Under 12's tournament 2nd May 2009

We have been invited to enter a team into the Under 12's Dutch weekend tournament. It's a 6 a side tourney with only 8 places available for the squad.
The squad selected is- Ollie S, Connor S, Freddie, Jack, Charlie B, Will, Dash, Matty.

We have other Tournaments coming up where we can enter more players later in the summer.

Sizewell & Knodishall 25th April 2009

We needed two good wins today in our push for runners up position in the league. Congratulations to the Hawks who secured the league with a resounding 5-0 win over Trimley.
We are still in the running for medals in both A & B leagues.

A Game

The line up was Ollie S in goal, Sam in defence, Freddie, Charlie B & Ollie M in midfield, Dash & Will up front, Matty & Connor S on the bench.

The game started off at a good pace and the boys looked up for it from the kick off. Sizewell may be bottom of the league but they are a big strong team and battled very well. We passed the ball well and played some good football but when Sizewell attacked they looked dangerous. Sam had his work cut out at the back, well supported by our midfield trio who again put in a great effort going from box to box for the whole game. we made several chances and were unlucky not to score. It was a very even first half. Thankfully we broke the deadlock just before half time when Freddie received the ball just inside our half, he was fouled on the halfway line but managed to stay on his feet and keep his run going. The ref noted the foul but played advantage. Freddie sailed past a couple of defenders and passed the ball across to Dash who finished it off with a superb strike. 1-0 the half time score.

We needed a good start to the second half as Sizewell were still very much in the game. From the kick off Dash went on a long run forward and got the ball to Matty who banged it in. 2-0.
A minute later Freddie sent in a corner, the ref spotted some pushing in the box and awarded us a penalty!! Apparently he had spoken to the player previously but I didn't see anything. Charlie B stepped up and gave the keeper no chance. 3-0.
The game started to open up as Sizewell's heads went down. We were passing and moving all over the pitch. Charlie was playing some lovely balls over the defense to the wings giving the strikers plenty to run onto. He played one of those passes to Dash who ran through and finished low into the corner to make it 4-0.
Sizewell were unable to get past Connor at the back. He won every high ball and had a superb game at the back. Ollie Mac and Freddie were both playing the wide role to great effect and put in some quality crosses into the box. We were unlucky not to get a couple more.
In the end we finished 4-0 winners. We now have to match or better Chantrys result against the Hawks to finish runners up.

Man of the match was Charlie Bance. When he's won it in the past it's been due to his battling and effort in the middle of the pitch. Today it was for the sheer quality of the passes and through balls he was supplying to the wide men at the front. We've worked hard in training all season to get the shape right and today it clicked to great effect. A special mention to Connor who was immense at the back and won everything that came his way, especially the headers which he dealt with brilliantly.

B Game

We are still in with a chance of finishing second but we need the Hawks to beat Chantry and for us to win our last two games and to improve our goal difference!! We are on the same goal difference as Chantry.
The boys were given the target of a)win the game & b)get as many goals as possible!

The line up was- Harley in goal, Kyle in defence, Curtis, Keiran and Cammy across midfield, Jack and Charlie W up front, Nat and Dan on the bench.

For many of the Sizewell b players this is their first season and it showed in the dominance we had on the game. Their keeper however played out of his skin and was the busiest player on the pitch. Curtis and Jack were on fire today and peppered the Sizewell box and goal with great crosses and shots. Their keeper made a string of great saves, we also had a number of chances narrowly miss the target. It seemed to take ages before we finally scored. It was actually just 7 minutes! Curtis played a great through ball for Jack to run onto and slotted it low past the keeper. 1-0
Straight from kick off Keiran won the ball in the middle of the pitch and played alovely pass through to Jack to score his second in a minute. 2-0
We continued to create chance after chance but struggled to get them either on target or away from their keeper. After 17 minutes Jack shot low towards the near post the keeper was well positioned but Nat had followed in and managed to turn it past him into the narrowest of gaps to make it 3-0. This was the half time score.

