Game 1 – Withdean vs Saltdean Utd Red

A strong start to the first game where the majority of our play took place in the opponents last third.  We came out and passed the ball well creating a couple of chances even before we opened the scoring.  The play got so condensed that it would prove difficult to pick through the Withdean box due to the sheer volume of players in the box. The opener eventually would come as Thomas caught onto a rebound and smashed the ball into the left hand corner of goal. We scored a quick second when the keeper cleared the ball a little erratically across the box and Aaron jumped onto the clearance and after one touch he passed the ball into the back of the net from 20 yards plus, a very accomplished finish indeed.

The game descended a little with the boys taking a few too many touches or just playing too close together that allowed the play to condense.  Chances continued to arrive, but a combinatation of poor final passing and too many touches prevented the boys from taking a more comfortable lead in the game. We would get our 3rd just before half time when Thomas finished a move from inside the box following more play in and around the Withdean penalty area.  This seemed to relax the players and we then went on to score the second best goal of the game as Bailey, Aaron, Thomas, Harry and Luke were all involved in a sweeping move forward. Bailey played the ball down the line to Aaron who took on his man before turning him inside and playing the ball into Harry just inside the penalty area.  He laid the ball back to Thomas who shaped to take a shot before twisting on the ball and laying in Luke on the edge of the area.  Luke took one touch before lashing the ball beyond the keeper at the far post.  A very good team goal in what was the final kick of the half.

Second half started with Aaron switching with Bailey to move back into defence from right midfield.  Bailey started very well setting up an immediate goal.  Again, Luke would be the finisher but it proved to be another decent team effort.  Tom broke up play and played the ball up to Harry.  He spotted Bailey running beyond the defender and laid the ball into his path.  Bailey cut the ball back to the penalty spot and Luke ran onto the ball and lashed it home.

This was the catalyst to relax the team.  The play was more relaxed, but we still struggled for fluidity with the play being too close together and not enough movement into space beyond the player holding the ball.  Or sixth would be the best goal of the game and came to a very deserving player.  It was very much a team effort.  Tom once again broke up play but this time played the ball into Thomas in midfield.  Rather than turn he laid the ball back to Aaron who passed the ball down the line for Luke who took one touch before splitting the defence with a trade mark cross field pass to the right wing.  Bailey took one touch before burying a shot beyond the keeper at the near post.  A tremendous team goal.

As our play became more fluid we did leave ourselves open as we focused more on attack which could prove costly against better teams.  With the midfield caught high, we tried to cut out a ball in a 2 v 2 and allowed the forward to turn our second last defender making a 2 v 1. The forward took the ball on and played himself into a super position before shooting beyond Kris in the far corner. Still, there would be time for one final effort to determine who would take home the golden shooter trophy and Thomas took the chance to shine.  He played a give and go with Luke to get into the box and rather than trying to lay off or take on that last defender he did what he does best, he just lashed the ball at goal.  Although the keeper made a great effort to stop the ball, the power of the shot almost took him into the net with the ball and Thomas would have his hat-trick to make it  7-1.

A good display from the boys, even if it was laboured at times.  To come away with a 7-1 victory and feel as though the team has underperformed a little by their own high standards is very encouraging.  The team has not really played consistently as a 7 since November and that does show, as the partnering is not quite there, too many touches here and there and not enough running beyond into space for the forward pass to penetrate all showed today, but when we did get it right it really was right.  Some quality goals were scored and the team play in general is strong.

As for man of the match Mr Adaptable will get the accolade.  Playing in defence in the first half he snuffed out everything and proved to be the springboard for our wide attacks by looking to play the ball out into channels for Luke and Aaron to attack.  In the second half he moved to right midfield and combined particularly well with Harry whilst closing everything down.  He scored for me the goal of the game and was at the heart of everything we did second half, including a great cross for Luke in the first minute of the second half.  Well done Bailey, a very solid display.

Withdean vs Saltdean Utd Stripes

We moved into a 3-2-1 formation for the second game which is one I have introduced since Christmas.  This formation had Kris on the right of the back 3, Ollie on the left and Jake the sweeper.  Instructions were for Kris to get forward on the overlap beyond Mason in right midfield with Ollie and Jake holding when we attacked the right side and Ollie overlapping beyond Bailey and Kris dropping back.  This formation has worked previously when Aaron has played left of the 3, so it would prove a formidable task for Ollie to step in and provide the mobility needed in a  back 3.  This formation is ideal preperation for 11 a side football as we teach the defenders to overlap, whilst keeping a decent shape in the middle. There is also accountability on communication and seeing the wider picture as the player decide who should go and when, whilst also ensuring that they look to see if the other wide defender has attacked the wing.  It took a while, but the boys eventually worked it, letting Kris be the more free player. 

We started slowly and Withdean had a couple of chances before a sweeping move started by Ollie playing the ball forward to Bailey created our first counter attack to show we could be potent with 3 defenders on the pitch. Ollie passed the ball down the line and Bailey turned inside to pass the ball to Tommy.  He then found Mason moving forward who shaped outside of his defender before cutting in and slapping the ball against the post. Shortly after Rylee made a super save with his feet to keep out the tall and dangerous Withdean midfielder. Heading towards half time as a stale mate another sweping attack saw the Tigers take the lead.  Kris played the ball down the left to Luke who had replaced Bailey.  He moved the ball to the back post for Mason to run on and hit the tarket with a great shot.  The keeper spilled and Tommy was on hand to stroke home.

Second half saw Kris being replaced by Thomas  and Ollie by William with the team going to a 2-3-1 formation. It was a tense half of football that could have gone either way to be honest.  Rylee proved to be a formidable barrier whenever the ball broke through our defensive line.  Making 3 fine saves in the second half to keep us in the game. We did have Rylee to thank as we appeared to be a little profligate in front of goal in the same way as we were in the first game.

Late into the game Aaron grabbed a couple of goals to finally settle the game. It was no more than our counter attacks had deserved.  Both goals were accomplished finishes from a distance, both htting the corner of the goal.  To be fair, Withdean deserved a goal in this game much more than they did in the first game, but it wouldn’t quite fall for them in the second half and our conter attacks were always causing problems.  Time was stil left for Tommy to smash the ball against the bar on the final whistle.

Man of the match second game is Rylee, a really accomplished performance in goal.

Well done to all involved today. More of the same next Saturday against Meridian.

Marle Place Wanderers vs Saltdean United Red

One thing is certain in life, everything must finish, the end is certain. The Tigers defending their unbeaten season long record would finally succumb in a game all too similar to one that we played last season against Lewes. Going into the game adaptability was the key as we tried a few different things out in order to try to develop wing back play. Therefore, we started the game with an unfamiliar 3 defenders, with the coach asking the two wing back defenders to try and push on to support the midfield and provide us with the width.  Given this is the first time the red team have tried this formation it worked reasonably well.  Harry moved back from his familiar striking role to the more difficult left-wing back slot whilst Bailey moved from the right-wing into a right-wing back slot.  Tom played as the last man.  We moved Aaron from defence into midfield and played Luke alongside Aaron in a narrow 2 man midfield.  Mason was draft in to play the lone striker role at the top of the triangle.

Wow, just by mentioning all those changes shows how much we were asking the boys to adapt.  With the exception of Kris in goal and Tom playing last man in defence all players were in an unfamiliar position.  The first few minutes probably belonged to Marle Place, with Tom taking a very well struck shot full in the face a few yards from goal to prevent a certain goal in what would turn out to be the hosts only effort on goal in the first half.  Like a reqal man, Tom carried on as though nothing had happened.

Thereafter for the remainder of the half we became accustomed to our new positions and really forced the pace of the game.  We really did put the hosts under pressure. Harry was becoming increasingly confident in his role and was having lots of the ball in a more defensive midfield position, and immediately slotted back when Bailey moved up on the right to support Aaron. For me the move of the game came through this combination pf players.  Bailey passed the ball out of defence to Harry.  He turned in centre midfield and slotted Aaron into plenty of space.  Heeding the coaches pre match instructions Mason spun off his defender to dart into the box.  With the space opening up Aaron passed the ball into the gap to play in our little forward.  Unfortunately, with the ball on his left side he could not control his shot and it slipped just wide of the keeper.

