On a day when more Insch players "disappeared" than Paul Daniels could have managed the vist to Colony was always going to be an uphill struggle. Only 11 Insch players bothered to show up so they all played aginst a Colony side intent on winning regardless of the gulf in ability. Disappointingly Colony played their full squad including subs throughout the game leaving our boys a huge mountain to climb, however regardless of the score it was a day when some Insch players really showed what they are made of and refused to give up, special mention to Craig, Michael & Jack on his debut for Insch who showed the never say die attitude required for such games.


from the Colony website:

Colony Colts V Insch With Both Park and Colts having a number of players away on holiday and a few on the injured list the Park game was cancelled. Colts centre forwards Craig Hay and Matthew Timmins were replaced by the Park’s Rhys Simpson and missing right back Edward Cox allowed for the Park’s Keeper Matthew (Dugze) Douglas to have his outfield debut this season. This gave the Colts a full 16 to choose from with recent signing Daniel Innes joining the regulars. Insch arrived with a depleted squad and only 11 players some of whom appeared to be playing out of their age group. Colony have moved matches to the bigger pitch and goals at Strathburn in preparation for next season and the extra space promised an open game in good sunny conditions with a slight cross wind. From the kick off Colts went on the attack and had two corners in the first couple of minutes which were wasted however from a goal keeper clearance in the third minute the ball went straight to Kyle GORDON who advanced on goal and beat the keeper with a high shot. 1-0. In the 3rd minute Rhys Simpson was put through clear on goal after a ball out from Sam Pugh was helped on by Kyle Gordon but Rhys snatched at the shot and saw his effort sail over from 18 yards. The forwards appreciated that the diminutive Insch keeper would struggle with high shots and that seemed to be their achiles heel. However the second goal was simple as Sam again knocked a long ball into the right channel and Jake Galea-Pace steered a cross into the middle where the oncoming Chris HAY volleyed in at the near post 2-0 and worrying signs of an Insch collapse. However the visitors weathered the early storm and a couple of missed chances by Rhys gave them some respite and they started to get out of their own half on a couple of occassions in the ensuing ten minutes.Then on 15minutes Michael Beverly sent an accurate cross in from the left and Rhys SIMPSON slotted home a left foot shot in at the post from close range 3-0. The fourth goal was to follow a couple of minutes later again a simple ball out of defence found Jake whose accurate pass into the middle found Chris HAY unmarked to double his tally and not to be out done Rhys SIMPSON doubled his tally a minute later when a ball was knocked from Chris on to Rhys who slipped the ball to Kyle Gordon and his low shot was bravely saved by the keeper but he could only push it into the path of the big striker who tapped in. End of first period 5-0 Colony. Colony started the second half pretty much like the first an in the opening minute Chris HAY completed his hattrick with a 16 yard shot which crashed in off the underside of the bar to make it 6- 0 and the Insch keeper seemed to sustain an injury in the process of trying to save the ball crossing the line. Sam PUGH then had a couple of long range shots the second of which crashed off the post and was cleared but he was not to be denied and in the 26th minute he eventually beat the keeper to make it 7-0 from 25 yards with the Insch stopper again looking to be struggling with injury. In the 29th minute Andrew Smart went on a terrific run beating several defenders with skill and speed and looked set to score but the Insch keeper made a great save. George Neilson had a couple of good crosses into the Insch box but unfortunately no takers.Tom Williams had a shot blocked and a succession of corners followed with a good delivery from the left finding Andrew SMART taking up good position to slam home number 8 in the 36th minute. One minute later Colts scored another Kyle Gordon breaking through and feeding Tom WILLIAMS who slotted past the keeper from about 6 yards. End of Second Period 9-0 Colony In the second minute of the third period the Insch keeper made a terrific save as his defence struggled to cope with several waves of attack but in the 44th some great play by Bradley Gray holding the ball up and then laying a good ball to Michael Beverley who found Rhys SIMPSON in the clear for the Park striker to complete his hattrick. Shortly after the young Insch keeper who had been carrying an injury was taken off and Colonys sub keeper Liam Shanks took over between the sticks for the visitors. Shanksie had to look lively and had a couple of quality stops but was eventually beaten by a clever chip shot to the back post by Rhys SIMPSON. In Insch’s forays into the Colony half they found Daniel Adams in terrific form making simple clearances and winning and retaining possession well. Daniel Innes a relative newcomer to the team was gradually finding his feet in a fast moving game and the quietest player on the field was keeper Josh Vella in the home goal who was something of a spectator. In midfield Nathan (Nasher) May had a good grip on the game and provided some great passes and some telling interventions to win balls coming out of the visitors defence. Towards the end Dugze sent a shot past the post and Bev and Tom were both denied goals by Shanksie who was also doing well in terms of clearing the ball into Colony’s half with some great kicks. FINAL SCORE COLONY COLTS 11 INSCH 0 With 3 regulars missing and 2 Park players coming in against an understrength Insch side it was a relatively comfortable win for the Colts with the visitors not looking like scoring at any stage and as early as the 5th minute the result was never in doubt. The third period was played at slower pace as the Insch players tired without the benefit of rollon-roll off subs. It was another opportunity to get to grips with the bigger playing area and for Shanksie a good test for him in the big goals against his own attackers . The Colts second biggest win of the season continues their unbeaten run with 4 matches remaining.

COLONY COLTS: Liam Shanks, Sam Pugh, Michael Beverley, Daniel Adams, Andrew Smart, Nathan May, Christopher Hay, Kyle Gordon, Jake Galea-Pace, Tom Williams, George Neilson.
SUBS: Josh Vella, Bradley Gray, Daniel Innes.