Under 16s Reports - 2003-04

Sun 04 Apr - LEDBURY SWIFTS  1, PRESTEIGNE 3 
Swifts played their last U16s league game fielding all available players. With a number of the squad playing out of their usual position, Swifts did well to hold a strong Presteigne team at bay for 20 minutes. The opening goal was rather unfortunate. Swifts stopped playing when a Presteigne player hand-balled, but the foul went unseen by the referee and the ball was crossed and was fired home. Despite this the Swifts had their chances, Jason Payne moving up from full back for one good shot and Mark Carless battling well down the left. Presteigne doubled their score from a corner early in the second half. A right wing cross was then slotted home from close in to make it 3-0, and when Matt Cale limped off things looked bleak for Swifts. A reshuffle saw Tom Locke move up from centre back and his skill and strength was rewarded by a well taken goal. Dan Hunter was handling things well at left, back, and Anthony Bradford and Tom Locke both had shots well saved, but in the end it was to much of an uphill struggle for Swifts. Swifts complete their season with cup action in two weeks time and then have a break before a trip to Sweden.

Sun 05 Mar - LEDBURY SWIFTS  0, WESTON-UNDER-PENYARD  1 
Ledbury were hoping to continue their recent good form against Weston in this U16s league game. Swifts almost scored in the first minute. Tom Watts' superb cross was met by Tim Rutherford, but his downward header was safely gathered by the goalie. Swifts carved out the better chances, home goalie Tom Smith being well protected by the back four of Tom Locke, Sam Hodges, Matt Hodges and Dan Hunter. Dan Herbert tried a spectacular shot from the halfway line from the restart, but again the visiting goalie took charge. A Hunter cross caused mayhem in the visiting goalmouth and Mark Carless was unlucky not to force the ball over the line. With 15 minutes to go, a right-wing cross wasn't cleared and a Weston player found the bottom corner of the net. A quick break gave Rutherford a chance, but again the visiting goalie was brave enough to deny him and Swifts their point.

Sun 22 Feb - LEDBURY SWIFTS  2, BELMONT  1 
SWIFTS U16s started well with the wind advantage and dominated the early part of the game. A Ledbury corner after ten minutes saw Dan Herbert head powerfully home for Swifts to take the lead. Swifts' defence, with Sam Hodges moving into the centre, gave Belmont a hard time. Midfield space was hard to find but Tim Rutherford combined well with Tom Watts to allow Jack Hodges to fire in their second goal from ten yards. The second half saw Belmont try to get back into the game and after a scramble inside the box the ball was prodded into the Ledbury net to bring the score to 2-1. Swifts looked dangerous on the break and a Jason Payne cross put Mark Carless in a good scoring position only for him to be denied by the Belmont defence. Swifts ran down the clock and finished winners to put a dent in Belmont's hopes of the league championship.

Sun 15 Feb - BROMYARD TOWN  0, LEDBURY SWIFTS  2 
BROMYARD dominated the opening exchanges with some neat, high tempo passing movements. But the best move of the half came when full back Sam Hodges carried the ball down the left wing before slipping a superb pass to Dan Hunter. With the goalkeeper closing in, Hunter's shot drifted just wide of the post. Shortly afterwards Swifts won a free kick about 20 yards out. Tim Rutherford fooled everyone by sending in a low shot that eluded the unsighted goalkeeper and went in off the post. Swifts had more possession at the start of the second half and Dan Herbert had a powerful shot from distance well saved. Herbert provided a perfectly weighted pass for substitute Tom Watts to run onto and his shot was of equal quality as he doubled the Swifts' lead. Tom Smith had to make an acrobatic save from a deflected free kick as he put on a solid display to keep his old team mates at bay. As time ran out Swifts looked the more likely to score, leaving the home team rooted to the bottom of the table.