Next up we had Luke forcing the play down the left hand side following good work by Tom and Harry to release him.  Hitting a trade mark thumping effort off the left touch-line the ball fizzed past the goal.  The only real threat at this point that we had to deal with was the re-starts down the line, which we were dealing with comfortably. We were really pushing the Wanderers defence onto the back foot and more often than not Harry was able to pick up the loose pieces in midfield and start more attacks.  From one such break out of the box Harry ran onto a clearance and hit a superb right footed effort to the left hand side of the Wanderers goal, he really could not have hit the shot sweeter and as it headed to the top left hand corner the Marle Place keeper clawed the effort out and round the post. Shot of the game no doubt.

Next up we should really have known that today would not be our day.  Luke was fouled on the left hand channel after Tom and played him down the line.  Picking himself up Luke played a monster of a free kick to the back post and Aaron and Mason fought over the header, naturally Aaron won out, but the headed smacked the bar and bounced to safety. We were certainly the team on top at this stage.

Second half was a much more even affair. We had the chances to break through the Wanderers back line, but the outstretched leg of a defender would prevent the ball getting through to Mason or he would get through and be muscled out by the big Wanderers defenders.  Luke also had a couple of runs down the line but had his shot broken down.  Bailey was providing good support down the right and he was linking well with Aaron to try to get balls behind the deep-lying Wanderers defence into Mason. At the same time, the left side of midfield was were Wanderers were attacking so Bailey was also placed under pressure.  He held his ground superbly, but all our efforts were taking their toll and we were sitting deeper and deeper putting our defence under pressure.  Wanderers had one shot from the edge of the box that Kris tipped round the post, though it may nit have been going in.  Then from the resulting corner the ball dropped beyond Kris at the back post where Harry was on the line and he was able to clear.

From that point on the game looked to be petering out into an unusual 0-0 draw, however, in the last minute a long harmless ball from Wanderers into the corner was not called and the ball was cleared for a corner.  From the resulting corner the ball looped beyond Kris and was once again cleared by Harry.  He cleared his lines again, but the ball broke to a Wanderers forward and he lofted the ball beyond Kris and the desperate dive of Harry on the line. 1-0 to Wanderers with less than a minute remaining.  We still had the opportunity to get an equaliser when Luke broke down the left but once again was thwarted by the last ditch defensive challenge.

So it would be at the Sidney West Centre in Burgess Hill that we would concede defeat for the first time this season.  Like all good teams, we never gave up the ghost and caused our hosts a significant threat. It just wasn’t our day, but I learnt more about the team today than I did in any of the recent victories as we changed formations to see just how adaptable we could be.  Now I know, we have a bright future with players capable of playing in so many different positions.

Man of the match today is Bailey, a really powerful defensive performance and he linked really well with Aaron on the right hand side.  Well done Bailey, a great effort.

Marle Place Wanderers vs Saltdean Utd Stripes

We took the field with Kris, Jake and Tom in a back 3 with Rylee in goal behind them.  Luke was on the left of a two-man central midfield and Ross working the right side.  Tommy started as the spearhead in attack.  DO you really need to read the report, probably not, just read the one above.  We really forced the play, but chances in this game were harder to come by.  Ross was causing problems down the right, but we just couldn’t get the ball into Tommy quickly enough with cross field passes from deep.  A couple of longer range shots from Luke narrowly went wide, with Tommy sliding in on one.  Similarly,Rylee was forced into a really good save late in the half.  We seemed to be coping well defensively,  but as a result of that save we had a couple of corners to defend late in the half.  Disastrously on the second corner two of the three defenders turned their back on play as the Wanderers forward delivered a low corner to the near post and the winger nipped in to slip the ball beyond Rylee. Once again, we had conceded a goal very late in the half, and our play certainly didn’t deserve that.

Second half and Luke was replaced by Bailey, whilst Aaron came on for Tom.  Again, we pressed the play on our opponents, but once again chances were few and far between. Aaron was having a really good half  and in particular down the right side we were really causing problems winning lots of throws.  Tommy had one half chance early in the half, but the pacey Wanderers defender cut him out and then he found the side netting with a shot late in the half.  All that was left was for Wanderers to counter late on and hit Rylee one v one in the box.  Amazingly, and to his immense credit, Rylee stood tall, waited for the forward to commit and then dived down to snuff out the effort. 

This was to be the last effort of the day and we would lose two games on a weekend for the first time this season.  Man of the match for the second game is Jacob.  He stood up as the last man and snuffed out a number of Wanderers attacks on their infancy.  Well done Jacob.

On the whole, I am mightily pleased tonight as the team shows how adept it is when faced with significant structural changes to the make up of formations.  We have played different formations frequently, but never have we done so whilst making such significant changes to the personnel in the different positions.  Well done boys, you were unlucky today, but you did show exactly why you have remained unbeaten for such a long time, 14 games in fact.

Saltdean United Red vs Roffey Robins

The Red team look to continue their 2009 form into 2010 whereby they look to defend an undefeated start to the season and continue the form that saw a paltry 2 defeats in 2009.  We would defend the record against a team we had yet to really play, with our only other meeting in a 6 minute affair in Patcham at the tournament in August.  Starting brightly we would carve out an early chance when a long ball forward from Aaron beat the defender on the bounce and Bailey looked to capitalise on the right of the box, but the effort was well saved by the keeper.

We had started brightly and the first 10 minutes of the half would continue much in the same vein.  It took us a while to get the ball down and play with the early exchanges being the longer balls over the top to try to get Luke and Bailey in behind the defenders, but when we did get the ball moving on the floor we carved Robins open to create the opening goal.  Aaron took control of the ball on the left and played into Thomas in the centre, who took a touch and laid the ball forward to Harry.  He held the ball up despite the interests of two Roffey defenders and laid off to his left-wing runner, Luke, who took one touch into the box and lashed the ball to goal in his customary style. The two defenders tried to stop the ball getting through but the power was too much and the ball nestled in the back if the Robins net.

We continued to press on the edge of the opponents box, but we just couldn’t seem to get ball out of our feet and get shots off on the edge of the box, even though we had a number of opportunities to do so.  As the half moved into the last five we had to contend with a great deal of pressure from set plays as Roffey forced the Tigers into the corners as we moved deeper and they had a series of corners, about six or seven consecutively. We were dealing with each corner well, clearing the lines but we were deep.  I asked Harry to stay forward and with the half closing out the Roffey winger delivered a peach and the big defender outjumped all players to nod home, the one Harry had been marking. Sorry guys!

This gave us a boost for the last few in the half when Luke and Aaron picked up the pace.  Firstly Luke hammered one wide from the left then some superb play between Luke, Aaron and Thomas in which I counted at least four 1-2 passes in the middle of the pitch it opened up for Thomas but a combination of one touch too  many and a super challenge from the Robins midfielder thwarted Thomas’ effort.  As the half closed out the  ball was hit long out of defence by Roffey and Aaron slammed it straight back and with the Robins keeper not concentrating the ball nestled into the bottom left corner. We would take a 2-1 lead into the second half and we ha just shaded the half.

Second half and this time we really cam out of the blocks.  We were passing well and using the width superbly.  Bailey having his best game for a long time was constantly working the wing to create space for Luke to make his super crossfield balls. In fact, Harry, Luke, Thomas and Bailey were combining as well as they have for some weeks in forward positions and we had numerous opportunities to extend the lead, but once again seemed to become shot shy in front of goal.  The pressure from open play would tell however.  Luke was upended around 25 yards from goal and he duly stepped forward and slammed the ball home, another 25 plus yard free kick to his name, about the 4th this season at least. 

