Roffey Robins Atletico begin new year with thrilling draw

Roffey Robins Atletico under-11s started 2020 with a hard-fought and enthralling draw against Henfield on Saturday morning.
Roffey Robins Atletico played out an entertaining 3-3 draw with Henfield. Picture by Ben Davidson PhotographyRoffey Robins Atletico played out an entertaining 3-3 draw with Henfield. Picture by Ben Davidson Photography
Roffey Robins Atletico played out an entertaining 3-3 draw with Henfield. Picture by Ben Davidson Photography

Henfield started on the front foot, putting the Atletico defence under some significant pressure.

Dan Klamm, at the heart of defence marshalled his team mates superbly, with Fin Ledingham and Austin Morgan both having strong games alongside Klamm.

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They thwarted numerous attacks before Henfield eventually took the lead.

That goal sparked greater attacking intent from Atletico.

Daniel Gardiner in particular got into some fantastic positions to score, and was denied by the goalkeeper and both posts.

Luca Harris was outstanding in midfield, making a series of strong runs and defence splitting passes, and it was one of these that Romario Moratalla latched on to draw Atletico level.

He soon scored a second after some fine work from Joshua Bellamy.

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Henfield equalised early in the second half and before taking the lead.

Once again, Atletico responded by pushing forward with a sustained period of pressure.

Eventually, Aaron Woodhams found Josh Gibson unmarked in the six-yard box who smashed the ball home to equalise.

Both teams had opportunities to grab the winner, although in the end, a draw was a fair result.

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Manager Ricardo Moratalla said: “We always have a good game with Henfield and today was no exception.

“This was our first match in almost two months and I was delighted with how the players performed.

“We had a very strong defensive performance, and in particular special mention has to go to goalkeeper Theo Botevyle who had an outstanding performance, making some crucial saves.”