Broadstone Football Club

U15s Sunday 19 September 2010 - Branksome 1 Broadstone 7

2010-09-21T21:15:00.001+01:00

I think today we saw that the squad is beginning to gel and our new players are integrating well into what is for them a new set-up and approach.

Some of our passing moves were excellent today, with some quality finishes to boot, well done!

Today also demonstrated how important it is to maintain concentration for the whole game. We know that goals change football matches and, had we conceded at 2-0 up, as opposed to 6-0, then the outcome would certainly have been different.

As with all things in life we need to learn from our mistakes, and the panicky 5 minutes after we allowed them to score should show you that you should never let up on the opposition, whatever the score.

However, overall a very encouraging display and a standard set for us to match in the future!!

Just a mention on the substitutions today, to avoid any misunderstandings. I offered Louis the chance to participate during the second half, but he felt that an injury he picked up recently would hamper him and did not wish to take the risk. I think Louis made the right call, particularly as we have a squad of 16 which should enable us to absorb the odd 'niggle'.

Talking of odd niggles, thanks also to Mark Partridge, for stepping into Rich Swindlehurst's shoes and running the line. There is apparently no truth in the rumour that the crowd thought it more likely that he had stepped into his wife's shoes, given the style of his running.

Looking ahead, unfortunately we do not have a fixture next week as we have a bye in the Bournemouth Cup.

We will continue training as normal, Wednesday and Saturday at the Rec. I'm not sure if it's possible but we might arrange an inter-club match for the Saturday session, however I'll confirm this if so.

On the subject of training, thanks to those of you who participated in the School trials and matches over the weekend, for keeping me informed of the situation. This is especially important if we are organising perhaps something a bit different as we need to make sure we have sufficient numbers.

Finally, I believe a good time was had by all parents who attended the 'get-together' last night? It was certainly a chance for us to get to know each other and hopefully we'll be able to repeat this during the season.

Broadstone Braves Vs Lytchett Red Triangle United

2010-05-09T19:25:00.001+01:00

Braves 1 - Lytchett RTU 2

The second half of this game demonstrated the grit that has been associated with the Braves for the whole of the season...2 nil down at half time we came back very strong, dominating the game from the off! Unfortunately the game was marred by a dodgy decision by the referree who I think all bar none felt should have awarded a penalty to the Braves when Josh Powley was pushed and tripped from behind in their penalty box...could so easily have been a different score!

Undeterred we showed Lytchett what we were made of and had 'em run ragged for the full thirty minutes...sadly, we missed a number of opportunities at goal and the final score in no way reflected the result that should have been.

Well done to all the Braves this season finishing a respectable 6th in the league (I understand the reason Weymouth Wyke Victoria beat New Milton was because one of the New Milton dads broke down on route to their match carrying 3 of their players and the Ref wouldn't delay the game....we should have ended up 5th by rights - another dodgy ref eh!...Not to worry...there's always next season).

Man of the Match - Ben Stocker....despite being put under pressure in the first half as goalee he came out into mid-field second half and showed determination, driving the ball forward and scoring.

Season Trophies:

Players Player - Chris Birrell

Managers Player - Tristan Jalie

Next Season the Braves will be able to merge with the Colts and form a formidable team. Those of you that have expressed an interest in continuing with BFC Colts, please contact Alan Millward who will let you know training arrangements for the start of the next season.

alanmillward@talktalk.net

All the Very Best for the future...

Paul.

U14 Boys finish 2009-2010 season as Runners-Up!

2010-04-30T12:54:00.005+01:00

Well done lads!!
After starting the season with a squad of 15 we were unfortunately left with just 13 in January and, as many fellow managers will appreciate, that made several games extremely tight for personnel.
However the boys excelled themselves, gaining more points pro-rata than in previous seasons and achieving a notable Runners-Up spot in the Bournemouth League first division, their highest ever finishing position.
This compensated in some way for the boys relinquishing their hold on the Dorset Cup, where, despite reaching the final 'against all odds' having had just 11 players for the Semi-Final, they encountered a considerably strengthened Chickerell side and had to be content with being runners-up.
Team selection for the final proved just how much of a tightrope we were treading in terms of a squad, with injuries effectively leaving us with just 11 yet again.
With this in mind I sought to bolster the squad for the few remaining league fixtures and found the opportunity, with the much appreciated cooperation of their manager Alan Millward as well as their parents, to sign up Callum and Connor Corbin from the U13 Colts.
In summary, the boys have done fantastically well this season, playing adventurous football, albeit on occasions causing more than a little consternation on 'the bench', one game in particular excelling as the come-back of all come-backs, trailing by 3-0 at the break, only to turn the match on its head and triumph by 5 goals to 3 at the final whistle! This was not the only time that the boys demonstrated their character and resilience, having recovered from 1 and 2 goal deficits several times.
Meet the team:
Adam Eyres - Goalkeeper; Edd Hammond - Right Mid; Mark Newey - Left Back; Liam Kelly (Captain)- Centre Mid; Ben Wilson - Sweeper; Josh Keets - Left Back/Mid; Aidan Cuddy - Centre Half/Right Back; Andy Power - Centre Forward; Jacob Wood - Forward; Charlie Groves - Left/Right Mid/Back/Forward (yes really!); Callum Ross - Left Mid; Matt Swindlehurst (Vice-Captain) - Centre Mid; Elliott Pike - Right Back; Connor Corbin - Centre Half; Callum Corbin - Forward.

Broadstone Braves Vs Weymouth Wyke Victoria

2010-04-25T16:21:00.003+01:00

Braves 6 - Weymouth Wyke Victoria 1

10 Players and no substitutes....what a game!

Every member of the team played their heart out today despite being reduced in number, what a fantastic effort by all the lads...

The defensive lineout from right to left of Mark Donachy, Sam Klein, Tristan Jalie and Ben Blades proved to be formidable, very rarely were Weymouth able to break through and when they did our defenders covered off each other and won back possesion. Clearing the ball forward to our wingers Ben Stocker (left) and Luke Woodhouse (right) they were assisted by Alex Sharp who played alone in mid-field and put in a brilliant performance filling in the gap.

Ben and Luke monopolised the wings and fought hard to gain ground demonstrating some superb control and passing moves...at last, control the ball, head up, look for space, pass and move; the drills came together we'd been practising in training. Working with Josh Powley and Chris Birrel our attacking force proved too much for Weymouth, some excellent through balls demonstrated by all four players meant our opportunities at goal just kept coming.

Luke Woodhouse scored 2, Josh Powley scored 2, Ben Stocker 1 and Chris Birrell 1...a great team effort by all made these opportunities at goal possible. The 'Braves' should all feel very proud of themselves.

That's three great wins in a row despite dwindling player numbers...brilliant! The final match of the season will be against Lytchett at their home ground in Upton on the 9th May 2010 ( I'll let you know the details nearer the time). It would be good to think we can get all the team together for the last match...but failing that then hopefully we can all meet up at the end of season tournament on the Saturday 8th May 2010.

Alan Millward has contacted me concerning the R&T Tournament next weekend. He has yet to receive details of the event itself and is unsure of how many he can register. It may be that he is limited as to numbers and so I have left it to him to select what will hopefully be 6 players from our team to join the Colts for the event. I shall contact the parents of those boys that he would wish to take part as and when I'm notified who he has selected...please don't be disappointed if you aren't given the opportunity because we've still got the most important match to attend to and that's against Lytchett in two weeks time!

Excellent effort...very proud!

Broadsone Braves Vs Ringwood Town (Away)

2010-04-18T14:37:00.002+01:00

Braves 7 - Ringwood 3

Within the first minute of the match the braves had put one in the back of Ringwoods net! One of the Ringwood parents was over heard saying "Don't worry, those that score first often lose"....how wrong they were.

Despite the end result our defence was tested by the attacking Ringwood players who monopolised on the free kicks awarded as we'd been caught off-side a handful of times. We soon realised that a hefty Ringwood free kick usually meant Alex Sharp and Matt Lonnen had to recover some ground, so a cleverly placed Tristan Jalie blocked that line of attack nicely. The defence worked hard to hold 'em back and a particular mention should be made of Tristan and his efforts..even Ringwoods Manager commented upon what a skilled defender he was.

Ben Stocker performed well in goal putting in a number of excellent saves, getting down and dirty laying hands on the ball when able and making some good 'one touch' clearances the ball having been passed back to him on a number of occasions by Matt and Alex in defence, a superb effort by all three!

All in all the first half was fairly evenly matched, with Ringwood putting in a good performance...

The boys motivation during this match really shone through in the second half...

Despite the fact that they were tired (only 11 players again meant no substitutes) and extremely hot in the soaring temperatures at Midday (what was that about mad dogs and Englishmen...?), they delivered and then some! The defence started to push out in good time when Ben cleared the ball out, on the odd occasions Ringwood one back possession in the second half Sam Klein worked well as right back to clear the ball from under them.

Josh Powley took advantage of some great forward balls from our midfielders; Luke Woodhouse and Jack Williams. Demonstrating skill and determination Josh took it around the Ringwood defence a number of times to score a well deserved hatric...excellent!

Luke Woodhouse and Chris Birrell scored two goals a piece...Luke continues to gain more and more confidence when under pressure demonstrating some excellent finishing. Chris used his unbelievable staminar and pace to great effect in order to drive up his goal score for this season...great work !

Ollie C-J and Ben Blades played on the wings and showed some real grit in the heat, battling their way down the outer field and creating numerous opportunities for our attackers...outstanding!

The team effort demonstrated by the boys today was first class. I am in no doubt that with the combined skill of Joe Jordan, Mark Donachy and Aston Wright who were unavoidably absent from todays match, the Braves can go onto win the next to matches they play against Weymouth Wyke Victoria and Lytchett Red Triangle.

Onward the Braves...!!!