We then really put the visitors under pressure and forced them on to the back foot.  We were starting to really apply pressure and force the mistakes and one would bring the deserving fourth goal.  Thomas and Luke pushed on to their midfield player who passed the ball back to his keeper.  The Robins manager had asked beforehand play so that back passes would not be allowe so this gave us an indirect free kick inside the box.  It doesn’t take much coaching with these boys, even though we haven’t had indirect free kicks before and had not practised, Thomas just rolled the ball to the side and Luke blasted home beyond the seven Robins players stood on the goal line to give him a second successive hat-trick.

Complacency is one of the biggest enemies of any sportsman, you should never under-estimate the opponent and slow down. We did in the last ten minutes and allowed the corners to build and found ourselves on the back foot increasingly, as the visitors looked to fling everything our way to get a break.  We all knew that a Tigers goal would kill the game dead, but didn’t attack in the same way as we did in the opening 10 of the half and credit to Robins, they never gave up and grabbed a second with five or six minutes to play, and what a finish it was.  The ball was played long into the box and we struggled to get a good foot on the clearance.  For the only time in the game, the dangerous number 7 had found space away from Luke on the edge of the box and as the ball was laid back he placed an unstoppable effort into the top right corner of Kris’ goal. 

The opponents had the pace of the game now and we were struggling to get back to our early half pace which had so devastated Roffey earlier in the game.  A late injury to Aaron where he had to leave the field didn’t help the balance and Roffey would force a further late goal to really add pressure, the ball coming in from the right was allowed to bounce around in the box as we struggled to control the loose ball it was laid to the edge of the box.  The Robins player passed wide right and the ball across was turned home.  Game on now and we really needed to get that pace back.  Following the late Robins goal we would have no further threats to our back line when Bailey was asked to come back and replace Aaron in defence to shore things up. 

Again, another super performance by the Tigers to preserve that unbeaten run. Each and every player put heart and should into the performance and it was only when we went 4-1 up that we took our foot off the pedal to allow our opponents back in, with the exception of the last five in the first half. We have a team ethic of working hard and putting bodies on the way of shots that is so pleasing to see, they show team work beyond their years with courage to boot.  Man of the match today is Luke – he goes from strength to strength at the moment and is really in a rich vein of form. The Newman Shield is residing in his bedroom somewhere and it is for one of the other boys on the team to put in the same performance levels to wrench that shield from his grasp! Well done to all, and to Luke on yet another hatrick!!

Saltdean United Mix vs Roffey Robins

A back three to start with in this game and it seemed to pay off quite well early on.  We started as always on the front foot in the second game and  had a number of opportunities in the first 15 minutes of the game to get a lead.  We had corner after corner but just couldn’t get the final ball right.  Tommy had a really good snap shot on goal that the keeper fumbled and following that Thomas started to get exposed to the long ball as our players tired.  This is where the Roffey forward was immense.  He eventually opened the scoring with a wonderful individual effort when he beat a few defenders challenges on the edge of the box then wrong footed Thomas in goal to slot into the bottom left corner. Quite harsh on the hosts to be honest, but the forward for Roffey was starting to show really good touch to bring his team into the game.

Second half saw a number of changes for the Tigers.  Roffey starter the half the way they finished, on the front foot lead by the excellent forward player.  They grabbed the second goal of the game which probably killed the game. This time we were undone by our common enemy, the rebounded clearance. The ball was hooked clear but rebounded as too many defenders crowded the ball and he Roffey forward slammed the ball at goal.  Rylee did amazingly to save the initial effort, but the second ball was snapped up by another Robins forward to leave Rylee devastated having made such an astonishing save.  The same thing for the third, Rylee got down really well to stop a good shot from Roffey, but the forwards of Roffey were first to react and snapped up the opportunity.

We pulled together and grabbed a sensational goal when Kris played the ball down the line to Mason.  He received and turned in one on the right touch-line and penetrated the Roffey back line to make his way into the box. He looked inside as Tommy was lurking and the defender sniffed out the pass so he just touched it to the near post as the defender backed off and slammed it in at the near post.  A wonderful individual goal. Could we still make a fist of this?

Unfortunately, as the half wore on so did the weariness of the team. Once again, we found midfield taking positions well beyond our forward player which caused problems when it came to trying to get possession of the ball.  Playing this way means creates and inevitability that further goals would come and they duly did.  A goal kick was taken and the midfield had taken a position in the opponents half.  The ball had not gone beyond the half way line for some time so the Roffey midfielder picked up the clearance, drove at our defence and waiting for Ollie to commit.  When he did there was a free runner and he ran onto the pass to lift the ball over Rylee after he had made yet another wonderful save. We were tired. There was still time for Roffey to wrap things up with a 5th when the player of the day in the second team scored his 3rd, or may even have been his fourth when he was able to run in on goal from the right of midfield and place the ball into Rylee’s bottom left corner.

Man of the match today is Ollie.  He was run close, particularly by William who had a tremendous first half, but Ollie shaded it by virtue of the fact that he not only constantly blocked players, he also played intelligent passing down the channels to try and pick out forward players.  Well done Ollie.

On the back of another defeat in the second game I have decided to change the way we field teams going forward.  Please take a moment to review that news item. 

Well done to everyone today, we played well in spells in both games and also could have played better at times in both games. Effort and commitment is what football is all about, and with this, skill kills the games. We played a very confident team today who have only lost two games this season and this showed in the way they came back.  However, we showed the determination to hold onto our well fought for lead and deserved our win in the end.  Our visitors should be congratulated for their effort to make the game so close from what appeared to be an impossible position and should also be congratulated on a fine win in the second game.  A thoroughly entertaining way to spend a Sunday morning in the sun don’t you think.

Saltdean Utd Red vs Sovereign Saints White

A quick start out of the blocks for the Red team and we were working the wide areas straight away. Bailey was linking nice with Thomas and finding good space and playing Harry in between the two defenders and he in turn was finding Luke. From the start it was apparent the Saints keeper was in form snufiing out a very decent early effort from Bailey.  He was then tested in a different way when play was moved to the left wing and Luke was on a number of occasions able to beat his man and put in 4 super crosses in quick succession that we just could not manage to get on the end of, crosses of real quality just between the keeper and defender.  Luke then smacked the bar with an effort in the box, he was well on his game. 

It took a while but it had to come, the play had been pretty much concentrated in the Saints half for most of the opening quarter and we finaly managed the breakthrough our play had deserved. Aaron intercepted a Saints clearance deep in our half and dummied past the Saints forward to play the ball down the line to Luke. The Saints defender for once committed himself allowing Luke to control the ball and turn the defender to head towards the box.  He unleaseshed a shot on goal that the keeper could only parry and Harry was lurking like the poacher that he is to volley the parried shot home.

Shortly after we got the second goal our dominance had deserved when Thomas picked the ball off in midfield.  With his coach shouting for him to play the ball down the right channel to Bailey he completely ignored me and did a super Cruyff like turn to lose his marker and lay the ball to the onrushing Luke who took one touch before lashing home our second goal from the left hand edsge of the box beyond the Saints shot stopper.

Late in the half a long clearance was picked up by the Saints No 10 and he made the most of the hesitancy in our defence and lashed a shot to the far corner across Kris from the right hand side of the box. Kris was equal to the effort though and got a fingertip onto the shot which pushed it beyond the far post to safety to preserve our two goal lead.

Into the second half and the Tigers continued with the possession going forward but we did have to deal with much more potent counter attacks from the Saints.  We got the deserved third goal early in the half when Thomas looked to chip the ball to goal and the Saints defender handled.  Luke emphatically smashed the ball home, it was so hard I would have had to leave it.  A reminder as to how Ray Stewart (scroll down to the penalty king section of the article it mentions the Town’s Terry Butcher) used to take pens for West Ham in the 80′s. 

