By Nick Skilton

Old Rutlishians U15s got off to a flying start in the London Saturday Youth League winning the game very comfortably.

The Ruts dominated from the start, controlling the play from midfield with some very good football.

The opening goal was a well worked move with Lance Allen playing Izi Nicholls in for him to slot the ball past the keeper.

The Ruts carried on creating chances and came very close to scoring again, but when Kickstart started to push forward and caused some problems Ruts keeper Troy McGuigan pulled off a great save to deny them the equaliser.

Towards the end of the first half the Ruts came back strong and went 2-0 up through Liam Galvin who scored direct from a corner.

In the second half the Ruts carried on were they left off and Nicholls scored his second goal after a great through ball from Dwayne Mitchell.

Kickstart pulled one back straight from the kick off with the Ruts not concentrating, but the Ruts soon restored their three goal cushion when Allen broke clear of the defence and rounded the keeper to score his first goal for the club.

The Ruts carried on pushing forward and the fifth was a great goal from Jorden Tucker who saw the keeper off his line and curled his shot from 25 yards out into the top corner.

Kickstart committed men forward but the Ruts were starting to catch them on the break and Mitchell slid past two defenders to open his account for the club and make it 6-1.

Ryan Cobb then caught Kickstart on the break again to score, but as the Ruts started to tire Kickstart scored from a corner to make it 7-2.

Then came the best move of the game as Mitchell picked out Nicholls who ran down the right wing and crossed the ball in for Allen who volleyed the ball past their keeper to round off a convincing win for the Ruts.

Manager David McGuigan said after the game: "It was a very good win as Kickstart had won the previous week and it showed that when we play our football we are very hard to beat. Although we had a convincing win we should not get carried away as it will be a long season."

By Nick Skilton

This was a game which we expected to win quite comfortably due to Bethwin’s recent results.

For the first twenty minutes we were creating chances without any result. Lance Allen and Izi Nicholls were unfortunate on a couple of occasions not to give us the lead.

Although we were creating chances our football was not up to the standard of the previous couple of weeks. Our passing was not as flowing and we couldn’t seem to find another gear.

It wasn’t until the 25th minute that we scored when Lance Allen slotted the ball past the keeper. Bethwin came at us from the kick off and hit the post which was a let off after some bad defending.

As we came out Jorden Tucker broke down the left then cut inside to strike the ball from 25 yards out into the right hand corner - a wonderful individual goal and the score remained 2-0 at the break.

In the second half Bethwin came at us and scored on 50 minutes. At 2-1 we should have upped our work rate and start to push forward but they kept pushing us back. Within ten minutes they had pulled it back after a fine save from our keeper, but the ball rebounded straight to one of their players for an easy tap-in.

This was our wake up call and the boys came back fighting and Lance Allen broke the offside trap to go round the keeper to put us 3-2 up. As the game went on we gained control of the game and created a few good chances. On 83 minutes we scored a well worked goal for 4-2 - Izi picked the ball up on the right, passed it to the other side of the pitch for Jorden Tucker to whip a cross in and Lance scored a great header to kill the game off. That was how it remained to give us our third win of the season.

Although we didn’t play our best football today it’s the result that counts and it has pushed us into second in the league.

By Nick Skilton

After our spirited win the previous week we were looking to get another victory under our belts. We started the first half fairly brightly knocking the ball around well and playing some nice football.

Our passing was good in patches but we were unable to create many chances and it wasn’t until the 20 minute mark that we had our first shot on goal. A well worked move culminated in Dwayne Mitchell passing the ball through to Izi Nicholls whose shot was cleaned up by their keeper.

This gave us some confidence and we had a corner which saw the keeper pull off a great save from Ollie Muir's header. For the last 10 minutes of the first half we were on the back foot though as Providence created a couple of chances which they shot wide.

The second half started much the same as the first had finished with the Ruts under pressure. It wasn’t too long before Providence scored, catching us on the break.

On 70 minutes we created a great chance with Eugene Attram, Dwayne Mitchell, Lance Allen and Izi Nicholls all involved in the move which was built up from the halfway line with some slick passing only for Dwayne’s final shot to brush the wrong side of the post.

With time running out we were chasing the game and got caught on the break yet again. This killed the game flat with only a few minutes to go.

Although we lost, we came up against a very strong defence which we failed to break down. It was one of those games where we could have been out on the pitch all day and wouldn’t have scored. We will put this defeat behind us and move on though.

By Nick Skilton

After our cup victory the previous week we were looking to carry on our winning ways and avenge our defeat against Providence two weeks previously.

We started out well, going close in the first five minutes when Izi Nicholls shot just wide of the post. We kept pushing forward with no luck as Providence were defending deep and we couldn’t break them down.

