Cumnor Click

Cumnor had a lot to live unto to surpass our recent win at Harwell but on a gloomy cold afternoon, the boys played some of the best football we've seen. With key players Rory, Michael, Kyle and skipper Joseph out with injury, an adjustment was required and we lined up with Doddie, Will, Fyn and Harry S at the back, Adam and Nathan in centre mid, Finlay and Alex wide and Ben playing just behind Tom.

From the start there was a confidence and composure to our play with the boys relishing the glorious playing surface and enjoying meeting a Harwell team who wanted to play football. For the purist it was a great spectacle packed full of quicksilver passing, intelligent movement and intricate combinations. We were especially creative playing down the flanks working neat little angles. Harry D's decision making and distribution was spot on and Will and Fyn defended tirelessly and played beautifully throughout.

The first-half brought a flurry of chances with Ben playing the pivot nicely and working well with Adam and Nathan. The scoring opened after some great wing play from Alex who lashed in a cross for Finlay to challenge before the ball fell to Nathan. 1-0. A few minutes later Harry S clipped in a beauty which Ben met with a tremendous volley from the edge of the box. The keeper made a quite brilliant save but Tom was there to follow up. 2-0. Tom had a couple of chances after more creative build up work. Against the run of play, Cumnor fell to a counter attack goal after the dangerous Harwell 8 (Matt) raced through and finished superbly. 2-1.

We kept the same formation to start the second-half and soon extended our lead after Tom hit a wonderful early shot past the excellent Harwell keeper. 3-1 By now, Cumnor were playing with supreme confidence with Will and Fyn seemingly unbeatable at the back, the full-backs pushing on and Adam and Nathan working relentlessly in the midfield. More excellent attacking work saw Finlay ghost into a lovely position to hit home our fourth. With Charlie and Toby now heavily involved Cumnor kept pressing and finally got a fifth from the excellent Nathan.

A brilliant win and a great match. The opposition and the ref were full of praise for the way we played. With Ducklington on the horizon if we play like this we will beat them. Well done all.

Player of the Week: could have gone to anyone but in the end we went for Doddie because his confidence, technical prowess, calmness and willingness to get the ball to feet and play football give us a great attacking option from left-back. He also tackled strongly and linked wonderfully with Will, Finlay and Nathan.

Cup Full Of Goals

A scintillating display of finishing saw Cumnor ease past Faringdon 11-1 in the 2nd round of the Berks & Bucks Cup with Ben scoring 3, Will 2, Doddie 2, Adam 1, Fyn 1, Nathan 1 and Finlay 1. But more pleasing than the scoring was playing boys in different positions. Special thanks goes to Harry S who went in and pulled off a brilliant penalty save. Well done all, there'll be tougher opposition to face but you can only play who's in front of you.

Player of the Week: Charlie for another assured outing at full back.

Penalty Pain for Cumnor

 One cruel passage of play cost Cumnor a deserved draw against Kidlington in what was a pretty even match.  The first half started with Cumnor on the back foot for the first 10 minutes, however we grew in confidence and started to match a good Kidlington side.  Defensively Will, Fyn, Charlie and Doddy were strong, and when they were breached, Harry D was usually in the right place at the right time to save the day.  The midfield, minus captain Joseph, took time to settle, however this is not surprising given Harry S was playing in a new position and Kyle was getting used to a new partner. Once the organisation came, they looked solid. Going forward we looked stronger as the half wore on, with Tom "needs new boots" Davenport chasing and threatening before being replaced by Nathan after 20 mins of sliding around.  Nathan offered the alternative back to goal option, encouraging us to go a bit wider, bringing Adam and Finlay and Alex more into the game - to good effect.    

Midway through the first half, Ben found some space in front of the defence and slid a neat pass into the path of Alex.  With plenty still to do, Alex burst clear, cut inside and neatly finished inside the far post for his first Cumnor goal.  Without creating too much more, Cumnor managed to hold on to a half time lead.  

