Training

Training will begin on Saturday 2nd August 2008. 10am till 11.30 at the grove. We will train every Saturday until further notice.
We will add thursday night training when the schools go back. This will be 6pm till 7. See you all Saturday.
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Wickham Market Tournament

We returned to Wickham Market as reigning champions after last years heroics. We had two squads of 7 for this 5 a-side tournament. 3 of our Whitton winning squad were unavailable which gave me a chance to mix up the squad aand bring in some new blood. More of those later!!

I'll run through both teams exploits in the order they happened on the day. As usual the exact details are not 100% reliable as there was so much going on and with two teams to run I was twice as exitable as normal. Steve H chose to head off to St Lucia instead of going to Wickham Market. I've got to question his loyalty!!!

The format of the tournament was the same as last year. Everyone plays each other once in a league, the top two play in the final.

Wickham Market A v F&W Utd A

Hosts v Holders.

The A squad for today was-

Ollie S
Sam
Jack
Charlie B
Alex
Ollie Mac
Georgi ( The last time we saw this young man he banged in 3 against us. As our guest striker for the day I playfully demanded he score some for us. He said he'd try!!)

Wickham have improved a lot since we last played them. They defended well and needed to as we spent the whole of the game vitually in their half. The lads passed and moved well but just couldn't get the final ball through to our striker. Poor Georgi barely touched the ball and the game ended frustratingly at 0-0. Not the best start and 2 points dropped.

F&W Utd B v Martlesham B

The B squad was

Connor S
Cameron
Kyle (New signing from Martlesham)
Kieran (New signing from Whitton)
Charlie W (New signing from F&W U11's)
Matt G (Guest defender)
Damien (Guest striker)

This was going to be interesting. Only two regular players, Three new signings and two guest players who we would like to sign along with Georgi in the A's.

The game kicked off and both teams got stuck in. Despite being a team of unknowns we passed and moved well, with no regular keeper in this squad the players had to take turns. Matt G volunteered (possibly by Damien!) to go in goals first. It was pretty much end to end stuff with Matt clearing from outside the box with a mighty left foot. Connor played as the lone defender and let almost nothing get passed him. This allowed the midfield to push forward and start to create chances. The deadlock was broken with a nice strike from new boy Charlie Wilson. Soon after another new boy Kyle banged one in to give us a two goal cushion. 2-0 the final score. A great start from the B's.

F&W Utd A v Wickham B

Wickham B were undoubtedly the weakest team on the day. Martlesham A had beaten them 3-0 earlier and as goal difference was important we had to better that score if possible.
The A's had something to prove from the disappointment of the first game. The only change we had to do was use our striker and give him a chance to get us a goal. This time things seemed to click. We passed and moved the way we had trained. The crosses and passes were finding their targets and we managed to get some goals on the score sheet. Please forgive me if I can't remember the exact details and order thay came in but in a 10 minute game we managed to score 8!! and win 8-0. Georgi opened his account with a hat trick. Alex scored 2, Ollie Mac, Charlie B and Jack getting 1 each.

Martlesham A v F&W Utd B

As a spectator this was one of the most exiting games of the day. We've played Martlesham many times and are well aware of their strikers ability and size. Connor had the job of containing him. I have to say he did a superb job. He managed to break down almost every attack and won every header he went for. We caused them all sorts of problems at the back but unfortunately their keeper was playing a blinder. Luckily so did ours. They pushed forward and hit a superb strike that was flying into the top corner. Matt G who had volunteered to stay in goals threw himself towards it and managed to get a strong hand on it to turn it over the bar. A great save by any standards, we were still in the game. Kieran managed to score just before half time to make it 1-0. For the whole of the second half I felt we dominated but just couldn'y get a second goal. Damien was causing them loads of problems but couldn't break through. with seconds remaining disaster struck, a long punt forward set their striker on a one on one wit Matt. He managed to get a tackle in but somehow the striker scrambled it into the net. 1-1 with the last kick of the ball. What a sickener!! (We didn't know it at the time but if that goal hadn't gone in the B's would have made it to the final!!)

