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Under 13 LIONS 2007-2008 Match Reports

Match Report: NPTFC Lions U13 20/4/8

Date: 20-04-08

Match: Citizen Cup Semi-Final Replay
Result: NPTFC Lions 2
Harrold & Carlton 0

Goal Scorer:
Jack Westbrook 1
Justin Gore 1

Squad:
Marcus Bayley(GK) Jack Allen, James Sage, Keigh Garlick, Mitch Tofts, James Beesley, Alex Collard, Dan Booth, Jack Westbrook, Jack Croxford, Adam Bowdery, Matty Cullis ( C ) Justin Gore,

The Lions go through to the final on the back of another tough and tight game with H&C. The game was made even tougher for us when we went down to just the bare 11 just before kick off, so with a bit of last minute shuffling about, we got down to work, and once again both teams were up for it, with some early exchanges, the Lions had the early chances, but as with all these games it took time to settle down after a frantic start.

H&C then began their onslaught to our goal, and for the next 20 minutes the Lions had to sustain enormous pressure from H&C, defensively we had to keep concentrating during this period, with at least two goal line clearances we did ride our luck, but we stuck to our task, and dealt with everything they threw at us. Defensively we needed to get the pressure off the back four. Eventually we did just that and as we entered the last 10 minutes of the first half, we then began to get our foot on the ball, and starting from the midfield, began to pull our own game around, and put together a couple of well constructed attacks, that narrowly saw us miss going in front on the stroke of halftime.

The halftime talk was about starting the next 35 minutes as we finished the last 10. We had no subs and so we kept focusing on the character and determination we had to show and to come from within the team, there were some tired legs already but we had to just play through that. We had showed ourselves that when we got the ball on the floor and played our pass and move game, we were the match for any team.

We looked the sharper as we started the second half, we were chasing down loose balls, and a great move from the midfield out to Mitch on the left saw him put a great cross into the box that went passed the H&C defender where Westy had got into a great position to calmly side foot the ball into the net to take us into the lead, it was no more than we deserved after some hard graft to get us into this position.

We now had to manage this period after we had scored carefully and not concede as we had done last week. Well we had all barely had time to draw breath, when the exact same move came off for us again, and Mitch again pulled in another great ball to the near post, where Justin attacked the ball and side footed it into the net to take us into a 2-nil lead. Again we had to concentrate, which we did. H&C then had a couple more chances and breached our defences, but again we were able to deal. On one occasion an H&C striker had just entered the penalty box, and Crox who had played really well all morning just clipped him, and the striker made the most of it and the ref pointed to the spot.

The team got set and Marcus was ready for the penalty, the H&C player stepped up, struck it hard, maybe too hard, as it crashed against the bar and away to an advancing H&C player who then headed the ball back at the open arms of Marcus, and now we knew we had a bit of lady luck with us today.

The game clock then ran down, as the ref finally blew the whistle after some 5 minutes of added time for injuries. This had been a terrific performance from the Lions today, who had sustained pressure for long periods, but also showed what a class act we can be when we put it together. And so the prize for our efforts today is a Cup Final to be played in the Stadium MK, a great achievement for the lads, but it’s not enough to just get to a final, we want to push on and win it now.

Thanks to H&C for a couple of cracking games in this Cup competition, thanks also to our terrific support, but above all an extremely huge well done and a pat on the back to the 11 who put in a great performance today, you deserved it.

See you next week

Match Report: NPTFC Lions U13 13/4/8

Match: Citizen Cup Semi-Final
Result: H&C 3
NPTFC Lions 3 AET

Goal Scorer:
Jack Croxford 2
Matty Cullis 1

Squad:
Marcus Bayley(GK) Jack Allen, James Sage, Keigh Garlick, Mitch Tofts, James Beesley, Alex Collard, Dan Booth, Jack Westbrook, Jack Croxford, Adam Bowdery, Matty Cullis ( C ) Justin Gore,

A 3-3 draw at the end of extra time saw these two teams get ready for a replay next week back at Willen rd.

This was always going to be a tight match, and so it proved to be. With the Lions playing the better football and H&C had their physical presence, the Lions played well and tried to control the ball on a very uneven surface, still it’s the same for both sides.
Both sides exchanged blows without the ball finding it’s way into the back of the net, and with our team down to just 12 men it was going to be a tough game.

The Lions struck just before halftime, with a good header from Jack Croxford to get ourselves into a well deserved lead. The Lions needed to steady the ship for 5 minutes and keep playing the way we had. However H&C had other ideas and soon grabbed an equaliser back as the halftime whistle went.

We had played a good game and looked confident, the main threat from H&C came once again from the their long throw specialist, who continuously threw the ball just under Marcus’s crossbar, it was frustrating but that’s how they play, and for the most part Marcus came and claimed all these long balls.

The second half got going with us just needing to keep doing what we were doing in the first half, but just concentrate more if we were to get our noses in front again, defensively we looked good with our two centre backs of Jack Allen and Sagey were playing well, Alex went back their during the second half and also gave a good account.

Our second goal came from Crox again after some good pressure from the Lions, it’s always good to get some goals from the midfield, and Jack was having a good game.
Our tails were up, the crowd were getting into the game, it was highly competitive, with both teams going for it. However once again H&C who wanted to be in the Final as much as we did by the way, grabbed another equaliser, we were certainly having to do this hard way.

The game then went through an end to end period, with again both teams exchanging chances. We went deeper into the second half, and with a good throw in from Sagey straight into the middle of the park to Crox, who instantly played a great ball into the channel to Matty, who turned his defender and grabbed a yard away from him and headed for goal, he struck with his left foot and in it went, to take us back into the lead for the third time of asking, this time the Lions had to hold on, but we still had 10 minutes of the game left, but as before within a couple of minutes H&C equalised, it was a very frustrating match in that regard.

But each time the Lions showed character and kept coming back for more, but the game clock ran out. We now went into two periods of 10 minutes each way of extra time that didn’t see anymore goals, and so the game finished. And we now go into the replay next week.

It had been a good match that both teams had fought for keenly, but honours were even on the day. The Lions had played well, and looked the fitter towards the end, we did show good character to keep on going and we will need to draw on all these strengths when we go into the replay next week.

Well done to all the team today.

See you next week

Match Report: NPTFC Lions U13 - 9/3/8

Match: Citizen Cup Quarter Final
Result: Scot Yth 1
NPTFC Lions 9

Goal Scorer:
Jack Westbrook 4
Alex Collard 2
Matty Cullis 2
Mitch Tofts 1

Squad:
Marcus Bayley(GK) Jack Allen, James Sage, Keigh Garlick, Mitch Tofts, James Beesley, Alex Collard, Dan Booth, Jack Westbrook, Jack Croxford, Adam Bowdery, Matty Cullis ( C ) Justin Gore,

Lions progress through to the Semi Finals where they will meet Harrold & Carlton after a comfortable win over Scot’s.

