U16 Girls - Refs, Rules and Speedy 'R'

U16 Girls - Refs, Rules and Speedy R.

This week we were away to Poole Town Wessex who, for the last 4 seasons, have beaten us on every occasion. Sometimes its been 1-0 but often slightly more and in the ‘season of doom’ it was worse than that.

Going into the game we knew we had some work to do and only the bare minimum of players to do it with. So after some careful calculation we made a couple of tactical repositions and the game got under way.

From the very start it was clear the new formation was going to work as they repelled a couple of attacks with relative ease. However the start of a really exciting but frustrating game was about to begin. Within the first 5 minutes we won a corner and with her usual flair ‘M’ stepped up to take it. The corner was high and dropped in the middle of the penalty area: as it did so H got into a terrific position, took the ball on her head and SCORED! It was THE perfect combination of 'corner to head' and all of us on the touchline roared our appreciation…………….unfortunately the Ref thought H had committed a foul and disallowed the goal. It was an unbelievable decision and after the game the opposition's coaches stated they thought there was nothing wrong with it…grrrr.

On we went, in came anther well time and determined attack and into their goal went the ball! All of us on the touchline roared with delight (again) until we heard the whistle go again to indicate we had been offside. How frustrating was that? Incidentally this was flagged by the same guy who, in the dying few minutes of the game, flagged for a goal kick when it was clearly a corner to us (fortunately even the ref saw his ‘error’).

Anyway, on we went and some more really thoughtful, team based play was enjoyed by all. It resulted in the opposition winning 6-4 but what a game.

Thanks to everyone who worked so hard from the start. The goals were scored by H (2), Ro and M.

Special thanks go to our MVP ‘Speedy’ for doing an outstanding job as a close marking midfielder and rose to the challenge of trying to be everywhere all the time. Not easy!

U16 Girls - bad news and good news

The bad news is that despite all the confidence and high hopes of a convincing victory we lost 3-0 against Parkstone Heights.

Overall, the game wasn’t as good to watch as the last few have been and some of the essential things like communication, fast paced passing and moving and a few other ingredients seemed to be missing. What was most significant was the (almost tangible) ‘thing’ that that happens when the team is really on form didn’t happen, what a great pity.

On a more positive note there were some good individual performances in all positions on the field – some strong and committed work in defence which dramatically reduced the opposition’s chance to score, great cover and play making in the midfield and some determined play at the front.

If luck had been on our side we’d have finished off at least 3 of the chances that were made but sadly it wasn’t to be.

The good news is that having read the league table today Parkstone is still below us due to their goal difference but we really need to get some more wins and goals under our belts over the next few weeks to enable us to climb a few positions up the table.

Our MVP this week was ‘Jagster’ whose contribution in midfield was excellent and included some strong challenges, thoughtful attacking play and a great overall contribution.

Next week its Poole Town (Wessex) so we’ve got to work hard and make the ‘thing’ reappear!

U15 Braves 3 Boscome Albion 3

A well contested match - finished with a last ditch equalizer for Boscombe - which still leaves both teams in the top half of the table.

Broadstone took an early lead - through a well taken half volley by Jack Roberts - however Brodstone were unable to capilatise on a number of other chances - and despite dominating possession - the Braves were unable to increase their lead - as we headed for the break.

A regalvanised Boscombe started the second half strongly and following a determined spell of pressure were able to create the equaliser - followed shortly after by a goal which put them 2 -1 ahead.

A double body blow - such as that - could have been enough to unsettle most sides - however inspite of having once more to scale the infamous 'Plainfield Plateau' - Broadstone struck back with an excellantly weighted - twenty yard curler into the top left corner of the goal - executed by Nick Patrick.

The enthralled and rapturus crowd thought that Ben Allcock had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat when he buried a low drive into the far left hand corner of the net - with just seconds of the game remaining - but Boscombe managed one last attack and deep into time added on struck a long speculative ball into the packed Broadstone penalty area - which paid dividends.

An exciting game - played in an excellant spirit ! Man of Match - Jack Perrett

Sean McDonnell

Manager

U16 Girls Brilliance, Birthdays and Booked!

Saturday 11th October was certainly a day to remember for quite a few reasons!

Firstly, the game away to Dorchester was one of the most hotly contested we have ever played and reinforced my belief that whilst we have the same players as last season (the 'season of doom' which should never be spoken of in polite company) we have a completely different team!

