Academy Bulletin | Ten goal thriller at Hayes Lane

There were plenty of goals in last week's academy action, including a rather rare scoreline at Bromley on Friday night.


Upcoming Fixtures – W/C 11th December

Wednesday 13th December

13.00 - Oxford City U19 v Woking U19, National League Academy Cup, 1st Round

Court Place Farm, Marsh Lane


Thursday 14th December

19.30 - Haywards Heath Town U18 v Woking U18, Isthmian Football League, Youth West Division

Hanbury Park, Allen Road



Match Reports & Results: Week commencing 4th December


6th December, Charlton Athletic Trust 3 - 1 Woking U19B

National League Alliance, Division E;

Charlton Athletic FC Training Ground, Sparrows Lane



Woking started brightly and took the lead after five minutes, Jayden Smith making an excellent run deep in to the Charlton box before pulling the ball back for Roshaun Cooper to finish neatly in to the bottom corner.

Charlton hit straight back, Mekai Lennox’s close dribbling skills were to catch the eye throughout, and the focus on this perhaps meant that Woking allowed Kye Marsden to find himself unmarked to tap home from six yards.

Both sides were struggling to find any real rhythm and Woking were not helped by an unfortunate injury to Charlie Sweeney on 25 minutes, who suffered an injury he has experienced before, dislocating his left knee in a challenge – thankfully there is not too much damage done, and this will not put him out of action for too long.

Charlton created the majority of the chances in the remainder of the half, but lacked the composure to make any of them count.

Half-time: Charlton Athletic Trust 1 – 1 Woking

Charlton made the early running in the second-half, with four pushed forward and Woking on the back-foot. After ten minutes Woking changed their approach, with a substitute and an adjustment to 4-4-2. This had the desired effect and Woking made chances of their own, even having one cleared off the line.

It looked like things could go either way, but having already hit the post on 66 minutes with a Milan Robinson free kick, it was Charlton who took the lead on 82 minutes. Tom Parker hitting the ball sweetly from the edge of the area beyond Mikey Verga’s dive. This did not feel inevitable, but Woking can certainly improve on how they deal with aerial threat, and resulting ‘second ball’.

The game would have been beyond Woking if Lennox’s lobbed finish had not been ruled out for offside, but Woking could have had an equaliser. Saadiq Kerr did really well to create space in the penalty area, but hit his finish wide when a pass to a colleague may have been a better option.

There was still time for Lennox to get his goal, shortly after getting booked when his frustrations led to him kicking the ball away from a free-kick, he turned his marker and dinked his finish very nicely - a touch of composure that he will hope to bring to his whole game.



Charlton: Ryan Reeves, Bradley Johnson, Jack Povey, Harry Norman, Will Wilson, Max Lewis, Mekai Lennox, Mason Janes, Milan Robinson, Sebastian Pedrosa, Kye Marsden. Subs: Zane Hamilton, Kian Eyers, Samuel Soda, Tom Parker, Guillermo Herrera.

Goals: Marsden 6, Parker 82, Lennox 90+3.



Woking: Mikey Verga; George Elston, Ben Smith, Sean Bull; Jayden Smith (Sam Cook 55), JJ Young ©, Charlie Sweeney (Ollie Saword 29), James Orton (Jack Bashford 67); Harvey Brook, Roshaun Cooper (Saadiq Kerr 67), Byron Mitchell. Sub (not used) Bob Honey (GK).

Goal: Cooper 5.





7th December, Woking U18 3 - 5 Bracknell Town U18

Isthmian Football League, Youth West Division; Knaphill FC, Redding Way

A rather different game to Woking’s 3-1 victory in early November which saw Woking top of the league with 5 wins from 5 games. Woking were once again 3-1 to the good, but this time allowed a very much changed Bracknell side back in to the game. And it was Bracknell who continued to take the initiative even when they were reduced to 10 men with the score at 3-3, going on to seal the win.

Having already lost to Camberley Town, Woking now find themselves keeping an eye on Camberley who can comfortably overtake Woking at the top of the league with wins in their games in hand. The game between the two towards the end of the season already looks crucial, although Bracknell and Bedfont Sports would both want to stake a claim that they are not out of contention yet.



