Honours Even At Foggy Bampton

Sleepovers, mist, goal-line clearances, fightbacks and great goals.... it was all going on at Bampton.

Match One
With the teams mixed up, it was time for the U8s to experiment with some new combinations. In the first game, Henry M went in goal with Ben C & Henry S at the back. Rory pushed up into central midfield to partner Ben Mc with Will and James S out wide. Ollie was given the starting striker slot.

It's fair to say that Cumnor got off to a slow start despite Ollie hitting the post after some great work by Ben Mc. Bampton were tough to break down, keeping three defenders back and relying on some excellent counter attacking. They deservedly scored the opening goal and Cumnor were obviously shaken. Henry made some brave saves but minutes later, we were 2-0 down. Ollie and Will linked well to put Rory through who shot wide. With seconds to go before half-time, the clever Bampton 8 bagged his third of the match to leave Cumnor with an uphill task in the second half.

The coaches knew Cumnor had it in them to get back in the game; we just needed to concentrate, call, pass.... and put Rory in defence. And, as in previous matches, Rory took the danger man out of the game. Our midfield started linking well and we suddenly got in the game. Great work from Ollie in the tackle set Will up at the edge of the box who scored in the left-hand corner. Game on. Cumnor started to dominate and more goals looked likely. Good Bampton defending kept us at bay. Eventually, more Cumnor pressure forced a corner which Ben C managed to curl into the the top left hand corner. Brilliant. With the clock ticking down and the ball zipping up and down the field, Bampton were through before Will put in a last minute tackle. Henry S made another surging run and it seemed that we might get the draw. We didn't. Never mind; it was a superb second-half performance with lots of guts and energy and the coaches were delighted with the way the boys dug in and fought back.

Match Two
Different combinations for the second match with Edward in goal, Adam W & Toby in defence, Laurie, James E, Fyn and Binky in midfield and Adam M up front.

Cumnor dominated from the start and put in an excellent team performance. A quick breakaway saw Adam M's shot fall to the ever dangerous Fyn whose own shot hit the post. Laurie played possibly his best game for Cumnor, running hard down the wing, threading lovely passes through to Adam and man-marking his opposite number out of the game. However, Cumnor weren't having it all their own way and Edward was forced to make a brilliant save, flinging himself full stretch to the right to tip the ball over the bar.

James E - playing at his best in central midfield - started to run the game. His vision, tenacity and passing was exceptional. And with Toby and Adam W forming a strong defensive partnership behind him, Cumnor had great shape. The first goal however, fell to guess who? Fyn. Picking up a quick throw from Laurie, Fyn kept his nerve and slipped the ball past the goalie. Cumnor almost strecthed their lead just before half-time when James E hit a shot from close to the half-way line.

In the second-half, Henry M came on for Adam W and Adam M was given 7 minutes to score. He was unlucky not to. Toby was becoming more influential with his tackling and passing and was itching to be set free up front. With both teams going close, and Binky and Laurie dangerous out wide, Cumnor moved into top gear. Adam M & Toby swapped and Adam made some crunching tackles which stopped Bampton in their tracks. Toby then picked up the ball on the edge of the Cumnor area, powered through the midfield, passed to Fyn who had the awareness to pick out Toby's run, who finished the move in style. A fantastic goal. 2-0.

Bampton weren't finished. Edward, Henry and Fyn combined to make some goal-line clearances. With the seconds running out, Fyn capped another superb performance with another beautifully taken goal. Well done.

So, lots of good things. A couple of bad things to work on in training. Many names figured for player of the week but in the end, it went to our midfield maestro, James E.