The second half continued along the same lines as the first. We made a number of chances and manged to scuff quite a few shots. The pitch was very poor as the ground was so hard it made the run of the ball very unpredictable.
Eight minutes into the half Nat got his second to make it 4-0.
Five minutes later Sizewell made a rare attack into our half. As the ball rolled forward Kyle, who had been solid all game ran forward to boot it clear, then for some reason decided to shield it back to Harley. Unfortunately Harley, like everyone else, was expecting him to blast it clear. He was taken completely by surprise as the striker continued his run past Kyle and poked it into the net. 4-1
We responded in the best way possible. We kicked off and immediately went into attack. After a brief goalmouth scramble the ball was laid back to Curtis outside the box, he fired it straight into the top corner. An absolute stunner. 5-1
A minute later Charlie W put a great cross into the box which Jack headed home. 6-1
We were bombarding their box now from every angle. Dan put some great crosses in grom the left and Charlie from the right was doing the same. With 18 minutes of the half gone Jack broke through for his fourth of the game. 7-1. A minute later he got his fifth to make it 8-1.
Two minutes later Curtis scored another stormer from outside the box. Turning his man and firing into the bottom corner this time 9-1.
With two minutes remaining Keiran who had battled tirelessly in the middle of the pitch banged in the 10th and final goal of the game. 10-1 the final score.
Another great team performance from the B's and a well deserved win. The scoreline could have been a lot more if their keeper had not played so well. We succeeded in our aim to get the point on the board and to improve our goal difference. Chantry won 5-1 so we now have 5 goals more than them. They however have three more points so we'll need to wait and see how they fair against the hawks!!
Men of the match was shared by Jack and Curtis who seemed to love every minute of their marauding display.

Chantry Grasshoppers 18th April 2009

With three games remaining of the season we are guaranteed a top three place. Which is a good acheivement in itself. It is still in our hands to finish in the medals but we needed to get a result today against one of our main rivals.

We had three players missing today, Jack, Dan and Connor R. That still left us a healthy squad to choose from!!! Right up until we lost another three players on the morning of the match!! Cammy through injury and Ollie Mac & Charlie W through illness!!! This left us with 15 players to get through two potentially tough matches.

A Game

The line up was - Ollie S in goal, Sam in defence, Freddie, Charlie B & Will in midfield, Dash & Matty up front. Connor S on the bench.

We started brightly as the game got off to a cracking pace. Both teams were fired up for this and were pretty evenly matched. Sam settled very quickly at the back and looked confident in the role. Freddie, Charlie and Will were in the thick of it straight away and worked hard moving from defence to attack and back again. This set the tone for the whole game, up until the last 10 minutes when all three of them had finally ran their legs off. With no midfielders on the bench they had to tough it out which they did brilliantly. Dash and Matty worked hard up front and were able to get the ball and hold it causing the Chantry defence some problems.

After 9 minutes with neither goalkeeper having veery much to do we won a free kick deep in the Chantry half. Charlie sent a dangerous ball into the box, Dash seemed to duck under it and it deflected in off one of the defenders. 1-0. A lucky break but we weren't complaining.

Chantry came back at us and came close to getting an equaliser, a combination of strong defending and Ollies saves kept us in the lead.

With 17 minutes played Dash and Charlie combined brilliantly, splitting the defence open with a lovely passing move, Charlie fired a shot towards goal, Matty managed to get his foot to it and turned it past the keeper. 2-0.

4 minutes later Charlie was again the provider as he got the ball across to Dash who fired home to make it 3-0.
Sam took a knock whilst tackling their striker and had to be replaced by Connor who carried on Sams good work at the back.
Just before half time Freddie received the ball just outside the Chantry box, he took it passed the first defender and side stepped the second by good use of both feet and smashed it towards goal. The keeper got a hand to it but couldn't stop it going in. 4-0 the half-time score.