The three goal lead was shot lived when we conceded a goal similar to those conceded with Ratton before Xmas. Bringing the ball out of defence Thomas jinxed his way through numerous challenges to get deep into the Saints half, with Luke free on the right he played the ball to his right instead and the Saints hit us with a super counter.  The ball was played right and the midfielder picked out the overlapping winger who took one touch before squaring the ball. Our defenders on the back foot facing our own goal saw the ball slip into the box behind them and the Saints forward made no mistake from the left of the penalty spot to put the game back in the balance.

This led to some nervy moments at the back as Saints tried to force a way back into a game that should really have been beyond them.  Altough we had some scares the hope for the opponents was short lived as Thomas moved forward with the ball and this time made no mistake when he played a super through ball to Luke who smashed the ball home from just inside the box. Much of the late pressure was applied by the Tigers, bt the score remained at 4-1.

Man of the match for this game goes to Luke. A super hat-trick he was run close by Harry who laid the ball off superbly to create numerours chances for the midfield runs of Luke, Thomas and Bailey. It was Luke’s industry in working back that shaded the award this time , along with the fact he was involved in all four goals. Well done on the hat-trick and the man of the match this week Luke, you have been Mr Consistent from the first day you trained with the team. Keep it going.

Saltdean United Black vs Sovereign Saints White

A hard game to take really.  We had many many chances in the game and much of the play. Inexplicaby though we managed to lose heavily. Early chances fell to Mason and Ollie who shot narrowly wide but a long range clearance from midfield as a loose ball bounced in the midfield was lashed forward and bounced in the box to deceive our keeper meaining we were trailing in a game where we had not really had a shot to contend with.  We then fialed to clear our lines on several occasions and the Saints midfielder was able to walk through five challenges to slot the ball low to the left to make it 2-0 at half time. 

Into the second half and we once again started brightly before losing another goal on the break having had the lions share of possession. This time we were caught with too many men in forard positions exposing our defence and goalkeeper to forward play that would just pick out the spare man each time. We pulled one back when Aaron was introduced and he scored probably the goal of the day when he latched onto a forward pass from Mason after good battling from Tommy and Aaron then side footed the ball from the left hand corner of the box beyond the superb Saints keeper to give the game a little life.

We then conceded as the ball was cleared by our keeper only to see it come straight back from the Saints forwards sitting deep in our half.  A fifth was added when the Saints winger was able to forge forward and lay the ball across goal to the waiting centre forward to lash beyond Ross. In between all of this we were consistently working the Saints keeper, but he really was haviong a blinder saving point blank from Mason, Aaron, Tommy and Anton. The game was closer than it looked on paper. We conceded number six when we again lost shape at a goal kick and left the defence isolated with foru of our outfield players in the opposition half as we took a goal kick. A consolation was added by Tommy late in the half when the excellent Saints keeper could only parry a shot from Aaron and Tommy was on hand to slot home the re-bound.

Man of the match for the second game was Kristian, he performed solidly and distributed the ball well when in posession. Jake was a close second, but Kris read the danger well and only found it really difficult when left 4 v 2, as they were on a number of occasions.

A great day to get some football in and plenty for us to work on following our performances today. I will be looking into trying to hire some a al weather pitch in the coming weeks to see us through the frost and will post more on that later as I find out costings.

Ratton Rangers U9 vs Saltdean Utd Red U9

Cold, but sunny, yes sunny.  In case you hadn’t read that, it was sunny and dry and not called off.  Took a while for it to sink in, not literally thank god.  We warmed up and had to be called to the pitch by the ref, the teams were told there jobs as we set up and they did as they were told. 

In the first half we took the game to the hosts and really put them under pressure.  Recent games have seen us win as a result of our dominance from set plays, but Ratton limited the number of set plays we would be able to work in the first half.  We chose to use the other route and played the ball wide or down the channels were Harry was a wiling runner to pick up balls out from the wingers and lay inside for midfield runners.  Chances came, many chances.  Thomas had a couple of opportunities from crosses by Luke, but just side footed the ball wide.  When we did get through, the keeper managed to make many many saves. One of note from Harry and another from Luke (see picture gallery).  Luke hit the bar with a wonderful long range effort after seeing his initial free kick blocked by defenders. Yet, somehow we managed to get to half time without a lead.  It has to be said that Ratton defended manfully, they flung bodies into tackles and shots as though there life depended on it and their keeper was first class stopping so many shots, but it was still 0-0 and that gave them a chance.

Second half and we had more of the same, but this time the keeper made many more saves, or defenders got in the block to give us more corners. We were pushing for the gaol, but when 1v1 we took too many touches and the keeper was quick off his line and was able to snuff them out and dive at the feet of the runner, a very good goalkeeper we were up against today.  He made save after save.  Having had so many chances the inevitable happened.  Failing to clear the ball at the back we managed to concede a throw in without being under pressure. A ball into the feet of the forward seemed to have been dealt with when it broke off Thomas’ tackle to land at the feet of the Rangers winger.  He hit a cross that looped up off Luke and dropped to the back post taking out all our defenders and the Rangers forward lobbed it back over Kris to concede our first goal since September. To be honest, it was quite gutting to be losing this game having been so dominant and from the first shot on goal by our opponents some 30 minutes into the game.

Credit the boys though, the determination really came through, and this was a game against two very determined teams not willing to give an inch in tackles.  Aaron picked out a forward pass and laid a peach of a ball through to Thomas who managed to get a few yards in front of his marker and this time, rather than taking it right into the box as he had done the previous two times he hit the edge of the box and smashed it past the diving keeper to get us level, deservedly so.

But, we fell to the sucker.  Still celebrating the goal we were caught cold on the counter.  Whilst pushing for a winner the ball was cleared down the right line.  The right winger rode the tackle and with the ball sitting up from the clearance he hit a superb volley over Kris and into the back corner of the net.  Unbelievably we were 2-1 down having worked their keeper at least a dozen times and had at least another 7-8 shots narrowly miss the target whilst our opponents had a 100% record when getting shots on target. 

This didn’t seem to be our day, but this team refuses to lie down and lose without applying pressure to preserve unbeaten runs.  The pressure told and we managed to force 3 or 4 corners.  WIth a change of tack by looking for Luke rather than Thomas and having Bailey occupy defenders in different positions in front of their keeper we managed to score a deserved equaliser.  Bailey stood in front of the keeper and Thomas ran in from the back post to look for a short corner but Harry put the ball over and hit the penalty spot for Luke’s run in and he calmly side footed home from around the six yard box to preserve our unbeaten run.  We have power, we have width, we have the ability to pass the ball, we have solidity at the back, but most importantly we have passion and the desire to push our opponents right to the finishing line. 

At the end of the game we had another close fought game with the Rangers, but we really had the upper hand and should have comfortably won the game.  All the same, credit to our opponents. They hung in there as I would expect our team to do when under pressure and when the chances came they took those chances. They used set pieces to make the play up and keep in the game and it is a lesson that, no matter how dominant you are in a game if you fail to take your chances you will be punished.  Man of the match in the first game is Luke, his non stop running just about edged him above the other players in the red team, but this was a really close call.

Ratton Rangers vs Saltdean Utd Stripes

The late withdrawal of Rylee first thing Sunday left a hole on the left side of midfield.  So we went with Kris and Jake at the back, Ross on the right, Tommy in the middle and Luke left, whilst Mason would look to get behind the Rangers defence.  Taking the kick off we pushed forward but Rangers won the ball on the left and the left winger ran through our defence on the left and of their midfield and slammed home the opening goal in the opening minute and we were already up against it.

Shortly after we took the game by the scruff of the neck and Mason and Ross were the players to get us back into the game. Firstly the ball was played through from Kris for Mason to run onto and he calmly out paced the Rangers defender and slotted to the keepers right.  Then Ross caused problems down the right and hooked in a cross.  The defender looked to stop the cross but could only watch as it flew past his keeper to give us the lead.  Then  Ross caused more problems down the right and hooked in another superb cross to the back post and Luke nodded in the third to make it 3-1.  We then had a number of 1v1′s but the keeper stayed on his feet and kept the score down to 3-1.  As the half was closing Luke and Mason combined and played down the left.  Luke tried to play the ball into Mason in the box and the defenders hand came out just inside the box and Luke calmly stepped forward to slot the penalty.  To round off the half Luke picked up the ball on the edge of the box and lofted a brilliant left footed effort beyond the keeper into the top left hand corner of goal.  The Tigers would take a 5-1 lead into the second half.

