brighter start to the second half with Dan Purvin having a close range shot blocked by a defender, but they couldn’t find that elusive final touch as the Church showed that they could defend as well as attack.

And on 74 minutes the table toppers made sure of the points when a fiercely struck drive was pushed out by Donaldson plunging to his right only for Vaughan to react the quickest and slot the rebound into the net.

Even then, Town were not done with and George Kirby saw his rasping right footer palmed away by the imposing Church skipper and keeper Brad Carter at the foot of his right hand post as they kept going right to the end.