We knew Chantry would come back at us and needed to keep a clean sheet for as long as possible to take the wind out of their sails. Unfortunately they managed to pull one back 5 minutes into the half. 4-1.
This gave them some hope and they very quickly got another!! It was starting to look like a comeback was on the cards.
Within a minute we stormed forward and Will blasted home to make it 5-2.
Chantry were in attack again and very quickly scored again to make it 5-3.
By this time our midfielders were exhausted. Chantry were able to make multiple substitutions and looked dangerous every time they got the ball. I decided to sacrifice a striker and defend our lead. With Matty and Dash taking it in turns to be the lone striker and our gallant midfielders on their last legs it was down to Sam, Connor and Ollie to keep Chantry at bay. They did this superbly and we finished the game winning 5-3.

This result puts us in second place due to our superior goal difference over Chantry.
Man of the match today was Charlie Bance who was captain today and lead from the front. A special mention to everyone else. The boys needed to dig in today and they worked very hard as a team, getting a welldeserved result.

B Game

The line up was Harley in goal, Kyle in defence, Curtis, Keiran and Alex in midfield, Nat & Jake up front. Ollie S was on the bench for the second half.

This game was played at a much slower pace than the first. The game seemed to move from one box to the other without either goalkeeper being too troubled. Each time they attacked they were met by Kyle who managed to snuff out any move. The striker tried to knock it passed him and use his speed but couldn't get near the ball as Kyle sheilded it brilliantly and then took the resultant goal kick. This happened so often I could see the striker get more and more frustrated leading to a hilarious confrontation. As Chantry were about to take a corner he attempted to barge his marker out of the way and gain advantage. Unfortunately for him Kyle stood his ground and he just bounced off him!!
Curtis and Alex worked hard going forward up the wings and Keiran battled well in the middle. We struggled again to keep possession up front though and lost the ball far too easily too many times.
Chantry had the first real chance with a good powerful shot from the edge of the box. Harley dived and saved it well and Curtis was able to hook it clear.
On the stroke of half-time keiran got the ball to Nat on the edge of the box. This time Nat showed why he was called the goal machine and powered it home to make it 1-0 at half time.

Ollie replaced Nat at half time. We were a far better team in the second half after a brisk half time team talk!! Curtis was now tracking back as well as going forward, something lacking in the first half. Alex had been doing it all game and continued in the second half. As the game went on it opened up and we started making good clear chances. Unfortunately all of these were missed. Chantry had their share of attacks and kyle needed support from Alex and Curtis on a few occassions. This time it was Curtis tracking back the whole length of the pitch to make crucial tackles. The best chance for Chantry was thwarted by Harley who raced off his line and got a last ditch tackle in just outside the box.
Chantry equalised late on from the softest of penalties. Kyle attempted to clear the ball out of our box by kicking it over his head and managed to hit it against his own hand. Harley had no chance as the penalty was well struck into the bottom corner.
The game ended 1-1.
Man of the match today was Kyle. Once again he stuck to his task, used his strength and is deceptively quick when chasing down a ball!! Well done.

Two games remaining and there is a slim chance that the b's could finish in position as well. We've got it all to play for.

Ipswich Valley Rangers 11 a side Friendly 16th April 2009

Ipswich Valley Rangers (IVR) play in the 11 a side Sunday league. They have just won division two and still have three games to play. They've won 14, drawn 1 and lost 0 in the league. They were narrowly knocked out of the cup in the semi final after a 4-4 thriller in extra time against first division opposition. Basically they have had a terrific season so this would be a real test for our 11 a side newbies.
As Freddie plays for both teams he opted to play a stint for both teams so as not to split his loyalties. New signing Matty Gifkin opted to do the same. both boys started for IVR and finished for us.
Our squad also contained a couple of potential new signings trialling for us.

The game was played in three 20 minute sections to help the managers on both teams with the multiple substitutions.

