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Bromley Heath United v Ashton Boys ‘A’ – HML Cup Round 2 – Sunday 27/09/09
Match 1 - Lost 0 – 13, Match 2 – Lost 1 – 9
Our first ever competitive match against a team whose ‘B’ side play in the same division as us was always going to be difficult. We were deservedly beaten by a well organised side but the scoreline doesn’t do justice to the hard work put in by all our lads. Individually, everyone can be proud of their performance and, as individuals everyone played to the best of their ability. What this match showed is that individual talent is not enough; we need to both play as a team and be organised as a team – both are aspects we will continue to work on in training.
There were positive aspects in both matches. The first half of match 1 was a rude awakening, but a much better performance was visible in the second half with us being better organised and restricting the visitors to 4 goals. At half time in match 2, the score was 1 – 1, with us taking the lead in the 9th minute and holding it to a minute before half time. The joy of scoring seemed to affect the team and for a period of the second half we lost shape, having 4 strikers, 2 defenders and no-one in the middle and we duly paid the price.
It would be wrong to single out any one player as all worked their socks off but the name of Frazer Beaumont will be forever in the record books as the scorer of the first goal in the team’s history – I’m sure the first of many both for him and others.
Next week we start our league campaign against Shire Colts who have won both their games to date, so the boys will need to work hard if we are to prevent them winning 3 in row.
Bromley Heath United v Shirehampton Colts – HML Division C – Sunday 4th October 2009
Match 1 – Lost 0 – 4, Match 2 – Lost 0 – 10
The most important thing following last week’s introduction to “competitive” football was that we learnt from the experience. This we certainly did and the improvement was there for all to see. We are a long way from the finished article but if we can continue to improve week by week it won’t be long before the word “won” appears in the above title.
Match 1 was a close affair with both sides evenly matched in terms of effort. Shirehampton were more match-wise than us and that awareness brought them 3 goals, the fourth being a unstoppable free-kick high to the keeper’s left. We are not yet in the habit of picking up the opposing players quickly at stoppages, however that is something we can work on, and correct, in training. We must also begin to defend on the front foot as opposed to backing off and giving the opposition time and space. That said, all the team worked tirelessly, with Lewis Hanna picking up the man of the match award for a whole pitch performance.
Match 2, as the score suggests, went much more Shirehampton’s way though I do feel we matched them quite well up to half time. We enjoyed a fair amount of possession but struggled to make telling passes, giving the ball away a little too easily. Again the marking and positional errors were present but these will correct themselves as the lads get used to playing together as a team. As with match 1, all the boys ran themselves into the ground, with Kyle Gibbs picking up the man of the match award for a hard working performance in several positions.
Well done boys, you can all be proud of your efforts. Keep working hard and the results will come.
v St Vallier – HML Division C – Sunday 8th November 2009
Match 1 – Lost 8 - 2, Match 2 – Lost 2 - 1
Although on the face of it this was another defeat, I actually think this match represented another step forward. If you look at the scores for each of the 4 “halves” played (us first), 1-2, 1-6, 0-1 and 1-1, you can see that we more than held our own in 3 of them. It wasn’t a case of being outclassed in the second half of match 1, it was more a case of lapses of concentration and application and giving the opposition too much time on the ball. If we had closed their players down quicker, the score would have been much closer.
The first half of match 1 was close, with us playing up the slope. We battled hard and competed well for possession and al the boys stuck to their positions. This saw St Vallier having to work hard to take advantage of the elements in their favour. That said, they deservedly went 2-0 up but to our boys credit they never gave up and their perseverance was rewarded when Owen finished well on 17 minutes – that shooting practice is working! I think the team used up a lot of energy in the celebration, but managed to hang on to 2-1 until half time. (I explained to the opposition, who were impressed with our celebrations, that we haven’t scored that often!)
We thought at half time that we could make the slope pay for us in the second half, but it was not to be. We conceded early in the half and then could not get a foothold back in the game. However, we never gave up and scored again through Ben – that’s 2 in 2 weeks for him. However, as mentioned above, we started to give them too much time and space on the ball and we were clinically punished for it. This is a lesson the boys have to learn quickly if we are to keep the scores down.
Following last week’s game we decided that we had to rebalance the teams a little and I have to say that the match 2 team seemed, on the whole, to work well together. Both sides were evenly matched and I think we were unlucky to go in 1-0 down at half time. Again we thought we could get something out of the game and when Lewis W finished from close range after a flowing move I thought we were going to. However, the gods had other ideas and we conceded in the last minute to give St Vallier a 2-1 victory. I don’t want to take anything away from our opposition, but I do think we deserved a draw in this match.
This week my men of the match were the goalkeepers in both games – Jacob and Sam R. Both are beginning to show confidence and bravery between the sticks and are improving with every game (and still smiling!).
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v Yate United – HML Division C – Sunday 18th October 2009
Match 1 – Lost 0 – 3, Match 2 – Lost 0 – 1
Before the kick off of both games I explained to both our teams that one big factor in making an improvement is organisation – knowing what your role is and sticking to it for the duration of the match. If we were well organised we would chase the ball less, have more energy for our attacks and make it harder for the opposition to play their game. How pleasing it is when a plan comes together!