Man of the Match: Ben Stocker for his 'bravery when under fire'...some real courage demonstrated today by Ben whilst playing in goal.

Broadstone Braves Vs Blandford United

2010-04-11T16:25:00.002+01:00

Broadstone Braves 3 - Blandord United 1

Half time and Braves were down 1 nil to Blandford who were clearly used to performing well on their altogether dodgy home pitch...the Braves rolled up well on time and were looking forward to playing on a well groomed, flat pitch! We should have known better really. Despite the opposing team manager giving me the sat nav coordinates to the pitch were we ended up it clearly wasn't to be.

Rock hard ground, uneven playing surface and a concave bend which peaked at the centre spot so that each of the goal lines weren't visible to one another when stood in opposing goals...unbelievable but this was the pitch that we ended up on despite the fantastic pitches being a stones throw away...still, better that the under 11's played on the good pitches so that that didn't get hurt I guess!?

Blandford played a good game the first half and for some reason we struggled to get into the game...each and everyone of the Braves looked as though their durecell batteries had completely run down. Not good...The half time whistle blew and it was time for the manager to blow some steam out of his ears...the rocket was launched neatly up each of the Braves posteriours.

The second half saw a completely new team...it never ceases to amaze me...the coaches and I had flicked the 'on' button and within seconds of kick off we'd driven the ball forward, a neat one two between Ben Blades and Josh Powley led to a cross from Josh which was finished superbly by Ollie Cornellius-Jones...we were back in the game! 1 all! The pressure was piled on by Blandford who sensed that we'd decided that we had given them enough chances and now it was time for pay back...Our defence remained stead fast (albeit a little gobby to our linesman on occassion...you know who you are) and held them off, Tristan Jalie and Sam Klein working well to take back possession and clear the ball forward.

Matt Lonnenn and Jack Williams eventually decided that it'd be a good idea to join in on the game and put some good tackles in pushing the ball up and over the Blandford defence...I do wish they'd stop trying to volley the ball when its coming in from on high though, I lost count of how many times we swung a kick only to miss and give away possession! Control and pass, control and pass...Matt showed really determination taking a shot at goal with great force so that it shot off the goalees hands into a Blandford player and then into the back of the net....2-1!

The last twenty minutes were nail biting to say the least, Blandfords defence were putting in some hard tackles sensing another defeat and conceded some foolish free kicks...the Braves monopolised on this and Josh Powley slotted our final goal into the corner of their net...3-1!!!

As I said to to the boys at the end of the match...if they'd of played like they did during the last fifteen minutes for the whole of the match it'd have been another 6 - 1 Victory to the Braves...enough said.

Man of the match: Sam Klein for putting in some good tackles and waking up sooner than any other team member during the match.... :-)

Thanks to Dennis CJ for doing the line (and putting the mouthy ones in their place).

Well done 'fellas' ...we're away to Ringwood next week. Ollie, Aston, Mark and Joe can't play so we need everyone else to turn out and give 100%...see you Saturday.

Braves Vs Lytchett Red Triangle

2010-03-28T17:11:00.002+01:00

Braves 1 - Lytchett RT 3

Our defence was caught wanting a few times but generally the boys did a good job in covering off each other and marking the opposition. The fact is, albeit the Braves had more chances at goal we were unfortunate whereas Lytchett had their 'eye in' on the ball and they seized the opportunities when they could.

I lost count of how many times we hit the cross bar or sliced it slightly either side of the goal...the boys frustration at their missed opportunities started to creep in and, perhaps understandably, they started to 'niggle at each other' up front.

Thanks go to Steve Donachy for refereering the match at short notice and for reminding the boys on both sides that they should be respectful towards one and other...the more the boys can be reminded of this the more all of them will enjoy taking part in matches.

Chris Birrell secured a penalty goal and it was great to see the boys celebrating in style...that's what football should be all about! I had to laugh when Ben Blades mum mis-heard me shout "great to see you celebrating, now get up there and pull it back"...she thought I said "that's enough celebrating, get on with it and pull it back"...I might be a bit of an ogar on the side-lines (as my wife keeps reminding me), but I'm not that bad!

Man of the match was Ben Stocker who made some great saves and showed some real determination in diving on the ball whilst the Lytchett attackers were bearing down on him...well done Ben.

All in all an exciting game with some real skill being shown on both sides. Braves continue to go from strength to strength and with some fine tuning around positioning (especially when we're taking some free kicks) and covering of defensively we'll stand a chance of doing well in future matches.

Broadstone Braves Vs Blandford United Raiders

2010-03-07T16:52:00.003Z

Braves 6 - Blandford 1

Despite being a bit slow to start and a bit of player to player critiscm creeping in in the first half, the match was generally well played by the Braves.

Our defenders; Mark Donachy, Sam Klein, Alex Sharp and Jack Williams, worked well together and held off a number of determined efforts by Blandford.

A team re-shuffle meant that Josh Powley and Joe Jordan were strikers and Chris Birrell and Luke Woodhouse played mid-field. The combination worked well with everyone one of them having a number of opportunities at goal.

The mid-fielders filled the gap nicely and one the majority of opposition goal kicks enabling us to drive forward, up and over the Blandford defence and creating numerous opportunities.

Jack Williams debut, having been away from the game with an injury for a number of months, was great! Well done Jack, nice to see some nifty knock forwards and your pace coming back...

Ben Blades and Ollie C-J put in a sterling effort on the wings, I lost count how many times Ollie and Luke put in a 'one two' move and drove it up the right wing...fantastic!

Goal scorers were Luke Woodhouse (2), Joe Jordan (3) and Josh Powley (1).

Man of the Match was Ollie Cornellius-Jones for his determination on the pitch, winning numerous balls despite often being out numbered and passing the ball forward so as his team mates could secure a goal...well done Ollie!

Next Sunday we play Lytchett Matravers (away), I've a feeling this will be a tough match but if we maintain our form we should do well....

Great effort today boys!!!

Thanks to John Jordan for doing the line (again) and special thanks to Steve Donachy for stepping in to be referee at the last minute...both unbiased and very professional, thanks very much!

Broadstone Braves vs Bearwood United

2010-02-14T19:20:00.002Z

Braves 2 - Bearwood 3

Right! What were the odds stacked against us today?

Last minute change of pitch by Bearwood (albeit they where informed Friday night!)
Manager who decided he had to be linesman...
Bearwood 14 players...rolling and rolling and rollling subs (we had no subs)...
Two of our team plaiyng despite having been ill yesterday..
Two of our team off with injury...
One team member unavailable due to other pressing commitment...

I could go on, but it really doesn't matter that much because despite all of this we had a brilliant game!

A change of tactics saw Tristan Jalie, Josh Powley, Alex Sharp and Mark Donachy provide a strong defensive line...some fantastic tackles by all these lads ensured Bearwood had to fight very hard for their goals and I'm convinced had they of had the same in number as us the outcome would of been different.

Luke Woodhouse and Chris Birrell worked well together up front having a number of attacking opportunities scoring one a piece....Chris Birrells goal was set up by an excellent knock forward by Mark Donachy and Luke Woodhouse put it in the top left corner from a difficult angle...superb!

Sam Klein had a number of good runs up the right wing, he did very well considering this ins't his normal position...some fantastic crosses by Sam meant that Chris and Luke could keep the pressure on.

Matt Lonnen and Joe Jordan covered the mid-field and had to work hard for the whole hour as this was very much a game played down the middle by Bearwood...Ben Blade had a good game tackling without fear and putting in some good runs down the left wing.

Last, but definately not least, our top Goalee Ben Stocker...Ben goes from strength to strength in goal and demonstrated his ability to get straight onto the ball especially during some Bearwood corner kicks...fantastic!!!

Man of the match this week was Alex Sharp. Strong tackles saw Alex win the ball on a number of occasions which he followed up by some great clearances...well done Alex!

Next Week we play Poole Town Wessex Rovers...we won last time we played them (they are now 3rd in the league and there's still not much in it).

Well Done Braves!

Braves Vs New Milton Robins...

2010-02-07T16:13:00.002Z

Braves 0 - New Milton 7

Now with a score like this you'd think the Robins out classed us all the way...how wrong you'd be!

Our first half of the match was fantastic putting the Divisional leaders under pressure from the start...an unlucky slip of the ball from Ben Stockers hands meant the Robins goal hanging attacker took full advantage and tapped it in the back of the net. Unlucky Ben. Half time and we were 1 nil down having had the majority of the possession and some good attempts at goal. The Robins keeper performed extremely well and kept out our best efforts...(They changed their goalee from when we played them last..this one is bigger and better).

The second half kicked off and, to be honest, it's difficult to know what went wrong...I could go on about the Robins having the advantage of the down hill slope bla, bla, bla but the bottom line is we let ourselves down. We had a number of stoppages due to injured players, Joe Jordan received a ball in the chest which knocked the wind out of him and slowed him down for the rest of the match. In accurate passing and weak tackles saw our heads drop as the Robins took full advantage of our predicament....

Putting all this to one side we continue to show flashes of absolute brilliance and rather than brood upon the end result I want to say that the first half was superb....it's a shame we couldn't maintain it.

Man of the Match was Ben Blades (awarded for sheer determination in trying to slow down the oppositions attackers and not giving up or the whole match...well done Ben).

Next Sunday we're playing Bearwood....if we work on our midfield and central defence this coming Saturday I'm confident we can get back into our winning streak!

Take a look at the league table, there's not that much in it so we can finish in the top three if we remain determined...and get a few early nights before each match!

http://www.dorsetyouthfootball.co.uk/tables.php?season=2009&league=13&division=4

See you next Saturday.

Broadstone Braves Vs Dorchester Dynamoes

2010-01-31T19:15:00.002Z

Braves 7 - Dynamoes 0

Dorchester may be bottom of our league and yet to win a game but that didn't stop them from applying the pressure on the Braves for two halves! Their determination was a credit to all of them and their manager, I am sure they will grow from strength to strength.