Woking: Harry White, Liam Manby, Harrison Stevens, Aidy Silverstein, Jacob Farr, Lucas Boxall, Ellis Byrne, Sam Brittain, Louis Pask, Stanley Kyle, Tom Dryer. Subs: Bob Honey, Liam van der Ross, Byron Mitchell, Harrison Wood, Harvey Brook.



8th December, Bromley U23 5 - 5 Woking U23

Suburban Football League, Premier Division; Hayes Lane, Bromley


Whilst Woking may have gone in to this game thinking that a draw would be a good result, there was a sense by the end of what might have been.

Woking made a late change with Jayden Wynter stepping in at left-back when Ethan Gold withdrew during the warm-up. The early exchanges saw Bromley with the upper hand, and they took the lead on 27 minutes, Charlie Bower driving to the by-line and hitting a low, hard cross which the unfortunate Jack Matton deflected in to his own net.

Woking’s Ollie Mason was frustrated to hit his own shot wide on 37 minutes, but just a minute later his excellent midfield play led to Aiden Payne-James running in to the left-side of the box and shooting past the ‘keeper in to the far corner. Moving Harry Newbould inside and playing Payne-James wider very much paying dividends.

Woking were finishing the half the stronger with Ollie Mason and Jamie Hilton starting to exert control in midfield, and their play on the stroke of half-time gave Payne-James the opportunity to dribble across the edge of the area before finding the bottom corner for his, and Woking’s, second goal. Two very skilfully taken goals.

Half-time: Bromley 1- 2 Woking

Woking started the second-half slowly, with both Remi Onabanjo and Umaru Bah missing Bromley chances when they should have done better. On 50 minutes Woking punished them, a powerful Tom Gardner header from a well-delivered Ollie Mason corner increasing the lead.

With Woking adjusting to the substitution of Jamie Hilton, Bromley found their way back in to the game (with Joe Thomas increasingly influential). Onabanjo dribbling and shooting for his first to halve the deficit on 57 minutes, before the first involvement of substitute Rashid Kamara was his great run and cross which the on-running Bah couldn’t fail to convert, levelling the score on 63 minutes.

Five minutes later Bromley completed the turnaround. This time Bah turned provider, taking advantage of Woking losing the ball in midfield, and with a cross that matched his wing-play for Onabanjo to finish emphatically. But this did not finish Woking off in the way Bromley would have hoped.

It was just two minutes later when Lui Edwards found himself running across the edge of the Bromley penalty area before finishing neatly in to the bottom corner. On 85 minutes Edwards put Woking back in front, Matton heading the ball back across goal from a corner and Edwards, displaying the striker’s knack of being in the right place, knocking the ball home when it broke to him.

Unfortunately, Woking could not see out the victory. As the game went in to added time the referee judged that Kamara had been fouled, and pointed to the penalty spot. Onabanjo confidently dispatching the spot-kick to complete his hat-trick, and the scoring for the evening. Although a Ryan Scott cross-shot would have added a final twist if it had sneaked in at the far post.


Bromley: Kacper Orlowski, Nathan Paul-Lavaly (Rashid Kamara 62), Charlie Bower ©, Shawn Jewett-Ricketts (Ronnie Cross 58), Dylan Cave, Frankie Moralee, Remi Onabanjo, George Penn, Joe Thomas (Ernie Rhodes 76), Kaan Kevser, Umaru Bah (David Diaz 79). Unused subs: Abdul Kamara, Malik Nyanin, Harry Haines (GK).

Goals: Matton (og) 27, Onabanjo 57, 68, 90+1 (pen), Bah 63.



Woking: Louie Sullivan; Ryan Scott ©, Tom Gardner, Jack Matton, Jayden Wynter; Ben Mitchell, Jamie Hilton (Alex Rihoy 55), Ollie Mason, Harry Newbould (Kjay Bailey 76); Aiden Payne-James, Lewis Mytollari (Lui Edwards 60). Unused sub: Harry White (GK).

Goals: Payne-James 38, 45+1, Gardner 50, Edwards 70, 85.