Who Are The Daddies?

In a hard fought festive clash the Cumnor parents showed the U9s a thing or two about football with a thrilling 5-4 win. Here's a player report on the oldies:

Laurinda H
Strong at the back and held the defensive line whilst all crumbled around here. Excellent distribution skills too... especially with the wine and chocolates.

Steve E
Fancy tricks and showboating flicks... like son like father, Steve was an excellent target man and ever willing for his teammates to do his running for him.

Will L
Out wide, up against the twin threats of Matthew and Henry S, Will did well not to deploy his rugby tackling instincts and therefore avoid any pre-Christmas trip to Abingdon Minor Injuries Unit.

Tim C
Hung back supposedly in goal. Got down (eventually) to make a save and used the high ball whenever he could, which is quite an effective tactic against 8 and 9 year olds.

Phil M
Opened the scoring with a rasper when his shot beat the three U9 keepers. Did well to stay off his backside.

Graham S
All energy and effort... worked hard but couldn't replicate his Peter Barnes-esque display of last year.

Dave O'S
Frustrated somewhat, especially when nutmegged by Henry S. Looked a little cold and maybe should consider wearing (support) tights next year?

Andrew P
Hung around in front of the goal and scored two. There was a rumour that he passed the ball but no-one was sure when?

Steve H
Another two goal hero. The first was a beautiful lob, the second a desperate reposte to the threat of substitution.

Richard S
Fuelled by Mojitos and Red Bull, Richard left a trail of carnage behind him. Ploughed the right channel well and set up 4 goals.

Rob H
Like Mark Hughes he had an eye for the spectacular scissor kick. Unlike Mark Hughes, he still has a manager's job. Bad luck, Rob.

David R
Vision, control, execution... it was like watching Jari Litmanen with a fridge on his back.

Player of the Week: Steve H's first goal, Dave O'S' embarrassment, Rob H's trouser-splitting triple salco... but PoW for the way he absolutely terrorised a group of young boys, Richard S.

2009: The Story So Far

With the Christmas break upon us and our next game not until January 9th, I thought I'd share a few stats with you. In the Witney Leauge, we're currently unbeaten in our division (Green) and together with Brackley, we're the only team with maximum points.

Our stats read:
Played 10
Won 10
Lost 0
Drawn 0
Goals F 59
Goals A 4
Points 30

The League only take account of the first match, so our second match stats read:
Played 10
Won 6
Lost 2
Drawn 2
Goals F 39
Goals A 18

Add in four friendly wins and the Cup losses and overall we've:

Played 26
Won 19
Lost 4
Drawn 3
Goals F 116
Goals A 37

The Golden Boot is interestingly poised too with four boys already scoring over 10 goals this season.

The most impressive stat of all though is the fact that we still have 16 fantastic boys giving everything they have to the badge and each other. Here's to a very enjoyable 2010.

Clear Heads at Combe

From the kids, at least. The Management team - and most of the dads - we're looking a little green around the edges. The boys, however, produced a supremely confident display overturning an aggregate defeat from earlier in the season.

Match One
Great passing and movement and plenty of chances. Cumnor turned on the style from the kick-off after Ben reversed the teams to take advantage of the considerable slope. In a one-sided affair, the team functioned smoothly and clinically. Will grabbed a perfect hat-trick (left foot, right foot and nose) and set up Fyn for another. Rory and Toby were ever watchful and an unkind bobble denied Adam the goal of the season after sparkling interplay between Ben and Fyn. Henry didn't have too much to do made two vital saves towards the end of the game. 4-0.

Match Two
Another entertaining and exciting encounter. The boys had a point to prove and battled hard to take control of the midfield with Binky doing much of the graft. Joe and Matt were energetic and busy and Ollie a willing link man with James S up front. James E looked happier out than in and we certainly displayed better shape in the second half. Henry S was assured and athletic in goal and Ed caused lots of problems with his aggressive running. The team scored four well-taken goals with Ollie, Binky, James E and Ed getting on the scoresheet. 4-1.

Player of the Week: mentions for Toby, Ollie and Ed but for his wide play and goals, Will.

Back To Winning Ways

The return leg against Chadlington saw normal service resumed by both Cumnor teams. There were some great examples of clever thinking, nice touches and excellent finishes. In the first match, Adam showed terrific awareness and discipline and scored 4 far post crackers. Fyn - wearing his go faster tights - slotted in two, Will got one with the assistance of a Chad defender and there was an own goal from a corner. Ben, Toby and Rory battled hard and showed plenty of bite in the tackle and composure on the ball. Henry was alert and his new goalkicking routine worked a treat. 8-0.

In the second match, Cumnor worked hard for the win. Matt made a real nuisance of himself and never stopped working. Joe frightened the life out of a player three times his size and Ollie and James E combined well and deserved their goals. Laurie worked hard too. Henry looked threatening up front and James S scored two lovely goals and hit some effective passes. 4-0.

Player of the Week: James S for his finishing and intelligent midfield play.