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Junior Football: All Eyes on a title tilt
EYE 1 YAXLEY LYNX 0
EYE 1 YAXLEY LYNX 0(Under 9 White Zone)
EYE United moved top of the White Zone table for the first time on Saturday after a hard-fought battle with Yaxley.
In tough conditions on an extremely muddy pitch, Mark Elsom's side eventually overcame the resistance of Yaxley who arrived at Lindisfarne Road as league leaders.
But the title favourites were made to work hard for the three points which put them in the White Zone box seat with seven games of the season left to play.
Despite dominating possession and having more shots than a drunken marksman with hiccups, in the end it was a deflected corner which gave Eye the win after an heroic performance from visiting keeper Miles Shire.
The young custodian has only been playing for a year but after his performance on Saturday he looks to have many fruitful years in the game ahead.
With the home front line of Aaron Branch, Niall Burnage and Jack Eldridge raining down shots on his goal, Shire stood firm throughout only to be undone just a few minutes from the final whistle.
In the end it was that deflected flag-kick whipped in by Branch which beat Shire whose performance – along with the fine displays of defenders William Firman and Sam Royle - perhaps warranted something more.
Yaxley manager James Royle said: "We always knew we would be up against it playing Eye at their place but I thought the lads battled really well.
"Last time we met they beat us 6-1 so to only lose by the odd goal shows the improvement we have made so far this season and I am really pleased.
"I thought the goal was hard luck on Miles as he had been superb throughout the match, making countless excellent saves to keep us in it. But all the boys can be proud of their performances."
Indeed defensively, Yaxley had every right to be proud after a backs to the wall performance par excellence.
Right up to the final minutes the young Cuckoos looked likely to hold the most prolific strikeforce in under nine football before being undone in the cruellest of circumstances.
After watching their much-vaunted frontline come up short, the excellent Jordan Venters decided to take matters into his own hands for Eye when surging up the right wing only to be denied by a header off the line from Sam Royle.
But Royle's intervention came at a high price for his side as it was from the resultant corner that Branch's kick took a cruel deflection for the winning goal with Burnage applying pressure inside the box.
Eye manager Mark Elsom said: "It was getting to the stage where I thought it wasn't going to go in for us.
"Yaxley battled really well and their keeper was awesome, but we perhaps should have taken more of the chances we created.
"In the end though I don't care how we score. In tough conditions the most important thing was always going to be the result and I am pleased with the boys for sticking to their task right to the end."
Eye are now two points clear of Yaxley at the top of the table and boast two games in hand.
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Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
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