As the game raced from one end of the pitch to the other it became clear that Broadstone was there to win and took the game to the opposition from the word 'go'. There was superb passing and moving, excellent clearances, strong one on one battles, accurate crosses and through balls...the lot!

In addition, it was obvious that the team had confidence, determination and passion .

The performance from each member of the team was excellent (even though a few weren't feeling 100%) and everyone contributed to very effective attacking moves resulting in 5 goals! Hannah scored twice, Emily, Rachael and Roisin also bagged one each. I have to say the quality of finishing on each occasion was outstanding and beautiful to watch. It's a pity and in many cases unlucky, that some of the other well timed strikes from other members of the team didn't find the back of the net too.

Our defence was pressed hard by Dorchester's midfield and strikers but battled for every ball and demonstrated the value of communication and playing cover patterns. Despite this hard work after a few lucky bounces and the odd well aimed shot Dorchester got the upper hand and the game finished 7-5 in their favour.

Such was the quality of the game and the excellent team work the parents couldn't pick a single player so...it was awarded to the whole team!!

Party Time!

The second reason for remembering the day was for the party that took place later that evening to celebrate the birthdays of Liv, Sharnie and Ro.

I'm told it was a great night out - lots of fun and laughter and the presents were much appreciated by all concerned - happy birthday to you all!

The team smiles for the camera.

And finally, another little present.

On the subject of presents the third and final reason for remembering the day was that the referee decided to give our Goalie (now known as 'Rocky') a little present in the form of a yellow card!!

This is the first time in the history of the squad we have won such an award (but probably not the last) but, in fairness, Rocky did exactly the right thing at the right time. As a result of her action she prevented the opposition scoring from both the attack that caused the incident AND the subsequent free kick which she tipped over the bar with expert ease.

Rocky gets a pressie!

Next week its home to Parkstone Heights.

U15 Braves - boys looking strong

Congratulations to all of the guys in the team on a well deserved win over Burton YFC.

This certainly couldn't of been capable without our " Marathon runners" in midfield, who challenged for every single ball and produced some top quality passes to cut open the opposition's defence.

In all fairness Burton were playing with 10 players, but nevertheless they would have needed nearly double that to break down our team today!

Anyway, the team pulled together and we got a extremely confidence boosting win, hopefully we can keep up the sublime football all season.

George Bristow scored ( we won't mention his financial incentive) his first goal in 4 years whilst Jack Roberts stuck numerous goals past their helpless goalkeeper.

Congratulations yet again lads, lets keep this football going to the end of the season, and I'm positive that our hard work will pay off!

Josh Parker ( Under 15's Braves captain)

U9 Braves This season so far.

We've had a difficult start to the season so far as we have been plagued by injuries. Our first match was against West Moors at home. Unfortunately our goalkeeper, Harry (the Tiger) Eaton had a knee injury so Ryan (Rhino) Meaney stepped in to play the first half and Freddy Everett the second. Both showed great courage and did their best to live up to Harry. We ended up losing 3-4 but not through lack of effort by the whole team without exception. Man of the match (MOM) was (mad) Max Purton who has really grown into his new position of left back, intercepting and tackling like a demon. Goal scorers were Charlie (Chas) Tilsed 2 and Sam (Saminator) Powell 1. The match was unfortunately marred by unsavory behavior by West Moors parents shouting abuse at the referee and players. This will not be tolerated in the future as we have adopted the "respect" initiative from the FA.

Our second match was away to Moordown Athletic which saw Harry return. We lost 7-3 but the score doesn't reflect the match. Max was once again outstanding and was MOM. The lads were only 7 as Jack Williamson was out this time with a leg injury. They fought bravely but gave an uneven performance. Every one of them showed periods of individual brilliance but not consistently resulting in defeat. Goal scorers were Sam Powell 1 and Ryan Meaney 2. I'm sure it will be a different story when we meet them at home.

We had to forfeit the match against Highcliffe because Harry, Ben and Jack were all injured and Max was away so we only had 4 players.

The boys have shown great enthusiasm and dedication in practice so we've added an extra half an hour. This became evident in our third game on Sun 5/10 away to Milford. Every player showed great strength and improvement. Freddy was MOM and was just a dynamo up front chasing down every ball and his determination got us a well fought for first goal. It was good to have Harry, Ben and Jack back from injury and all were solid at the back as was Max. We played a 2-3-1 formation for the first time and Charlie, Sam and Ryan proved to be formidable in midfield both in defense and attack with Ryan and Charlie getting the other two goals to win 3-2. All in all it was a great performance and hopefully it will give the boys some well earned confidence for future games.