Grantham Town Under-16s hit double figures at King’s Lynn

Junior Premier League Under-16

King’s Lynn 1

Grantham Town 10

Grantham Town U16s knew on paper the trip to King’s Lynn should be a formality, and as such the coaches once again rotated the team.

Midweek injuries to senior players Redgate and Gray meant a chance to try new players and formations.

Playing a 3-5-2, the young Gingerbreads quickly pressed and stole the ball.

A theme this week has been playing the ball through the thirds and a superb ball by Poole set Wilkerson into a one-on-one and he slotted the ball home easily.

The goals kept coming through Price and Wilkerson who completed an early hat trick.

Kane and Guest were dictating midfield with Stevens, so both were rested at the end of the quarter, coming back on later.

In Q2, despite fresh legs, Lewis and Poole did a sterling job in sending balls through for Wilkerson and Price.

At half time, Grantham had only scored the four goals, with two penalties not given and six through-balls flagged offside. The chat at half time was to ensure the lads did not get despondent.

Q3 kicked off and the talk worked. Stevens was fouled and Poole stepped up to score from the free kick. Price scored goal six and Wilkerson responded with goals seven and eight.

Q4 started and a direct long ball caught the line momentarily static. Despite good recovery pace, and a header back to Greenslade, the ball fell short and their striker scored.

Keeley, Thornley and new player Redfern had done a great job managing the back line. Moving Poole back into defence, Grantham switched to a 4-3-3 and allowed Redfern to push higher. The reward was a goal in his debut game and well deserved.

With minutes to play and another 10 or so dubious offside calls against the Gingerbreads, Lewis received the ball in his own half. Combining with Kane, Cannon and Johnson, the play resulted in Lewis steaming in for a tap-in.

A good day away and good injury-free minutes for all players.