Peter Brown Craven Minor League

Match Reports Week Ending March 25

Under 10 - Redgate B 1 Town Green A 2

Town Green A boys gave their manager, Tony Peet, the best end of season present by clinching their 3rd league title in 3 years.  This was a closely fought match, particularly in midfield, with Town Green taking an early lead with an outstanding right foot shot from Kieron Turner, which sailed into the top corner. This seemed to settle Town Green's nerves. After some good pressure from Josh Donson on the Redgate defence, the ball fell to Turner again, who extended the lead to 2-0. This was the half time score.

Redgate came out fighting in the 2nd half and took the game to Town Green but Theo Chrisokhou was strong at the back and kept Redgate at bay. Eventually, Redgate's pressure rewarded them with a goal, their striker racing on to a through ball and placing it skillfully into the back of the net.  After a corner from Connor Tierney, a right footed shot from Nathan Peet was superbly saved by the impressive Redgate keeper. This was a real battle right to the end with Connor Stockwell working hard in the centre of midfield.  With a couple of minutes to go, Redgate had a chance for an equaliser but were thwarted by Anthony 'Safehands' Caunce in the Town Green goal who somehow seemed to keep the ball from going over the line. This secured Town Green's 2-1 win and 3rd successive league championship.  This was a real nail biter for the travelling supporters and the referee's final whistle could not come soon enough for the Town Green faithful.

A 3rd successive league championship is a truly massive achievement and Town Green owe so much to manager Tony Peet, for his enthusiastic managerial technique, his commitment and his all round ability to motivate the team. Town Green under 10 boys and parents wish Tony and Nathan Peet all the very best for the future. You will be sadly missed by us all. You should be as proud of your boys as they are of you, Tony.  Thanks for everything.  Town Green's man of the match was Keiron Turner.

Southport 1 Birkdale 1

The final league game of the season for both teams paired 2 teams that aimed to finish as high up the league as possible. Southport started the brighter with Owen Drummond and James Smith having early chances to take the league for Port, but the Birkdale keeper was alert to each effort. The 1st real threat on goal fell to Port captain Oliver Cunningham who struck a right foot volley from outside the box that looked a cert goal only for the Birkdale keeper to get his body behind the ball and grab it at the 2nd attempt. This brought Birkdale to life and they had numerous chances to take the lead with Joe Cooper at the centre of everything. Sam Johnson and Jack Bainbridge combined to set up a chance for James Smith but the Birkdale defence cut out the danger.

The 2nd half started spectacularly with Port pushing forward and leaving a gap at the back that let in Birkdale, a 1-on-1 with Callum Jones saw the Birkdale forward place his shot out of Jonses reach and into the net. This was well deserved as Birkdale had missed earlier chances, Anthony Brown and Ryan Patel pushed forward for Southport and a scramble on the edge of the box saw Cunningham have a shot blocked and the rebound fell to him again only for him to place his 2nd shot wide of the post. Port brought Robson Baldwin back on and he was instrumental in the equaliser by playing Anthony Brown in who placed his shot with shear perfection wide of the keeper and into the net off the far post. Southport sensed panic in the Birkdale defence and again Baldwin drove forward only to be upended just on the edge of the box unfortunately the free kick went over the bar. The final whistle ended a very competitive game played in a sporting manner by 2 teams who will be pushing for honours next season.

HALF A MILLION YOUNG PEOPLE EARN WHILE THEY LEARN

OVER half a million 16-18 year olds in England have benefited from Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) since September, according to new figures from the Learning and Skills Council.  In the past six months over 500,000 individual young people have claimed the payment, which offers young people up to £30 a week to stay on post-16 providing they commit to learning and attend college or school.

EMA has enabled more young people to stay on in learning after their GCSEs, with the last academic year (05/06) seeing the highest number of 16 year olds in learning since 1994 - with 89.1% in some form of learning.  It is available for a range of vocational and academic courses, including Level 2 diplomas in subjects like Fashion Retail, Aerobic Instruction and Business, GCSE retakes and A levels, so today the Learning and Skills (LSC) is urging young people to find out if they’re eligible.

16-18 year olds across England may be eligible to receive EMA if they remain in learning and are from a household income in tax year 2006/07 of up to £30,810. Young people can apply for EMA by logging onto www.direct.gov.uk/ema or by calling 0808 10 16219 or by picking up an application form from their school, college, learning provider, or their local Connexions centre.

Trevor Fellowes, Director of Learner Support at the LSC, which operates the scheme, said:- “We’re delighted that over half a million learners are currently benefiting from EMA - traditionally money is the number one reason why young people drop out of school at 16, so not only has EMA removed this barrier for many young people, but it means more young people have been able to make the best choices for their future.  To give young people the best start in life, we’re urging 15 -16 year olds who are considering their options for the next academic year to find out if they’re eligible and look at the wide range of learning opportunities available to them.”

Skills Minister Phil Hope said:- “Since EMA was introduced in 2004 we’ve seen a huge rise in participation and an increase in the number of young people attaining Level 2 qualifications - 5 GCSEs or the vocational equivalent. EMA has had a massive impact on the financial barriers that previously prevented young people from staying on in Further Education.

EMA is available on a huge range of vocational and academic learning courses and the opportunities for young people are vast. I urge all young people who may feel tempted to drop out into low-paid work to get in touch with their local college or Connexions Adviser and enquire about available learning opportunities. If young people attend and make progress they may not only receive EMA but gain valuable qualifications to boost their career prospects and earnings. Thanks to EMA many more young people are benefiting from staying on in learning and finding ways into good careers."

EMA has been fantastic in driving up participation, but to take the success of EMA one step further, this month we have set out proposals so that from 2015 all young people will remain in some form of education or training until their 18th birthday. This Government will make sure that young people do not face financial or other barriers to learning. I urge all young people to find out if they are eligible for EMA to make sure they fulfil their learning potential.”

EMA is available to young people at college, school sixth form centres, and some work based learning providers for a variety of academic, retakes and vocational courses including LSC funded Entry to Employment (e2e) and Programme led Apprenticeships.