The Braves took nothing for granted and demonstrated that despite having only 10 men on the pitch (9 at one stage) they used space to good effect and communicated well.

Chris "I'll see if I can snatch as many goals from Joe Jorden as I can" Birrell performed well up front especially as he's not played for some 9 weeks and had just recovered from illness - a well deserved man of the match award Chris!

All in all a fantastic effort by all the lads who showed considerable ball control and balance on what was a hard, slippery pitch...

Next Sunday the Braves play top of the league team New Milton... you know...the ones we were hammering by half time when we played them on their home ground but who came back in the second half really strong and we ended up drawing 5 all against.

We really need a full team next Sunday (Aston can't play as he has another important commitment)....so plenty of early nights, no XBox, Playstation and plenty of carbohydrates between now and next Sunday..........yeah right! Seriously, we can beat New Milton if we continue to show the same team work as we have done thus far in the season....bring it on!

Special mention for Steve Donachy this week who ran the line despite not feeling up to it...thanks mate Paul, the boys and I appreciated it...many thanks for your continued support.

Broadstone U13 Braves Vs Weymouth Cougar Sports

2010-01-24T16:24:00.004Z

Braves 5 - Weymouth CS 2

Our first game since December 13th thanks to our wonderful weather!

Not having played a match for some 8 weeks and just started training again...we were a little 'rusty' and to say our eye wasn't on the ball in the first half is probably an understatement. We missed several opportunites at goal with Luke Woodhouse and Joe Jordan looking skyward on a number of occasions...half time saw the Braves 2 - 0 down.

Needless to say....we had a little chat at half time in between slurping drinks and sucking oranges.

Reminding the midfielders that they needed to be pushing the ball forward up and over Weymouths defenders so as to allow our strikers to run onto it maximising their pace and catching the oppositions defence off guard was a tactic we hoped would work...within minutes of the second half kicking off we seemed to gather momentum.

Matt Lonnen came on as Substitute and very quickly put in a nifty chip forward and down the centre, allowing Luke Woodhouse to push the ball forward past Weymouth's defence (at this time Paul Klein and I were on our knees, hands clasped together and it was our turn to look skyward...praying for a goal)...I recon Luke put some contact lenses in or somethin' 'cause he was bang on target....Goal!!!!....The boys heads visibly lifted...they were getting back into the game.

From then on we went from strength to strength, our defensive lineout which was well managed by Tristan Jalie remained tight and kept Weymouth struggling to score. The Braves strikers, supported by both wingers kept up relentless attacking pressure. Their efforts paid off with Luke scoring another four goals and Josh Powley scoring from what seemed like an impossible angle...it was really good to see the boys celebrate every goal..football at its best...even if Luke did take the mickey out of their linesman who the Braves felt had been a little over zealous with the off-side rule during the match (I, of course, couldn't possibly comment).

Well Done Braves....fantastic effort and a really great start to 2010!

Next Sunday we play Dorchester Dynamoes away. They've yet to win a game so provided we take nothing for granted we stand to earn ourselves another 3 pionts....climbing up the league table!

Broadstone Braves Vs Poole Town Wessex Rovers

2009-11-15T19:05:00.011Z

Broadstone Braves 2 - Poole Town Rovers 1

Our first away match against Poole Town Wessex Rovers was held despited dreadful weather conditions over the weekend that meant the Braves training was cancelled the Saturday before the match.

Despite the down pour over the weekend the pitch held up surprisingly well...probably 'cause it all flowed into the lake at one end of Ashdowns pitch...you know...the one were we keep losing our balls. I lost count of how many match balls Poole TWR's got through during the game!

Despite the fact that Tristan and Aston were unable to play our defence performed extremely well. Ben Blades put in an excellent debut as left back, putting in some well timed tackles and knocking the ball forward in order that we could dominate the play. Well done Ben...excellent!

Mark Donachy did well in controlling the defensive line, Marks' pace and consistency in defence has stopped many an opposing attacker in his tracks...keep it up Mark!!!

Chris Birrell scored our two goals, fantastic pace together with the ability to monopolise upon the game play generated by Joe Jordan who has just returned after a number of weeks away due to injury, meant we were 2 nil up by the end of the second half....brilliant!

All in all a great effort by the Braves who once again demonstrated that with only eleven players they can take it to 'em and come out on top!

...Just imagine what we can achieve with Tristan, Jack and Aston back!

Man of the Match was Ben Blade...well done Ben.

Broadstone Braves Vs Bearwood United

2009-11-08T16:22:00.003Z

Broadstone 2 - Bearwood United 2

Those that know me will know that I don't believe in making excuses and that I'm a firm believer in the thinking that 'you make your own luck'...The problem is that in order to make your luck you need to have the odds stacked for you. The Braves have got two team members off with a broken wrist and another with the lurgy...all three boys are strong players in their own ways which is making it harder for the rest of the team to 'keep the pressure on'.....despite all this they are doing exactly that!!!

With no substitutes and and two or three of the lads playing outside their normal positions we put the Bearwood United boys under pressure from the off. Bearwood are third in the league at this time and performing well...with the odds 'stacked up for us' we'll be making our own luck when we play them away and I'm confident that the Braves will deliver some winning goals.

Ben Stocker made his debut in goal this match and produced some outstanding saves...I can see why he plays in goal for the School Team, albeit he had kept that quiet up until recently...;-) well done Ben!!!

Chris Birrell scored both our goals demonstrating once again that pace counts for everything...not to mention control under pressure. Those opportunities that were maximised by Chris would not have come about had the wingers and midfield not produced some great game play...The fact that Paul, Andy and I keep telling the boys to get their heads up and look for the pass seems to be sinking in............gradually.

Luke Woodhouse was unfortunate to have missed a number of opportunities at goal...I still think that if that blummin' slope didn't exist on pitch 1 we would have had a different result today. It's hard work running up hill and even harder when you've got to do it in the second half! Never mind Luke..plenty more opportunities coming your way I'm sure. Matt Lonnen deserves a special mention today, Matt played mid-field and put in some great cross balls and clearances...well done Matt!

Whilst a little bit woolly at times I thought our defenders put in a valient effort; Sam Klein, Aston Wright, Alex Sharp and Mark Donachy had to work really hard in the second half as Bearwood dominated our half coming down hill with the wind behind 'em...well done fellas, some strong tackles being made!

Man of the Match: Chris Birrell.

Captains Comment: Ben Stocker; " Bring it on Poole Town Wessex Rovers....'aint nothin gonna get past me!"

Braves are joint 5th in the league with the fourth highest goal difference....New Milton are still top and we all know how we did against them eh! Onward and upward!!!!

All in all another good result....

2009-10-25T15:17:00.002Z

Broadstone Braves U13's Vs New Milton Robins Broadstone Braves Away to New Milton

RobinsBraves 5 - New Milton 5.

My Ticker can't take much more of this!!!!Before I go on let's just get somethin' into perspective. New Milton are 2nd in the table Division 4 at the moment, they're a strong team with reall potential to do well...

Now, onto the bit I've been waiting to talk about! At half time we had played our socks off and were 4 - 1 up!!! Bloomin' fantastico!!! New Milton clearly didn't know what had hit 'em, with Chris Birrell monopolising on a number of great clearances from Aston in goal and our mid-fielders punching (not literally) the ball forward and beyond their defence . Chris demonstrated some superb pace and control under pressure to drive three into the back of their net. Some good positioning by Ollie Cornelius-Jones afforded him the chance to score and the fact that we dominated the field meant that our defence didn't have to work too hard. That said when they were called upon they worked hard, especially on the wings.

The second half New Milton, perhaps a little embarrased, came back very hard with some good attacking play placing our defence under considerable pressure and as a consequence we conceded 4 goals...a good example of grit and determination on their part (if we were to believe the Braves spectators some dodgy decisions by their Ref)! So what did the Braves do when they were 5 - 4 down? They showed even more courage and dug deep to find that staminar, driving forward down the left wing and across to the mid-field Ben Stocker fought to maintain possesion and put in a lovely cross enabling Jack Williams to get his head to it and score the final goal of the match...excellent!Yet again the Braves put in a truly outstanding performance...and when we consider that Sam Klein and Luke Woodhouse weren't fully fit having had (and still got) the lurgy and Alex Sharp and Joe Jordan couldn't play today; it goes to show what a formidable team we really are when we're fully fit and fielding all our players and substitutes.I've said it once and I'll say it again...we're going to go from strength to strength, pushing our way further up the table.

Man of the Match went to Chris Birrel who demonstrated some great pace, good ball control, communication skills and positioning ....and there was the 3 goals which helped of course!

Well done team!!!

Broadstone U13 Braves...Vs Dorchester Dynamoes

2009-10-18T16:13:00.003+01:00

Broadstone Braves U13's

Braves 10 - Dynamoes 1

Fantastic Result for the braves which will enable us to gather momentum as we move up the league table http://www.dorsetyouthfootball.co.uk/fixtures.php?season=2009&league=13&division=4 !!!!

Making it all happen were the defenders; Tristan Jalie, Sam Klein, Matt Lonnen, Mark Donachy and Alex Sharp..keepin' the defensive line tight ensured we caught Dynamoes of side on more than one occasion. Some great clearances by Tristan and Mark up the wings made for some classy game making with Sam, Matt and Alex going in hard and giving no quarter to the oppositions attackers....getting stronger by the match guys, well done!

Despite a few opportunities Dynamoes just couldn't get it past Aston Wright playing as Braves goalee - good communication with the defence by Aston ensured our defence was rock solid being unlucky to concede a goal as a consequence of being caught off guard by the Dynamoes they having been awarded a free kick not far out of the 18 yard box...nonetheless a good goal by the Dynamoes.