Match Report: NPTFC Lions U13

Date: 2/3/08

Match: League Div 1
Result: Old Stratford 1
NPTFC Lions 6

Goal Scorer:
Jack Westbrook 3
Adam Bowdery 2
James Sage 1

Squad:
Marcus Bayley(GK) Jack Allen, James Sage, Keigh Garlick, Mitch Tofts, James Beesley, Alex Collard, Dan Booth, Jack Westbrook, Jack Croxford, Adam Bowdery, Matty Cullis ( C ) Justin Gore,

Westbrook bags a hatrick to grab the Lions the much needed 2 points to keep in the title race.
A decent performance from the Lions this week, in our first match up with Old Stratford this season. The lads did well in some blowy conditions and on a bobbly pitch. “Concentration” was our key word all week in training, and it was again on match day, yes we were looking for a good performance, but that we must learn to stay on the ball mentally for the full 70 minutes. By and large we did that today, it was good to see, particularly when we started the second half, we looked as lively as we did the first half.

The first half started with some good possession, we again began to dominate the middle of the park with Adam and Crox combining well, Adam went on to grab another brace of goals, which is great to see from the midfield.

We worked hard and several attempts on goal but couldn’t seem to find that final ball or finish, we had to be patient and find a little more quality, We held Old Stratford for most of the first half and were rarely under any real pressure, however Stratford did break out of the midfield, and we somehow allowed one of their strikers to run from the deep unchallenged, he took a shot and completely against the run of play we were a goal down. We didn’t need to panic as we were by far the stronger team, and we didn’t have to wait long before we grabbed the equaliser through Adam. The Stratford keeper played well to be fair to the lad and pulled of some good saves, one of note in the second half that drew applause from all round the pitch, but he was unable to deal with a high ball, that we capitalised on to grab our second and to get us into the lead, we went on to get another to take us into the break at 3-1, and looked in control. We had been 2 up last week but switched off just after the start, but as stated earlier we did not let that happen again this time.

We pressed on to fire in another 3 goals, with the pick of the bunch from a good ball in from Alex, a great first touch and finish by Westy into the top right corner. Sagey had 10 minutes up front and grabbed a final 6th goal to seal the victory for the Lions.
In all honesty Marcus had little to do. But kept it all really tidy, with no dramas, we managed to move some players around, and everyone seemed to adapt very well.

Unlucky Stratford, who tried hard, but just couldn’t get it together today, we’ll meet again before the end of the season back at Willen road.

Well done today lads, we played well and we did “Concentrate” better, and the result was there to be seen. Next up, Scot Youth away in the quarter finals of the Citizen Cup.

See you next week

Match Report: NPTFC Lions U13

Match: League Div 1
Result: NPTFC Lions 3
Harrold & Carlton 4
Goal Scorer:
Dan Booth 1
Jack Westbrook 1
Adam Bowdery 1

Squad:
Marcus Bayley(GK) Jack Allen, James Sage, Keigh Garlick, Mitch Tofts, James Beesley, Alex Collard, Dan Booth, Jack Westbrook, Jack Croxford, Adam Bowdery, Wes McGrath, Matty Cullis ( C ) Justin Gore,

Well………… talk about grabbing a loss from the jaws of victory. A game of two half’s, you could use all the cliché’s you like to describe this match. It was a crucial game for both teams as top played second. When the two met for the first game of the season, the Lions grabbed the 2 points with a good first game display, since that match the Lions had gone on a good run, but dropped points against Woburn and Scots along the way, while Harrold went on an 11 game unbeaten run, and so their form was good going into today’s game.

The Lions were definitely up for this one, we had discussed what we needed to do, and how we were going to play the game. The first half started with the Lions dominating, and playing some of the best football we had played for sometime, we played some great pass and move football. Defensively again we looked solid and had a good first 35 minutes. The midfield held the upper hand for all the first half, and this saw Adam getting forward again getting t the bye line, and worked enough of an angle to get his shot into the roof of the net to get us a well deserved lead.

We just needed to concentrate at this point and try to push on and capitalise on our possession. We didn’t have to wait long, some good work from Justin saw him strike the ball inside the box it hit the post and Westy was well placed to thumnp home the rebound, to give us a 2 nil lead going into the break. We hadn’t underestimated Harrold, they were a good strong side, and we knew they would have their moments in the game, it was about how we managed those moments. We were playing so well it was one of those games when we just didn’t want the first half to end, such was the momentum. But the whistle did blow, and we went into the break, and discussed about starting the second half as we had started the first.

The reality of course was anything but the restart we needed. Harrold clearly were not going to roll over at this point, and they started to launch some long balls into our box, that as a defensive unit we simply didn’t deal with, and within the next 15 minutes they put 3 goals past us. We lost our way in the midfield, in the first half we looked in firmly in control and now we were all over the place frankly. Harrold continued to press though, we didn’t contain one of there players, who could throw a ball as far as most lads his age could kick. At 4-2 down largely due to errors in concentration, either individually or collectively we had to press on, and went to 3 at the back and added another midfielder. We had won a corner deep into the second half, a good ball in from Matty, was met on the head by Boothy and in it went to take us to 4-3, could we continue to try and crawl back into this second half and get at least a point out of the game. The answer was no as the full time whistle went.

It was hugely disappointing, we had been 2-0 up against the division leaders, and basically we blew it. We have to learn to stay switched on for the full 70 minutes, or you will get punished for it. We need as a squad to be stronger in all areas of the pitch, something the Woodley game has taught us, we can talk about these things and train until the cows come home, but come game day we have to try and fulfil the potential this team has.

So, we dust ourselves down and look towards Old Stratford away next Sunday, and prepare as we had prepared this week, but we must improve on our overall execution. Well done to Harrold & Carlton, they showed a good fighting spirit, physical strength, and a will to win, more than we did over the 70 minutes and that was the difference.

See you next week

Match Report: NPTFC Lions U13

Match: League Div 1

Result: NPTFC Lions 4
MK Wanderers Hawks 1
Goal Scorers:
Adam Bowdery 2
Jack Westbrook 1
Matty Cullis 1

A good return to league football from the Lions today after a slight delay due to the frosty conditions. A double strike from Adam Bowdery who had another good game for the Lions in the middle, helped to seal this victory against an improving MK Wanderers side.

The Lions looked in control of the game throughout, with our back four playing really well, they looked solid and helped provide the platform for the rest of the team. Mid-Field also stepped up with good performances all round, Adam could have had a 3rd in the second half when a shot was blasted from just yards out and it slammed against the crossbar and back into play.

Wanderers did have their spells in the game just after the halftime break, but the back four were on their toes and dealt with everything calmly and efficiently. Good running off the front from Westy and Matt saw the two strikers grab a goal each , both players making god use of the width of the pitch, and taking up good positions for their various finishes, Westy pushed home after another excellent quality free kick delivered from Alex Collard right into the six yard box, which was very difficult for the Wanderers defenders to deal with. Westy was first to react and in it went.

Changes were made just into the second half with all three lads able to contribute, and made the transitions look seamless really.

Well done to all the team today, a good effort all round with some excellent quality of play on display. Next up a big game against Division leaders Harrold & Carlton, Lions need to be focused this week and training and ready for this good side on Sunday.

Hard lines wanderers, as stated a much improved side, thanks to Kelly and her team to agreeing to delay the KO due to the frost. See you later in the season.

See you all next week!

