Oakington Vikings U11s 4 v 8 Spartak 78 U11s

Spartak 78 moved into the next round of the KO Cup with a convincing performance away to Oakington which saw them score 8 goals for the 2nd week running. Brad Manning opened the scoring after 5 minutes, scoring from close range shortly after Ethan Morley’s goal bound shot was well saved. Kaine Johnson’s deflected free kick went in at the far post to make it 2-0 and goals from Lukas Sturgeon and Alex Niemczuk made it 4-0 at half time.

Spartak made some changes at half time and this yielded 2 quick goals, first a very clever back heel from Morley eluded the Oakington keeper and then good work by Hudson Rees-Jones from a short corner setup Daniel Mullins whose pin point cross was superbly met by Johnson and he scored with a glancing header. Five minutes later Oakington rallied and pulled 2 goals back themselves before Mullins scored from the edge of the box with a well placed shot. Oakington scored again to make it 7-3 just before Morley grabbed his 2nd goal from a Manning corner. The home side managed 1 more consolation goal to make the final score 8-4 to Spartak, who now look forward to a local derby in the next round at home to Saffron Walden Town.

Spartak 78 U11s 4 v 3 Saffron Walden Town U11s (aet, 3-3 at FT)

Football Cup matches have a habit of becoming epic encounters with dramatic outcomes and the sudden death element often gives rise to heroic achievements and this match will surely long be remembered by both teams. Sadly there can only be one winner and on this occasion Spartak 78 dug deep to come back and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against their local friends and rivals Saffron Walden Town. Both teams should be roundly applauded for their endeavours and commitment as they bravely sought to progress into the next round of the Cambridgeshire Mini League KO Cup. Spartak took control of the game early on but couldn’t find a break through. Saffron Walden worked hard to deny their hosts and always looked dangerous going forwards. Eventually the deadlock was broken as just before half time the Spartak defence was overrun by a fast breaking counter attack down the left wing and Walden took the lead 1-0 with a fine finish high into the top right corner.

Within a minute of the restart Walden were awarded a penalty for handball and they gratefully took a 2-0 lead with a powerful strike which the Spartak keeper, Vojta, did well to reach but it was too strong to be deflected above the goal. Spartak responded well to this setback but the determined Walden defence put their bodies on the line to keep the home side out. Finally Spartak were rewarded when a Hudson Rees-Jones pass set Lukas Sturgeon on his way and he scored with a low shot passed the Walden keeper. However within 2 minutes back came Walden as they worked the ball down the left and then across the field to score another excellent goal to restore their advantage with a well placed shot into the roof of the Spartak net. Spartak now had 15 minutes to find 2 goals and get back on level terms. The pressure soon mounted and shots from Brad Manning and Alexander Niemczuk both went wide of the Walden goal. With 8 minutes to go a clever pass from Niemczuk found Kaine Johnson in space just outside the Walden penalty area and from 20 yards he unleashed an unstoppable rocket of a shot high into the middle of the Walden goal. This was followed by another break away by Walden and thankfully for Spartak, a sprinting Rees-Jones was able to catch-up and his tackle denied the Walden striker a chance to shoot on goal. Into the last few minutes Spartak threw everything forward to find the equaliser and with 1 minute left on the clock Travis Fleetwood went on a sweeping run from left back towards the Walden goal and it was his pass that allowed Sturgeon to score again and make it 3-3 and take the game into extra time.

Spartak were now in the ascendency but Walden continued to defend well, it looked for all the world that Rees-Jones would score the winner but his low thunderous drive just went wide of the target. With only 10 seconds of extra time remaining Spartak scored their winner as skipper Ethan Morley refused to give up the chase and managed to pull back the ball from just inside the Walden goal line and with a one touch he setup an onrushing Sturgeon to score his hat-trick from close range with virtually the last kick of the game, much to the delight of the Spartak supporters. This must have been heartbreaking for the visitors and without doubt they deserved immense credit for the way they dealt with the result. Spartak can now look forward to the quarter finals and an away fixture in February with Cherry Hinton Lions.

Cherry Hinton Lions U11s 3 v 0 Spartak 78 U11s

It’s a simple truth Football is a game of two halves and in a storming first half display Spartak were clearly on top away to Cherry Hinton Lions in the Quarter Finals of the U11 KO Cup. The home side continued to threat on the counter attack but it was Spartak who spent most of this period on the front foot and pressed strongly for an opening goal. Several powerful corners from Brad flashed across the Lions goal mouth and Lukas managed to get his head on one of these but couldn’t direct it towards the goal. Long range efforts from Hudson and Brad didn’t trouble the Lions keeper and Daniel also managed a couple of shots but they too were off target. Alex and Ethan battled hard in midfield and along with Hudson they managed to feed balls to both Brad & Lukas as both strikers kept the Lions busy in defence. Travis and Kaine helped Hudson at the back and kept the Lions chances down to a minimum.

The second half things changed and Cherry Hinton saw more of the ball, however Spartak were very unlucky to concede a goal when a very soft free kick was awarded to the home side and it bounced kindly for the Lions to score after 36 minutes. This lifted the home team and they scored again 6 minutes later when a fast attack down the right wing saw the Lions winger run through unopposed and finish with aplomb with a shot by the near post. Spartak were grateful for good work by Kaine and Vojta who kept them in the game with some fine defending. The next goal would be crucial and it got worse for Spartak as the Lions continued to break at pace and keeper Vojta picked up an injury when the ball was eventually forced over the line to make it 3-0. Travis went in goal as clearly Vojta was dazed from the collision and had to come off, also nursing an injury to his hand. The last 5 minutes Spartak did threaten a consolation with Hugo now helping Brad and Lukas upfront but they were unable to get a clear cut chance to shoot at goal.

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