We started very well and had IVR under the cosh straight away. Any attacks they tried to get going were dealt with well by our defence. We created some great chances and the IVR keeper pulled off a series of wonder saves to keep his team in the game. The first section finished and I was aware that we had missed our chance to impose on the game as IVR had a number of quality players on the bench poised to spring into action.
The second section was played at a high tempo. IVR had the better of this one and took the lead. Typically it was Freddie who won the ball, took it down the wing and sent a cross into the box, it was flicked on to Georgi Thrower who scored. Some of you may remember him from the Wickham Market tournament last year. At least then he was scoring for us!!!!
IVR continued to dominate and scored a second when their right midfielder passed into the middle of our box. The first IVR player cleverly jumped over it, completely catching our defence off guard as it rolled on to Damian Pearson who flicked it from one foot to another and banged it passed Ollie (Damian also played for us at Wickham and like Matty G will be joining us for next season) I have to mention that Freddie was playing out of his skin. He was tackling and breaking down attacks and pressing forward on the wing, skinning defenders and putting in great crosses. I mention this because he was playing against us!!!!!!
There were more multiple substitutions for the third section. Freddie and Matty G (who also played well for us at Wickham) swapped teams, Matty slotted into the left back position and was solid and assured as he has been all season.
This section was the most even as both teams battled in the fading light, we got our reward when Sam fired home to make the final score 2-1 to IVR.

All things considered we played well against a team who have had a full season of playing 11 a side. We matched them all over the pitch and but for their goalkeeper might have got more out of the game. The IVR coaches were full of praise which I think was well deserved.
I have since spoken to a couple of IVR parents who were very impressed with our boys and couldn't believe that they hadn't played many 11 a side games.

The weather by the way was dreadful!! The rain got heavier and heavier as the game went on and everyone was soaked to the skin!! Proper football weather leading to an unpleasant drive home!!

Martlesham Tournament 11th April 2009

Martlesham were having an exchange weekend with their sister team from France. ELS Unfortunately I don't know what that stands for :-(
It was a seven a side tournament with 10 men squads. Our squad for the day was-

Ollie S, Freddie, Matty, Dash, Will, Sam, Keiran, Curtis, Ollie Mac and Charlie B. Curtis called in sick on the day so we had a 9 man squad.
The tournament was very well run. There were three pitches and the under 12's were also playing. The first games kicked off at 9am. We played five games each and both tournaments were finished by 11.30!! All the games were 12 minutes long with no half time.

The day didn't get off to the best start for us. Our first game was against Kirton on Pitch C!! The bogey pitch!! We started very slowly and struggled to get hold of the ball. The poor pitch didn't help with playing a passing game. Kirton had one tactic which they used to good effect, basically every time they got the ball they'd hoof it up the pitch to their striker. For the first 7 or 8 minutes Sam in defence was having a bit of a torrid time. Constantly under pressure and struggling to find his feet. To his credit he settled down, got into the game and went on to have a solid tournament.
Kirton's goal came from a speculative punt forward which dipped onto our crossbar and dropped to a group of players one of which was the Kirton Striker, Charlie H. Despite having a couple of attempts to clear it we allowed him to poke it over the line. There was some debate by some parents saying the ball didn't cross the line. From my viewpoint I couldn't tell either way, as far as I'm concerned the ref gave it and he's the one who counts.
The goal seemed to wake us up a bit but with the games only 12 minutes long we had little time to do anything about it. 0-1 the final score.

Next up was the French Team ELS on pitch A!! Our favourite pitch!!! This time we started well and caused the French lads all sorts of problems. We were able to pass the ball better on the bigger smoother pitch and got our reward when Charlie finished off a good passing move down the left to fire home his first of the day.
We continued to dominate and again Charlie scored to finish the game 2-0.

It was back to pitch C to play Martlesham B team. We dominated the early stages and were unlucky not to get a couple before we gifted them the easiest of chances. Another 1-0 defeat.

Our next game was against Woodbridge who are on the verge of winning the first division. We knew we were in for a tough game. We managed to raise our game and could have won it had their keeper not pulled off three great saves. They didn't cause us too many problems at the back but again a moment of indecision allowed them to get a shot in when we could have easily closed them down and cleared it. We lost 1-0 again but had played well and deserved something from the game.