Match Report: NPTFC Lions U13

Match: Berks & Bucks County Cup
Result: Woodley Town 7
NPTFC Lions 1
Goal Scorer:
Alex Collard 1

Another long journey down the M4 to sunny Reading, with a quarterfinal match up with a very strong, unbeaten, Woodley Town. The Lions were without a couple of players for this fixture, but all through training this week we tried to get the boy’s focused on the task that lay ahead, to get to the last 8 of this highly competitive competition was good, and better than we had done before, but could we rise to the challenge and push on again.

Well we found our level of football today! Woodley Town are a very strong team, that had strength in every position, no real weak ness’s. We kicked off and the two teams tried to play their respective games, we played a slightly different set up to our normal 4-4-2, because we felt we had to try and firm up the midfield, to prevent their play makers taking a foothold too early, it was difficult leaving one up front, but we had to make a decision, with the players available to us.

Woodley quickly showed why they were a strong team, and were first to virtually every ball, their movement was good, and a few good balls over the top of our defenders found us quickly on the back foot, we struggled to get our game going, because we were simply getting out played everywhere, this had an effect on some of the lads confidence, as we urged the team to step up and compete more. If we could have done that more in the early stages we would have been more in touch with the game. Woodley broke free on one of their first half attacks, and a shot struck across the goal saw it sneak into the bottom corner, and the home side grabbed the lead they were looking for, up to this point Marcus had pulled of a series of good saves and continued to do that throughout the match, the score does not reflect the effort Marcus put in for us today, and without him performing the way he did, it could have been a higher score, well done today Marcus.

The game’s intensity was maintained with both sides exchanging possession, and Lions coaching staff thought that if we can keep battling here, and hold this 1-0 deficit to the halftime break, we would be able to go for it more in the second half. No sooner said than done, with 5 minutes to go to the break Woodley broke through twice more to take the home team into the break 3-0 up and looking good for that Semi-Final spot.

The halftime break was a time to collect ourselves, and face up to the even bigger challenge before us. We clearly needed to change things around tactically, we had to through some caution to the wind, we were 3-0 down, it might as well be 10-0 we had to pick ourselves up and go for it. We went for a 3-5-2, less at the back yes, and we knew were going to be vulnerable to any quick breaks, but we had to take a chance.

We left the midfield heavy with 5 and sent another man up top to accompany Matty. We now needed to create something going forward. But the vital ingredient that we so desperately needed in that first half was some spirit and competitiveness to win the ball, this had to come out of the players if were to make any impact on this game. We all had to believe that even at 3-0 down we could make some impression on this game and not at this point roll over.
It was a moment for some of the players to find out if they had what it took in their characters to step and make an impact at this level of the game. Yes the lads were disappointed, we all were, but you have to rise above it mentally, otherwise we might as well not have started that second half. The lads were up for it, as the break finished.

We started brightly and looked sharper than we had all game, this may be our moment to try and claw back into this game, it didn’t take long, the ref blew for a foul for us, about 30 yards out from the Woodley goal, Alex stepped up and launched what looked like a too strong a ball, but it dipped as it got to the outstretched arms of the keeper, and carried over the line, the keeper pushed back out and Adam followed up, but it was already in the net the first time from Alex’s free-kick.

This was just the start we needed, we looked sharper, and we had, within minutes of the start, grabbed ourselves a precious foothold, all we could do now was to keep this going, and try and grab a second, it would have been interesting to see how Woodley would have reacted.

Of course as we continued to press it did leave us vulnerable at the back, and Woodley were just too good a side to miss an opportunity like that, and grabbed a fourth goal that really pushed this game beyond us. We had to keep going though, pride was at stake, unfortunately when you are in these situations it can expose the weaknesses that every team has, and Woodley were quick to exploit that situation, and went on to bang in another 3 goals, despite our efforts we couldn’t stem the tide. The game ended, but not before we had a good shot from Westy that struck the crossbar, and that’s how it goes on days like this. But you can’t rely on luck alone to win you football matches.

For the Lions today it was something of a baptism of fire, and showed us the level of football that we need to get too to compete with other teams at this stage of the competition, in terms of fitness, mobility, and the physical side of football at this level, and it isn’t going to get any easier as they get older!

That said the Lions are still a good team that can, do, and have played some lovely football this season, but today they were just beaten by the better side, and you take your hat off to that.

Our thoughts now turn to our League and League Cup football back in Milton Keynes. We’ll dust ourselves down, work out what we can learn from a match like that, against a good side like Woodley, and try and improve with what we have for the rest of this season.

Congratulations to Woodley who are a fine side, that will continue to do well in this competition I’m sure. Bad luck Lions, thanks for your efforts today lads, back to training and prepare for our next game, where the boys I’m sure will want to try and respond.

And Finally!
MOM: Marcus Bayley. Something we don’t normally do, but in this case fully deserved. For a string of outstanding saves, and remaining positive and an inspiration to his team throughout, a fine example of spirit and character under fire, well done lad!

See you all next week!

Match Report: NPTFC Lions U13

Match: Citizen Cup
Result: Brackley Athletic 1
NPTFC Lions 7
Goal Scorer:
Wes McGrath 2
Dan Booth 2
Jack Croxford 1
Jack Westbrook 1
Adam Bowdery 1

This week the Lions were back in League Cup action, and again pushing for a quarter final spot. Our opponents this week were Brackley Athletic, a good bunch of lads and a well organised team. We arrived in a little bit of chaos, with our map location seeing most of the team at the local swimming baths, surely the day could improve. Anyway we got ourselves started with some of the lads literally arriving a few minutes before KO.

The game kicked off with the Lions playing up the slope on a mercifully smaller pitch than last week. We took a little time to settle down, but we soon hit our stride, and tried to stretch the Brackley defenders by hitting the channel ball as often as we could. The midfield were there usual energetic selves, but we needed some heads up to move the final ball on, we didn’t do that enough and the consequence was that we were hitting defensive walls by holding the ball for too long around the penalty box.

We did however manage to pull the attacks together and pressed home and grabbed the first of a bunch of goals, this week we executed better in front of goal, all the goals scorers took there goals well, and were well assisted in the various build ups.

Defensively we had to be focused as we knew that Brackley had pace in attack, we had to ensure we marked up properly and we concentrated throughout. We did drop our guard late in the second half and conceded a goal through a little confusion, not so critical today, as we were six goals to the good by that time, but we’ll need to keep on the ball throughout in future games.

We had a little shuffling about positional wise, but as normal the boys all adapted well. The game was played out in a good and highly competitive spirit, with the referee having a particularly good game and managed any potential flash points very well. Pat on the back today Ref!!

Well done again today lads, we were on the road again and played ourselves into the quarters, which is what we came to do, we thank our hosts Brackley for their hospitality, and we wish Chris and his team all the best for the rest of their season, keep being positive.

Next Sunday we are back down the M4 to Reading where we meet Woodley Town and play for a place in the semi-finals of the County Cup. Thanks for your all your support.

See you next week

Match Report: NPTFC Lions U13

Match: Berks & Bucks County Cup
Result: New Windsor Yth Colts 0
NPTFC Lions 1
Goal Scorer:
Jack Croxford 1

The Lions finally able to get this game played after what seemed like endless amounts of rain, and of course the subsequent pitch problems. But credit to Windsor who worked hard to find a pitch that was playable.

