Robins tame Tigers and earn third win

Roffey Robins Atletico U16s continued their perfect start to the season, earning their third win with a hard fought victory over Horsham Tigers Blacks. The score line belied the performance as a dogged Atletico had to dig deep and show much resilience to secure the three points.

Atletico dominated possession throughout the game but struggled to convert that into goals. The took an early lead through an Aaron Woodhams corner which met the forehead of Dawid Zmuda who planted it into the back of the net. The pattern of the game was set. Roffey played some nice football, with Henry Dinsdale and Will Anderson as the full backs combing neatly with centre backs Romario Moratalla and Dan Klamm and the midfield of Woodhams, Zmuda and Noah Ashton.

Zmuda hit the crossbar and drew a fine save from the opposition keeper before Atletico doubled their lead as the game neared half time. Moratalla found Ethan Douglas with a neat pass for him to slot the ball home. Tigers pulled one back immediately as they pounced on some indecision in the Roffey defence. They almost equalised with a shot that beat Theo Botevyle although Tigers were thwarted by a terrific goal line clearance from Moratalla.

The second half started with Atletico continuing to dominate. The introduction of Rod Ferreira added bite to the Atletico attack and the pressure on the Tigers back line increased. Atletico scored their third goal when a lazy Tigers goal kick went straight to Woodhams. Both teams stood and watched as he received the ball and carried forward before calmly beating the keeper.

As Tigers’ heads dropped, Atletico sniffed more goals. A Jack Dann shot was parried by the keeper straight to Ferreira who scored the fourth, and with just seconds remaining, he netted his second and Atletico’s fifth as he drove into the penalty area, and slotted the ball across the goal to complete the rout.

Manager, Ricardo Moratalla said “we weren’t at our best today, but we still managed to demonstrate our passing skills and controlled possession. Tigers posed a real threat and I was pleased with our attitude in the second half.”

Howden Insurance Player of the Match: Romario Moratalla