THE GREAT Notley Rams moved to the top of the League Cup Group A table with a win over rivals Meadow Youth Lions in Chelmsford on Sunday.
A solitary goal from George Morris in the closing stages of the second half was all that split the teams on a day when both sides played some sublime football at times.
The Rams lined up with Tom McInerney in goal, a defence from Jamie McNeilly, Emma Root and Jonathan Stoneman, midfield from James O'Reilly, Matthew Littlejohn and Olivia Hales, while Matthew Norris, George Morris and Ben Rodley made up the strikers.
From the outset it was apparent why both of these teams are sitting at the top of the Osea Division league table, as both looked to play a fluid passing game, and showed good organisation across the pitch.
The Youth Lions were progressive in attack and forced a number of corners early on, although these were dealt with by some solid defending and a very reliable performance from McInerney who dealt with anything which came at him.
All three defenders - Stoneman, Root and McNeilly - were quick to win tackles and made good choices between passing the ball out of defence and clearing with distance, while O'Reilly, Littlejohn and in particular Olivia Hales were busy in midfield supporting the defence and attack.
Chances were few and far between, although Morris and Matthew Norris were both unlucky not to test the Lions goalkeeper more than they did. Ben Rodley was hard working up front.
At half time it was all level, and Rams boss John Stoneman merely said: "Just do what you've been doing", for his half time team talk, and indeed it was more of the same in the second period.
The goal when it came was somewhat fortunate, a Rams attack looked to have petered out but some tenacity from Morris saw him win the ball back close to the Lions goal line, and despite the impossible angle, his shot managed to evade the Lions goalkeeper and squeeze itself into the net by the far post.
The Rams then saw out the final five minutes with more excellent defending from front to back, although they were almost caught out at the death, when a Lions striker shot just wide from a good position in the box.
Stoneman said: "After a few weeks where the performances have been slightly under par, it was encouraging to see us once again pinging the ball around.
"The Lions are a strong team, and their results in recent weeks bear this out, but we needed this win in order to push for progression out of the group stages of the cup, and I was delighted with the application we showed."
Next week the Rams are again in cup action when they face Galleywood Youth Hawks.
A solitary goal from George Morris in the closing stages of the second half was all that split the teams on a day when both sides played some sublime football at times.
The Rams lined up with Tom McInerney in goal, a defence from Jamie McNeilly, Emma Root and Jonathan Stoneman, midfield from James O'Reilly, Matthew Littlejohn and Olivia Hales, while Matthew Norris, George Morris and Ben Rodley made up the strikers.
From the outset it was apparent why both of these teams are sitting at the top of the Osea Division league table, as both looked to play a fluid passing game, and showed good organisation across the pitch.
The Youth Lions were progressive in attack and forced a number of corners early on, although these were dealt with by some solid defending and a very reliable performance from McInerney who dealt with anything which came at him.
All three defenders - Stoneman, Root and McNeilly - were quick to win tackles and made good choices between passing the ball out of defence and clearing with distance, while O'Reilly, Littlejohn and in particular Olivia Hales were busy in midfield supporting the defence and attack.
Chances were few and far between, although Morris and Matthew Norris were both unlucky not to test the Lions goalkeeper more than they did. Ben Rodley was hard working up front.
At half time it was all level, and Rams boss John Stoneman merely said: "Just do what you've been doing", for his half time team talk, and indeed it was more of the same in the second period.
The goal when it came was somewhat fortunate, a Rams attack looked to have petered out but some tenacity from Morris saw him win the ball back close to the Lions goal line, and despite the impossible angle, his shot managed to evade the Lions goalkeeper and squeeze itself into the net by the far post.
The Rams then saw out the final five minutes with more excellent defending from front to back, although they were almost caught out at the death, when a Lions striker shot just wide from a good position in the box.
Stoneman said: "After a few weeks where the performances have been slightly under par, it was encouraging to see us once again pinging the ball around.
"The Lions are a strong team, and their results in recent weeks bear this out, but we needed this win in order to push for progression out of the group stages of the cup, and I was delighted with the application we showed."
Next week the Rams are again in cup action when they face Galleywood Youth Hawks.