Luke Woodhouse's debut saw him score 3 great goals working well with right winger Ollie Cornellius-Jones who also put 2 in the back of the net!!! Excellent use of the right wing fellas with some great anticipatory play...well done!
Chris Birrell and the second newcomer to the team, Ben Blade, covered the mid-field well. We learnt from previous mistakes and ensured the opposition couldn't play into a vacant space in the mid-field...excellent pace demonstrated by both ensured the strikers and defence were well assisted throughout the match...superb! Chris even managed to squeeze in a couple of goals to assist in ensuring the dynamoes fate.
Ben Stocker and Luke were formidable as our strikers, their height and pace had the Dynamoes defence working hard...especially during the second half. Ben Stocker scored a goal..eventually...having missed a number of opportunites....I reckon he did it on purpose just to keep the crowd in suspence!!! Great stuff Ben!
Josh Powley dominated the left wing scoring a couple of long range goals the best of which was as a consequence of a free kick about 40 yards from goal...I still think if it wasn't for Astons mum challenging him to go for goal he might have missed!! Great effort Josh!

Captains comment (Josh Powley);

"Despite being a bit slow to start we progressed in our play as the game went on...eventually we 'owned' em! Lets' keep bangin' 'em in Braves!"

Well Done Team!!!

Broadstone U13 Braves...

2009-10-11T16:34:00.004+01:00

Broadstone U13 Braves Vs Weymouth Wyke Victoria (Dorset Cup Match) 04/10/09

6 - 1 to the Braves!!!!

What a fantastic start to the Cup with the Braves hammering home a 6 goal win against Weymouth Wyke Victoria at our home ground.

Joe Jordan continued his good form scoring another hatric, with Chris Birrell, Ben Stocker and Ollie Cornellius Jones planting some superb goals in the back of the net!

The Braves continue to go from strength to strength and with two new additions to the team who will be registered imminently (as of 18/10/09), Ben Blade and Luke Woodhouse, we'll be a formidable team as we progress though the league.

Well done Team! Excellent result!!!!

Broadstone Braves Vs Weymouth Cougars 11/10/09 - Away

Braves 4 - Cougars 5...

Talk about tense!!! The Braves started off well, dominating the possession but conceded an early goal to the Cougars. Undeterred, we came back hard and pulled a goal back shortly afterwards.

Some excellent 'skilling' of the opposing right wing and defence enabled Josh Powley to put in a number of cross balls early on but unluckily we couldn't find the back of the net...OOO's and AAA's abundent from the onlooking parents! Suddenly, we dug deep and despite being 3 - 1 down at one stage Ben Stocker and Josh worked well to draw the ball into the Cougars 18 yard box where ollie Cornellius Jones and Chris Birrell monopolised on their excellent positioning.

The Braves defence worked hard to hold the line and some good positioning saw Cougars caught off-side on more than one occasion. Despite our best efforts we were realy unlucky to concede a final goal in the last minutes of play...again, an outstanding performance by the Braves with some superb goal keeping by Sam Klein.

As we progress through the season we're getting stronger and stronger, our defensive play is becoming more consistent and with some set moves developing from kick off we're applying pressure throughout the match. With some development at both mid-field and defense we stand a very good chance of progressing up the league table.

Well done fellas! Paul.

BFC Under 13 Braves

2009-09-21T19:20:00.003+01:00

BFC Braves U13's Vs Ringwood Town

Braves 3 - Ringwood 5

Wow! What a game! The second game of the season for 'The Braves' and yet again some real spirit being demonstrated on the pitch by the lads.

Ringwood Town started off well with some strong attacking identifying early on that if they lobbed it over the central defence they'd catch us wanting and as a consequence we conceded a couple of early goals. But you know what? It didn't matter to the Braves because they came steaming on back at 'em, showing the characteristic "fire in their belly" they've demonstrated before when the chips have been down.

We made 'em work extremely hard for their win, the 5 -3 score demonstrating that we kept on giving it our all to the final whistle. Testament to the boys performance was perhaps that Ringwoods manager made a point of sying to me how impressed he was with the strength of the Braves as a team saying, "blimey, you lot are alot stronger this season than you were last season!"

'Man of the Match' this time was Tristan Jalie who was all over the attacking strikers like a bad rash!

Well done fellas, second match and going from strength to strength!!!

U12s - Match Report 6th September 2009

2009-09-07T19:12:00.000+01:00

New Milton Town Robins 0 Broadstone FC 5

The Broadstone team were full of anticipation for the first game of the season and started well with a comprehensive 5 nil victory. The first 20 minutes were quite tense and despite strong wing play from Joe Holden Broadstone were foiled by the woodwork (twice) and a series of offsides (once they learn that offside rule things will be far easier). At the other end the defence was on top with Lewis King performing well on his debut, David Massieu-King and Will Hammond keeping the New Milton attack at bay.

Tom Wilson opened the scoring on 20 minutes with a powerful shot into the top corner. Nick Clarke then put Broadstone 2 nil up with a great run through the centre of the New Milton defence and a good finish from close range.

Broadstone started the second half where they had left off in the first and Tom Wilson scored the third goal with a clever lob. New Milton then came back and it took 2 fine saves from David Saunders to stop them reducing the deficit.

The fourth goal was a team goal with Tyler Gregory, Tom Wilson and Daniel (Ted) Chandler combining to create the chance for James Hegarty who belted it into the back of the net.

The final goal was a great solo effort from Ted whose powerful shot was too good for the New Milton goalkeeper. The game finished with Broadstone on top and the New Milton goal keeper had to make good saves from Jake Burke and Josh Hansford amongst others.

The game ended 5 nil and Lewis King was named man of the match for his strong defensive performance.

This was a great start to the season lads with a good performance, lots of goals and a clean sheet – let’s keep it going against Poppies on Tuesday night.

Dom

U13 Boys (08-09) - Lads & Dads - France 09

2009-06-24T17:56:00.006+01:00

12 lads and 5 dads enjoyed a superb long weekend with Acorn Adventure

http://groups.acornadventure.co.uk/centres/Normandy.shtml

at Hauteville-Sur-Mer on the West coast of Normandy. Many thanks to Mark and Jo Wood for organising the trip!
Hopefully I can surpass previous attempts and post up a couple of video extracts as well as the usual photographs.
Links to videos on YouTube are as follows:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XbKJz02NCY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CawIYPraOZY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz97mv-TZvs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxsquMwmGXw

U13 Boys (08-09) - Tesco Cup Regional Finals - Bristol - 3 May 2009

2009-06-15T14:26:00.005+01:00

Broadstone Youth flew the flag for Dorset with pride in the Regional Finals, acquitting themselves well and coming oh so close to qualifying for the National Finals at The Walker Stadium in Leicester.
In a winner-takes-all league format, with 3 points for a win, 2 for a score draw and 1 for a no-score draw Dorset played six matches of 10 minutes each-way, opening with a tentative scoreless draw against Gloucestershire.
In their second game the lads were caught cold in the first minute, with what proved to be the only goal of the game, against Somerset. Despite a spirited second-half display, the Somerset ‘keeper managed to keep Dorset at bay and prevented them from taking anything out of the match.
Most matches were proving tight affairs with precious few goals being scored. Two games in and with only one point on the board Dorset knew that they needed to start finding the net.
Two wins by the only goal, albeit with a host of opportunities spurned to add to their tally, saw 6 points plundered from Cornwall and Wiltshire, and Dorset had put themselves right in contention.
With Devon up next a stern test awaited, since they had not been beaten and had managed to score a few goals in the process. In a keenly fought match Dorset took the lead in the first half and eventually ran out winners by a resounding 3 goals to nil.
Due to the programme Dorset then had to face Herefordshire immediately in their 6th and final match, whereas Hereford were only playing their fourth match with the added benefit of a break after their previous game.
A tight game was decided in Herefordshire’s favour with a single strike, Dorset unable, despite a valiant effort by all the players, to gain parity.
Little did we know at the time, but had an equaliser been found then Dorset would have pipped Herefordshire on goal difference and won through to the National Finals!
As it was, in their final game Herefordshire drew 0-0 with Devon, the side soundly beaten by our lads, resulting in Herefordshire finishing top, with Devon claiming the runners-up spot ahead of Dorset in third.
The final league table showed just how well Dorset had performed, with the best goal difference (+3) and least goals conceded (2). Tesco also selected best players in the four positions of goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward and, whilst the Dorset players were overlooked in each category, it is worth mentioning that the best goalkeeper award was given to the Devon custodian, who had let in 4 goals in total, 3 of them against Dorset!
All in all the day was a marvellous experience for the boys of Broadstone Youth U13, representing their county of Dorset and they can all be justifiably proud of themselves.
Dorset U13 Boys 2009
Broadstone Youth
Adam Eyres
Elliott Pike-Ben Wilson- Jamie Taylor-Mark Newey
Edd Hammond-Aidan Cuddy-Matt Swindlehurst-Liam Kelly-Charlie Groves
Henry Wathen-Jacob Wood-Bradley Hillier-Callum Ross
Jordan Sheppard-Charlie Parnell
Manager – Ian Kelly Coach – Nick Cuddy

U16 Girls. Rhea's a clea winna

2009-05-07T14:48:00.002+01:00

There is no doubt that the game we played against Wareham in the cup rates as the best we’ve ever played. Not for the result but for the way we played as it was a demonstration of everything a team needs in terms of dedication and passion and skill.

It came a shock therefore that when we played them in the away fixture during the league that those essential ingredients (and just about everything else) had gone and we got mullered!

So with all this in mind it was hard to guess which way this match, the last in our league, would go. Like the cup or like the last league match?

The team arrived and quickly got into their warm up which included rattling off a lot of shots at goal. I noticed how well they were being hit and from a good way out (shove off Ronaldo) and felt a good spirit running.

