On Non League Day over the weekend, a number of our young Dons participated in the action, which proved to be educational for everybody.
Ollie Downs, Leo Young, Kai Jennings, and Harry Sidwell all had different results on Saturday, but generally they added to their experiences at senior level after coming out on loan, with lower levels of attendance bolstered by the break for international fixtures.
Ollie Downs, a defender who played a part in our FA Youth Cup run this season, is currently honing his craft at Burgess Hill Town of the Isthmian South East. Ollie played a part in their thrilling 5-1 victory at East Grinstead Town.
“It went really well,” Ollie reported. “I engaged in 90 minutes of play. I’m hopeful that our current run of success continues since we’re beginning to create a really positive environment around the team. Personally, I felt like that was my best performance for the Hill thus far, and I’m excited for the future.
Leo Young, who was also a member of the youthful Dons defence, began his loan at Isthmian Premier leaders Carshalton Athletic last week.
Similar to us, they are situated just outside the play-off spots. Aaron Jones, the custodian, and Kwaku Frimpong, the midfielder, are former Dons youth. Leo made his debut in Carshalton colours as a late substitution, but the Robins lost disappointingly, 1-0, against Cheshunt.
Leo remarked, “I feel like I’ve fit right in with the Carshalton group.” “I have a strong group of teammates that are focused on winning the play-offs and moving up.
“After the game, the manager expressed that I performed well during my little involvement, and I felt the same way about Cheshunt. I’m excited for the Easter football games the following week, and I expect to increase my amount of playing time in men’s football.
Colleague Kai Jennings, who plays in the middle, will never forget last Tuesday as his first Whitehawk start.
After providing an assist in his replacement role against Kingstonian, he excelled at Bognor Regis Town, a Sussex rival, in the Isthmian Premier match. In a 2-2 draw, Kai got the first goal and was named the team’s man of the match.
Kai got a further 85 minutes on his home debut at the weekend against runaway leaders Hornchurch, but unfortunately the damage was done by half-time with the visitors 4-0 up and that’s how it finished.
Harry Sidwell, a fellow midfielder, played for Kingstonian for the final quarter of their match against Potters Bar Town, marking his second appearance. Ks had fallen behind 5-1 at the moment, but they only gave up one more goal before the end of play.
Nearer to home, on Saturday morning, our quartet’s Under-18 teammates won their third Merit League 1 game back at our New Malden training base.
Our youth squad climbed up to seventh place in the league when Simon Clark’s young Dons scored twice in the first half against Oxford United. The visitors did score one more goal before the conclusion, though.
On loan from Ashford Town (Middlesex), keeper Max Foulkes joined our first team in Cheshire to help with the warm-up with veteran keepers Nik Tzanev and Alex Bass.
Defender Ethan Sutcliffe is still a frequent starter for the Tonbridge Angels in other positions. He was a part of the National League South winning squad that defeated Truro City 2-1 at home.
The starting lineup for Corinthian-Casuals, who fell to Badshot Lea 3-1 at King George’s Field in the Isthmian South Central, included defender Sean Sankanu. In the last 13 minutes of Merstham’s South East division loss to Littlehampton Town, the forward Quaine Bartley played.
Josh Hallard, a defender, replaced Tom Beere for the final quarter of an hour of yesterday’s Isthmian Premier League match, which Cray Wanderers lost 1-0 against Folkestone Invicta.
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