The second half started like the first, with Cumnor on the back foot and under pressure.  However this time not even Harry could save us, with the Kidlington striker finally breaking free of Will and Fyn's shackles and scoring a well taken goal.  This generated a positive response from the Cumnor boys, with the tempo raised a few more chances were created.  Alex and Doddy were a real threat on the left hand side, and this led to chances for Nathan, Ben and Adam, however we couldn't convert. 

Then, the moment that decided the game.  A great corner from Adam, bullet header from Will, ricochet off a Kidlington head, hacked clearance, breakaway, foul, penalty, goal. From virtually scoring at one end Cumnor conceded at the other 10 seconds later.

Try as we might we could just not get the goal back. we threw everything at them, however Kidlington played "winning football", the linesman became pedant of the year and despite lots of changes we couldn't create the one good opportunity.  

Ultimately, we can argue we deserved a draw (as did Chelsea at Stoke).  However, result don't always go for you, and I think, fairly, Harwell could have argued they deserved a draw the match before.  So 3 points from two very competitive and even games - net net better than two draws! On we go to the cup at the weekend, before Harwell again.

There were a few contenders for POTW.  As a reluctant LB, Doddy is playing brilliantly.  Will, a slightly less reluctant CB, was also very strong and but for a bit of bad luck could have won us the game.  However, for not only scoring, but also for a combination of threatening attack play and feisty defensive play, POTW went to Alex.   

High Tension at Harwell

A thrilling game between Cumnor and Harwell ended in a nerve racking but ultimately satisfying victory for Cumnor.  Games with Harwell are always close and this was no exception, however to deny them a goal and battle as hard as we did for the victory was fantastic.  The boys showed a real spirit of togetherness, working really hard for each other and great determination to hang on for the win.  This was easily our best performance of this season, and probably for some while longer.  Rather than write a full report, we have gone for a comment on each of the players, of whom we are extremely proud:

Harry D - excellent in the sweeper keeper role, very assured on the ball and made saves when he needed to, great handling of crosses - a clean sheet is always welcome;

Doddy - stepped in at LB at the last minute and was excellent.  Worked very well with Finlay, particularly in the first half, and made a number of strong challenges;

Harry S - as usual worked really well going forward, however when needed in the second half really stepped up defensively;

Will - very strong at the back, won tackles, headers, 50/50s etc, and maintained his threat going forward.  Two great free kicks, one of which led to the winning goal;

Fyn - like Will, didn't shirk any tackles, really strong in the air and gave nothing to the Harwell forward - lots of good chat too;

Joseph - worked tirelessly in midfield, won the ball in his usual fashion, and then spread it very well;

Kyle - worked hard alongside Joseph, and hit a couple of very nice passes to spread play;

Alex - really came into the game in the second half, hit every challenge determined to win the ball and was a real threat going forward, putting in a number of great crosses - settling in to the team well;

Finlay - showed his usual skills and has added a level of determination that is making him one of the stars of the season - created a number of chances for the team;

Ben - very strong performance, a real battling display, but then silky skills when on the ball.  A well finished goal to cap it off;

Tom - "knackered" - ran very hard all game, harried the Harwell defence, created chances and came close to getting on the end of a number of crosses - a really strong performance;

Toby - unfortunately due to the quality of the 11 players on the pitch we couldn't get Toby on, however he selflessly accepted this and showed a real team spirit in cheering the team on.

A brilliant effort by all 12  - well done!

Cup run starts

Cumnor cruised through to the next round of the Berks and Bucks cups with a comfortable 5-0 win at Newbury.  On a pitch that could do with a cut (and a roll) Cumnor produced a strong performance to book its place in the next round of the cup.  The 13 boys involved all played very well, creating many chances, and ran out deserved winners.  