The Lions will struggle to get a more dramatic backdrop to the match than Windsor Castle, and we played down a leafy lane within the grounds of historic Eton School.

The Lions needed a win today to go through to the quarter finals, a stage further than we managed to get last year. Match reports showed that Windsor had plenty of goals in them so we would have to be on our toes. The match kicked off on what must be the biggest pitch we have ever played on. We quickly settled down into a passing game, we needed to let the ball do the work on this pitch that was for sure. We looked the stronger side, and we quickly started to create chances, but literally everything we did attack wise either lacked quality in the final ball, or shots were going agonisingly wide, we had lots of possession, we just needed to convert it into a goal.

Windsor didn’t really put our defence under pressure we dealt with most things, although we always had to be on the ball, they had some pace down the left, on one attack from Windsor Marcus came out and didn’t quite get there the striker struck a good shot that hit the post and the rebound shot went well over, lady luck was with us on that one, but the attacks were few and far between. There was a lot of graft in the middle of the park from Adam who worked his socks off today, he was ably supported by Jack Croxford who grabbed us the valuable goal in the second half.

The first half finished and a few of the lads were feeling the fact that we hadn’t been able to train regularly. We hadn’t kept the ball as much as we would have liked, partly because we were so stretched at times on this pitch. So we needed to get tighter all round the pitch to support each other better and then we just needed get more quality on the final ball.

Second half saw us start brightly and we did get tighter and played some lovely pass and move football, but again the final shot either went to the keeper or to the side. On one attack Jack Croxford received the ball with his back to goal just inside the box; he was able to turn the defender and got his shot off, and this time, this time, it was beyond the hands of the keeper, and into the net. It was no more that we deserved, we had worked hard to get to this point, we should have had a hatful by now. But we had to remain patient, we had all the ball, if we kept calm then the goal would come, and that’s what happened. We kept playing the better football, but the second goal just wouldn’t come today, to be fair Windsor always had a lot of bodies behind the ball and defended deep. With Windsor not able to get out of their own half for the most part, our defensive unit dealt well with anything that came there way.

The game eventually ran out, and the Lions picked up a good win on the road, and that takes us into the hat for the quarter finals, where we will have I’m sure a tough game, but as long as we can get adequate preparation in, we’ll give ourselves a good chance to progress further.

The boys need more training and more matches now to sharpen up and get tuned into the game quicker. But all in all a good performance today from the lads, who showed that we could be patient and eventually grabbed our chance. But some good passing football played, but as always we look to improve over this week in readiness for the League Cup match, away to Brackley next Sunday (Weather permitting)
We thank Windsor for getting the game on, and wish them well for the rest of their season. Thanks everyone for getting behind the lads today.

See you all next week!

Match Report 06/01/08

Citizen Cup U13
Result:
NPTFC Lions 12
Woburn Lions Hurricanes 1

Goal Scorers:
Adam Bowdery 3
Alex Collard 3
Matty Cullis 2
Wes McGrath 1
Jack Westbrook 1
Justin Gore 1
Keigh Garlick 1

Squad:
Marcus Bayley(GK), Daniel Booth, Matty Cullis( C ), Wes McGrath, James Beesley, Kiegh Garlick, Justin Gore, Jack Allen, Jack Westbrook, Jack Croxford, Adam Bowdery, James sage, Alex Collard, Mitchell Tofts.

Happy New Year to all. Lions back in action today in the 3rd round of the League Cup, we have had no chance for any training and so this was literally straight into it.

The game went the way the divisional positions for the two clubs suggest, with the NPTFC Lions dominating throughout, we wanted to get off to a bright start, on a sticky old pitch, we quickly asserted ourselves in the mid-field through Adam and Jack C, winning a lot of balls, with good onward distribution and resulting in a hatrick from Adam. It was good to see the midfield starting to get more goals.

Matty grabbed his first of two to get us off the mark, and we never really looked back after that. With the game under control, John rotated players throughout the game, and another chance to look at one or two in different positions, should we need to go there at some stage.

Alex played up front for us today and used his physical presence to forge some good runs into the Woburn penalty box and was rewarded with a good hatrick. Westy also grabbed a well-taken goal, as did Justin and Wes and a well-taken Kiegh fee kick to the back post sneaked into the net to take us to 12 goals.

We had a our moments just after the second half kicked off when we gave the ball away a lot, and a stronger side will punish you for that, but at the back we looked solid enough and never had any problems, with the Woburn goal coming directly from a free kick just outside the box, Marcus was unsighted as the ball went in at the near post, a pity not to be able to keep the clean sheet under the circumstances.

Well that’s the Lions into the next round, away to Brackley in 2 weeks time, no doubt that will be sterner test, bad luck to Woburn, who tried hard today, and we wish them well for the rest of their season. An even sterner test arguably, could face the Lions in the next round of the County Cup, away to New Windsor Youth, a long trip and we’ll need to prepare well to make sure as the only MK based side representing in this competition, do the area proud, we’ll try our best.
Welcome back all.

See you next week

Match Report 16/12/07

County Cup U13
Result:
NPTFC Lions 5
Radley Yth 1

Goal Scorers:
Jack Westbrook 2
Matty Cullis 2
Mitch Tofts 1

Another cold day in December and the 2nd round of the County Cup saw the visitors Radley Yth come to Willen Rd. We anticipated a close game as both teams play in their top divisions, and of course the further you go in this competition you can expect to come up against stronger sides, and Radley were a good side.

We kicked off and the game was very evenly balanced throughout most of the first half with the Lions edging it and creating slightly the more chances. We wanted to get off to a good start, and we pressed the Radley goal on a number of occasions but al shots were either going wide or over the top, the good news was that we were creating chances, and so we had to be patient and a little more control in front of goal, deep into the first half Matty grabbed us the first goal with a shot from the right, across, and just out of the keepers reach and into the bottom corner. We felt the goal would come, we just needed a little more composure. The first half concluded, and Radley had frustrated us in the middle of the park, but we were on top, defensively we looked pretty tight with no major concerns, we just needed to find a little more quality in the second half, and consolidate on a good performance in the first half.

Second half got going and straight away Radley stepped up a gear, and put us under some pressure, and had their chances, that they just couldn’t put away, Marcus was having a good game, and anything that came near him, he collected and distribution was good, well played today Marcus!

Slightly against the run of play we managed to break out, counter attack, and drove down field and Westy grabbed us a second, and that started to lift the pressure we had been under for a while. The game became a bit nip ad tuck at this stage with Radley continuing to press, but we were able to hold out. Then we had a free kick, and keigh delivered a great ball as usual, we sprung the offside trap, Adam took the delivery first time on his chest, edged it to an advancing Matty who turned the ball into the net to get us our third. It looked marginal but there was no flag, Radley pushed out and thought we were offside but we carried on until the whistle blew, the goal, was good.

The forth goal was a great back to front effort starting with the keeper, through the midfield and eventually to the feet of a charging Westy, who, from the edge of the box struck a great shot that flew into the top corner to seal it, it was a good goal well taken, and well made, well done to all involved in that one particularly.