As we applied more pressure Providence pumped a long ball upfield and in the confusion there was a mix up at the back and they tapped the ball past our keeper to go 1-0 up.

This was a wake up call for us as and we pushed for the equaliser. During the first half we created some very good chances with Ollie Muir heading the ball against the bar before Dwayne Mitchell hit the post.

We kept the pressure on and Lance Allen’s shot went past three players only to come back off the post. On the stroke of half time we levelled the score though when Dwayne Mitchell skipped past two defenders to shoot in the bottom left hand corner.

After a harsh team talk from manager David Mcguigan the boys came out a different team. Within five minutes we were awarded a penalty for hand ball, which Lance Allen coolly put away into the bottom left hand corner.

Providence came back at us straight away and it took a fine save from Troy McGuigan to stop them equalising. As the game went on we started to dominate midfield and soon went 3-1 up when Eugene Attram made a run down the right, cut inside and curled the ball round the keeper.

The Ruts carried on applying the pressure and Liam Galvin put us 4-1 up with a wonderful individual effort from 30 yards out.

Dwayne Mitchell wrapped the game up, slotting past the keeper after some slick passing from Jorden Tucker and Izi Nicholls. The Ruts playing out the last five minutes in style.

Manager David McGuigan said after the game: “When you all play to your abilities you can beat any team in the division.”

By Nick Skilton

After getting knocked out of the Walter Perry Cup before Christmas, we were looking to progress to our first final since the team started. Although we had previously beaten Bethwin on our last encounter it was a tough game, so we knew what we would be up against it.

We started off positively with the Ruts attacking from the start. It wasn’t long before we had our first shot on goal when Izi Nicholls hit one wide. We kept the pressure up throughout the first half and soon scored. With the Ruts pushing forward Bethwin were trying to clear their lines and the ball fell nicely to Cory White for him to slot the ball past the keeper.

With the Ruts containing any threat from Bethwin we should have gone in to half time two or three up with the chances that we created, but it remained 1-0 at the break.

In the second half we carried on where we left off by dominating the game. Within 10 minutes of the half starting we created two glorious chances. Firstly White hit the crossbar from just outside the box then Dwayne Mitchell broke the offside trap only to see his shot tipped round the post by the keeper.

We kept applying the pressure and were soon awarded a free kick 25 yards out. Mitchell scored direct from the free kick as his shot bent over the wall and past the keeper giving him no chance.

We didn’t let up and our football at times was excellent with good passing and movement. Our third goal came from a corner when Liam Galvin headed the ball through the congested box to seal the victory.

As the game neared the end we began to tire and Bethwin started to come back at us. In the last five minutes they scored from a corner to make it 3-1, but the game was already won and we are now looking forward to the final and hopefully our first piece of silverware.

By Nick Skilton

After a week off and a loss to Wandsworth Rangers we were looking to get back to winning ways.

Although we started brightly we found the game hard going. The Ruts came out attacking in the first ten minutes and created a couple of good chances with Cory White going close and Lance Allen (back from injury) shooting wide.

We soon went 1-0 up though when Dwayne Mitchell sprung the offside trap to release Allen who calmly stuck the ball in the right hand side of the goal.

As the game progressed the football was not up to the standards of previous weeks and we were finding it hard to break down a well organised defence. There was some hope though as Mitchell was brought down in the box and we were awarded a penalty. Unfortunately Mitchell shot straight at the keeper.

We soon went 2-0 up when Allen scored his second of the game as the ball came out to him from a corner and he shot through a crowded box.

Bethwin then gave us a wake up call when they scored from a corner with our defence sleeping. And they nearly drew level when they had a long range effort tipped over the bar by Liam Galvin on the stroke of half time.

The second half started with us having most of the possession but we were failing to create any clear cut chances. It wasn’t until midway through the second half that we regained our two goal advantage when Allen sealed his hattrick with a well taken goal as he went round the keeper and knocked the ball into the open net.

Soon after Mitchell made it 4-1 when he went on a solo run from the halfway line round two defenders and the keeper to put the game beyond reach (or so we thought). But Bethwin came straight back at us and scored with the Ruts not properly organised again.

It stayed like this until five minutes from time when we were under a lot of pressure and we conceded a free kick 30 yards from our goal. Bethwin launched the ball into our area and no-one picked up their player coming in on the back post - 4-3.

This gave us a few nervous minutes while the time was ticking away but we managed to hang on for the final whistle.

Although this was not one of our best performances of the season we still claimed all three points and remain second in the league.

A note to all the boys in the team - all the games we have lost this season have been with a 10.30am kick off and the games we have struggled to win have been at the same time. If we do have an early kick off please go to bed at a reasonable time. [Webmaster's note - the same advice should apply to Alan Morley no matter what time we kick off!!]