Luke was replaced on the left by Aaron and we had much of the same.  Every time Rangers looked to get forward Kris and Jake snuffed out the danger in a dynamic two man defence.  Jake provided the cover and Kris timed his interventions perfectly when faced with 3v2 situations.  Kris held the play up to bring defensive midfielders into the game and provide the additional cover. He was a rock and his distribution was immense into the channels.  Aaron, Ross and Mason were able to feed off his distribution and set up further chances.  Tommy was the first on the score sheet second half. Numerous chances had come our way once again and then finally we had Tommy played in by Ross and he took one touch before slotting beyond the keeper.  Following that Aaron was running amok down the left whilst Ross was a little busier given that Rangers had brought on a winger from their first game so had to defend and support when he could.  He was having a blinder though and kept his discipline on the right and we were able to unlock Rangers on the left.  Aaron was played in by Kris on the left and he ran down the left and planted the ball in beyond the keeper to score his first goal for the Tigers as it bounced down off the bar and into the back of the Rangers net. 

Many a time we had 3v2 in the second half and perhaps the final ball could have been better.  7-1 was not flattering, we fully deserved the result and could have had more.  The Stripes all pulled together all the way through the team.  Man of the match really is not too hard. Every attack was snuffed out and the distribution just launched almost every attack we had. Kris had a blinder, stayed back to wait for the pass when ver run and allowing Jacob to clean up behind him or when they got into the edge of the box he just went in and took the ball.  A very confident performance.

Well done boys, a great day and some super football. Keep it up.

Game 1 – Saltdean United Red vs Withdean FC

In the first half we had the wind in our tails.  The wind was so strong though that it would be likely that a decent lead would be needed in order for the Reds to preserve their unbeaten record.  Ross started on the right with Bailey moving into defence to cover for Aaron, who had pushed into centre midfield in place of the injured Thomas.  From the start the pressure was on Withdean.  In the opening minutes Kris gathered a long through ball and launched the ball out of his hands into the opponents half. Harry took one touch to bring the ball down, another to turn with the third being a powerful right footed shot on the swivel that went into the left side net of the Withdean goal. 

Another chance presented itself when the ball was delivered from a throw in by Harry and Luke turned inside and shot across goal just missing the far right post this time.  Aaron then sent in a throw which bounced around in the box but Ross could not get the ball under control to get his shot off. Chances were there, but we were not taking them.  Harry hit the near post with one corner and delivered another right into the danger zone but the ball was moving so  much in the wind our boys struggled to follow the flight and often got caught under or too far away to connect with their headers.

At the same time, we were also getting caught with too many men forward or having two players chasing the same ball and Withdean were able to seize on these small errors and counter attack with numbers.  A couple of corners posed problems, but Kris was always alert when the ball fell through on most counters and picked up the through balls. 

Bailey was then moved into midfield and Aaron moved back to his trademark defensive position with five minutes remaining of the first half.  This proved a useful move as Aaron was able to use his pace to snuff out the counters and release balls wide into the channels for Ross, Luke and Bailey to feed off.  Harry was finding great space up front and was unfortunate on a couple of occasions when the passes were delayed slightly from the right side so the defenders were able to read the position and cut out the through ball.  A series of late corners finally got us the goal our pressure deserved.  Another super delivery from Harry to the near post caught the keeper out and he looked to push the ball away only for it to go through his hands and drop in at the back post. 1-0 to the Tigers and just in time.

Into the second half and we now knew that with the Force 8 in our faces we would face a stern test to hold onto our 1 goal lead.  As expected, there were early efforts at goal and lots of throws and corners piling on the pressure, but the half time talk had centred on keeping compact at the back leaving Harry on half way to chase down loose balls or hold up balls played forward out of the defensive third so we could counter hard in the space left behind him from the wings.  We weathered the early storm and then started to show our opponents that they could not throw everyone forward without thinking to protect their own goal.  The first counter came when the ball was played forward by Aaron down the right touch-line and Ross controlled on half way, played a simple five yard pass just inside to Bailey who then beat one of their two defenders and opened up their half.  He laid the ball forward to Harry on the charge who waited for the last man to commit and he slipped the ball left for Luke to run down the left.  He made his way to the edge of the box and hit a shot across the keeper only to see it go wide of goal.  A really good move.

We were still playing to our game plan and weathered most of what Withdean could throw at us.  A number of corners whizzed through, but they either could not get any connections or Kris was palming them away well.  Aaron and Tom were closing down every chance they could whilst Bailey, Ross and Luke worked exceptionally hard to create a defensive wall.  At the other end, Harry was chasing and battling hard for anything loose so that we could hold possession and he was doing this gamely. From one Withdean corner came another speedy counter.  Kris picked the ball up at his near post and Luke shot off from his defensive position ready to receive on the left wing.  Kris found him with a perfectly weighted kick and we had 2 on 1.  Luke moved down the wing and waited for the defender to move away from Harry before playing a great ball down the line picking out Harry’s crossfield run.  Harry controlled the ball on the right hand edge of the box and unleashed a rocket of a shot, but the keeper stood up brilliantly and was able to parry his shot high into the air and away from  goal.

Still Withdean came forward, taking more risks as the game wore on.  They finally managed to get into our box when our defenders were all sucked into the ball and they played square for one of their two unmarked forwards to hit a great shot to Kris’ right hand post, but he was more than equal to it and parried the ball wide to preserve our lead.  This was to be the last real chance of what was actually a good game of passing football in the circumstances.  Fair play to both teams for not launching balls forward when this would prove to be the easy option and for looking to try and counter the elements with short sharp passing.  Whilst this was not a vintage Saltdean performance, we did enough to grind out the result and still managed some sparkling passing moves when we did get our passing flowing.

Saltdean United Black vs Withdean FC

The second half started in a downpour.  The first chance fell to the visitors, but Rylee was out like a cat to smother the danger.  We were looking very dangerous on break though as Withdean committed players forward and Tommy almost played in Mason but the defender cut it out on the half way line when a 1v1 with the keeper would have loomed.  Tommy was causing a nuisance down the right and we were putting our opponents under pressure.  Five minutes in and Anton snatched onto a loose Withdean clearance near to the half way line and smashed the ball goalwards and was as stunned as most of the other players on the pitch when the ball flew over the keeper and dropped down into the Withdean goal. After another couple of minutes it was clear that the rain would not be easing off any and we decided to call it quits after 10 first half minutes. 

Man of the Match

So, difficult for man of the match today.  Given that we only played 10 minutes in the second game then I will need to pass on nominating the man of the match for this game.  For the first game it was very tough to choose.  I thought every player contributed in what was a very difficult game to play in given the conditions.  Kris showed exceptional handling, not letting anything out of his sight despite the wind, Tom and Aaron were strong at the back and they are forming a very intelligent defensive partnership. In midfield Bailey adapted well when asked to move from defence to take charge of the midfield and Ross ran himself into the ground to pick up those loose balls.  Luke worked the left flank well and set up a couple of opportunities.  Harry ran himself into the ground trying to get hold of forward balls coming at pace due to the wind in the first half and when he had to feed on less quality in the second half.  He also played intelligently enough to find good space in forward positions, even if we didn’t always find him. He continues to put in excellent delivery from those corners and deserved to be the player scoring the winner today. On reflection though, I think Tom deserves man of the match today.  With the strength of our forward play it is not too frequent that Tom will see a great deal of the ball.  However in the second half today with the wind in our faces he was always there on the cover making sure that if anything came through the midfield and beyond Aaron he would be in the right position to pick up the ball and clear the lines.  He provided excellent protection to Kris in goal and really deserves man of the match this week. Well done Tom.