The fifth came as Radley had to keep pressing and of course that left gaps at the back, a good ball from Boothy, who had now switched to midfield, found it’s way to Mitch moving in from the left and drilled it into the bottom left corner. Another well-taken goal, well done Mitch.

Radley did grab a late goal for their hard efforts particularly in the second half, hard lines lads, a decent side, that just couldn’t find the goal a critical times of the game. We on the other hand, settled down in front of goal, created more, and took our chances well.

A slightly sub par performance from the boy’s this week in terms of overall quality, but we got into our stride eventually. Well done though boys, we are in the hat for the last 16, and of course the challenges will get tougher, but that’s a good thing.

Good luck to Radley for the rest of their season, nice team, coaches and everyone. Great support as usual, thanks to everyone on the sideline for your support so far this season, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all from everyone at the Lions.

See you all after the Christmas Break

Clarification:

In my last match report ref Lions V City Colts, I made reference to the conditions on the day, they were very windy and wet. And in one of the lines I spoke about the “poor City Colts Keeper” this absolutely did not mean he was poor as in bad, but meant that he was unfortunate with the conditions.

Match Report 02/12/07

League Division 1 U13
Result:
NPTFC Lions 7
City Colts A 0

Goal Scorers:
Alex Collard 3
Matty Cullis 1
Jack Croxford 1
Justin Gore 1
Wes McGrath 1

Well December has arrived, and brought the weather with it!! Anyone out and about will have caught the full force of the gales and driving rain, it was pretty grim. And so with a little hopping about and much shivering we kicked off against City Colts in terrible conditions.

The boys dominated the game from the off, and played some good attacking football, and with the wind at our tails, we drove forward and with the first shot on target from Matty, the poor City Colts keeper struggling to handle the ball in the conditions, it slipped through his hands and into the net, to take us into the lead within the first minute. This set the tone of the match, and with City Colts struggling to get out of there own half, the Lions enjoyed, if that’s the right word on such a day the possession. We played good quality football, throughout the game, yes it was good to get the two points, but the quality of the performance was good to see.

The second goal didn’t take long to come, almost a copy of the first with another strong shot from Jack Croxford, again the keeper couldn’t handle in the wet, and in it went, this was closely followed by a third from Wes, a very well taken goal from the right wing, up and over this time, and we were 3-nil to the good within 25 minutes.

Defensively we looked nice and steady, there was more talking, which was good to hear, lots of encouragement, they all needed that towards the end as the cold really did start to bite in on wet through kit. There were many changes today, not least to stop hypothermia setting in, with many of the team switching different positions throughout. But everyone was able to adapt to the new roles, and we didn’t concede which was something we wanted this week, so well done to everyone on that front.

Alex moved up front in the second half, and grabbed a further two goals along with his first in the first half, to give him a good hat trick that he worked hard for. Justin played his part today and came back on in the second half, and gave us some fresh legs down the right, slipped his defender on several occasions, we had a good break from the team, and the ball was slipped to an advancing Justin, who rode the robust challenge from the defender well, kept his balance, and slotted home his goal.

The Lions always looked in control today, on a day that was tough for both sides. But I repeat it was the good quality that shone through for me, so well done to you all, I hope everyone has warmed up by now.

Also a big thank you to Tracy Bees, who stepped in at short notice to ref the game, and with husband Lee on the line and Bees the younger playing, it was definitely a first to see the whole family on the pitch at the same time, but thanks and well done.

Well done to parents for the encouragement, think we all needed a bit of that as the game went on, the boy’s continue to improve as a team.

Next week it’s County Cup competition at Willen Rd when we have Radley Youth from Oxfordshire arriving for the second round.

See you next week,

Match Report 25/11/07

League Division 1 U13
Result:
Water Eaton Yth 2
NPTFC Lions 4

Goal Scorers:
Jack Westbrook 2
Matty Cullis 1
Mitch Tofts 1

Lions were away to a potentially difficult customer in Water Eaton, a team that always tries hard and has some good players; we would need to be on our toes. We were without a couple of players this week due to illness and injury, so a bit of shuffling about was the order of the day. Well done to the lads that stepped in and did a different job for us this week shows our flexibility to adapt to different roles if we have too.

Lions got of to a good start and we quickly settled down into a good passing game, we wanted more drive in the final third this week, and we got it, with Matty and Westy grabbing a couple of good quality goals in the first half. At the back we contained Water Eaton well, and our defending on the whole was good, although concentration for the 70 minutes is the key, and not get caught napping. We had more chances in the first half that we should have put away, and we should have been well in the driving seat from a goals point of view, we had most of the possession, and of course it’s all about what you do when you have it that counts.

The halftime break saw Thorpey telling the boy’s to pick up the pace, and start the second half at a high tempo, in all areas of the pitch, yes we were in front, but we wanted to see a much slicker game in terms of the speed that the ball was being moved around. We got the ball out to Mitch from a terrific reverse diagonal ball from Alex in the second half Mitch made a good run and cross, one of many he made in the final 25 minutes, with the crossed ball being met by an advancing Westy he struck from short range and it just went over the bar, but the build up was great to see.

We needed to man mark at times at the back, and on a couple of occasions there danger man broke free and with a good shot that had Marcus beat, they had it pegged back to 2-1, always a funny old score, it gave Water Eaton heart, and so they had their time in attack, we seized the initiative back with another good attack that saw Westy lift the ball over the keeper to take it to 3-1, then Water Eaton struck for their second time, again their go to man broke free . Water Eaton tails were up and we needed the 2 goal difference really as Water Eaton were starting to throw caution to the wind, and on a good counter attack, a good ball through to Mitch saw him strike hard at the keeper who got his hands to it, but could not prevent it going in to take us to 4-2.
We then saw the game out, we were the team on top for large parts of the game, but a lesson in seeing games out must be learnt here, football is a game played with the head as well as the heart. But well done today lads, we needed to get back on track after last weeks somewhat surprising draw. Next up City Colts back at Willen Rd, and then a run of Cup games before Christmas. We must look to keep ourselves sharp over these next 3 games before we hit the Winter break. It’s a long season and with much still to play for, the Lions are doing well, keep working hard at it boys.

Another great ball winning

See you next week,

Match Report 18/11/07

League Division 1 U13
Result:
NPTFC Lions 2
Scot Yth 2

Goal Scorers:
Jack Westbrook 1
Justin Gore 1

Back to league action for the Lions at home to Scot Yth who were currently at the bottom of the division and struggling to get any points. But they were still a dangerous opponent as were about to find out.

The Lions started the game ok, and passed the ball around well. However we didn’t have to wait too long before we started to make some basic areas like giving the ball away again, and again we were punished by giving Scotts the ball and watched there confidence grow.

We spoke before the game about our decision-making, not giving the ball away and one quick lad that they had, that had the potential with his pace to unlock the door. Clearly that message had not sunk in with the whole team, as we did give the ball away through poor decision making or panic, and the quick lad did get around the back to grab the equaliser in the second half.

