Wellington Under18s 3, Axminster Town Under 18s 5

 A memorable night for the Tigers as they recorded their first win in the Somerset floodlit league.

 In a very tough league this was great to see the boys get their rewards for all the hard work put in over the season.   

 The night didn't start well as young first team keeper Harrison Wallis went down injured in the warm up. Luckily, 15 year-old Dylan White travelled with the team and he was ready and able to step in.

 The Tigers started brightly, shooting down the hill ,opening up the scoring with Noah Al-Sedani latching onto a back-pass to slot home.  It was soon 2-0 when Ben Fox beat his marker before unleashing a left-footed thunderbolt into the top corner.

 Further strikes from Ben and Owen were well saved by the home keeper and Axe went in 2-0 up at half time.

 Going into the second half , the Tigers knew it would be harder shooting up the slope. Wellington hit back from a corner after 15 minutes giving the side a nervous next 10 minutes.  But super Noah held up the ball before beating his man and smashing home the third goal to give his side some breathing space.

 It didn't end there as Wellington hit back with another goal. But a free-kick won on the edge of the box was expertly curled into the top corner by Tom Symons after Dylan White made a great save to deny the Welly striker.    

 The fifth goal finally sealed the game when Jacob England scored arguably the goal of the game when he lobbed the keeper from 35 yards out.    

 This was an impressive win win for the Under 18s which takes them off the bottom of the tabl2.  Man-of-the - match Noah Al-Sedani

 It was Ilchester who looked the most likely to score.  Max in goal, standing strong to deny any goals along with George Manning who made a great last-ditch tackle.

 Axminster took the lead again from the left foot of Theo Dibling in off the post . Then captain Isaac Poole curled an effort into the top corner to make it 2-0 at the break .

 The second half it was again very open and the pure pace of the Ilchester striker caused panic in the Tigers' defence as they got a goal back.  Theo then grabbed his second goal with an outside of the foot finish and Axe should of killed the game off with a number of chances going begging.    

 Ilchester got a goal back late on and caused some problems towards the end of the game.  But the Tigers did well to see out any danger and to get the three points. Man-of-the-match went to Fin Jenkins who was brave, strong and full of running .

Axminster 3, Crediton 2.  

 Axe have been in impressive form of late and went into this match with a positive approach. With some strength in depth they were able to field a strong side even with four players out carrying injuries. 

 The Tigers started well, with some superb passing, strong tackling and a desire to win the ball back when lost. This attitude opened up a great chance for Arthur to put Axminster 1-0 up after 10 minutes, only for Crediton to come back after a slip of hands from by the keeper to even it out 1-1.

 Tigers kept the momentum up, closing down play quickly and not allowing Crediton much time to create many opportunities. The game was intense, a quick counter attack  saw Oscar on the wing make the best of this scoring a superb goal to make it 2-1. 

 The game settled down and it became a battle at both ends of the pitch, the home midfield doing a great job creating some good chances that were missed. Both goal keepers were being kept busy, however, it was Crediton who caught Axe on the break to make it 2-2. 

 Not phased by this the Axminster lads were on the attack again, the midfield putting some great balls through to both the wings and it was Marco who netted our third to make it 3-2. 

 Axe fought hard and dug deep to retain the lead with Crediton pushing hard again, catching The Tigers on the break and once more Reece doing an outstanding job in goal ensuring they could not get that ball past him.

 Crediton started to argue between themselves seeing this cup match slowly slipping away, again chances were missed by Axe with the wings and midfield now catching Crediton on the break. 

 The final whistle blew, sending the boys into the semi-finals. What a match. Man-of-the-match went to  went to two players  - Reece for an outstanding game in goal and Arthur who came back on the pitch battling through with a slight thigh injury, a very difficult decision as there were a number of players who equally deserved the award..