The team order was set, tactics discussed and it was time for kick off. From the whistle the team wasted no time and got busy trying to win possession but Wareham as usual were strong and after 3 mins and 14 seconds walloped a shot past Lydi. ‘Oh dear’ I thought (or words to that effect) ‘if the team gets dispirited it’s going to be another league monster’.

But quite the opposite happened!J

After a demonstration of some excellent passing and moving Hannah (who I shall call Inky from now on) found herself streaking towards goal and made light work of the finish with a well timed, clinical finish. We were 1-1 after only 6 mins and 7 secs. It was clear everyone had their heads up and was going for it.

The game continued at a fantastic pace with both teams battling hard. Everyone in our squad put in a huge effort and despite a lack of communication at times which resulted in a few mistakes we looked really together.

Wareham seemed to have a bit too much time in our half of the pitch for my liking but that got changed dramatically after a clearance from Crizza delivered the ball out to Inky’s ever-ready boot and off she went to goal and once again smashed a shot past their keeper. We were 2-1 up and only 19.24 mins into the game. It was really shaping up to be a brilliant match, especially as we were ahead! Unfortunately this didn’t last long when Wareham got possession and put on a good display of heading and passing to beat our defence. The score was now 2-2 with 26.59 on the clock.

But don’t despair dear reader as, during the whole of the first half, Rhea (who had been running through a hamstring twang) battled on to show us how a right wing run should be made on a number of occasions. She dropped in some of the crispest and most accurate crosses and it was one of these that set up Em (who was fresh back from her horrendous ankle injury) who took no time whacking out a devastating shot that their goalie probably didn’t even see coming. 3-2 and 28.21 mins into the game, fantastic stuff.

The remainder of the first half continued at the same pace and both sides played their skins off. Then not too far before the end a penalty was awarded against us ‘oh no’ I thought (or words to that effect).

Wareham stepped up to take it but hadn’t figured on Lydi being as safe handed and she put to good use her keeping skills by saving it!! Phew! So, its was 3-2 to us at the whistle.

At half time we discussed the need for improvements here and there and with one goal difference in our favour we took to the pitch.

Wareham came out strong and took only 4 mins 55 secs of the half to slot home a lucky goal which rebounded off one of their players after a corner L

Then something interesting happened as Wareham either started to tire or their structure failed but they seems to start degenerating into punt and hope style of play. What was even more interesting was we didn’t and in fact showed some real flair all over the pitch: great defensive runs, tough midfield battling, more ‘one-two’ passing than I’ve ever seen, gritty determination and….communication!!!

It was all of these factors combined that once again enabled us to get the ball out to Inky who took on 2 or 3 defenders before racing to goal and delivered yet another well thought out shot that gave their goalie no hope. We were 4-3 up and 54.34 mins into the match.

The clock was ticking and the game was still very, very intense. It flowed from one end to the other but on balance we had far more possession and definitely looked the better team.

The dream of winning our final match became a reality and the thought of the extra points crept into my mind. Sadly it got slapped down when Wareham, in one final bid, burst though and finished with a goal. It was 4-4 with only 5 BLOOMING SECONDS REMAINING – ARRRRGGGGGHHH!

‘Oh dear’ I thought (or words to that effect) as the final whistle blew and it was all over. Whilst the point was a nice thing to get the biggest reward by far was to see the team working so well and so hard. It was an absolute pleasure to watch and a great way to finish our league.

It was really, really difficult to select MVP as everyone had done many things to deserve it but to me Rhea displayed strength, passion, determination and skill in not only delivering those crosses but working so hard all the time. Congratulations Rhea!!

So that’s it. No more blogs, no more leagues matches to write about, no MVP awards to celebrate. But don’t worry dear reader we’ll be back in September in the U17 league fitter and more cohesive than ever.

Thanks for reading.

U16 Girls Liverrr lifts it again

2009-05-05T08:52:00.002+01:00

Our last but one match in this season’s league was played in great spirit by both teams.

Realistically the result could have gone either way but Parkstone seized on a couple of opportunities that they managed to convert. But, despite the result I think the way the game was played was a great demonstration of skill, commitment and determination and was a pleasure to watch.

As usual there were many highlights to remember: some great and well thought out attacks, strong midfield action and fast, decisive defensive work. The whole team contributed well, communicated well and kept going right to the final whistle.

This week’s MVP went to Liverrr who really turned on the style and quite simply played the best game I have ever seen her play. With a great demonstration of her footskills and fitness she took on anyone who came near her and once she’d won the ball managed to turn it and deliver a whole load of accurate clearances to the midfield. It’s this kind of form that really makes a difference and I hope this is a sign of things to come for the new season and all the tournaments we are competing in!

Our last match is at home to Wareham Rangers and if we can play them in the same style as we did in the cup match it’ll be a fantastic game to see!

U16 Girls Dayze duz it again

2009-04-25T10:51:00.003+01:00

The story of our Weymouth woes.

It’s hard to pick out the positive highlights of a game like the one we endured against Weymouth but, looking back, there were some.

Unfortunately Lydi’s Mum’s tractor broke down on the way to the match so Dayze stepped into the goalkeeper’s role for the first half and played out of her skin! From the first whistle Weymouth set up camp in our half and despite some determined efforts to stem the tide it was just a question of time until they scored.

It was in fact just over 7 mins until the first one went in but even in that time the team had squashed a number of other dangerous attacks and Dayze had worked so hard to save a number of well aimed shots. Still at least we had 7 minutes at nil-nil!

After that the rest of the first half was just like replaying a bad video. We got the ball, we gave it away, Weymouth attacked, shot and on another 5 occasions scored. Depressing to watch.

However, another couple of positives were observed in that Cookie started putting in some of the most forceful challenges ever resulting in her robbing the Weymouth girls on a number of occasions. Great stuff.

The final positive came about 37 mins into the first half where we won the ball and slotted it through to ‘golden boots’ Hannah who did what she does best and took ‘route 1’ to goal and blasted it past the keeper! Great work! The whistle blew, it was 6-1.

I’d never seen a goalkeeper break a sweat during a match before. I’m not sure if it was the warm sunny evening (until the fog rolled in) or the effort of saving numerous shots, or the physical demands of pulling the ball out of the net but Dayze was glowing nicely!!

My half time rant may have helped a little in that we had a well constructed attack in the early stage of the second half but after that our game deteriorated into a sad display of ‘punt and hope’ football. Everything we’d done in training went out the window and nearly every time we got the ball we gave it away just as quickly.

During the whole of the match I lost count of the number of times our players ducked the ball, made pretend headers , made some appaling passes or just got out the way and let the ball roll off to Weymouth. No heart, no soul, no courage and no determination. Underpinned by a lack of communication and teamwork it was a recipe for disaster and sure enough disaster struck.

As the cold fog rolled in and the game became even more fragmented the final nail in the coffin came in the form of an own goal.

Still, there were a couple more positives to come out of the second half. The first being it was only 40 minutes long (or at least it should have been but for some reason the ref squeezed a couple more minutes of pain into it) and the second was that we only lost 14-1, it could have been a lot worse.

Its fair to say Weymouth are a County class side and it was unlikely that we were going to beat them BUT I think we could have put on a better display that this.

MVP, not surprisingly was Dayze but a mention has to be made also to Cookie for her determined work – keep it up.

Next match (and the third to last) is away to the Queen Bees………..

U16 girls - Terraball, terraball, game and ref

2009-04-06T10:17:00.002+01:00

We knew right from the moment we arrived it was going to be a ‘rubbish’ game just like the amount of ‘rubbish’ that was found all over the pitch including dog poo!.

Anyway, we were getting organised and ready to ‘start dead on time’ (as requested by the ref) and soon we began to get the ball moving. Unfortunately nothing seemed to go right and added to that we were low on numbers - sometimes down to as low as 8 on the pitch! The Terras were playing well but our competitive spirit meant we were not going down without a fight.

Soon the first goal against us was scored but it was under very strange circumstances as the ref decided to give the Terras a free kick because he thought Lydi has picked the ball up whilst it was still outside her box (which she wasn’t). Disappointingly and in complete contravention of the rules the ref then proceeded to coach the Terras on how best to take the kick, where to stand etc etc. At this point we realised they had 12 players on the pitch including the ref!

Half time appeared and it was 2-0 to the Weymouth side , the team talk was short and everyone was thinking of ways to get us scoring, our sprits were still high and was lifted by a text read by Emily’s from Tony who sadly couldn’t be at the game. We came back onto the pitch feeling very positive and looking to score some goals.

When it got to 3-0 nothing was looking good. Needless to say no one on our team liked the score and to make matters worse the Ref didn’t’ control the behaviour of the Terras even when Rachael seemed to become the ball and got pushed, shoved and kicked all over the place.

Meanwhile Rhea was limping around the pitch with a nasty knock she took to her leg from a Weymouth girl (which once again was not dealt with by the ref).

Weymouth scored their 4th and this inspired Kat to make one of her ‘ Krazy Kat runs’ beating almost the whole of the left hand side of Weymouth’s defence but couldn‘t quite get the finish we wanted. During this time we had to swap the referees due to the first one limping off the pitch for some reason (it’s a pity this didn’t happen earlier!)

But by now we’d had enough and people were beginning to get upset, tired due to the lack of players and just angry at Weymouth for the foul play.

Towards the final minutes Hannah was trying hard to win the ball but a player went down and another brought her elbow to Hannah’s chest! The parents complained to the ref who, instead of dealing with the incident, decided to give a warning to a couple of the parents (Cookies and Daisy’s mums) but at least they were getting into the game!
The whistle blew and it was 4-0 defeat. MVP goes to Kat for her amazing runs and good teamwork. Well done to everyone who played and hopefully we can work on the lessons learned from this match.
By Hannah

U16G If Only......