Before that however Scot’s in the first half had a free kick outside our box, a well delivered shot to goal was caught and dropped, and another as in previous matches, “Eagle eyed striker” was doing what they should all do and followed up from a yard out to get the visitors the lead, at this stage the game was pretty even, with much of the battle in the middle of the park. We continued to pass the ball mostly to our people quite well; we just lacked bite in the final third.

That said our first goal was very well made from back to front, a good ball from Matty knocked into the channel for Westy to drill home a cracking shot and hopefully went some way to settling him down after last weeks hard efforts and nothing to show on the goals front, this time it paid off though. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

Our second goal was grabbed by Justin who hadn’t been on long and after a six yard box scramble managed to get his foot on it and get it over the line, Mr consistency, somehow Justin manages to keep grabbing goals, well done lad! We now had our noses in front, and needed to consolidate and build on this. However this is the moment when Scots quick lad had a burst down our left, he was unchallenged, went round the keeper to grab back the equaliser, Scots visibly grew in confidence and were looking to press for the winner. We huffed and puffed but could not press home a meaningful attack. A last gasp shot from Westy almost grabbed us the late winner, but the Scot’s keeper, who to be fair had, had a good game pulled of another good save to keep the visitors in the game. There were some positives to our game, and we hadn’t played a terrible game, Scot’s were well worth their point, and we struggle to understand why they are where they are in the Division, but well played to them.

As for us, well we weren’t good enough to win it today simple as that, some lads looked a little weary. There will be no papering over cracks, we have set some standards for ourselves this season, and as performances go that wasn’t anywhere near how well the lions can and do play. But we will need to shake this out of the system and get back to some basics in training, and we’ll be looking for a positive response in training and in next Sunday’s game. Which I’m sure we will see, the lads have done well this year, and we have a long season still ahead of us. We will inevitably see the ups and downs and as we go forward and we’ll manage it and improve and be the better for it.

See you next week,

Match Report 11/11/07

County Cup 1st Round U13
Result:
Aylesbury Town 1
NPTFC Lions 11

Goal Scorers:
Matty Cullis 4
Alex Collard 2
Justin Gore 1
Jack Croxford 1
Keigh Garlick 1
Mitch Tofts 1
OG 1

Remembrance Sunday and the minutes silence and reflection was impeccably observed by all. We reminded the boys about why they were standing their in silence for I minute, and to remember the people that gave the ultimate sacrifice. So that they might have Sundays playing the game they love.

Well what a cracking performance from the boys today, we had no idea about Aylesbury who played their football in Div1 of the local league. But we set about our game with some high tempo football, and right from the kick off, we had driven the ball back to the Aylesbury keeper.

Aylesbury looked sharp going forward, but a little less so at the back, there tactics were to defend a high line, it’s a risky tactic if your back four are not the fastest, we got caught offside more than we usually do through the defensive role Aylesbury were adopting, however it was only going to be a matter of time before we sprung the trap and had them turned. We didn’t have to wait long and we did just that and the first goal soon came with the ball in the net, this was quickly followed by 2 more goals and were 3 or 4 nil up within 15-20 minutes. More goals followed in the second half.

It was a great start to the game and put us firmly in the driving seat. Again the whole team played there particular roles well, and when they are all clicking like this we are a pretty formidable outfit. The hard bit is pulling this all together on game days. But we were undoubtedly on it today, and the subsequent score reflected the way we played, with goals coming from strikers and ably supported by the midfield, which is always encouraging to see.

Anyway with the job done were able to get ourselves into the hat for the second round. We await to see who we had in the next round.
Really well done again boys.
See you next week,

Match Report 4/11/07

League Division 1 U13
Result:
City Colts (A) 1
NPTFC Lions 4

Goal Scorers:
Matty Cullis 1
Mitch Tofts 1
Jack Croxford 1
OG 1

Well talk about Chalk and Cheese, this weeks game was in stark contrast to last weeks performance, with Lions firmly back on track. It was a good team effort with everyone playing some nice football.

The lads were in a very positive frame of mind, and we controlled the game from start to finish. Some of the build up play was very good, particularly down the left in the early in the first half and down the right more latterly.

As a result of the very sound defensive work we had put in, this gave the midfield and strikers the platform to get the creative and finishing part of our game going, which they did with some aplomb.

Not much else to say really, City Colts tried hard and kept going right to the end, but we were just too much for them this time around.

Well done to our lads this week, we wanted a response from last week and we got it. Just need to maintain that momentum going into next weeks County Cup game away to unknown quantity in Aylesbury Town.

See you next week,

Match Report 28/10/07

League Division 1 U13
Result:
NPTFC Lions 0
Woburn Lions 3

Goal Scorers:

The first visit from a Woburn side for sometime, and the lions needed to be in good shape for this one.

Sadly the rest of the squad didn’t share our optimism and we frankly didn’t play well. Yes we had our moments, but we kept giving the ball away and if you do that often enough, then teams don’t need to see that too many times before they think this might be there day.

Woburn played OK, and probably reflect where they are in the division, but we let them play it that way, and so it didn’t take too long before the opening goal came from Woburn, we didn’t clear our lines and we went a goal down in the first half.

The second half saw us trying to get back into the game, and we wasn’t doing too badly with a shot coming of the crossbar, and a couple went wide, it was encouraging that we were creating chances. However a Woburn attack down our left, saw our defending not at it’s best, we did the hard bit by winning the ball back, we set ourselves up for a delivery down pitch away from the danger area, but got caught in possession, lost the ball, the very quick striker simply moved to goal to make it 2 nil to the visitors.

A minute later and Woburn’s long ball game eventually paid off, and a bouncing ball was not collected properly and a sharp eyed striker was following up (Which they should all do of course) said thank you very much and it was 3 nil down.

I all honesty it wasn’t a 3-0 game, but also in honesty we did not play well and need to do much better in training and readiness for next weeks game away to City Colts, a sharp reminder to the Lions that we will need to be on our toes all through the season!

See you next week,

Match Report 14/10/07

League Division 1 U13
Result:
Olney Town 0
NPTFC Lions 6

Goal Scorers:
Matty Cullis 3
Jack Westbrook 2
Justin Gore 1

Squad:
Marcus Bayley(GK), Daniel Booth, Matty Cullis( C ), Wes McGrath, James Beesley, Kiegh Garlick, Justin Gore, Jack Allen, Jack Westbrook, Jack Croxford, Adam Bowdery, James sage, Alex Collard.

Away to Olney, and a team in truth that we always seem to have a problem with from a football perspective, they work hard for each other. And so going into this match we had that in mind. We should have been more confident as we had trained well in the week, particularly on Saturday, and the match should be just a culmination of hard graft in the week in readiness.

And that’s just how the game panned out. Quite simply the Lions were brilliant today, and played with maturity, and more importantly played as a whole team, and it all seemed to click, as always it took the game a little time to settle down, and Olney must have wondered what they had done to be 3-0 down after 20 minutes as they had worked hard themselves. Gone are the days when teams are going to roll over and let anyone dominate from start to finish at this level anyway.

