AFC Wimbledon 3 AFC Wimbledon Youth 3
West Surrey Premier Elite - Sunday 11 September 2005
AFC Youth started in the unusual role of underdogs against an AFC first team that has been strengthened considerably during the close season by the acquisition of ex-Academy players and probably the best striker in the league, the powerful and pacy David Fianyor. In fact a main feature of this match was the high-speed, physical battle between this player and Jack Malin, a battle that saw plenty of strong-arm tactics and blind-side shirt-pulling, and one unsavoury off-the-ball incident. Nevertheless this was an exciting and excellent game of football between two strong sides.
AFC Youth made by far the greater number of chances in the first half, but were guilty of three or four bad misses after carving open a very shaky-looking AFC defence. Robert Marsden in the AFC nets had an excellent first half stopping a number of goal-bound efforts, and at the other end Nick Greaves pulled off a couple of tremendous saves to keep out some fierce shots from beyond the penalty area. Tee-Jay Ryan and Sonny Russell were ascendent in the midfield, and so the hosts were most dangerous when coming down the flanks and feeding their impressive striker, who was becoming increasingly frustrated and temperamental about the close marking of Jack Malin. The end result was that the referee was seen to have words with both players on a couple of occasions. On the stroke of half-time AFC Youth paid heavily for their poor finishing when the dangerous David Fianyor broke the deadlock with a scrappy goal. Despite being under strong physical pressure from Jack Malin, he got in a shot that the advancing Nick Greaves did very well to block, but as all three players landed in a heap in the goal area, the ball spun loose into the path of the grounded big striker, who was able prod the ball over the line with an outstretched foot. And so it was that AFC Youth found themselves a goal down going into the interval.
AFC began the second half in determined fashion and within five minutes they increased their advantage with a very fortunate and soft goal. The powerful AFC striker David Fianyor was sent bearing down on goal, and despite being squeezed well wide by Jack Malin, he managed to get off a tame cross-shot that slipped through Nick Greaves' hands and trickled over the line. Sonny Russell retaliated with a crisp shot that went very close, and then Troy Murray missed a good scoring opportunity. Despite being two goals down, AFC Youth, morale as high as ever, came back sensationally to score three goals without reply. First, Tee-Jay Ryan pulled a goal back with a spectacular free-kick that rocketed into the top corner of the net from 25 yards. Not long after a quick corner saw Charlie Dennis, timing his run perfectly, run in to glide the ball with his head past Robert Marsden for the equaliser. After Jack Malin had twice run down and dispossessed the ever-dangerous David Fianyor, AFC Youth hit the front when the quicksilver Timi da Silva dribbled through several defenders down the right before lashing a tremendous shot into the net from a very acute angle. AFC Youth continued to play the better and more fluent football, whereas AFC relied very heavily on their awesome striker, who went close when volleying over the bar from a corner, and soon after brought another excellent save out of Nick Greaves. Five minutes from time AFC equalised when David Fianyor completed his hat-trick with a superb goal. The impressive AFC striker managed to get goalside of Jack Malin and receiving a ball in his path, he swept forward, side-stepped another defender, and then fired low past Nick Greaves for a clinical finish. With hardly any time left, Timi da Silva went on another mazy dribble down the right before firing in a fierce cross shot that Robert Marsden tipped over the bar.
This was an evenly-contested game which produced a fair result. Nevertheless, it has to be said that AFC Youth created a very large number of scoring opportunities and ought to have won, but in the end they were punished by the clinical finishing of opposition. The whole AFC Youth team performed exceptionally well against a very strong side, but man-of-the-match has to go to Tee-Jay Ryan who excelled in the midfield battle. Newcomer Sam King also had a great game in defence as did James Snishko, but also a special mention for Timi da Silva and Sonny Russell who created plenty of problems for the surprisingly suspect AFC defence. Man of the match for AFC was undoubtedly the dynamic David Fianyor who scored a hat-trick and gave the AFC Youth defence a torrid time all afternoon.
Reporter's man of the match: Tee-Jay Ryan
Team: Nick Greaves; Sam King, Jack Malin, James Snishko, Charlie Dennis; Scott Fullerton, Sonny Russell, Tee-Jay Ryan, Luke Ewing; Timi da Silva, Troy Murray. Sub: W.Taylor.