FREDS FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT

THE FREDS, welcoming three U11 players (Thomas Moor, Brendan Monaghan and Kyle Cross), and Jonny Hall (set to sign for the green and white hoops) from Stanford, worked tirelessly on shape and pattern in the training sessions building up to the Wantage Town tournament (especially an intense 90 minutes of game simulation on Tuesday night) - and it was all worth it!

Under no illusions, set to face teams from the Oxford Mail Youth A and B Leagues, and last season's C/D/E League Cup Winners, THE FREDS sized up the challenge - and grew!

"THE FREDS were balanced and organised in defence, played nice triangles through the thirds, gave intelligent protection in front of the rearguard, used good width in attack and finished well."

The team hit three without reply in the opener: Kyle Cross curled an exquisite effort into the top corner from the left; Jonny Hall raced onto a beautifully measured pass from Ben Cumberland to thump home; Joe George linked well on the right before driving a low cross into the box for the hitman, Hall.

THE FREDS then battled well to earn a 1-1 draw with Charlbury, with Jonny Hall netting again.

A 2-1 victory against Abingdon Town, with Jonny Hall scoring a further two goals (making it five on the day), gave THE FREDS a massive opportunity to secure a place in the semi-finals.

Needing a draw against Didcot Town, Wantage secured a 0-0 draw to finish top of the group!

The green and white hooped die-hard dozen drew 0-0 in the semi-final, but were edged out of the tournament on penalty kicks by South Reading.

South Reading, incidentally, lost narrowly 1-0 in the final, to Harwell and Hendred!

To remain unbeaten on the day, and only concede two goals against teams that play A and B League football, was a fantastic achievement!

#TournamentFootball