With nothing but pride to play for we were back on pitch A to play the hosts A team, who needed to beat us to stand a chance of winning the tournament. This proved to be our best game, we battled well and played a nice passing and moving game that has developed well over the course of the season. Martlesham struggled to get into our half. Once again it was Charlie B who opened the scoring for his third of the tournament.
We continued to dominate and press forward which led to Dash scoring another two to make the final score 3-0.

Despite a very disappointing start we finished on a high note and managed to string together a couple of performances which were enjoyable to watch. Man of the day was Charlie B. He battled from the very beginning and was strong throughout. He deserved his three goals.

Martlesham Tournament 11th April

We have been invited to play in a tournament at Martlesham on Saturday. They have a foreign team coming over, possibly French, so it should be a good experience for the boys. Unfortunately we can only enter one team. The squad will be-
Ollie S, Freddie, Matty, Dash, Will, Sam, Keiran, Curtis, Charlie B, Ollie M.

We need to be at Martlesham Green beside the Douglas Bader pub by 8.30 for registration. Tournament should finish by 12.

Kirton Kestrels 4th April 2009

This was another 11 a side friendly. After todays game every player would have had a go at the 11 a side game. (apart from Harley)

The starting line up was-

Goalkeeper- Ollie S
Defence- Dan, Kyle & Connor R
Midfield- Curtis, Jack, Cammy, Keiran & Alex
Strikers- Nat & Jake
Subs- Freddie, Will, Sam & Charlie B

From the kick off Kirton looked the brighter team. They were stringing together some nice passing moves and caused us problems straight away. We weathered the initial storm with some strong defending from Kyle and Dan. Jack, Cammy and Keiran worked hard to get back and support the defence as we settled down and began to work our way into the game. Alex and Curtis looked dangerous going forward but again our wide men were being underused.

Kirton were strong in attack and made a dangerous attempt down the left. Dan managed to get in a superb tackle to stop them, conceding a corner. Unfortunately a number of our players let the ball go past them, no one taking responsibility to hoof it clear, it landed at a Kirton players feet, he matched to poke it past a crowded box to make it 1-0 to Kirton. Kyle was very close to clearing it off the line.

Keiran carried on from his performance in the East Bergholt game and supplied Alex with some good possession. On the left Jack tried the same but was struggling to make his mark on the game having just come back from injury. He was replaced by Freddie, who immediately linked well with Curtis and began to put some lovely moves together.
Nat and Jake worked hard up front but were not getting the amount of supply they are normally used to. Unfortunately most of the good moves were prematurely ended by the offside rule. Nat in particular found this difficult to adjust to. In my opinion the strikers have the biggest adjustment to make when stepping up to the big game.
Kirton played out the remainder of the half marginally dominating the play without having any real chances on goal.

The remaining subs were introduced for Nat Jake and Connor. We immediately went into attack from the kick off. Cammy sent a great ball down the left for Curtis to run on to, he carried it forward and sent the ball high towards the back post into the danger area exactly as he's been trained to do. The ball looped over the keepers head and dipped in at the back post 1-1.
We began to dominate the game after this and looked dangerous everytime we got the ball. Keiran and Charlie linked well to send Will down the right. He sent in a low cross to Freddie at the back post. The keeper managed to dive and stop it reaching Freddie only to see it land at Keiran's feet as he continued his run and finished calmly to make it 2-1.
I felt we could have gone on and finished off the game bit for some reason we stopped playing our wide game and settled into another middle of the pitch slogging match. This allowed Kirton back into the game and saw them start to create chances. It was only a matter of time before they managed to get the equaliser.
The game ended disappointingly 2-2. We switched off after our second goal and paid the price. This was only a friendly however and we have a number of points to work on in training.
I was pleased with the effort put in by the boys. It's not easy adapting to a bigger pitch and new rules but I think overall out 11 a side games have been very promising.
Man of the match went to Kyle. I thought he stuck to his task very well and was solid in his tackling. A special mention to Frenchy who had a good solid game.

Kirton Friendly

We have an 11 a side friendly at Kirton village. Back Road. We will meet at 10am for a 10.30 kick off.
------------------