Cumnor set up in its traditional 4,2,3,1 formation, with the aim of going to 3 at the back quite quickly.  However, with Harry Stanley playing at RB, Tim and Dave realised we were pretty much 3 at the back from the start!  All joking aside, Harry played as we expect him to, and was on the end of a loose ball to smash home the opening goal.  Cumnor created many more chances, particularly on the left flank where first Rory and then Will had acres of space. The interchange of passing through this area, using Finlay, Ben, Alex and Nathan was excellent and often opened up the Newbury defences.   Joseph, as has been the case this season, was playing a very measured game in the centre of midfield and switching play well to both sides of the pitch.  With Fyn as solid as ever at the back, and Harry D communicating well with all concerned, Cumnor looked very unlikely to concede.  As the game opened up Joseph and Adam both went close and Alex had a header cleared of the line by an opponent’s arm (chest according to the referee!).  1-0 at half time was not as good as it could have been, but Cumnor looked comfortable.  

The second half opened with a flourish.  Charlie and Toby were bought on at the back, allowing Will and Harry to push even further forward. Almost immediately Ben and Will showed great creativity (including a "nuts" called by Dave Stanley), forcing a corner.  The same combination then converted - Ben sending over a whipped corner that Will rose to meet to head Cumnor into a 2 goal lead.  It was from another corner, this time  a well worked short corner between Harry and Adam, that Cumnor took a 3-0 lead, Adam floating a left foot curler into the top corner.  The team were now playing with huge confidence, knocking the ball about and creating chance after chance.  Joe smashed a rasping shot against the crossbar, Finlay poked just wide, and Alex just failed to connect with one of Will's many crosses.  

The game position meant Tim and Dave could ring the changes and give players a go in unfamiliar positions.  Nathan and Adam played 30 mins in the centre of midfield and looked very assured, Alex had a run as centre forward and centre back, and towards the end Fyn and Rory were playing on the wings.  It remained for Will to put the icing on the cake, first with a well-executed dink over the keeper and then with a well struck drive that found the bottom of the net.  A well-deserved 5-0 victory and on to the next round.  

Player of the week was in some ways difficult, and some ways quite easy.  All 13 players did well, Charlie and Toby both assured at the back and happy to play the ball out, the rotating centre backs all very solid, Ben, Alex and Finlay all showing great creative touches, with Adam, Nathan and Harry powering at the opposition.  Will had freedom to play and took full advantage, however player of the week, for the third time in four games was our captain Joseph. He has gone from a no nonsense ball winner to someone who now demands the ball off others and moves it well across midfield and into the danger areas.  Yesterday he showed his shooting isn’t too bad either!  Well done everyone.   

The Great Escape

After last week's drubbing, Cumnor needed to get something from the trip to Oxford City. And not just in terms of points, but pride and belief from a committed performance. We certainly left Cowley with the sense of a reputation restored but we should have left with all three points.

The positives were many: having Fyn back from injury strengthened the defence, Finlay showed some lovely creative touches, Charlie had a superb first half, Adam and Doddie delivered from out wide and Tom and Nathan worked tirelessly leading the front line. Our goals too, were superb. Finlay had a split second to look up and shoot early from 25 yards out and did so, finding the corner. Some great midfield play saw Adam put in a wonderful cross for Nathan to drill home. And the equaliser after a period of sustained pressure was well deserved with Doddie's searing cross met by a leaping Will. The draw came from a desire to fight till the very end. We were bold and aggressive and going three up front and three at the back (sorry Toby, for not getting much game time) demonstrated that surrendering a two goal lead was unacceptable. The boys were challenged to fight at half-time and prove themselves to be worthy of the win. It wasn't quite to be. The goals against us were down to poor positioning, sloppy decision making and defending, all made more glaring by our lack of communication. We don't talk to each other and that isolates people on the ball or poses doubt as to who will deal with a dangerous situation.

Overall, the positives to come back from behind and get the 3 - 3 draw against tough opposition will do us good. So an excellent first 20 minutes and an impressive last 15. Let's use this and move on.

Player of the Week: Joseph, captain's performance, enjoying a superb start to the season.

Abingdon Go AWOL

A little harsh perhaps but difficult to gauge how good our opening performance of the season was with the opposition so visibly struggling. Then again, a team can only play what's in front of them. Cumber kept the ball on the floor and tackled beautifully, working nice tight patterns and playing confidently from the back. Kyle and Harry gave us an immediate attacking outlet from full back whilst Will and Rory and centre-back pressed the midfield of Joseph and Alex high up the pitch.

