AHMED NOTCHES HIS HALF CENTURY IN TEN GOAL TUESDAY TROUNCING

Austen completed the season with an easy win against a hardworking Stortfold side that completed a six game winning run in which Austen scored fifty-one goals and conceded only five. The other headline statistic was that, in scoring four times in this match, Ahmed notched his tally for the season up to a staggering fifty goals, he even kept a clean sheet during his stint in goal in the second half of this match. Top of the table Colts will need to score twenty-five goals in their final match to knock Austen off the top of the table for goals scored; Austen have a finally tally of 137.

Austen began the match with real intent, Courtney scoring on the third minute following a fine run down the right wing and a shot at the near post.

Courtney turned provider in the ninth minute feeding Ahmed in the centre of the pitch, Ahmed looked like he had taken the ball too far when he reached the box, but still had the composure to coolly chip the ball over the keeper and into the net for Austen’s second.

Next it was Ahmed’s turn to be provider as he fed a ball down the right wing to Thompson whose shot across goal looked like it was going in, but the onrushing Marshall made sure with a simple tap-in on eleven minutes.

Ahmed grabbed a second, and Austen’s fourth, on thirteen minutes, beating off the Stotfold defence, and finishing with a step-over and tap-in in front of the Stotfold keeper.

Stotfold’s keeper made a fine diving save on fifteen minutes but his forwards had rarely ventured past the Austen defence, whereas his defence were being terrorised by Thompson and the strength of Courtney and Ahmed.

To make matters worse a Stotfold defender was unfortunate to chip the ball into his own net on twenty minutes to make it 0-5.

Thompson stroked in a square ball from Ahmed following a fine pass from Houston on the left to make it 0-6 by twenty-six minutes.

Thornton fed Thomson down the right, and his right wing cross was smashed into the roof of the net by Ahmed, in a fine move that edged Ahmed to within one goal of his fifty with forty-two minutes remaining.

With the score at 0-7 at half-time Austen made some significant substitutions not least Ahmed pulling on the keeper’s shirt.

The changes stifled Austen’s play but they were still on top. They survived a Stotfold free-kick that never breached the wall, and went close with a Houston chip at the other end.

Ahmed was introduced for the last seventeen minutes of the match along with some further substitutions. Lobjoit did a stint in goal and he was soon tasked to deal with Stotfold’s first corner of the match.

Perhaps Newport’s goalkeeping skills made him alert to latching onto a poor Stotfold goal-kick, but his sweet strike into the top left corner of the goal was definitely from a striker’s locker.

Hepburn, now unleashed upfront, showed determination and urgency in finding a goal and, in a good of demonstration of team spirit, this did not go unnoticed by his team-mates who went to great lengths to feed him the ball.

After a good run down the right Hepburn cut in and smashed the ball towards goal only to be thwarted by the safe hands of the Stotfold keeper.

With only twelve minutes left it looked like Ahmed would miss out on his fiftieth goal, but as often is the case with landmark goals, it was achieved in an unspectacular fashion. In fact Ahmed benefited from the tireless Hepburn’s bad luck as Hepburn attempted an identical attack as his previous effort down the right wing. This time Hepburn struck the ball well and beat the keeper, but he could not beat the crossbar, and the ball fell at the feet of Ahmed for the simplest of tap-ins.

Newport again latched onto a poor goal-kick and, as he weaved his way through the box, he was felled and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Up stepped Hepburn for his moment of glory, but his weak spot-kick straight at the keeper did not yield the goal he deserved, the keeper saving with his feet.

Stotfold were alert to the loose ball from the penalty, and had never given up on a goal of their own, and, before Austen had realised, they had squeezed the ball past Lobjoit in the Austen goal, in the swiftest of counter-attacks to make it 1-9.

With only two minutes to play a Stotfold fight back was never on the cards, and Mason-Soards added another nail to the coffin, latching onto another poor Stotfold goal kick, and smashing the ball low across goal and into the net.

Congratulations to Stevenage Colts for deservedly winning Division Two (undefeated as I write). Thank you to all the teams in Division Two, we’ve enjoyed all our matches against you and the sportsmanship that has been on display, we wish you all well for the seasons ahead.