The final session of 2007 will be a joint fun session with the U8s on Sat 22nd (10.30) at The Closes. If you can't make it, thanks for all the hard work and effort in the last few months.
We start training again at Cumnor School on Sat Jan 12th. We're trying to arrange a match for either the 19th or the 26th. We'll let you know as soon as a fixture is confirmed.
Have a great Christmas and New Year
David & Tim
Tuesday 18 December 2007
Saturday 1 December 2007
Cumnor U7s v Carteron U7s 1st Dec 2007 (friendly)
Cumnor Dig Deep To Remain Unbeaten
Biting cold and a well-drilled Carterton meant Cumnor had to play especially well to keep our unbeaten record. With key players (Rory, Laurie and Henry) out, Ollie going to the wrong ground (oops Ollie and Liz!!!) and a third of our squad heading off to see revolting Romans... the coaches were more than happy with today's performances.
In the first game, Adam M played in goal, Joe in defence, with Will/James and Ben/Fyn playing half each in midfield, Freddie and Adam W also in midfield and Binky up front. It was end to end stuff from the kick-off with both teams threatening to take an early lead. Will made a strong run pushing the ball into the box but the Carterton keeper was on it, whacked it into Binky and then watched in horror as the ball went inches wide. Cumnor played the more measured football with Ben controlling the midfield. Increased pressure saw Adam W through on goal, with a split second to react, Adam did the right thing, shot early and sent a terrific shot just past the post.
Carterton came back strongly from two early Cumnor chances with Joe - ever alert at the back - showing yet again why he has been our our best (and most important) players. Freddie, making his debut, showed some lovely touches and passed the ball beautifully. The best move of the half led to Cumnor's opening goal when Ben, out wide on the right, hit a superb pass into space for Binky. Showing great awareness, Binky sent a low cross into the middle for Will, who seized his opportunity well and slid the ball past the diving keeper. 1-0. Cumnor almost ended the half 2-0 up when Ben's intelligent lob over the Carterton defence was just claimed by the goalie.
In the second-half, Fyn and James replaced Ben and Will and were straight into the action. Carterton started to look dangerous but a great pass by Fyn to Binky saw Cumnor go close again. With Carterton threatening from corners (blame the coaches for not showing the boys how to defend them!) Adam M was getting more involved in the game. The Carteron goal finally came in bizarre circumstances when a clearance ball cannoned off a Cumnor player and past an unlucky Adam. 1-1.
The game was well and truly on. Freddie, James and Adam W linked up well but we were increasingly forced to defend deep. Another blistering Carteron corner was initially beaten away before being scrambled in. 2-1 Carterton.
With the game drawing to a close, Cumnor kept fighting. Fyn played another clever pass through to James who despite stretching every sinew to reach it, couldn't quite get on the end. Moments later Fyn was through, hit a low hard shot which thudded into the post and out. With the ref looking at his watch (and the coaches getting more frantic) Cumnor launched one last attack. The ball ended up in the area and was bouncing around the box before somehow hitting the back of the Carterton net. 2-2. At time of writing, Steve Earl is reviewing video evidence to see who can claim the goal: Binky or his son, James (no pressure then, Steve!).
But... the match wasn't over! Carterton attacked again and their tricky no.8 almost broke the post with a fierce drive. The ball eventually went out for another Carterton corner which thundered into the box before James miraculously (I think) hooked it over his own bar. Final whistle: 2-2. Phew.
In the second match, Will started in goal, Adam M and Ben shared defensive duties, James (swapping with Will at half-time), Louis and Toby played in midfield with Fyn up front. Cumnor controlled this game from the start with Adam M laying a solid foundation at the back and Fyn being a constant threat in attack. But it was in midfield where we really shone: Toby was quite superb raiding down the right wing like Robert Pires at his best! Ben continued to play like Michael Essien (is that okay, Tim?) and James displayed the passing prowess of Michael Carrick. Special praise must go to Louis who, on his debut, showed why he is so highly rated.
The first goal of the game was an absolute gem with Toby flying in from the right wing to send a scorching shot into the corner of the net. Then Louis opened his account for Cumnor shortly afterwards with a well-taken left-footed effort. 2-0. With Cumnor on top we still managed to keep our shape and play excellent football. Toby went close again just before half-time.
In the second-half, Adam M pushed up front, Fyn dropped into midfield, Ben dropped back and Will and James swapped. With Will threatening down the left and Toby down the right, Cumnor went straight into attack mode. A free kick on the the left hand side saw Louis play a smart ball to Ben who leathered a long range shot at the startled keeper. Shortly afterwards, Ben took the ball down the left wing and played Louis in to score his second. 3-0. At this point in proceedings Cumnor, with a commanding lead, tend to lose our shape and chase goals but thanks to some disciplined positional play by Ben and Louis, we didn't today. Will showed the benefit of following up and raced into the box to smash a rebound in. 4-0. Carteron kept fighting and did threaten briefly. James looked thoroughly bored in goal but his dad was on hand to remind him to keep his eyes on the game. In the last couple of minutes, Louis took Will's cross in his stride and scored his third goal. 5-0: a great win.
Both teams played exceptionally well. In the first game, we fought hard and kept our nerve to earn a very good draw against a tough team. And in the second match, we played disciplined attacking football, kept our shape and deserved to win. Carterton are the best team we've faced this year so to go away from home and do what we did today was excellent. Well done!
Player of the Week: Excellent performances from Toby, Ben C and Joe but our two debutants deserve special praise: Louis for bagging a hat-trick and Freddie for such a mature display in midfield. Player of the Week is Freddie for making such an outstanding debut.
