Sidmouth Town Under-16s finished their time in youth football with the traditional end of season match against the Sidmouth Town junior section coaches.

The Under-16s squad was severely depleted with lots of players diligently doing last minute GCSE revision!

By contrast the coaches had an embarrassment of riches with a squad of 20 determined to edge ahead in this annual fixture which had seen the previous six meetings level at three wins for the club’s Under-16s and three wins for the youth coaches.

The teenagers began the match clearly in awe of their illustrious opponents. With Chris Duchenski pulling the strings in midfield and Mark Badcock marshalling things at the back the Under-16s struggled to get into the game. Despite having the blustery wind in their faces the coaches soon pulled ahead with a fine finish from Mark O’Connor.

However a tactical change from the Under-16s manager saw the tide begin to turn!

A period of sustained pressure from the younger side saw the coaches goalkeeper earn his corn whilst he was also rescued by the frame of his goal a couple of times before the Under-16s were level with Simon Jones finally pressurised into putting through his own net with an unstoppable volley!

Despite the change of ends the second half continued with the 16s continuing to apply all the pressure. The Coaches keeper was called into action on several occasions and several other good scoring chances went begging.

In the latter stages of the contest the Under-16s’ lack of numbers which meant they could not call on the same number of fresh legs as their opponents saw the match swing back towards the more experience team.

Despite a series of athletic saves by Adam Bartlett in the Under-16s goal Mark Badcock was able to snatch victory for the coaches in the closing minutes.

Ian Peacock said: “Every one of the Under-16s can be mighty proud of their shift. The result was in doubt right until the final whistle and that’s down to the effort the lads all put in. The individual stand out performance probably came from captain Josh Worthington, but he was not alone in impressing. The game certainly proved a fitting end to eight years together as a team.”