A very busy weekend for the Under 6's with 3 friendly training matches being played at home against a very talented and very organised Bryon Redstar. The weather had changed significantly from the nice sunny day we enjoyed only a day earlier during training and instead it felt like the boys were battling gale force winds at times. As previously explained on the blog the coaches have decided to mix the teams around a bit to ensure that all players get some match time and also to try out different team configurations and positions ahead of joining the league this September. We would like to remind all parents that we are not operating an A, B and C team so please do not be concerned if your child is playing with different team members one week. Today I think we fielded 3 equally strong teams and overall played some good football. The positional play was definitely improved from last weeks games but clearly we still have a lot of things to work on.
Also we recognise that parents were not made aware of the team their children were playing in today and what sponsored kit they needed to wear which appeared to cause some confusion. This is a lesson learnt by the coaches and we need to communicate this better for future games so that the kids know exactly when they are playing and who they are playing with. Today was the first time we have fielded 3 teams in one fixture and subsequently the first time we have had to organise 3 sets of kits etc. On the subject of kits, can anyone who took home one of the football shirts after today's game please return it at next weeks training session. Please keep the socks and shorts.
So the first team to play today were team Serendipity which consisted of Mason, Ellis, Lenny, Joe, Sam and George. The boys played a very hard thought game against the Redstars strongest team and ended up losing 3 : 1. The boys were certainly not out classed and Joe's goal was pretty spectacular.
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| Team Serendipity L-R : Mason, Ellis, Lenny Joe, Samuel and George. |
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| Man of the Match for team Serendipity went to Lenny. |
The second team we fielded today for Team Sigma was Alfie, Charlie, Alex, Ryan, Ethan and Max. A very tight match here which ended with a 1:1 draw with our only goal coming from Alex. Max had a storming game in goal and earned a very well deserved Man of the Match award.
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| Team Sigma L-R : Alfie, Charlie, Alex, Ryan, Ethan and Max. |
A special mention needs to be made to Roy Bush who is a qualified referee and kindly volunteered to referee all of today's training games. He did an outstanding job as referee keeping the games flowing and very fair. Even Roy commented on how well all the kids done and that he thoroughly enjoyed refereeing them.
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| Charlie and Alfie teaming up in defence. |
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| Another solid save from Max as he throws himself over the ball. |
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| Alex, Charlie and Ethan in action as a high ball is played in. |
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| Max keeping an eye on the action from the goal. |
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| Charlie and Ryan getting back to defend. |
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| A moment Max will want to forget as this was the shot that slipped past him. |
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| Ryan in action taking a corner. |
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| Another corner from Alfie as Forest Glade repeatedly attack the oppositions goal. |
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| And then Ethan's turn to try and set up a goal from a corner. |
Forest Glade had their biggest chance to seal the game with a penalty kick late in the second half. Alex stepped up to the plate and I think for the first time ever he completely missed the goal even though he strikes the ball very cleanly. Don't worry Alex we have all done it at some point! An hour of penalty kicks for you next week (only kidding).
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| Alex strikes the ball cleanly but misses the target. |
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| Man of the Match was Max after a very solid game on goal. |
The third and final team fielded by the Forest Glade Under 6's today was Team GMB which consisted of Jake, Jamie, Lorne, Ryan, Darcy, Joshua and Owen. This match was a very close and very entertaining game to watch. The end result was a very close 3:2 loss which could have easily been the other way around. Darcy played in goal for the first half and Jamie took the goal for the second half, both did very good jobs and made many good saves. Our two goals came from a penalty kick taken by Darcy and a good break off, run and shoot from Joshua. Man of the Match for this game went to Darcy who played very well both in goal in the first half and outfield in the second half, great penalty as well.
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| Team GMB L-R : Jake, Jamie, Lorne, Reily, Darcy, Joshua and Owen. |
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| Joshua and Jake get things started with the centre kick. |
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| Reily getting stuck into the game. |
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| Josh going head to head with someone from the opposing team with Lorne and Reily in support. |
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| Jamie and Jake trying to fend off 4 of the Bryon Redstars. |
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| Jamie launches a throw from goal out wide to Jake. |
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| Darcy, Lorne and Jake race back to defend as Owen takes a quick nap on the ground! |
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| Then Owen is back on his feet and fending off the opposition. |
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| Forest Glade on the attack with force in numbers. |
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| Darcy strikes and amazing penalty kick (watch and learn Alex!). |
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| Joshua goes on a charge up field for his goal, if only his finish was better he could have had a hatrick today. |
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| Jake takes a shot on goal. |
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Man of the Match for team GMB was Darcy for outstanding play in goal and outfield.
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Well done to all the players today, this is all good experience before entering the league this September. Another busy weekend next week with games against Hullbridge and Mornington Boys.
