U16s stay in Division 3

The second competition of the season saw Thirsk line up against Bradford, Sheffield and Hull.
Both Bradford and Thirsk started the day with 10 players and played the game 10 v 10. The coach still hadn't found the best positions for his players, or the best formation. Bradford relied heavily on a single player and were able to spread play wide effectively and regularly. Strong defending kept the scoreline down to 0-1.
Unfortunately, after his busy first match, we lost Jack Devlin to Durham Performance Centre before match 2, but were able to borrow a Bradford and Hull player against Sheffield, giving us a starting 11, with a new formation (extra defender). With George in central defence and Arthur sweeping behind, the defence looked more secure, and Matt Raynor fitted well into central midfield despite having just played for Bradford. We were soon back down to 10 as we lost Ben to illness. and again we lost 0-1 despite some chances at the other end.
In the final game against Hull, with assistance from Sheffield giving us a starting 10, we continued the good form from the previous game, but after conceding an early goal which should have been disallowed, it looked as if we might go down in all 3 matches. However, heads did not go down, and the team kept looking to attack on the break. Eventually we secured a few short corners, resulting in a well struck equaliser. Despite much effort, neither side was able to score again.
As Hull lost their other matches, Thirsk may survive in this league on goal difference.
All the lads worked hard and with a few more bodies, we should challenge all the teams in this league in future. Matty Fothergill and Freddie Hill, with Tom Hall in goal worked really well to limit many of the attacks, but Connor up front was often a little isolated due to frequently playing with 10. Ollie contributed well to the attacks down the middle.