The Lightning Futbol Club U-10 Boys took to the road once again this past Saturday. Again, the location was Warner Robbins, only this time it was an early morning match with CGSA "A" at 9am. On a very cool and overcast morning the CGSA team came out with a venegance. They struck early and often, 4 times to be exact, before it even seemed the Ligthning Boys had awakened. From that point on out the tide turned and the Lightning Boys battled back as if the alarm clock finally went off. The match was played on their attack half of the field for almost the entire second half, with opportunity after opportunity coming their way. But the CGSA keeper was hot, on fire to say the least, and stopped 14 shots. In the end it was a story of two teams, the first half, and the second half.
The second half momentum carried over to the second match of the day. A match with highly regarded Atlanta Fire United, who dismantled their CGSA opponent 6-0 in their first match. The Lightning Boys welcomed a Lightning Lady, Mackenzie Imamura, with open arms. She provided another quality option for Coaches Romaine, Arnett, and Stancliff. Clay Peters struck at the midway point of the first half on an assist from Jay Stancliff. Mackenzie Imamura along with Dale Kent provided stability in the midfield while Christian Houglin found his form on defense with Luke Justice. Foley Harp helped on the backline for the boys. Samuel Stevens and Bryan Rammel combined for the clean sheet. The second half was a battle back and forth as the Fire's keeper became another field player, but the Lightning stayed poised and in position to fend off any challenges. The backline provided many counterattack opportunities. The team tried to "chip" the keeper numerous times with good runs out of the back and quick shots, the ball just barely missed the net a total of 7 times, and the Fire barely pressured the Lightning keeper, with only 2 shots on goal in the second half. The result, a hard fought 1-0 win over the Fire.
The boys are off for the next 2 weekends. The boys hope to take advantage of two weeks of training to improve their tactics and technical skills as they prepare for Thomasville and Moultrie on the 22nd of October at home. Their first home match of the season. The spirit displayed with parents and kids all decked out in their new Lightning Futbol Club shirts was a beautiful site to see. Thanks to Terrie Romaine for organizing the effort. And as always thanks to Alesa for keeping everybody informed.