Saltdean Utd U9 vs Rottingdean Village White U9

Coming into this game we knew it would be just as tough as our recent encounter with Ratton Rangers and we knew that all the players selected for this game would need to be on top of their game.  The boys did not disappoint.  The referee blew the whistle was blown and the boys on our side took their positions, whilst we waited for our opponents to line up we took the opportunity to pass the ball around in our positions and get that familiar passing feeling.

Following  a tense early start in which possession switched frequently, the Tigers started to take a grip on the game. In the most part the early exchanges took place in Rottingdean’s defensive half and we were finding a rhythm in passing the ball out wide.  Our opponents looked to have identified Luke as a danger man and looked to mark him closely, so Bailey was finding lots of space on the opposite side.  He used the space well being fed by the always effective Thomas and the ever growing Aaron in defence.  The first chance would come as a result of the space Bailey was afforded on the right.  Aaron broke the play in our defensive midfield and passed the ball to Luke who was making a run off the left touch-line.  Luke found Bailey in acres of space and he took one touch before hitting the ball across the keeper.  Harry connected on the far post a few yards out but couldn’t control the pace on the ball and his side foot effort flew over.

Shortly after Aaron laid the ball down the line to Bailey once more and his cross shot again found Harry in a great position at the back post but the stretch was too much and the ball skimmed wide off his studs.  We were dominating the exchanges at this point and Rottingdean were finding it difficult to get beyond the formidable Thomas in midfield and if it did break then Aaron was quick in the tackle in the knowledge Tom would be the covering defender making sure all was safe.

Mid way through the half we won a free kick.  Luke duly stepped forward and curled into the bottom left corner which the keeper did really well to turn onto the post and behind for a corner.  From the corner Harry delivered his trade mark bending kick and Thomas made the run only to get under the kick and head the ball over. Shortly after, a handball in a similar position to the previous free kick presented us with another opportunity.  Another super free kick by Luke saw the ball smash onto the post and Harry was quick onto the rebound and at first glance it appeared he had forced the ball beyond the diving keeper, but somehow he kept the effort out, even though the Saltdean fans were jumping in celebration.

Into the second half and we had a more resurgent and energised Rottingdean to deal with. Our midfield lost a little composure and allowed their midfield players to receive the ball in advancing positions and they were able to pressure Aaron and Tom when running with the ball. Aaron was superb in ensuring Tom kept his position as a recovering defender, blocking numerous efforts and snubbing out many forward passes.  At the same time, Luke hunkered down and showed his worth.  I will say it again, as I say in so many reports, Luke just epitomizes what is required.  Largely marked during open play when it came to turning and attacking his short passing game really came to the fore.  As he was not able to run with the ball he worked hard defensively to retrieve the ball on many left wing Rottingdean attacks and simply laid the ball off short and early or by coming inside and playing across the field for Bailey’s runs on the counter.  

After soaking up the pressure we finally started to get the ball back into the Rottingdean third, largely due to Aaron cutting out Rottingdean attacks at source and laying the ball forward for Thomas and Luke. It was also important at this time for the Tigers to hold the ball when in forward positions and Harry was really starting to get to grips with holding off the defender and laying the ball back, particularly down the left side.  The break would finally come from such a situation.  Tom came out to intercept a ball going into the box with his chest as it was breaking between him and two Rottingdean forwards.  Thomas picked up the ball gtom Tom in a deeper midfield position so had space to find Luke on the left.  Harry made a great run down the left channel to collect the ball from Luke and he laid the ball back to Luke on the edge of the box for another rasping effort from Luke which saw the keeper deny us by turning the ball round for a corner. The resultant corner saw Harry play with his Beckhamesque kick and Thomas timed his run perfectly to nod the ball into the right hand side of goal to give the Tigers a deserved lead.

Rottingdean had five minutes or so to get back into the game.  The Tigers continued to carry the threat wide, especially on the right, but they compacted to protect the goal.  There were balls played over to the edge of the box but Aaron and particularly Tom held their positions to snuff out the attacks.  In one final attack Tom was exposed 2 v 1 on the left hand side of the box and the Rottingdean forward hooked a shot across Kris, but it missed the back post.

Overall, a great performance from each and every player.  Man of the match was such a tough choice, but the coaches finally decided on Aaron who constantly broke up Rottingdean attacks and started so many of our own. He had a fantastic game of football, full of energy, skill, tackling and most importantly, listening to those around him.  He is a fabulous addition to our squad and he thoroughly deserved his man of the match award today.

Saltdean Utd StripesU9  vs Rottingdean Village White U9  

With the second game we would be expecting a similarly hard test from a well drilled Rottingdean outfit. Early exchanges were even with few chances being created.  Rottingdean had possession in more advanced areas of the pitch but our defence was holding firm.  As in so many games in recent weeks our downfall would be the lack of communication when the ball is there to be won.  When a ball was played into the edge of the box midway through the first half we had three players close by, but without the communication the ball was missed by the first player and broke through the defenders to the Rottingdean forward on the right of our box and he finished well to put the hosts ahead.

In the second half it would be similar to the first, with Rottingdean on the front foot.  A couple of early errors with marking saw the game go beyond us.  Firstly, when defending a free kick we left one to many a forward up front and with all our defenders marking Rottingdean hit the wide player who calmly controlled the ball and smashed hit hom at the near post.  Shortly after Rottingdean found space in midfield again and played the ball to their right-sided forward who slotted to the far post. 

A formation change stopped the confusion and we were finally able to get the ball into more positive positions and create chances to get in the game. Kris in midfield was starting to find Tommy and Mason in forward position but the ball did not break for us together our shots off. Luke was brough on for two minutes at the end in place of Ross who had worked his socks off on both wings and Luke forced a super save from the Rottingdean keeper late on when he smashed an effort goalwards.

It was not to be, we would finish the second game goalless and we would concede the second game 3-0.  In this game we were pretty sound defensively.   Man if the match was difficult, but Tommy was chosen due to his work rate in closing down the Rottingdean defenders and the fact he is now starting to find his team mates more frequently with passes.  He also listened to what the coach had to say.  Well done Tommy.

A free week next Sunday, but see you all for the last Thursday evening training session this week.

A midday kick off today for the Tigers as they took on Withdean Youth in the first fixture between the two sides at Patcham Place in Brighton. The team lined up the same way as the one that took to the field in the second half in the recent 3-0 victory over Patcham.

In much the same way as we finished against Patcham we immediately pressed the opposition and forced the opposition to give away throw ins or corners.  From an early Withdean Youth throw in we won the ball back on the right of midfield and Bailey played the ball inside to Thomas who left the keeper with no chance following a hammer of a shot from the box.  Chances came and went and the Withdean keeper was on top form and kept the Tigers at bay for a long spell in the first half.  We would finally get our second when Luke found space in the box and scored a low a shot from inside the box, finding the corner after good link up play with Thomas.  We then had a series of corners where we may have scored following a couple of super deliveries from Harry.  Our third goal did come courtesy of a great header from Luke following another great corner from Harry.  Luke then completed his early hat-trick following good play down the left.  Picking the ball up in a deep midfield area Thomas pressed forward and released the ball forward for Harry, who held off his man in the left channel and rolled the ball across for Luke to get forward into the box and finish with a great shot to the keepers left hand corner.

Further chances came the way of the Tigers with Bailey missing out from inside the box and then another Bailey effort being pounced on by Harry but hitting the bar and going over.  Another super corner from Harry saw Thomas head over before another corner caused problems and the Withdean defender, under pressure, pushed the ball back into his own net.  The closing action of the half saw Thomas find the net from inside the box from another dangerous corner that Withdean failed to clear.

