01/11/2026
The boys travelled to Bishop Auckland to take on St. Mary's in what turned out to be a game of two very different halves.
The match got off to a flying start, with the Rockets winning a corner straight from kick-off and showing real attacking intent.
However, it was St. Mary's who opened the scoring from a corner of their own. On a slippery surface, the ball was unfortunately sliced into our own net off a Rockets player.
The boys looked a little shell-shocked and struggled to find their rhythm after what was clearly a late night of trick-or-treating and partying! St. Mary's capitalised, adding a couple more goals before the Rockets finally started to find their feet.
Zachary was beginning to cause all sorts of chaos in the middle of the pitch, while Frankie was producing some excellent passes into Jaron, whose efforts on goal were being well matched by the opposition keeper.
Bowsh was linking up nicely with the wide players, playing some neat balls around the corner, while Robbo looked to have the beating of his opposite number all morning. Unfortunately, the post had other ideas on more than one occasion!
Just as the boys were beginning to take control of proceedings, half-time arrived.
A reaction was needed, and the boys certainly delivered.
The second half started with a different level of intensity. Big tackles from Ezrai at the back set the tone before releasing the flying wingers, Robbo and Jaron, into space.
Frankie was now holding onto the ball more, and it worked a treat. Drawing opposition players towards him before feeding Bowsh, who was either getting shots away or releasing the wingers into dangerous areas.
Zachary was absolutely everywhere. His relentless, intelligent pressing was causing the opposition all sorts of problems, giving them no time or space to settle. He was constantly disrupting their play, forcing mistakes and driving the Rockets forward.
The chances were coming thick and fast. The post, the keeper and even the inside of the post all conspired to keep the scoreline unchanged.
That was until a real moment of brilliance.
A corner from Jaron found Bowsh, whose neat lay-off was met by Zachary, curling a superb effort into the top corner. A thoroughly deserved goal and reward for an outstanding individual performance.
The second half was becoming all Rockets. Even opposition counter-attacks were being snuffed out almost immediately by Reilly sweeping up behind the defence and Ezrai, who was showing Atlas-like strength in his defensive battles.
The back of the net refused to bulge again for the Rockets, although the post behind the goal certainly took a battering! One effort appeared to cross the line, but somehow escaped the referee's attention.
As the boys continued to push forward, we found ourselves operating in a very attacking 0-1-5 formation. That meant plenty of responsibility for Reilly and whoever happened to be closest to him when possession was lost!
With so many bodies committed forward, the final few minutes became a real test of defensive organisation. The lads were throwing themselves into last-ditch challenges, with the makeshift defender/midfielder changing with every counter-attack.
Reilly was also called into action more in the final three or four minutes than he had been during the rest of the game. A superb one-on-one save denied what looked a certain goal, followed by an excellent effort from distance which he held comfortably.
The sheer number of chances created by FC in that second half was incredible. A genuinely top performance and one that deserved far more reward.
St. Mary's did manage to add another late goal, with the boys being asked to deal with the numerical overload defensively as we continued to chase the game.
A really impressive reaction after the early setbacks. The boys showed fantastic character, especially playing with the bare seven and with Bowsh picking up an early knock but battling on regardless.
MOTM – Shared
Zachary #5 – Caused all sorts of problems throughout the game, both defensively and going forward. His intelligent, relentless pressing had the opposition rattled all morning. He was constantly disrupting their play, forcing mistakes and driving the Rockets forward. Rounded off a superb performance with a brilliant finish into the top corner.
Frankie #8 – Different gravy at the back! Showed increasing composure as the game went on, spraying the ball around for fun while putting absolutely everything into his defensive duties. A brilliant all-round performance.
The boys deserved so much more from that second-half performance. Sometimes football doesn't give you what you deserve, but the character, determination and quality shown after the early setbacks were there for everyone to see.
Heads up, lads. Plenty of positives to take forward.
UTR 🚀