The score doesn’t matter, the fact that we have taken a big leap forward does. Everyone watching saw a different team play today. There is of course more to do and areas we can improve still further, communication for one, and I’m sure there are a few setbacks still to come. But today, as a coaching team, all the boys did us proud.
Match 1 was entertaining with two fairly evenly matched teams. Again, I think it was probably greater match experience that was the difference. We lost 2 goals to slight lapses in concentration – we must keep defending on the front foot and not back off and a third to another unstoppable free kick. We were 3 – 0 down at half time but the boys were told they had nothing to be ashamed of, they were all working hard and sticking to their task. We were unlucky ourselves with a few chances, hitting the post twice. We held Yate in the second half and all the boys deserved the praise they got at full time. Man of the match went to Owen Johnson, who put in a hard working display in the central striker role, the first time he has played there for us.
Match 2 was closer still and I really do think we deserved a draw. Again we had chances to score, several times being through on goal but maybe just taking either a little too much or not quite enough time resulting in us shooting from too far out or allowing the defence to get back with us. It will happen for us and, on this week’s performances, in the not too distant future. I could have given the man of the match to any number of players, but Lewis Woollard ran his socks off, having been poorly earlier in the week.
As I said after both matches – well done boys, you can all be proud of yourselves. |
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v Mangotsfield United – HML Division C – Sunday 25th October 2009
Match 1 – Lost 11 - 0, Match 2 – Lost 7 - 0
Mangotsfield, our local neighbours, are one of the strongest, if not the strongest team in our division so this match was always going to be tough. Having only 13 players available through combination of half term holidays and swine flu was never going to make it any easier.
As with previous games it is not possible to fault the effort of our players. Every player contributed fully to the team effort in both matches. However, some of the positional awareness errors began to creep back in and we paid the price in the goal tally.
Match 1 saw us have the wind advantage in the first half though we struggled to contain a side that were very confident on the ball and by half time we were 5 – 0 down. To our credit we kept up our work rate and restricted Mangotsfield to a similar score when they had the advantage. We had our own attacking periods and Owen Johnson can consider himself unfortunate not to have scored twice when through on goal. Oliver Hanham deservedly won the man of the match award for a tireless display in midfield.
Match 2 was a closer affair and I must thank Mangotsfield for their sportsmanship in allowing us to use a 7th player, as without it we would have had to have played with 6. Again we had the wind advantage in the first half, though we found ourselves 3 – 0 down at half time. Against the wind, as with match 1, everyone continued to work hard, though a few lapses in concentration saw the final score reach 7 -0. Niles Marshall won man of the match for a hard working display at right back.
We mustn’t be despondent with this result. I think Mangotsfield would have won if we had a full squad to chose from. We must however learn from what went wrong. We need to be strong in the challenge and not wait for the ball to come to us and we must begin to understand that when we lose the ball we have to work as hard, if not harder, than when we have it. All of which we can, and will, work on in training.
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v Oldland Abbotonians – HML Division C – Sunday 1st November 2009
Match 1 – Won 2 - 1, Match 2 – Lost 8 - 0
I’ve been looking forward to typing “won” at the beginning of these reports and at last have had the chance to do it. And I can confirm it does feel good. I’m sure all those watching felt the same after the final whistle of match 1. In reality, as far as the league goes, we lost the game on aggregate but, in terms of our development, I see it as won 1, lost 1 – therefore a technical draw!
We got off to a flying start in match 1 and took the lead through Lewis Hanna in the first minute and the joy of scoring was plain to see on the faces of all the team. Oldland were a fair match for us though and, despite us having most of the play, they equalized on 10 minutes. The score stayed the same and, at half time, we knew we had a chance to get something out of the match. We were playing against the wind in the second half and the squad worked tirelessly throughout and we made good use of the rolling substitutions to give everyone a breather. As a result of this, Ben Martin found himself playing up front in the closing minutes and kept a cool head when through on goal with 90 seconds left, slotting home the winner low to the keepers’ right. A roar from the home faithfull greeted the goal and the final whistle a (very) long minute later. Ben won Man of the Match for his coolness under pressure (I don’t think he knew how many people were willing that ball in!) and for a solid performance in several positions. As with other matches, the team as a whole can be proud of their efforts.
Match 2 was harder for us. We faced an Oldland side determined to redress the balance from match 1 and who, if I’m honest, were probably more experienced, man for man than us. The boys worked hard though and, with 3 minutes of the first half remaining, trailed by a single goal. We used the rolling substitutions again in this game and, maybe, as a result, caused some confusion over positioning which in turn saw us lose 4 goals in the final 3 minutes of the half. That was hard to take for the players but, at half time we reminded them that, as with previous games, the score doesn’t matter, the performance does. We couldn’t change what had happened, but we could work hard to prevent it happening again. To their credit, the boys kept going to the end, but it was always going to be difficult against confident opposition, and we conceded 3 more times before the final whistle. John Barraclough won Man of the Match for a tireless and hard working performance up front. Again, no lack of effort was shown, but there were lapses in application. Nothing, however, that can’t be put right.
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Match Reports 2009/2010