Into the second half and the coaches asked the boys to try and play the way they were facing more and spin off the passes they made to create more positive possession in the opposition third. This took a while to come through, but we eventually started to get the ball forward in this way as the half progressed.  Aaron and Tom were always looking for passes back from the midfielders.  We would finally get our seventh goal when we played the ball wide from Aaron to Luke in the left channel and the ball was laid across the box for Thomas to come through and score to the keepers left.  

More pressing, particularly down the right and Harry and Bailey could both have got on the score sheet.  Then a super move sweeping from left to right would give Bailey his goal.  Luke played the ball inside for Thomas who was quick to see the movement ahead and he played the ball forward to Harry. He laid the ball back to Luke who then switched play like only he can playing in Bailey at  on the back post following his run from the right channel. He connected well like previously, but this time heeded the coach’s words and kept the ball low and hard resulting in a well deserved goal.

Harry then had a double cause for celebration.  The ball made its way forward on the bounce and, with his back to goal he turned on a swivel and volleyed the ball past the keeper from the edge of the box, a super volleyed finish. In the very next attack the ball broke from the kick off and Luke hit the ball in from the left wing channel, but the keeper foiled his effort.  He could not hold the ball though and both Harry and Bailey were like vultures in tbe box looking for something to feed on.  Harry was closest and he hammered the ball home from a few yards out. Following the next kick off Luke broke up the play and laid the ball back to Aaron; he moved forward down the left and played the ball in from the left channel.  The defender got a block, but Luke was on hand to hit an unstoppable volley beyond the keeper, another super volley to accompany Harry’s earlier swivel. Our final goal would come from a well known source.  A corner from Harry broke for Thomas to hit the ball home from the outside of the box.

All square on the scoring front, Luke with 4 and Thomas with 4, so a penalty shoot out will award the scoring trophy this week (see below).  Man of the Match this week though goes to Harry.  We basically looked as though we would score every time we had a corner.  The pressure we placed Withdean under at each corner was immense.  On top of that, his distribution with his back to goal was immense.  Harry get’s the MOM this week.

Withdean Youth U9 vs Saltdean Utd Black U9

Early efforts came from Withdean, who played a similar team to the first game, but Ross kept them out in goal.  Then Mason got in front of his defender on a long clearance but the WIthdean keeper kept out the ball.  Simeon in midfield had a storming first half and broke up many a forward break early in so we could counter down the wing. One such ball forward into the channel was chased down by Mason and a very cheeky and superb back heel from Mason found Rylee on the right hand side of the box.  He squared the ball for Simeon, who then took a quick touch and laid the ball for Ollie inside the box and Ollie made no mistake as he slotted beyond the keeper’s left. Within a few minutes we would get our second when Rylee won the ball centrally and laid the ball across to Ollie.  He then played a great ball into the right channel and Mason did the rest, taking on his man and finishing wit his second touch.

Into the second half and Simeon made way for Kristian in midfield, Rylee took over from Ross in goal and Ross took the right hand side.  Finally, Tommy came on for Mason to take the forward berth. The half started really well and would show how we would be looking to take this game to the opponents. Ross took the ball down the right and whipped in a great ball that Tommy, Kris and Ollie all missed by a whisker.  We also wrapped up midfield with Kris winning all the balls in midfield and playing intelligently out to wide positions or up to Tommy.  We had numerous efforts on goal in the second game and Lee and Anton ensure were would be able to move out from the back by playing balls into wider positions.  Surprisingly, we could not put the game to bed, despite having efforts from Kris, Tommy and Ollie.  Perhaps tired from the effort put in we allowed one simple ball from right full back position to get through three clearing efforts and the ball broke off a clearance at the back to leave Rylee stranded on his own against the Withdean forward who made no mistake with a few minutes to go.  Even with this, we still had a couple of other chances to extend the lead, with Tommy producing great footwork to play on Ross, but we could not find the killer touch as we looked to pass the ball home.

It all ended with a 2-1 win the Saltdean Black.  A great effort that didn’t reflect in the shoreline, the boys played super football, particularly in the first half when we played the ball intelligently beyond the advancing defenders. Mason gets MOM this week for his effort and endeavour. His lay off for the first goal by playing a back heel to Rylee was the highlight of this game and it’s great this move resulted in our first goal. Well done Mason!

A good day for the Tigers and good preparation for the battles ahead.  It’s important to be able to pass the ball effectively and both teams were able to get on and pass the ball between themselves both into forward positions and playing back to spin off their player and create space behind in the channels.  Well done boys.

Saltdean Utd Red U9 vs Rottingdean Village Blue U9

With the news that both Thomas and Jack would not make this game we draft in Tom into centre defence alongside Bailey and brought in Aaron for his debut in centre midfield to replace Jack.  A quick start by the Tigers had the visitors on the back foot and it would not be long before Luke would make his mark on the game.  A ball down the left hand touch line from Aaron played Luke into space and he cut inside the defender before unleashing a leathel left foot shot across the keeper into the far corner.  With the next attack we found ourselves two goals to the good. Luke and Aaron put pressure on the Rottingdean midfield and gained possession.  The ball was played by Luke to Harry just inside the box on the left hand side and Harry took one touch before clipping the ball with the outside of his right foot between the keeper and the defender (see picture in gallery) to make it 2-0 with only a few minutes on the board.

The game took on a more even keel following the early goals, but chances still came the way of the Tigers in the first half, but we failed to take the opportunities. As a result, late in the half Rottingdean would find a way back into the game.  A long throw from the right touchline was not defended and the ball bounced into our area from a throw in and the Rottingdean defender up for the throw was able to nod the ball past Kristian to make it 2-1.

The second half saw more pressure from the Tigers. Most notably with Harry hitting the bar from a corner and another through ball from Harry to Luke being pulled back, literally by the Rottingdean defender on the blind side of the ref.  Mason was introduced for Aaron who had a storming debut and Mason immediately tried to repeat his effort in the tournament.  He made a run on the back of a great pass through to him on the half way and knocked the ball beyond the defender.  He advanced into the box and hit a sweet shot across the keeper, but the goalie was up for it and palmed the ball round the post.

Rottingdean always looked dangerous from their throws and it was from another throw that they would get a late equaliser.  Having come under immense pressure from throws the previous week against Ratton we seemed to have got to grips with the long throw from Rottingdean. Having conceded to their early throw each time they got a throw after that we positioned well and took positions goal side beyond the near post.  For once, however, the ball cleared Luke and we did not pick up the second ball and the Rottingdean player nodded home his teams second.  It was 2-2 against the run of play with only a few minutes to play.

We were not to be outdone though, we had dominated in terms of chances and failed to take the upper hand.  However, we saved the best to last.  Tom broke up the play at the back and fed the ball to Bailey on the right of defence. He played the ball down the line to Ross who looked inside to Mason.  With his back to goal Mason took heed of the recent coaching sessions and laid the ball back a few paces to Harry.  First time Harry played the ball through the gap between two defender to play Luke in on the left channel.  Luke carried the ball beyond the defender and smashed the ball across the keeper into the goal.  A super team goal to seal a deserved win.

For man of the match we had a number of players in line.  Harry had a great game up front and played in the wingers and the midfielders and adapting late on to play in midfield. Luke was his usual industrious self  and scored two wonderful goals.  Aaron had a great debut in midfield in place of Thomas so we had plenty of positives. Kris made no mistakes in goal and Tom covered exceptionally.  It was the cover by Tom that allowed Bailey to come out of defence and play the ball forward with precision and find our counter attacks.  He also made sure that Tom only had to cover on very few occasions, as he bossed defence. Without a shadow of a doubt Bailey deserves the man of match award.  Well done Bailey.

Saltdean Utd Stripes vs Rottingdean Village Blue

Into the second game and we would have a change of personnel  in all but one position on the pitch.  We would be playing pretty much the same team as finished our first game, as Rottingdean were short this week.  Early exchanges were close, but it would not be long before we would find space wide.  A ball in from Kris was  narrowly missed by Tommy and Mason would also have an early opportunity.  Bailey beat his defender and fired in on goal.