F&W Utd B v F&W Utd A

For this one I took a complete step back and let the boys sort out their position and substitutes. both teams organised themselves superbly with little or no fuss. I was able to stand back and enjoy this as a spectator.
It was a hard fought game with both teams playing good football. The A's scored first. Georgi was hitting his stride, not only scoring but also setting up shots for his team mates if that was a better option. The midfielders woked hard to get the ball through to him and to support him, moving into space and providing options. Always willing to sprint back and help Sam in defence when needed. This goes for both teams. We always demand a very high work rate, particularily from the midfielders and I wasn't disappointed. Georgi scored again to make it 2-0. Then the B's hit back and got a well deserved goal. And what a goal it was. Charlie W struck the ball from outside the box with enough power to beat Ollie and clip the underside of the bar. 2-1! The A's struck back and made the game safe with two more from Georgi to take the honours 4-1.

F&W Utd A v Martlesham A

This is the game I thought we would have to win if we were to do anything in this competition. Sam now had the job of containing their striker. Within the first couple of minutes he adjusted to his man marking role superbly and stopped him getting any chances at all. This was a great game to watch with both teams playing well. The best chance fell to ex F&W player Louie, who managed to lose his marker and get the first clear shot of the game. Ollie pulled off a superb save and immediately released the ball to set Charlie B into attack. A quick exchange ended with Georgi opening the scoring with a lovely shot. From almost 1-0 down to 1-0 up in less than a minute!! Great stuff. A second from that man Georgi sealed the game and our place in the final.

Wickham A v F&W Utd B

After coming very close on many occasions Damien got the goal he deserved to give us a 1-0 lead. We dominated and played the game in their half but again just couldn't get the second goal. Damien hit the post twice and the crossbar once. With a minute to go Wickham equalised and the B's were out of the final.

Martlesham B v F&W Utd A

This was the A's worst performance of the day. They did a very good job of tightly marking Georgi and we couldn't break them down. i don't remember either team having many chances but Martlesham managed to score to win 1-0.

Wickham B v F&W Utd B

The B's finished their campaign on a high. Totally dominating their opponents and running out 7-0 winners. Damien and Kieran both scored 2, Kyle, Charlie W and Matt each got 1. A great end to their day. If any of the late equalisers in the previous games had not gone in they would have qualified for the final because of their superb goal difference.

There was a bit of confusion about who was playing us in the final. At first it was going to be Martlesham B, but one of the refs had written a score down wrong and after it had all been sorted out we had to play Wickham A in the final. A repeat of the opening game which ended 0-0. My words of wisdom were just do what you did in the first game only this time use the striker!!
The line up was Ollie S in goal, Sam in defence, Jack on the left, Charlie B on the right and Georgi up front. Ollie mac and Alex started as subs for this one. The game played out just as the first one had, with us dominating and taking the game to them. We played some great passing moves trying to build up an attack. Charlie won the ball with a crunching tackle on the right, played it back to Sam who had moved up to support him, he laid it off to Jack on the left. Jack played a superb ball from the left between two defenders across the face of goal. Georgi steamed forward and hit the ball first time into the top corner 1-0. A brilliant team goal and superb finish. Just before half-time Jack played an almost identical ball across the goal and Georgi banged that one in as well. Straight after half time we broke through and Georgi completed his third hat-trick of the day. Sam and Jack came off to be replaced by Ollie mac and Alex. We continued to dominate until the final whistle. the final score was 3-0 and we had retained the trophy!!

Well done boys. Superb effort and performances from both teams. The stats make impressive reading

P W D L F A Points GD
A Team 5 3 1 1 14 2 10 +12 Plus Final 3-0 win

B Team 5 2 2 1 12 6 8 +6

The B's only loss and most of the goals conceded was against our A's!!

Scorers

11 out of 14 players got on the score sheet which is again a superb acheivement. With only our regular goalkeeper Ollie S and two stallwart defenders Cameron and Sam missing out.

Georgi 12 ( An unbeleivable tally from a few games that only lasted 10 minutes. It's no wonder that he was hounded all day from his team mates asking him when is he signing for us!!!)
Kieran 3
Damian 3 (Another one we're after)
Alex 2
Charlie W 2
Kyle 2
Charlie B 1
Matt G 1 (This one will complete the set!!)
Connor S 1
Ollie M 1
Jack 1

Roll on the new season!!




Some of the squad. We left it too late to break out the cameras!!













A subdued A team facing the cameras














Time to celebrate!!!

New Training Technique for next season

We've decided to invest in a few pairs of binoculars for this one. We'll give the stripy costumes a miss though!!

How to Play Japanese Binocular Soccer

Bungee Run Madness!!