In pre-season our finishing had been woeful but all four goals from Nathan, Adam, Ben and Will showed a crispness of technique and an assuredness in front of goal. Bad luck to Abingdon, they battled manfully and we, as a coaching team, did all we could to ensure the second-half would get under way. It did, for all of 10 minutes before another Abingdon injury forced the ref's hand and he called the abandonment. Cumber get the win, 4-0.

Luck of the Irish

Ok - luck had nothing to do with it - Cumnor was comprehensively outplayed by a sharper, more dynamic and stronger team.  That said, we had patches in the game where we more than held our own, however it was a tough challenge and we just couldn't match Irish on the day.

The first 15 minutes were not Cumnor's finest.  We conceded a soft goal due to some poor tackling, then were somewhat unlucky with the linesman's call, before contributing to a third goal through a couple of mistakes.   The next 20 mins were much better, the defence of Harry D, Tom, Rory, Harry S and Kyle held firm and continued to play good football under intense pressure.  The midfield duo of Joseph and Alex worked tirelessly against a very strong pairing from Irish and we gradually managed to get moving forward.  Adam had a couple of long range free kicks and Nathan harried and chased the Irish defence.  Finally a chance game, and Doddy hit a great first time shot which was well saved by the Irish keeper.  HT came, and given our start 3-0 was a good effort.

Cumnor made a number of changes at HT, with Michael, Charlie, and Finlay all joining the fray, whilst Kyle was moved to centre back to cover for the injured Tom.  Within 5 mins a slick Cumnor move saw Alex put in a great cross, only to see Nathan's header hit the crossbar.  However things had certainly picked up, and the boys were playing with greater desire.  Joseph led from the front and tackled anything that moved, but Irish maintained a threat and the more Cumnor pushed forward the more we were left open to counter attack and balls over the top.  This vulnerability led to another 15 minute spell of conceding 3 goals, and we were 6-0 down.

Given the scoreline, the boys continued to battle hard.  Charlie worked the right flank well with either Harry or Adam, and this helped create a great chance for Adam which was saved by the keeper.  Tom came back on up front and his speed started to open things up and Doddy did well with two free kicks - one a delightful cross that should have been headed in, the second a good shot that the keeper saved.  Close to the end Irish made an mistake and Ben hit a swerving shot that somehow the Irish keeper managed to turn over the bar.  Cumnor were then undone by some tired defending and we conceded 2 more.  8-0 and a chastening experience.

Whilst the result was tough to take, there were some positives.  Rory was his usual solid self, winning many headers and tackling hard.  Joseph and Alex worked very hard against an extremely mobile midfield, Alex having run himself into the ground and being replaced 15 mins from the end. The three HT subs all had an impact, Charlie and Michael defending well and supporting out wide, whilst Finlay is adding some serious endeavour to his undoubted ability.  Overall though, whilst technically the Irish players were a bit better, their desire to win the ball was stronger in spells and this proved costly.

 

Summertown Champions Again

A great day for Cumnor as all three teams all made it to the semi-finals. The truth is, any of the Cumnor teams could have won. We were unbeaten throughout the group stages conceding no more than about 4 goals thanks to the excellent defending and goalkeeping from Lucas, Matt and Harry. The Cumnor Whites v Cumnor Reds semi was a tense affair with both teams unable to create much. Inevitably it went to penalties and for once, Lucky Lay's team didn't win the day with Adam shooting agonisingly wild.

The other semi-final saw Cumnor Blues beat Marston Saints. The key to the win was exceptional closing down of Marston's key player. Cumnor created far more chances will Will coolly slotting the winner.

The final was incredibly close with the Blues eventually winning 2 - 0 after a lovely volley from Will from Ben's deft cross and a great bullish charge from Alex. So congratulations to Lucas, Rory, Charlie, Alex, Ben and Will and commiserations to Harry, Harry, Toby, Michael, Finlay and Tom.

Well done to all, let's go one better than we did last season and win Grove.

