18/05/2026
Cradley Town v Areley Kings U14’s League Match
Today marked the last league game of the season, we knew exactly what we had to do, one point was all we needed. The biggest obstacle was the weather as it absolutely hammered it down before kick-off.
The lads were super keen to get the game going, we warmed up well and the atmosphere was very positive.
We started the game in the best possible way, we found ourselves one nil up inside the first minute, John looped the ball in behind the defence, Alex ran through as the keeper rushed out and he lobbed it over him and in. This was exactly what we needed to make sure we had no nerves and it allowed us to play our football. We had to wait about 20 mins for our second, it came from the penalty spot Jorge banging it home after Tenai was brought down. Then from their kick off the ball found its way to Henry at left back to pass it down the line to Tenai, who then jinked his way past the defence and scored. Unbelievably we had a fourth within a minute of that one Goal keeper Henry sent a big kick down the pitch and Tenai raced onto to bang it home, we then had 10 mins before our fifth, Jorge and Tenai linking up and cutting through the defence for Jorge to grab his second.
At half time we talked about doing the right things, keep to the basics and being respectful. We needed to fight to keep that clean sheet and win our battles.
The second half started, and so did the rain. It hammered it down again. We took a bit of time to get going in the second half, but we had our sixth goal thanks to Matty setting up Elliot inside the box for him to bang it home. We finished the scoring with Alex setting up Coen to score the seventh, all in all, a very comprehensive performance and well-deserved victory sealing the league with it.
We often talk about the goals and goal scorers, but today and all season the defence held firm and every single player did a job and did it well, we really limited their chances and when they did break the back line Henry in goal was there to mop up. The defence has been immense all season, and we have had 7 clean sheets to show for it.
This was a tough season and to win it the way we have has been incredible, with 4 games to go anyone in the top 5 could have won it, but we were always in the driving seat and held our nerve, summed up by scoring 24 goals in the last 3 games. The one area where I thought we have been great is in the never give up attitude, fighting right to the final whistle, we won at least 3 games within the dying minutes.
I would like to throw a few thankyous mentions out there, starting with Ash, who has helped me every step of the way. I would like to thank Pete and Areley Kings for providing the lads a super platform to play football and the quality of our pitches. I would like to thank Community Housing for being our kit sponsor and KBL Electrical for being our jacket sponsor. Lastly, I would like to thank all the parents and everyone who has helped this season. We definitely couldn’t have done it without you all.
Well done, everyone involved, and what an achievement.