Golden Boot 12/1/2007
We're not saying! The Coaches think that the Golden Boot is making people a little 'goal crazy' so we're removing it from the website. For now. Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on the goalscorers and we'll announce our Golden Boot winner at the end of season awards night.
Training next week at Cumnor School
Biting cold and a well-drilled Carterton meant Cumnor had to play especially well to keep our unbeaten record. With key players (Rory, Laurie and Henry) out, Ollie going to the wrong ground (oops Ollie and Liz!!!) and a third of our squad heading off to see revolting Romans... the coaches were more than happy with today's performances.
In the first game, Adam M played in goal, Joe in defence, with Will/James and Ben/Fyn playing half each in midfield, Freddie and Adam W also in midfield and Binky up front. It was end to end stuff from the kick-off with both teams threatening to take an early lead. Will made a strong run pushing the ball into the box but the Carterton keeper was on it, whacked it into Binky and then watched in horror as the ball went inches wide. Cumnor played the more measured football with Ben controlling the midfield. Increased pressure saw Adam W through on goal, with a split second to react, Adam did the right thing, shot early and sent a terrific shot just past the post.
Carterton came back strongly from two early Cumnor chances with Joe - ever alert at the back - showing yet again why he has been our our best (and most important) players. Freddie, making his debut, showed some lovely touches and passed the ball beautifully. The best move of the half led to Cumnor's opening goal when Ben, out wide on the right, hit a superb pass into space for Binky. Showing great awareness, Binky sent a low cross into the middle for Will, who seized his opportunity well and slid the ball past the diving keeper. 1-0. Cumnor almost ended the half 2-0 up when Ben's intelligent lob over the Carterton defence was just claimed by the goalie.
In the second-half, Fyn and James replaced Ben and Will and were straight into the action. Carterton started to look dangerous but a great pass by Fyn to Binky saw Cumnor go close again. With Carterton threatening from corners (blame the coaches for not showing the boys how to defend them!) Adam M was getting more involved in the game. The Carteron goal finally came in bizarre circumstances when a clearance ball cannoned off a Cumnor player and past an unlucky Adam. 1-1.
The game was well and truly on. Freddie, James and Adam W linked up well but we were increasingly forced to defend deep. Another blistering Carteron corner was initially beaten away before being scrambled in. 2-1 Carterton.
With the game drawing to a close, Cumnor kept fighting. Fyn played another clever pass through to James who despite stretching every sinew to reach it, couldn't quite get on the end. Moments later Fyn was through, hit a low hard shot which thudded into the post and out. With the ref looking at his watch (and the coaches getting more frantic) Cumnor launched one last attack. The ball ended up in the area and was bouncing around the box before somehow hitting the back of the Carterton net. 2-2. At time of writing, Steve Earl is reviewing video evidence to see who can claim the goal: Binky or his son, James (no pressure then, Steve!).
But... the match wasn't over! Carterton attacked again and their tricky no.8 almost broke the post with a fierce drive. The ball eventually went out for another Carterton corner which thundered into the box before James miraculously (I think) hooked it over his own bar. Final whistle: 2-2. Phew.
In the second match, Will started in goal, Adam M and Ben shared defensive duties, James (swapping with Will at half-time), Louis and Toby played in midfield with Fyn up front. Cumnor controlled this game from the start with Adam M laying a solid foundation at the back and Fyn being a constant threat in attack. But it was in midfield where we really shone: Toby was quite superb raiding down the right wing like Robert Pires at his best! Ben continued to play like Michael Essien (is that okay, Tim?) and James displayed the passing prowess of Michael Carrick. Special praise must go to Louis who, on his debut, showed why he is so highly rated.
The first goal of the game was an absolute gem with Toby flying in from the right wing to send a scorching shot into the corner of the net. Then Louis opened his account for Cumnor shortly afterwards with a well-taken left-footed effort. 2-0. With Cumnor on top we still managed to keep our shape and play excellent football. Toby went close again just before half-time.
In the second-half, Adam M pushed up front, Fyn dropped into midfield, Ben dropped back and Will and James swapped. With Will threatening down the left and Toby down the right, Cumnor went straight into attack mode. A free kick on the the left hand side saw Louis play a smart ball to Ben who leathered a long range shot at the startled keeper. Shortly afterwards, Ben took the ball down the left wing and played Louis in to score his second. 3-0. At this point in proceedings Cumnor, with a commanding lead, tend to lose our shape and chase goals but thanks to some disciplined positional play by Ben and Louis, we didn't today. Will showed the benefit of following up and raced into the box to smash a rebound in. 4-0. Carteron kept fighting and did threaten briefly. James looked thoroughly bored in goal but his dad was on hand to remind him to keep his eyes on the game. In the last couple of minutes, Louis took Will's cross in his stride and scored his third goal. 5-0: a great win.
Both teams played exceptionally well. In the first game, we fought hard and kept our nerve to earn a very good draw against a tough team. And in the second match, we played disciplined attacking football, kept our shape and deserved to win. Carterton are the best team we've faced this year so to go away from home and do what we did today was excellent. Well done!
Player of the Week: Excellent performances from Toby, Ben C and Joe but our two debutants deserve special praise: Louis for bagging a hat-trick and Freddie for such a mature display in midfield. Player of the Week is Freddie for making such an outstanding debut.
Golden Boot 12/1/2007
We're not saying! The Coaches think that the Golden Boot is making people a little 'goal crazy' so we're removing it from the website. For now. Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on the goalscorers and we'll announce our Golden Boot winner at the end of season awards night.
Training next week at Cumnor School
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