2009-04-02T18:59:00.002+01:00

You get more drama with the U16 Girls than watching a whole week's episodes of Eastenders, Coronation Street and Casualty all at once. No only were the team forced to start with 9 players due to injury and prior engagements, our usual manager could not make the match for personal reasons. A new manager was headhunted from the myriads of capable candidates and Em's dad accepted the temporary post and even declined the golden handshake, performance bonus and retainer usually snapped up by new coaching staff. This was a Wednesday evening kick-off as we now had to catch up on the matches lost to bad weather earlier in the season (something we seem to do every year!).

The pre-match huddle was used to remind the team that they are all good players and with a bit of luck could hold a draw or even win. Poole Town Youth were just above us in the table and so we were not expecting an anihilation. A safe 3-3-2 formation was chosen to give a strong defence and as the shadows grew longer on the grass, we kicked off at 6pm.

The defensive formation was well chosen and the team controlled well in their half, but lacked the numbers to carry the ball through from the halfway line to score. It continuted for 17 minutes of valiant effort until a corner against us left a couple of our players (who shall remain nameless) in space, together, on the goal line, with the ball at their feet. Panic set in, they stared at each other, one kicked it at the other, whom it bounced off and flopped into our net. Mental note: must get the players to communicate.

The first half finished 3-0 down, most probably due to our depleted number. But it was ONLY 3 goals! And everyone came off knowing they had done their best, running their socks off.

Lucy's fresh pair of legs put us up to 10 players for the second half and PTY struggled to score only 2 more goals against us, again probably due to unforced errors. These were in minutes 5 and 7 so for 33 minutes, 10 exhausted players held PTY at bay. The tired legs also started to hinder finishing off any of our attacks with accurate shots at the goal.

I was extremely proud of the effort the team put in both halves, and the "Running the Socks Off Award of the Week" is shared by Rhea, Rachael, Kathryn, Liv and Clarissa. These midfield players covered more ground than the rest of PTY did all match, sometimes covering defence and attack at the same time. However, Most Valuable Player goes to the defender who stifled PTY attacks many times, (one by blocking a pass with her cheek - ouch) and once by allowing herself to be brought down to gain a free kick. Clarissa was always there as the last defender and is always invaluable to the team in reducing the number of balls getting to Lydia.

The match sequence and final result has been seen too many times before. If only they had enough subs to rest the tired legs. If only they could transfer the excellent football into goals. They can play like the top team in the league for 10 minutes each match. If only they could keep hold of that magic that will let them play like that for the whole match.

After the final whistle, several of the managers of PTY were kind enough to compliment the U16s on how well they played and say how all of the girls had superior technical abilities. My only hope is that they come to realise how good they are and channel that self belief into winning games for the rest of the season and in the summer tournaments.

Lawrence

U16 Girls - Lucy's legs 'n' lungs land her MVP

2009-03-30T21:28:00.002+01:00

Well, we knew from the start that it was going to be a tough match. We were down to the bare minimum in terms of numbers against one of the top clubs in the league.

I had high hopes that the change in the team dynamic and the good work that everyone had put in at training would have been enough for us to play to the standard we achieved against Blandford at the start of the season but unfortunately it all came apart at the seams and the final result of 11-0 was a difficult one to swallow.

However, when I reflect on it the match I have to say there were some very good individual performances and more importantly the whole team kept working hard all through the match and encouraging each other on. That to me was the high point of the game as it’s easy to be smug and comfortable when things are going well but it’s really, really difficult to stay positive and determined when they’re not.

At times we played some good quality pass and move football but unfortunately we just couldn’t get ball far enough forward (with accuracy) often enough for any of the forwards or midfielders to do any demolition work.

Despite the rather disappointing result (yes it’s true I am a master of the understatement) everyone worked hard and at the end there were a two candidates for the MVP award. Rachael was nominated for her outstanding defensive runs (without her brilliant pace and commitment in tackles things could have been even worse) but she was just pipped by Lucy who had worked tirelessly from the first to last whistle not only with her feet but also by actively encouraging the team, making some good decisions and showing gritty determination. Well done Lucy!

We now have 6 matches to cram into the next 5 weeks and it’s going to be a demanding schedule that’s not going to be assisted by ski trips, holiday, school stuff and the good old Duke of Edinburgh himself! But we’ll be there for every game and give it our very best shot!!

Next match is Poole Town Youth in out first Wednesday night fixture.

Photo above courtesy of Emily K.

U16 girls. 12 hannahnother,hannahnother,hannahnother, hannahnother makes 16

2009-03-09T12:21:00.005Z

This week’s match was a mixture of pleasure and pain (quite literally for some) as we beat the Terras 8-1.

At the very start of the game despite the team being in great spirits it looked a little untidy with too many random punts up the field for my liking. However it was thanks to one of these punts that after 4.04 Rachael scored out first goal with a superb strike into the bottom corner, excellent work.

I think this bought the game back into focus and the quality of the passing and thinking improved no end. Everyone was playing their parts well and forced the play into the opposition’s half for most of the time. During this time Hannah had been working out how to meet the personal objective I set her at the start of the game and polished up her shooting boots. With the help of some great through balls (Daisy and Emily as I recall) as well as an exceptional cross from Kat she got her name on the score sheet at 15.25, 17.06 and 18.54 with some clean, well aimed and powerful shots!! Another hatrick for Hannah!

The match raced ahead and once again Kat showed us her increasingly brilliant striking skills by bursting through the defence and slotting home our 5th with the time at 20.15.

Unfortunately it was about now that Rhea picked up a thigh strain which (unfortunately) put her on the side line but (fortunately) put Cookie on the pitch as her replacement.

It was also sometime around now that Jaggi came so close to scoring from a set piece we practiced in training, it was totally brilliant to see and I’m sure that before the end of the season you’ll do it Jaggi (I can’t describe what she did here cos there might be spies reading it J)

Meanwhile Hannah had been polishing her boots again.

With the clock counting down to the half time whistle she intercepted a well delivered through ball (I can’t recall who sent this one on its way but THANKS) and parked it squarely in the net. My watch told me it was 31.48 and time was running out for us to add any more to the score-line, or so I thought.

Shortly after the Terras kicked off following Hannah’s goal we won a corner and Emily stepped up to take it. With her usual style she delivered an inch perfect corner right into the middle of the 6 yard box and close to the line. This time it wasn’t Hannah or Kat or Rach who got their shooting boots to the ball but…….Cookie who scored her first goal for the team 38.15 into the first half! Congratulations Cookie!

The whistle blew and everyone enjoyed a well deserved breather.

The second half started full of promise but really didn’t live up to the standard of the first half. This time the Terras bought the game to us and we spent too much time in our own half of the pitch. However, there were some good interceptions, determined tackles and defensive runs and once again everyone played their positions well.

On the pitch Daisy was enjoying the match and clearly liked the idea of shiny boots. After giving them a bit of a polish she decided to get them muddy again by connecting with the ball and slamming it into the back of the net scoring her first goal for the club too! Congratulations Daisy!

This one went in at 50.32 and from then on it was much more to and fro with the Terras keeping up a really good pace and testing our defence at regular intervals but Crizza, Ro, Liverrr, Jaggi and Lydi worked as cohesive unit to shut down their attacks.

But it was in the last few minutes of the game that the pain of the injuries we had sustained turned to agony for Emily who took a really unlucky tumble. Fortunately, after a lengthy wait at A & E it turns out that it’s a nasty sprain rather than a break but it will mean she’ll have to rest it for a few weeks to give it time to heal.

Thanks to everyone who helped us to get her off to hospital and also thanks to Rhea who volunteered to go back on despite her own injury.

After play resumed the Terras turned put together a good attack and were rewarded with a goal from a well hit, low shot that found its way into the net.

Shortly after that the final whistle blew and by a unanimous decision Hannah got MVP and now has 16 goals to her name.

We now have 15 points and a healthier goal difference which is going to be very important as our trip up the table gains more momentum. Well done team!

We now have a couple of weeks to rest, relax and heal all those injuries (Ro, Crizza, Rhea, Rach, Emily and anyone else I've missed) before our game against Parkstone Heights.

U16 Girls - Happy Dayze

2009-03-02T12:36:00.002Z

Happy Dayze!

Our season took an unexpected turn for the better on 28 February when, for the first time in the 4 year history of the squad, we beat Dorchester! So, just like the match against Poole Town Wessex history was made and with such great style too as we beat them 5-2.

I noticed that after having a team night out on Friday everyone was in great spirits and with this in mind I made an offer of another night out at my expense if we won…..talk about opening your mouth and putting both feet in it!

The game started well and unusually was well balanced with possession being split around 50/50. There was good work going on all round and the defence (playing deeper than usual) did a great job of working the offside trap, midfield got stuck in and showed their dedication to winning night out I'd promised. Our forwards, as ever, were looking for scoring opportunities and found a few in the early minutes which didn’t quite make it.

It became obvious that the essential ingredient we need to make the difference between winning and losing was definitely there and as we rushed up to half time the team was clearly in control of the game.

Just as Shelly and I were getting the water bottles ready for the half time break Hannah broke through Dorchester’s defence and had an attempt at goal. They tried to save it but no luck on this occasion, Hannah had put us 1-0 up!. The time on the clock was 39.30…only 30 second to the whistle, what a great place to be.

Some excellent input from the team during the break supported a few tactical changes and ensured we stayed fired up for the second half.

From the whistle we were all over Dorchester (who by this time looked a bit bewildered) and 8.51 minutes in to the half Kat once again proved her skill as a striker blasting the ball past the keeper to bring us 2-0 up.

Dorchester responded with their first goal 7 minutes later and shortened our lead to 2-1.

Seven minutes after that we were awarded a penalty for handball and Emily stepped up to take it.

Despite the pressure of the moment she deliver a low, powerful shot right into the bottom right hand corner of the net leaving their goalie standing – text book perfect! Now we were 3-1 up.