This is what happens at the end of a long hot day when we think no ones looking!!

Look at the effort and determination! I'm sure the boys will be inspired!!!!

It was a creditable 3-3 draw if anyones interested.

Whitton Tournament

We were invited to take part in the first Whitton Football Festival. It was a 5 a side tournament played on a league basis, with the top team taking the trophy.


We could only take a squad of 7 to this one so places were tight. The squad was as follows-

Ollie S
Matty
Sam
Will
Freddie
Keiran
Jack


These were the lads who had practised our 5 a side tactics in training and it seemed to pay off. Not only did we win it but I think we won it in style!! I'm not biased. Honest.

Here we are with one game to go and have found out we have won the trophy.

Big smiles all round.

Another bit of silverware for the mantlepiece!!













I'll give a brief round-up of the days events.

The teams were-

Whitton Utd A
Whitton Utd B
Whitton Sports A (This confused us all day!!)
Whitton Sports B
Claydon
Brantham Athletic
Felixstowe & Walton Utd

Brantham

The games were a decent 6 minutes each half. Long enough to have a good game. We pressed forward and were unlucky not to get a goal. Ollie didn't have a save to make.
The second half kicked off an we continued our passing and moving game. A lovely move involving Jack, Keiran and Freddie finished with Freddie scoring the only goal of the game.

1-0 We were off to a winning start.

Whitton Sports A

Once again our passing play kept us in the opposition half, with only the occassional break to deal with. Ollie was playing as a sweeper with most of his touches being outside the box.
Our first goal came from Matty's corner, the keeper palmed the ball down and Jack pounced to put us 1-0 up.
Later on some great passing play between Kieran and Matty led to Matty's first goal of the day. 2-0 the final score.

Whitton Utd B

Next up was Keiran's old team. Again we dominated and put the opposition under pressure. They defended well but as is usually the case' the player who has just left you pops up and scores against you!! Keiran got his goal which proved to be the winner. 1-0.

Claydon

This was a top of the table clash. Claydon had also won all of their games but were ahead of us on goal difference by 2 goals. We needed a win more than them.
This was a great game to watch. End to end stuff. both teams passing and battling well. Ollie had to make a couple of tackles outside the box as they broke quickly. At one point Ollie tackled their striker and chased the ball, slide tackling their player on the half way line. they took the throw and passed it down the right to their striker who had been banging them in all day. He hit a superb shot with power and accuracy which fully deserved a goal. Only to see Ollie, who had just about made it back to his goal, launch himself at full stretch and save it. The crowd, all of whom were on their feet, went mad. We pushed forward again. The ball was flying about in their crowded area when Will hit a lovely volley passed the keeper to break the deadlock. 1-0. A few minutes later Freddie scored to make it 2-0. With a two goal cushion we only had to hold on for an important win. Unfortunately a defensive mix up between two players (I won't name them, but one of them pulled of a terrific save and the other scored a volley) let Claydon score into an empty net from 2 inches out. We held out for a nerve racking few minutes. 2-1 the final score.

We went to the top of the league with 2 games to go.

Whitton Utd A

Claydon played Brantham in the game before this one. After leading 1-0 for most of the game, Brantham Equalised with the last kick of the ball. It meant a win against Whitton would make us overall winners with a game in hand. This explains the unusually large cheer from our camp when Brantham scored!!!

We dominated this game so much that I was convinced we were never going to score!! I'm a bit blurry on the details as the pressure was clearly getting to me!! Finally Matty found the net and the game ended 1-0.

We were the Champions with a game left. See the beaming smiles in the photo above!

Whitton Sports B

This was our show-boating finale. I've lost track of the details but Matty scored 2, Freddie scored 2 and Will got 1 to make it 5-0. In the dying seconds we were awarded a free kick just outside their box. Sam our stalwart defender came up and banged it low through a crowd of players to make the final score 6-0. A great end to a superb day.


The stats read as follows-

Played 6, Won 6, For 13, Against 1, Points 18

Scorers-

Matty 4
Freddie 4
Will 2
Keiran 1
Jack 1
Sam 1

This meant everyone of our outfield players got on the scoresheet. With only 1 dodgy goal conceded. a fantastic record.

Roll next season!!

Please post a comment. All welcome.

Fun Run

Here are some photo's that were taken at the recent Fun Run.

A great time was had by all, apart from the old bloke in the last photo who almost died!!