Big Day Out Blues

Eventually, the pain will subside a little and we'll recognise certain truths:

1. It was a superb achievement to reach the Oxford Mail Cup Final.
2. The boys adapted well to the different systems we applied on the day.
3. No-one lost heart.
4. Ducklington set the standard for our age group in Oxfordshire.
5. Our time will come.

It was a strange old final. The 4-0 win was deserved but Cumnor played well and created chances especially in the first-half. But Ducklington's discipline, intensity, power, organisation and speed of thought and execution won through. There was little point trying to contain the League champions, we had to attack and an attacking three of Tom, Will and Nathan certainly asked questions. But we just lacked… something. It wasn't heart or desire… it was an ability to match them in the maelstrom in all areas of the pitch. There were some stand out Cumnor cameos: Joseph threw himself into every tackle, Fyn and Tom added pace and power up front, Will produced the outstanding moment of skill to bamboozle two defenders and create a chance, and Harry D made a series of superb saves… including a finger-tipped worldy. But it just wasn't to be.

We left the field bitterly disappointed but with our heads held high. Our challenge next season is to improve on our Cup and League finishes, work hard, push on and fulfil the true potential we have as a squad.

Player of the Week: Will and Harry, great performance on the big stage. Well done.

Cup Final Here We Come

On a beautiful spring day, on a relatively flat pitch, Cumnor showed the dedication and desire required to beat an excellent Kidlington side and make our first ever cup final. Let's repeat that line, our first ever CUP FINAL!

It was close, there were moments when we thought we'd come undone - especially when 2 - 1 up and every single outfield player deciding to charge up the pitch - but we held our nerve and took our chances. Nathan took his goal brilliantly, he had so much to do off the back of Adam's great pass. But he kept his head and gave us the lead. As for the Kidlington goal, nobody could have saved that - not even Harry who made one of the best saves of the season to keep us in the game. The second Cumnor goal was down to some smart work by Ben feeding the elusive Harry S who kept his nerve and bagged the winner.

Well done boys, well done indeed. The defence of Rory, Michael and Fyn looked rock solid. Joseph, Adam and Tom worked tirelessly. Ben and Will were everywhere (often at the same time!) and Finlay, Doddie and Harry did exactly what was asked of them. As did Toby and Charlie. And remember, we did this without Kyle who has been integral to how we want to play. Nathan too, just heroic up there on his own, running til he couldn't run anymore.

Now we've reached the final, let's win it. Let's show Ducklington exactly what Cumnor Minors U14s are all about.

Player of the Week: all of them

Cup Run Continues

A sublime display against a committed Goring side. Our return to The Closes saw Cumnor play a quick-passing, fluid game with four lovely goals including two smart finishes from Nathan and a brace of lovely strikes from Adam and Doddie. It was great to see everyone contributing so let's keep the momentum up and finish the season with a flourish.

Player of the Week: shared between Doddie and Finlay who both showed vision and creativity.

Harwell Heartache

We lost. Badly. Enough said.

Cup Run Goes On

A far more convincing performance form a Cumnor team determined to win the Oxford Mail U14 Cup.
With 15 boys to choose from we were keen to exploit this strength in depth and look at new combinations with Ben, Doddie and Fin playing three across midfield in front of Kyle and Joseph. We started with real fluidity and movement, using the strong wind to our advantage. Nathan threatened in the box and the solid back four of Michael, Fyn, Tom and Rory allowed the midfield five to press on.

We've tried to encourage the boys in training - mainly through playing two-touch football - to think faster and for themselves during play; to anticipate events and when an opening arises, get their shots away early. Ben responded in sublime style hitting a wonderful 25-yarder with his left foot straight into the top corner. He saw the opening for a second but trusted his ability to finish brilliantly from distance. 1 - 0. Doddie - again playing well out wide - put in some lovely corners allowing our aerial threat of Fyn and Tom to go close. We then made the first of our planned changes with key players Will and Adam joining the action. Will announced his arrival by clipping the bar from 30-yards out. Soon however, we were two up with a typically smart Nathan finish from a Fyn effort. 2 - 0.