Unfortunately our buffer of 2 goals was short lived as Dorchester replied with a well hit shot that just squeezed by Daisy (Dayze) who had stepped in to replace Lydia. Now it was 3-2 and I was beginning to chew my finger nails down to the elbow.

I was now becoming concerned that the game could slip away but I was wrong as after another 10 minutes (at 77.22) Hannah once again ran like the wind down the left wing and delivered a convincing strike that their keeper had no chance of stopping…we were 4-2 up with only 3 minutes to go. Shortly after this she had another goal disallowed for an offside infringement (despite having stopped in order to cancel this out).

A couple of injuries kept the clock ticking but once everyone was back on their feet it continued at high pace and by now we had most of the possession. The icing on the cake came at 81.39 when Rach beat a number of players in a goal mouth scramble and slotted the ball in the net………5-2

The final whistle blew.

On reflection I think this was an exceptional effort all round with every single member of the team playing their parts really well. Match reports, quite naturally, tend to centre on the goals that we scored but that’s only part of the picture. Without good quality through balls, strong defending, good communication, team work and off- the-ball runs we wouldn’t get near the opposition’s goal. So congratulations to all of you on a job well done and a great match to watch.

Our journey to the middle of the table is now very much back on and if we can keep up this standard of play and enjoy that magic ingredient we’ll get there sooner than expected.

As already mentioned, Dayze volunteered to be our goalie as Lydi was away and earned the respect of everyone for not only doing this but also for doing a great job. The most impressive save involving a well hit, dipping shot that she tipped over the bar. As a result she was unanimously voted this week’s MVP – happy Dayze indeed.

I'm yet to hear fom the team as to where I'm buying them the next night out but I'm sure I will!

Next week Weymouth Terras

U16 Girls - Liverrr plays with heart and brains

2009-02-23T16:58:00.004Z

I refer you, dear reader, to an earlier blog entry which was all about our match against Wareham Rangers in the Dorset Cup qualifiers.

In that article I talk about how well the team did and what a nail biting match it was. So when you’ve read that perhaps you can answer the following question: What changes within the team between one match and the next that results in one match being one of the best ever and the following one so dreadful (11-0)?

I do hope you have some ideas dear reader as I am all out of them. If you do then please let me know as our journey to the middle of the table has been severely impacted and unless we can get things sorted out quickly it’ll be a damage limitation exercise to make sure we don’t finish last in the league…….again!

One thing to be salvaged was that Liverrr won the MVP for her best performance of the season demonstrating great detemination and some intelligent play. I hope that we’ll see more of her on such form in the future.

U16 Girls Cookie wins MVP for the first time

2009-02-15T12:41:00.004Z

Our journey towards the mid point of the league table took a dramatic U turn as we went down 7-5 to the Queen Bees. What should have been an enjoyable but reasonably relaxed game became a game of ‘catch up’ as the Bees put on a display of gritty determination, combined with some good shooting skills.

Was it complacency that did us in, was it attitude, was it laziness, was it that the ‘will to win’ rollercoaster had left without the team on it? Maybe it was a mixture of all of these things with a few more besides but whatever it was it cost us dearly. I find it hard to believe that in one week can beat a team who is several places above us in the league and the following week crash and burn against one that is below us.

Now, instead of us knocking on the door of Parkstone Heights the Bees are knocking on ours. Instead of us improving our goal difference its got worse and instead of us chalking up another mark in the ‘wins’ column we have another in the ‘lost’.

There were a few positive points to pull out of an otherwise disastrous event and in particular congratulations are due to Hannah for scoring a hatrick, Kat for some wonderful footwork and scoring 2 more goals, Clarissa for the most amazing defensive run I have seen that prevented the Bees scoring into an otherwise open goal, Jaggi for some very intelligent input to the structure of the team and to Cookie who earned this week’s MVP for her tireless work-rate and dogged determination that nearly resulted in her first goal for the team.

If ever there was a demonstration of how to make a difficult job even harder I think this was it and now we need to regroup, reorganise and go into the next few games with the sort of passion and tenacity that has been displayed on a number of other occasions.

U16 Girls - A 'Katrick' and 2 from Em makes history

2009-02-05T11:34:00.002Z

History was made this week when for the first time we beat Poole Town. At the start of the season we came close to drawing but this time we got the result we wanted.

With the previous week’s success to boost spirits the team enjoyed a good warm up and practice match. Then the game began and once again the team played some really excellent pass and move football, the result of which was some perfect through balls (Jaggi excelled herself here), most of the possession and somewhere near 90% of the time in the opposition’s half.

After just under 17 minutes Kat (who has now scored 5 goals in 2 matches) slotted home her first goal and needless to say everyone on the touchline was pretty excited about this. Things got even better nine minutes later when we were awarded a free kick 20+ yards out and Emily stepped up to take it. She hit the ball with terrific power and accuracy and left the opposition’s goalie no hope of saving it…we were 2-0 up!!

A few minutes later Poole got through and scored a goal and not too long after that the half time whistle blew. What a great first half, the quality of the football, the team effort, communication the whole lot was fantastic to watch.

At half time the team came up with some ideas on how to improve things further and it was with a great deal of confidence and commitment that they went back on.

Football has often been described as ‘a game of two halves’ and whoever coined that phrase was dead right as everything that went so well in the first half changed in the second. Poole Town seemed to set up camp in our half (despite being low on numbers) and made it really difficult for us to get out. They quickly drew level and then went a goal ahead, bad news or what?

However, it was great to hear the girls encouraging each other and not letting up. I think by this time the idea of getting a win was upmost in their minds. Again there were moments of brilliance and once again Kat was fed a good ball which she used to take on 2 defenders and finish with a hard low shot – we were back in the game at 3-3.

And so the nail biting game rushed on with Poole coming back strong and scoring again, it was 4 – 3 to them with the clock ticking. But Broadstone were having none of it. The defence worked hard and very cohesively, midfield battled on and the forwards were demanding the ball (great to hear). In the last 15 minutes of the game both Kat and Em got the breaks we needed and expertly slotted 2 more goals bringing the total to 5-4.

It was great to see the whole team working so well and in fact our final score line could well have been 7 or more such was the amount of shots was had on target. Hannah, Liv and several others (I can’t remember exactly who did what, sorry) all had good shots denied by Poole goalie but one goal difference is enough.

The final whistle blew to the delight of Shelley, Steve and me as well as all the spectators as we had got the points and made history!

I’d like to thank each member of the team (even though you may not be mentioned by name in this report) for putting in such a great effort, working so well together and playing some beautiful football.

MVP went to Em, not just for scoring goals but for her relentless work rate and dogged determination to make sure that we came away with a victory.

Next week, Queen Bees.

2009-01-26T11:48:00.002Z

U16 Girls Monday, January 26, 2009

U16 Girls - Isla scoops it!This week (24/01/09) we should have been away to Branksome Utd but due to their pitch being waterlogged they asked if we could hold the fixture at the Rec. I was impressed with this so respect is due to Daz and the girls for making the decision to do so (otherwise we’d be playing our league fixtures at Christmas!)After last week’s horrific game against Weymouth I was really impressed with the team spirit and positive attitude displayed by every single member of the squad and delighted that it continued throughout the whole of the game.So it was with instructions to ‘pass and move’ and a new formation featuring Isla at the back, Hannah in midfield and Kat up front that the game got underway and this week we had the luxury of 3 subs to support the team effort. As the ball moved from one player to the next an excellent through ball was sent deep into Branksome’s half which was intercepted by Rhea who finished the attack with an excellent strike. I looked at my watch to find that we’d scored in 1min 51 seconds which has got to be an all time record – nice work team and congratulations to Rhea (and everyone else involved in the movement) on a job well done!The pass and move tactics were working well and everyone was contributing to an exciting match. Branksome had some good possession play and at one point way too much time in our half! Again the team took stock and after an interception deep in our half Isla sent a driven pass down the centre of the field. The ball was received by Kat who accelerated towards Branksome’s goal and carried out a text book finish. 2-0 up!Throughout the first half we were busy making tactical changes to the team and ensured that everyone got time on the pitch. It was great to see the team responding to the challenge and making the match flow so well. Then, the half time whistle blew.The chat at half time was all about the team’s ideas about where improvements could be made and with these points in mind we kicked off for the second half.Again, some really thoughtful moves and good communication ensured we remained dominant. Branksome responded well and showed great determination but after a short, sharp clearance from Lucy to Emily (Capt) and then on to Hannah they were in trouble. Hannah took the ball wide towards the corner flag then timed and delivered a perfect cross right into the path of Jaggi and Kat who by this time were well into the 6 yard box. It really was a question of who was going to score and on this occasion Kat bagged her second! Not bad in her debut role as striker.The pace was maintained throughout but it was clear that tired legs were creeping in which, to a degree, comprised the pass and move tactic and a few too many random punts started making it look a bit scraggy. However despite that, Hannah dug deep into her reserves to create the space to receive a well timed through ball (from Rach?) and ran like a scalded cat to their goal. With everyone screaming their support she rewarded herself and all the rest of us with a carefully struck shot at the far post. Fantastic finish.By this time the game was running out of time and it was in the dying stages that the Branksome girls were rewarded with a well hit shot that managed to get by Lydi (who once again has done a great job throughout) and 4-1 was the final score.As I said to the team at the end of the game, when we play like that its really difficult to award the MVP and if I had 14 trophies to hand out they’d all have had one. However, it was agreed by Steve, Shelly and me that it should go to our latest recruit Isla for a brilliant, committed display of defensive runs throughout the game (and for collecting the most mud on her kit).I realise I haven’t mentioned everyone by name but you all played your part and should feel proud of the effort you have been putting into training and playing.Next week it’s a match with Poole Town Wessex.
PS sorry about the photo but someone (shelley) pressed the wrong button on the camera on saturday!! :)

2009-01-26T09:01:00.002Z

U16 Girls - what's the unluckiest number in the world?

