Youth Keep on Burning!

ACYL East Division

St Albans City Midweek Youth 5 Burnham 1

MARINO Hadji-Savva grabbed a hat-trick as St Albans City Midweek Youth thrashed Burnham Youth 5-1 to continue their unbeaten start to the Allied Counties Youth League East Division. Stuart Henderson and Gio-Lee Baptiste got the other goals with Harry Pearse netting for the away team. The Saints started the match on the front foot, with Baptiste causing problems on the right wing and it was his cross for Henderson in the tenth minute that resulted in the opening goal.

Burnham’s midfield struggled to keep possession and this allowed St Albans to break on numerous occasions. Hadji-Savva shot wide before reacting quickest to a loose ball in the box to make it 2-0 with 25 minutes gone. That counter-attacking move had been started by defender Laurence Wroe who looked calm and composed all night.

However, five minutes later, the away side got an unlikely goal when right back Joe Zazzera missed his header and Pearse ran through to finish past Freddie O’Connell. James Shaw then had a goal disallowed for offside but another counter saw Hadji-Savva score a second before wrapping up his hat-trick on 43 minutes.

The second half was a scrappy affair with St Albans’ sloppy passing giving Burnham a foothold in the game, but they still threatened in the final third and Baptiste got the fifth after dribbling to a good shooting position on the edge of the box.

City: Freddie O’Connell; Joe Zazzera (Arnie Galloway 68), Laurence Wroe, Myles Scott (Josh Davies 52), Laurie Blow; James Shaw, Matt Taylor, Elliot Bailey; Gio Lee-Baptiste, Marino Hadji-Savva, Stuart Henderson (Harry Carr 48).

Subs Not Used: Will Conway, Cieran Yapp.

Goals: City; Henderson (10), Hadji-Savva (25, 39, 44), Lee-Baptiste (67). Burnham: Harry Pearse (31).

Cautions: City; Zazzera (64). Burnham (36).

HT: 4-1

FT: 5-1