The goal was coming and it was a result of an unlikely source.  Kris took a long goal  kick and the ball bounced through midfield past both Bailey and Tommy and deceiving the defender.  Mason picked up the ball and let it roll past himself before accelerating beyond the defender and dispatching a calm finish inside the box beyond the keeper to get the goal he so deserved on the day.

Late in the half we won a free kick 20 yards out, certainly in Luke territory.  But Luke was on the side not playing in this team so up stepped Kristian to smash in a storming shot that the keeper did well to palm onto the post.  Bailey was sniffing but the defender got his head to loop the ball off the line.  Fortunately for the Tigers Tommy had heeded the words of the coach and held his position on the edge of the box and as the ball looped out from the goal line clearance he was able to run in and attack the ball to score a fine header.  That was how it would finish in the first half and the very effective Bailey made way for Luke.

Making an instant impact Luke Mason and Kristian combined very effectively to cut through the opponents and get into the box.  Mason eventually made way for Harry to go up front and, with the Tigers dominant on the counter Harry and Luke had a couple of close one on ones following great balls forward by Kristian.  Another super ball forward by Kristian resulted in a deserved third when Harry took one touch on a through ball to get into the box then calmly slip the ball beyond the keeper .

At 3=0 we would have a couple of scares.  A late free kick 20 yards out put Kris and Tommy in front of the hard hitting Rottingdean defender who slammed the ball at goal only for them both to stand tall and let the ball smash off them so we could launch a counter attack.  Following that, all that was left was for the day to finish with a super goal from the Rottingdean player who had showed most all day.  Their No 9 picked the ball up in his own half and took the ball beyond Luke to accelerate down the right wing.  He was given space to head into the box and unopposed he slotted the ball beyond Reilly to peg one back.

A fine performance this time out for the Stripes, much improved on the Peacehaven game. For man of the match it really falls to one person, he set one up from a long goal kick, he set another up with a smasher of a free kick that the keeper parried back out via the cross bar, he played some fine balls into space from the right channel into Harry from which Harry was able to convert one and he blocked out a thunderous free kick alongside Tommy. Kristian gets Man of the Match for the second game this week. Well done Kris.

Our game next week is on Saturday at 1oam in Patcham, see main news section for more.  Pictures can be found on the Picture Gallery of the Under 9’s section of the site.

Game 1

Previous experience told me this would be a physical, fast paced encounter between two evenly matched quality football teams and I was not disappointed. An eerie silence fell over the Oval as the teams lined up to kick off.  We started with Jack out on the right, whilst Bailey and Harry took up the defensive slots as we kicked into the wind. Out left we had Luke and the irrepressible Thomas working the midfield.  Mason started up top.

The early possession was difficult to maintain, with both teams matching each other in each department.  Rangers had the first effort as their dangerous No 10 flashed a shot just wide of Kris’ left hand upright early doors.  following this,  it was clear that width would again be the area that the Tigers would get most joy and in the early exchanges Luke found Mason who shot wide.  Luke then moved down the left wing and fired over a cross but the box was full of Ratton defenders who cleared easy.  The dangerous Ratton number 10 tried a speculative effort from distance that easily cleared Kris’ crossbar.

Territorially, with the wind in our faces we did well to hold off Ratton and managed to force a series of corners midway through the half.  Dangerous delivery again nearly resulted in a Tigers goal as the ball bobbled in and around the Rangers box.  From one such corner Rangers would break and the course of the half would change.  The dangerous number 10 picked up the ball on their left wing and attacked our right winger. A piece of skill brought a free kick.  The Tigers afforded him time to place the ball and pick his spot, and he smashed home a super 20 yard free kick from the left wing.  We found ourselves 1-0 down midway through the half.

With the wind at their tails the Rangers attacks were then frequent from a buoyed Rangers side. Although chances were few and far between, the attacks forced our defensive clearances deeper and deeper.  Kristian had an amazing half sweeping up anything that came though and releasing the pressure so that we could hold our own. Tackling was still as fierce as anything on both sides and there was no quarter unchallenged on either side.  Following some good goalkeeping collections to avert the danger of the longer ball, the first half ended at 1-0 and we would now have the opportunity to try and put our opponents to the sword again with the wind behind us in the second half.

A couple of changes were made in the second half with Harry moving up front in place of the substituted Mason, Jack moving from right midfield to take up the covering defensive position and Ross taking the right wing slot. This brought us more width on the right and provided better balance for what we hoped would be a good half of purposeful attacking football.

The early chance fell to Rangers when there was a mix up between Kris and Bailey that allowed the Rangers No 10 a free shot five yards from goal on the right hand side of the box. Amazingly, he fluffed the chance and put the ball wide. This was the only mistake Bailey and Kris would make, as every Rangers attack was broken up either by Bailey intercepting and moving the ball on or Kris collecting and getting our attacks started.  If memory serves me right that open goal was to be the last clear cut Rangers chance as the Tigers upped their game and spread the play well by applying graft and craft to find spaces out wide, particularly on the right wing..

Much of the work was being put in by Luke and Thomas in midfield to break up any possible attack and with Ross’ movement on the right we always had space to play into.  Also with Luke playing deeper on the left Harry had a very important role of working hard in the left channel to create the space infield for Thomas and Luke to prosper.

The ball was played down the line five minutes or so into the half and Harry invited the challenge and won a free kick in a similar position to the Rangers kick first half.  Luke placed the ball and delivered a trademark hammer to the near post which slammed into goal. We were back on terms.

We continued to press, as did Rangers to be fair, in what was a really enthralling final 10 minutes.  A number of chances fell to the Tigers in that spell.  Luke fired in a stinger of a shot from a central position which the keeper could only parry at his far post, Harry pounced but from nowhere a Rangers defender took everything to prevent the goal, including his own goal keeper. The most remarkable thing about this clearance was the fact that Harry had hammered the ball from only 3 yards out yet he managed to get across and clear the ball, and all men in the way.  A remarkable clearance and speaking as a defender it is hoped that will remain with him for a long time, great stuff.

Further chances would come and go.  A series of corners late in the half resulted in Thomas connecting but not directing an header on goal and another Thomas header falling to Luke at the back post but the defenders and keeper keeping 3 consecutive narrow angled shots out from Luke, with the help of the woodwork on a couple of those occasions.

To be fair, it wouldn’t have been fair to have a winner today.  Each team put everything into the game and it was very even in the middle of the park. In terms of chances I would say we had the more clear cut chances once we’d forced the equaliser and could, maybe even should have gone onto win the game. At the same time though Rangers applied significant first half pressure and perhaps should have got the all important second goal in the game that may have put paid to our spirited second half performance.  A wonderful spectacle for all those on the side, I want to just congratulate all those that played.

Each player on the team deserves a mention.  Kristian was only beaten by a first calss unstoppable strike, everything else he cleaned up and provided the confidence to those in front that nothing would get through. Harry and Bailey at the back in the first half stood up to major pressure and they worked so hard together.  Those watching will relate to the fact that whenever Bailey attacked the ball Harry stood in a covering position and whenever Bailey attacked Harry did likewise.  When Jack moved back there second half he pushed onto the danger player making sure we always had cover whilst Bailey just ran the show from the back, not just clearing his lines, but always looking for the ball out to make the counter attack.  Thomas and Luke were the real engine of the side, providing ok the protection for the defenders whilst creating chances with their craft. Ross found good wide positions second half and created the space that allowed Luke and Thomas to break forward into the box.  Mason ran behind the defenders in the first half and made sure they couldn’t settle and in the second half Harry gave us options further forward by holding the ball in the channels and playing in the midfielders.

Man of the Match this week, can’t choose between them. Back to front all were marvellous.  Well done boys, the team as a whole wins Man of the Match (a cop out I know, but could anyone choose?). Pictures will be posted this week.

Game 2

Report to follow later in the week – 3-0 win to Rangers, but closer than it sounded with our first half efforts unrewarded and 3 late strikes being our undoing!