With the lads of FC Clacton U9's still remembering their last win, it was off for our first away game of the season, travelling down to Harwich & Parkeston.  With soaring temperatures of 25degrees plus, the lads lined up for another gruelling match, and not only for the heat wave in October!

Off the whistle went, and FC Clacton U9's started off confidently and started to pass the ball well, but we came up against some strong competition from Harwich.  The ball flowed between each half, with lots of tackles in mid-field, but a loose ball fell to the feet of a Harwich player, who had a open run on goal.  Although our keeper tried to close him down, the shot came from just outside of the box and into the goal, putting the opposition 1-0 ahead.

The combination of the heat and the goal made the lads temporarily deflated, but they pulled themselves back up, and within 5 minutes they were pressing hard against Harwich and Ryan got the ball and fired the equaliser into the net.  This was the answer that everyone wanted to see, and to tell our opponents that we were not giving up!

Into the half-time break, it was all sqaure, and when the whistle blew again, it was clear that the heat was taking its toll on everyone, but the lads battled on, and had to put up with some pretty agressive play from the opposition, with a number of crunching tackles, pushes and general unsportive play.  To our teams credit, we rose above this, to get on with the game in hand, and after a great high ball being placed into the Harwich half, Ryan chased the ball down and after a bit of confusion between the Harwich keeper and Defender, Ryan fired the ball over the line, putting us up 2-1!

We could all smell the end of the match coming up, and the heat and unfriendly play was really starting to tell its toll, and we lost some energy.  Harwich pressed us again, and our Keeper made a cracking one handed save to put the ball wide and out.  Into extra time, Harwich managed to win a corner, and then managed to sneak a final equaliser into the net, setting the final score at 2-2.

Well done to the FC Clacton U9's for battling through this hard match, you should hold your heads high knowing that you are unbeaten this season, and you played fair and with respect to the other players.  It is a shame that all teams cannot go out and play in this spirit.

Go seasiders!