Yes you guessed it - its 13 which unfortunately was the final score in a disturbing match against Weymouth on 17 Jan.

Right from the start it looked like we were in for a stuffing as the 'will to win' had taken a holiday and left us flat and in need of something that we couldn't conjure up.

As is so often the case the second half was much better than the first but when you're 10 -0 down at half time its pretty difficult to recover and such was the case on this day. There were some good individual perfromances and it was encourgaing to see some of the team battling on to the bitter end.

Lydi picked up this weeks MVP again not only for being one of the busiest players on the pitch (pulling the ball out of the net) but also by putting her training to excellent use in preventing even more being scored against us!

We have another fixture (away to Weymouth FC) and this time we will have a full squad with everyone in their normal positions which, I hope, will be enough to make a difference and result in a more acceptable score line!

U16 Girls: Kat and the Cavalry

2008-12-02T20:04:00.002Z

I have to say that when I found out that not only had we lost Rachael for this match to injury but also Jaggi to a dodgy prawn I was a little concerned. Playing with only 10 on the pitch for the whole of an 80 minute game would be a real challenge to say the least.

However the cavalry arrived just in time in the form of our 2 new players Daisy and Emily. Welcome to both of you.

Thanks to them and their determination to play we were able to sign them into the team and kit them out ready to play – phew!

It seemed that everyone there was in a better state mentally, emotionally and physically than prior to the last game and so it was we began the match.

It was a pleasure to see some good effort going in from almost everyone in the starting order and despite some good attacking moves we just couldn’t get a finish, unfortunately the opposition broke through on a couple of occasions resulting us being 2 down at half time. In itself this is not an insurmountable challenge and in past seasons we have come back from being 2 or more down to finish ahead.

The half time chat revealed that spirits were still high and everyone was keen to get back on the pitch to try and even it out. Again early attempts on goal didn’t get the results we deserved and despite having most of the possession in the second half we couldn’t score. Unfortunately the opposition could and we finished a disappointing 4-0 down at the final whistle.

Looking back there were some good individual performances but the cohesiveness, gritty determination and sacrifice required to win a match of this nature was lacking – everything in fact that WAS there in such great quantity in the match against Wareham rangers in the cup.

Respect and admiration is due to everyone who put in the work, battled on throughout the game and played out of position when asked to do so. It’s also due to our new recruits for getting stuck in so well.

Amongst the most notable performances was Kat (FrozT) who was certainly back with us in mind, body and spirit and worked hard all the way through the game but even her Krazy Kat runs didn’t yield the result so often achieved in terms of goals scored or goals made. However it did position her as this week’s Most Valuable Player, congrats to you Kat it was a pleasure to watch you play.

Our final game of 2008 will be against Wareham Ranger so let’s see if the magic returns!

U16 girls back in the old routine

2008-11-17T13:06:00.003Z

ec im on the phone

Well, whatever the magic ingredient was that helped us play so well against Wareham in the cup was in woefully short supply on Saturday. From the opening few minutes of the game it became apparent that things were wrong with just about everything and the style of play was as far away from the previous week as it could get.

Despite this (and on a positive note) we held back Twynham’s attacks for the first 28 minutes but after the first goal was scored by them things deteriorated rapidly to the same standard we all endured in the Season of Doom. The opposition then smashed a total of 5 past us in the following 15 minutes.

The more the Coaches watched from the touchline the more obvious it became that, for whatever reasons, we had only a fraction of the team playing to their capacity and with the heart and soul we’d seen previously. It really was a pity as I think everyone believed the recent form would make it another hard fought, nail-biting game.

After a half time chat a few more of the team came out of their mental/physical/ attitudinal retirement and started to put more effort in. We got some shots out and much more possession but the score in the first half had pretty much sunk us and even in the second half we were nowhere up to full strength no matter how you measure it.

Twynham stayed focused and scored another 2 before the final whistle blew bringing the whole thing to an end, the final score 7-0.

I’d like to thank Lydi, Lucy and Emily for their constant work rate, effort and commitment to the team. All three of you were candidates for MVP and congrats to Lucy for achieving it.

We now have 2 weeks until the next game so maybe in that time everyone can enjoy a rest and think ahead to the next match where we might have a confident, motivated team who really, really want to play their best.

U16 Girls - Just how close can you get?

2008-11-10T14:10:00.003Z

It’s probably fair to say that Wareham Rangers (who are currently third from top in the league having won 5 of their 6 games) came to the Rec expecting to achieve a comfortable victory.

What they couldn't know however is that the new found spirit in the team has revolutionised the way we play and it must have come as a real shock when not only did we score first but also came off the pitch 2-1 up at half time! This in itself is an outstanding achievement as we had given away 2 penalties for handball but what happened after half time was quite simply unbelievable.

As the second half got underway the tempo and intensity of the game built to an all time high with both teams battling for every ball, defending like their lives depended on it and going for goal like it was the FA cup final!

It was truly amazing how the quality of play seemed to increase despite probably the most physically demanding game we’ve ever played. With goals from Hannah (2), Emily, Kat and Rachael the final whistle blew with the score an amazing 5-5. It was made even sweeter as the last goal (Hannah’s second) was scored in the last few seconds of the half giving them no time to recover.

However, as it was a cup match there had to be a winner and so the 2 x 15 minute sessions of extra time kicked off. Again, the battle commenced with the same determination and commitment as in the previous 80 minutes and the game raced from one end to the other. It became clear that this one was going down to the wire.

Wareham scored first but Broadstone never bowed their heads or let the pressure get to them and (again in the dying minutes) responded with a well thought out attack which delivered the ball to an ever more confident Hannah who finished it off with a well timed strike.

The final whistle of extra time blew, it was 6 all! So now it was down to the dreadful business of penalties. Our first 5 ‘volunteers’ were selected and with much encouragement from their team mates along with the (ever more excited) crowd bravely stepped up to take their shot. The crowd roared as Lydia saved the first Wareham penalty and narrowly missed a second despite an excellent dive. We were all staggered and just about emotionally exhausted when, after the first 5 penalties had been taken by both sides, the score was still tied at 3-3!!

By now of course everyone’s nerves were jangling, finger nails bitten down to the elbow and hearts pounding out of chests (well mine was anyway). Now it was sudden death. Wareham went first and squeezed it past Lydia and unfortunately our reply (despite being well hit and beyond the goalkeeper’s reach) touched the crossbar and rebounded away from goal.

So, it was 2-1 at half time, 5-5 at full time, 6-6 at end of extra time, 3-3 at the end of the first 5 penalties – you can’t get any closer than this!

What a truly amazing game of football.

A personal note to my team.

From my perspective (and I can also speak for Steve and Shelly) I’m so proud, inspired and amazed by every single player in the squad. We asked you to play in different formations during the game and you rose to the challenge, we asked some of you to play in different positions and you made them your own, we asked you play with your hearts and souls and you did even more than that, in short, there is nothing more we could have asked or received from you. Thank you.

I think Wareham went away wondering what hit them and must be very, very nervous about the league matches we will be playing against them. My eternal optimism has now been reinforced by confidence and certainty that if we can keep this form we are going to do really well in the matches against ‘stronger’ clubs and run rings round the softer ones.

I hope everyone’s confidence has been given a real boost by this match. I also hope you’ll put in the same effort in every game in the future because now we’ve all seen what you can do we’re hooked on it!

On a final note it was so difficult to choose the winner of the MVP, if I had 12 trophies you’d all have had one. A decision had to be made and it was awarded to Crizza for outstanding defence work. Well done!

Next week, we’re at home to Twynham and if we can play to the same outstanding standard we'll be going home smiling....and with some more points.

U16 Girls - Refs, Rules and Speedy 'R'

2008-10-28T18:52:00.003Z

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

2008-10-20T17:45:00.002+01:00

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

2008-10-20T07:37:00.010+01:00

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!

2008-10-13T15:21:00.006+01:00

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

2008-10-12T19:21:00.002+01:00

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.

2008-10-06T11:51:00.004+01:00

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.

U16G Outstanding performance secures first victory

2008-09-28T12:52:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to everyone in the team for their performance on saturday against Branksome Utd.

From the first whistle to the final whistle everyone worked hard to put pressure on the opposition which resulted in 3 goals in the first half. Excellent team work ensured that the oppostion rarely got the ball and when they did they were forced back into their own half.

The defending was strong and determined, the midfield worked hard and the 2 strikers were on terrific form.

The final result was BFC 6, Branksome 1 with goals from Emily, Ro, Kat, Hannah, Rhea and Liv!!

Finally this week's MVP award goes to 'Animal' for her brilliant defensive work - congratulations.

U16G Most valuable player award 20 Sept 08

2008-09-23T10:11:00.000+01:00

This week's award went to the Captain for her outstanding work in the second half. Following a difficult and disappointing first half she showed great leadership skills by encouraging her team and scoring a headed goal from one of Emily's corners!

Well done Captain!

U16 Girls Undeterred

2008-09-14T17:40:00.000+01:00

Tony Fisher says - On behalf of Shelley and me please accept our congratulations on playing
so well for so long and giving Blandford a taste of what the other teams
in the league will have to deal with (and lose against) in the next few
months!!

Bring it on!

Although the girls lost this weekend against Blandford 2 - 6, they played the best they had ever done and are certain to beat their record of last year.

Our goalie won this season's Most Valuable Player of the game award and was instrumental in keeping the goals against to such a low number, considering the number of shots.

Welcome to BFC Blog - the Captains' Blog

2008-07-08T21:19:00.000+01:00

A friendly "village" club that prides itself on good sportsmanship that endeavours to provide footballing facilities for local youth (male and female)

Catering for players aged six to eighteen with league teams playing at every age group (Under 7 to Under 18) in the Bournemouth and Dorset Youth Football leagues.

See us here