Rory took a breather after struggling with the after effects of illness allowing Toby to bring his usual resilient self to proceedings. The ball was worked wide to Will who raced into the box, testing the keeper before knocking the rebound home for a fine solo effort. 3 - 0.

In the second-half, playing against the wind, Charlie came on to look after the excellent Oxford City winger. The wind made things difficult for us and the increasingly confident Harry in goal had to be very alert. Despite some strong defending, City got a deserved goal. We could have wobbled but Will took a quick free-kick to Adam who powered into the area before playing a beautifully weighted pass to Nathan for his second. 4 - 1.

Overall, comfortable winners. We could have scored more goals but the City keeper made some superb saves. The middle areas were a bit of a lottery with Kyle and Joseph grafting hard but we were deserved winners and happily took our place in the quarter-finals. We celebrated with delicious chocolate cake to mark Tom's 14th birthday.

Player of the Week: some tough tackling from Toby but pow was Ben for his superb goal and excellent distribution, tackling and awareness.

Cumnor Battle Through The Mud

A tough day indeed as Milton made Cumnor work almost as hard as the quagmire for the 4-0 win.

It was a mixed performance but important to remember how bad the mud was and, if you are a team who like to pass the ball, well it wasn't really our kind of conditions. We struggled with pace, passing and tempo in the first- half and didn't really create much, failing to get the ball wide to Harry S and Adam in the nicer areas. There was a decent penalty shout but we're not having much joy with refs.

In the second-half, we changed to a 3-5-3 and that extra body in midfield gave us more thrust. Fyn, playing in his old position of striker, launched a brilliant run that almost brought an opener. Nathan continued to work hard alongside him and Doddie was again full of sharpness and inventiveness. It was stand-in skipper Will, though, who fortuitously scored the opener after curling a cross in from wide left. Goal two came from Fyn as he found the right moment to break the defence.

Cumnor were cruising at this point and all boys were being used to ensure as much game time as possible. Harry D had little to do but remained sharp. In defence, Rory, Michael and Tom held a tight line whilst Ben was his ever busy self in midfield. Toby and Charlie also stepped in and did what was required. There could have been more goals with good opportunities for Doddie, Nathan, Fyn, Will and Ben thwarted by the keeper.

Two more goals followed each one set up expertly by Adam from corners. Will glanced one in and then Fin, leapt high and hard to smash one against the flailing keeper. Kyle stepped back in to close the game out and we were home and dry.

Overall, we'll take that. Moving on it would be good for us to react more quickly to events and start looking at quick corners, faster throw-ins, upping the intensity and seizing the initiative.

Player of the Week: in tough conditions, Rory was the stand out player.

Cup Collapse

A disappointing end to our Berks & Bucks Cup run as we went down 2-1 to a decidedly average Woodley Hammers. We should have won and would have won normally especially as we dominated in the second-half. But we fell asleep at a corner and leaked a goal. We hit the bar. We had two very good penalty shouts denied. It was just one of those days so we take it on the chin - and yes, we need to take defeat with good grace - and we move on.

Player of the Week: an accomplished display on the ball from Doddie who added real imagination and creativity to our attacking play.

New Year, Same Old Story

There's something about Ducklington we just can't handle. Our matches have a familiar pattern, we only really perform for one half. The same can be said of last Sunday although circumstances were very, very different. Earlier this season we were beaten in the first half. For the re-match we made the boys aware of the importance of going toe-to-toe with the league leaders and not letting them dominate. And we certainly achieved that. The boys, playing a new 4-3-3 system specifically employed for this game, were superb for the first 35 minutes. They did not give an inch. In fact, we were the stronger team. The second-half was a different story. The tight pitch, the mud, Ducklington's better fitness levels and perhaps their superior technique in trying conditions gave them the game. They were better in the second-half although we were unlucky to go behind to a flukey cross when the difficult wind pulled the ball away from both Harrys. The second goal, no complaints… it was a well-worked and well-taken effort. Ducklington deserved their 2-0 win but