It would be wrong to mention anyone by name this week as it was such a good team effort, with goals from the strikers and midfield, but in virtually every case all of the team were involved in the build up in one way or another. Defensively we were excellent.
Word of warning, we are just a short way into the season still, but it’s a good start from the Lions, and we have a long way to go and with other teams breathing down our necks, we must keep focused.
All the boys have stepped up this season, and we must keep working hard in our development as a team, but we are making good progress and the boys without doubt raised the bar for themselves again today with some great quality.

Hard lines Olney who worked hard for each other as they always do, and battled until the end, but they met a Lions side today that were on their game. Thanks also to our support, you must have been pleased with your boy’s today. Keep all the positivity going because that undoubtedly helps the lads self-confidence and a sense of enjoyment, and the result of that, is what you saw today.
Free weekend next week, a well-earned break for the boy’s, after that we prepare for the visit of Woburn Lions in November, another very good side.

See you next week,

Match Report 7/10/07

League Division 1 U13
Result:
NPTFC Lions 3
Water Eaton 2

Goal Scorers:
Jack Westbrook 1
Adam Bowdery 1
Jack Allen 1

Squad:
Marcus Bayley(GK), Daniel Booth, Matty Cullis( C ), Wes McGrath, Mitch Tofts, James Beesley, Kiegh Garlick, Justin Gore, Jack Allen, Jack Westbrook, Jack Croxford, Adam Bowdery.

The Lions met with a much-strengthened Water Eaton side today and just about came out on top, after going a goal down in the opening 10 minutes, the Lions quickly new we were in a game.

Lions were without some players today but still we were able with a bit of re-shuffling around able to compete at vital stages of the game, and had to learn to take pressure when we didn’t have the ball. Water Eaton’s plan was clear from the off and that was to get the ball to their centre forward as quickly and as often as they could.

The defenders had their hands full, and on one occasion we lost the ball down the left of our midfield, and the next time a Lions player touched the ball again was when we had to pick it out of our own net 1-0 down, but there was still plenty of time. We discussed before the game about keeping possession, and to work really hard to get it back when you lose it and now the Lions would have to work hard to put those words into action.
Mentally it wasn’t a problem, and we got down to playing some nice football, and began to create our own chances, and as long as we were doing that, then we just had to convert, and we didn’t have to wait long before Adam popped up from midfield and grabbed the equaliser, could we use this as a platform to spring our game onto the attack instead of having to defend for long periods.

Yes we were was the short answer and again managed to put together some good phases in attack, created from back to front, Marcus had a good game today, and could do little about the goals but his clearing of his lines and catching was excellent.

The second goal cam as a result of a well-worked corner delivered well by Keigh and Jack Allen got his head to it and in it went to take us into the lead.
The game ebbed and flowed at this stage, and then we had a free kick some way outside of the box, Matty delivered a good ball to the back post and Mitch latched his foot onto it, and it flew into the net, unfortunately disallowed for off-side, however just before the halftime break another well worked move saw Westy put the ball away to take us 3-1 up at the break. A good position to be in given the start we had, however water Eaton were not a side to lay down as we were about to find out.

Second half saw nearly all the play go Water Eaton’s way as they came out all guns blazing and we basically had to put up a rear guard action to hold the score, which we did for the most part, but without a full selection of squad tired legs were starting to creep in, and we began to back off and defend rather than step up, and so we invited danger upon us, and one of the Water Eaton lads picked up the ball outside the box and we didn’t challenge him so he pulled of a cracking shot that nobody would have saved and it sailed in to take the game to 3-2 with about 15 minutes left. We basically just had to keep the ball and try and get some control of the game back and give the defenders some respite from the constant pressure. We managed to do just that and saw the game out the eventual winners. But this was a good game for both sides, and w both learnt something about ourselves.

Hard lines to Water Eaton and good luck until we meet again. Thanks to our supporters, the lads needed lots of positive support today from the sideline team. Next week league action again to our near neighbours Olney Town, always a close game.
Well done today though lads must keep working hard in training.

See you next week,

Match Report 30/09/07

County Cup U13
Result:
NPTFC Lions 8
Newton Longville 0

Goal Scorers:
Jack Westbrook 4
Mitch Tofts 3
Wes McGrath 1

Squad:
Marcus Bayley(GK), Daniel Booth, Matty Cullis( C ), Wes McGrath, Alex Collard, Mitch Tofts, James Beesley, Kiegh Garlick, Justin Gore, Jack Allen, Jack Westbrook, Jack Croxford.

The preliminary round of the Berks & Bucks County Cup saw the Lions at home again to Newton Longville on a cracking day for football, I’m sure we won’t see too many afternoons like this over the next few weeks. The pitch was in great condition as the Lions set about getting ourselves into the hat on Monday for the next round of the draw.

We got off to another indifferent start to the game and took a while for the game to settle into a pattern, and that pattern was the Lions taking control of the match, again trying to play a pass and move game, against another physically big side. Newton Longville worked hard for each other but I think at the end of the day the difference in the divisions where we play our football was the deciding factor, and that’s no disrespect to the N/Ville lads who worked there socks off, but never really threatened our goal.

The back four were solid again to day with Marcus having little to do, concentration for the 70 minutes can also be a challenge in situations like this, all take note. It took sometime to eventually play a good final ball through to Westy who got us of the mark with one of four well taken goals today, Westy continues to keep up a good ratio of goals per game, he was partnered up front today by Wes who again provide some good link up play and grabbed a good goal of his won, well done you two.

The midfield played their part today with a Jack C and Keigh sharing the load between them, with Justin and Mitch on the flanks, a good performance from Mitch particularly in the second half when he was able to get forward more in support of the front runners, and after some good crossing was able to bag a hatrick for himself. Matty came on for Justin down the right and turned provider for today, and had a good 45 mins, with some great balls into the channels.

A job well done today with again everyone on the squad available playing their part, particular praise to our back four again of Bees, Jacko, Alex, and Boothy who are the unsung heroes mopping everything up today and are becoming a strong unit.

Hard lines to Gary and his Newton Longville team, we wish them well in the league this year. Thanks for our support, please, please, please try and keep control of ourselves let the coaches do the coaching, we’re doing ok so far, lets keep it all going.

Next week at home again to Water Eaton in League Div 1 action.

See you next week,

Match Report 23/09/07

League Div 1 Match U13
Result:
NPTFC Lions 3
Moretonville Jnrs 1

Goal Scorers:
Jack Westbrook 1
Matty Cullis 1
Adam Bowdery 1

Squad:
Marcus Bayley(GK), Daniel Booth, Matty Cullis( C ), Wes McGrath, Alex Collard, Mitch Tofts, James Beesley, Kiegh Garlick, Justin Gore, Jack Allen, Jack Westbrook, Adam Bowdery, Jack Croxford, James Sage.

Three games, and three wins, the Lions continue the good start to this season, this weeks visitors are a strong Moretonville side, another team that will give you problems all day long. The game kicked off and the Lions looked a little unstable for the first 10 minutes, we were under some pressure right from the off. We managed to see this period out and started to string our own game together, we didn’t give the ball away nearly as much as we did last week, and now our confidence began to grow, we could see the Lions were now the team getting on the front foot, defensively looked good again against some strong running M/Ville lads.
Jack Allen and Alex are playing well together with Jack the attacking defender of the two and Alex playing that all important sweeper role, and getting us going forward again.

