JUNIOR FOOTBALL

Develop 3
Sarvic 3
(Echo League U12s) IN AN Echo league championship decider that went to the wire, Loughton-based U12s side Develop narrowly missed out on lifting the crown.

On Sunday they faced Sarvic at home in their last league fixture of the season in a match they had to win.

But Develop had to settle for the runners up position after being held to a 3-3 draw.

Sarvic restricted Develop to just a single goal in the first half.

It came from a Ryan Ambrose free kick which Henry Osagie ran on to before lobbing the ball over the Sarvic keeper's head.

The visitors had just one clear cut chance to score in the opening half but with the Develop keeper beaten, defender Carl Hemsby cleared the ball off the goal line.

Just ten minutes after the break a superb goal by Dan Roult increased Develop's lead.

He picked the ball up on the half way line and raced towards the Sarvic goal completing his solo effort with an angled shot which gave the keeper no chance.

The home side's delight was short lived.

Five minutes later, Sarvic had reduced the arrears with a soft goal which somehow crept past the keeper.

There was worse to come as poor defending allowed a right wing cross to roll unchallenged into an open penalty area, on a plate for a Sarvic striker to tap home an equaliser.

Home fans breathed a sigh of relief when Ryan Ambrose crashed a thunderbolt shot into the top right hand corner of the goal giving Develop a 3-2 lead with just ten minutes left to play.

Victory was in touching distance except Sarvic, fourth from bottom of the league, were still not beaten and they bounced back with a match-saving equaliser after a breakaway on the left wing with a cross that was hit home.