Halfway through the first half, Jack Croxford picked the ball up on the edge of the M/Ville box, had a great shot hit the post, came back under the keeper and some great following play from Adam Bowdery saw the ball hit the roof of the net to get our noses in front, and again we were well worth our lead at that point.
We continued this level of pressure, and controlled the midfield at this point with both Adam and Jack having a major influence on the game. Have to say a word or two about front pair today Westy and Matty were giving them all sorts of problems with great running of the angles and channels, Westy had a that little bit of determination in his eye today and chased down everything, with some terrific work rate. Matty much the same linked up well with the midfield, and another play with the ball at his feet just inside the M/Ville box, sidestepped the defender and struck a lovely diagonal ball from right to left over the keeper and into the top left corner of the net, a well taken goal.

A great clearance from Marcus shortly before the break, saw the midfield flick on to a charging Westy who caught up with the ball and with an advancing keeper coming out to him, managed to toe it round him and still had the composure to get his shot away and to grab his first and our 3rd. I don’t think we had in our mind that we would be 3-0 up against a good side like M/Ville but we were and it was well deserved, factor that effect both sides was the strengthening wind that was blowing harder and we had it with us in the first half and we would be up against second.

The halftime talk was about, keeping our focus and just playing some controlled football with the ball on the deck against this wind, which we did for the most part. Another word for our full backs as well today, both Bees and Boothy have really stepped up their game this season both playing new roles this season and we look a stable unit defensively as a result of the graft these lads are putting consistently, well done the pair of you.

The second half was about us trying to absorb the pressure and the wind that was being applied to us, we had several more breaks down both flanks, but all came to nothing, we had one small mix up with our communications at the back, that result in some confusion, we didn’t clear our lines and we were punished for it with a looping ball put back in over Marcus and in it went. Something for us to work on this week.

The game then ran out, we looked physically quite strong through out against a much larger side. We are trying to play some really good football at the moment, and a real pleasure to watch, if we keep this level of football up we will definitely continue to improve. Long way to go in the league, and we are definitely not getting ahead of ourselves, it’s one game at a time. A rest from League football next week, as we enter the Preliminary round of the Berks & Bucks County Cup, we are the hosts to Newton Longville, and as usual will need prepare well for this one.

Well done to Moretonville, we’ll meet again later in the season and it will be much closer I’m sure. Thanks again to our support, you must be pleased with the way your lads are playing at the moment, keep encouraging them please.

See you next week,

Match Report 16/09/07

League Div 1 Match U13
Result:
Scott Yth 1
NPTFC Lions 5

Goal Scorers:
Jack Westbrook 2
Justin Gore 1
Jack Allen 1
Alex Collard 1

Second game of the season for the Lions away to Scott Yth, could the Lions replicate that good start and performance we saw last week, the answer for this week at least, was no not really. The Lions had the result and dominated the game throughout, but we looked very disjointed, and despite the score line lacked real conviction in front of goal.

Scott’s had their moments and one individual in particular stood out for them with some explosive pace, that gave us a real problems down our left side. But we managed for the most part to contain, defensively we looked pretty solid although more “Heading” please lads to change the momentum quicker.

Midfield was a bit chop and change today and I think that perhaps didn’t help the balance of the side at times. All the goals came in the first half after what seemed an age trying to get that foot in the door, we were trying to pass the ball around and keep possession but struggled when we needed to press for the goal. That said a good mix of players on the score sheet today, Westy was back on track with two, Justin popped up with another well taken goal, both centre backs were involved in goal action, Jack Allen mopping up after a good corner was delivered from Keigh, and Alex Collard found himself dribbling into the penalty box a little one, two and put the ball away just before the halftime break.

We lacked a sense of drive about us today, and did not play as a team the way we did last week, we will all need to re-focus in training this week, and prepare well for the visit of Moretonville next Sunday, a good side and another team that will be one of the contenders for honours a the end of the season.

Well done to Scott’s who have had a couple of heavy results go against them in the last two weeks, I’m sure they will bounce back. Thanks as always to our support, it’s always going to be a little up and down at times with 12 and 13 year olds, but they have already shown what they are capable of and we just need to push on from their.

See you next week,

Match Report 09/09/07

League Div 1 Match U13
Result:
Harrold & Carlton 0
NPTFC Lions 2

Goal Scorers:
Matty Cullis 1
Justin Gore 1

Squad:
Marcus Bayley(GK), Daniel Booth, Matty Cullis( C ), Wes McGrath, Alex Collard, Mitch Tofts, James Beesley, Kiegh Garlick, Justin Gore, Jack Allen, Jack Westbrook, Adam Bowdery, Jack Croxford.

The Lions get off to the start of the new season with a good win over last years Div 1 runners up Harrold & Carlton, our games are always close, and this was just the same. When the fixtures came out the hat, I guess both teams thought it’s a tough start, that said we had prepared well in the week, and we were focused.

We kicked off on a pitch that had longer than usual grass that didn’t help either side, with the ball forever getting stuck under peoples feet, still it was the same for both sides, and you have to learn to adapt to all kinds of surfaces.

The Lions looked sharp from the start, and the pre-match talk was about hitting the channels, and bodies in the box to maximise our chances. We created many chances in the first half, but just wasn’t able to get the ball in the net, still this was encouraging, far worse to have no chances at all. A long high ball pumped up front bounced, and was hard for the centre back to deal with, the keeper came, and with Matty included in the mix for us the ball squeezed past them all and left Matty with a left foot strike to the corner of the net to give us a well deserved lead going into the break. I think in all honesty we were well worth the one goal lead, it could have been more, we concentrated and saw the half out. It had been a really good first half performance with the Lions having the larger share of possession.

The halftime talk was about more of the same really, just a couple of small changes to the midfield, and everyone had to keep taking responsibility for their job, which they had done in the first half. We came out of the blocks much the same, defensively we were very good today, and dealt with much of what Harrold could throw at us, however H & C had their moments as we knew they would, and some terrific last ditch clearances from Alex today kept the clean sheet without a doubt, but all the back line and keeper did well.

The second and decisive goal came deep into the second half, and started from a great move from Keigh down the left who broke away from his marker and put in another quality cross, yes we had bodies in the box, but it went just over there heads and a rapidly advancing Justin from the right wing met the ball full on the volley and it flew into the roof of the net in a goal very similar to that scored by Shaun Wright-Phillips for England on Saturday, what a goal! and surely contender for goal of the season already, it was absolutely different class from the wing play to the shot.

We had to settle down and concentrate again now to see the game out, which we did. This was a fantastic effort from the team today, with everyone on the team contributing in some way, we looked good from the back to the front, and this should give us the confidence to go forward, the Lions have set a good standard for themselves and concentration and hard graft in training should help them keep this going as we prepare for next Sunday. It’s a good start but we have a long way to go. A massive thanks to all the team today from the coaching staff, they listened, and put the plan into execution and you can’t ask for more than that. Well done to H&C a quality side that will undoubtedly be there or there about’s at the end of the season.

Thanks to our excellent support as usual, keep being positive with these youngsters and they will flourish I’m sure. Next up Scott Yth at Willen road.

Carpe Diem!