Saturday 6th May 2006The Hills B 3 vs. Wootton Rangers 0
Although Wootton statred the brighter, The Hills had two chances to take the lead in the first quarter. First of all Callum in The Hills goal played the ball to Tarik who played Dale in on goal however his effort was foiled by the Wootton goalkeeper. Then Harry had a good shot well saved.
Increasingly Harry became an influential figure with his non-stop running and strong tackling. It was his throw down the line to Tarik which led to the first goal. Tarik turned with the ball, took on the Wootton defence and from an acute angle and more or less with the outside of his right foot, hammered the ball home.
Having sat out the 2nd quarter, Dale returned to the team with renewed focus in the third and went on a run from his own half, knocking the ball past the defender, outsprinting him and coolly slotting the ball into the corner of the net for 2-0. A minute later he went on a battling run from which he was unlucky not to set up our third goal.
Jonathan was having a quiet time but made a few good, strong tackles. Daniel took a nasty blow to his face from the ball and having taken time out to check his looks were still intact (and to stem the flow of blood from his nose) he returned to the fray like a 'man on a mission.' We saw the dawning of a new era with Daniel. He put himself about to great effect - making strong tackles, good passes and making battling runs into the opponent's penalty area.
With one quality pass he set-up Dale however his shot was well-saved and then in the 4th quarter he took responsibility for taking a corner (whilst Harry was off the field with an injured ankle) and drove the ball to the near post where Tarik arrived to 'smash' home the ball to make it 3-0, breaking the net in the process.
We have all agreed that part of Daniel's warm-up routine in future will include someone smacking him the face with the ball to get him going (we are only joking of course)!!! He was a different and more assertive player after the incident though and has proved to his teammates and to himself hopefully that he can do it!
Ross went about his game quietly and efficiently but needs to show more confidence with the ball and Laura is beginning to assert herself in the team as she grows in confidence the more touches she has of the ball and the more involved she becomes. She managed to deliver a quality cross into their penalty area which no-one could get on the end of and had a half chance to score herself before Wootton 'snuffed' it out.
Any hopes that Wootton had of scoring, even just a consolation goal were continuously thwarted by the solid defending of ever-dependable Sam. Once again, nothing and no-one got past him in the game, even when he found himself as the last defender.
Our B Team worked hard and continued to show pleasing improvements in their overall play. A very good work out for next Saturday's final league game.
Our A Team did not fair so well though!
The Hills A 1 vs. Wootton Rangers 4
The report for the A Team is limited in content due to the serious problems experienced by the team which the manager (and report writer) spent the whole game trying to rectify.
Wootton did to The Hills what The Hills have been used to doing to other teams this season and won the game in the first 10 minutes. Quite honestly, collectively, The Hills were like a boxer on the ropes. Whatever they did, whichever way they turned and how ever hard they tried to deal with the onslaught, they ran into trouble.
Wootton were superb. Their passing, movement, first touch and clinical finishing should and could have yielded more than 2 goals and would have done had they not missed a penalty. Whilst the scoreline was not insurmountable, the effects of being outplayed so early on in the game took a good while to come to terms with.
In the 2nd quarter, Harry replaced Max and added a little more spark and cohesion to the midfield.
Max returned in the 3rd quarter and with his passing ability, they managed to pull a goal back and began to look like their usual selves. The Hills began to pass a lot better, developing their team play and gaining a foothold in the game which had looked a distant dream some 15 minutes earlier. However, two more errors led to Wootton's 3rd & 4th goals and try as they might, they could not score again.
There were chances, although players were unable to convert crosses into the penalty area and the ball didn't quite run for them in the key areas.
Callum stayed in goal for the A Team and played very well. His distribution of the ball was for the most part excellent, just the odd mistake and he made a number of fine saves and stops as The Hills tried valiantly to get back into the game.
As good as the A Team have been this season, this game showed that they need to step-up their game to compete and learn to deal with going behind and staring defeat in the face. When you consider the game as a whole, it was only the first 10 minutes or so when they were outplayed and for the remaining 30 minutes, there was not a lot to choose between the two teams. For those players who are looking to play in the Sunday Colts League system, this is the standard that you have to be at to compete on a par.
Disappointing result and performance - lessons must be learned from this!
B Team Man Of The Match - Tarik
A Team Man Of The Match - Callum
Manager's Man Of The Morning - Harry
Year 3 Football Squad were in action again on Saturday 25th March 2006, playing two games at St.John Rigby Lower School against Castle Lower School.
The brightness of the morning was eclipsed by the brilliance of the performances. Here are the scores:
Castle Lower A 1 vs. The Hills A 8
Castle Lower B 0 vs. The Hills B 3
Both teams played very well.
Our A Team were 5-0 up inside 7 minutes - Castle were simply blitzed and dazzled by the quality of our football. According to my records, we have now secured the A Team league title, with one game still to play.
Our B Team worked hard and continued to show pleasing improvements in their overall play.They have now consolidated their position at the top of the B Team league and again, according to my records, cannot finish any lower then 3rd place.
Year 3 Football Squad played two games away to Oakley on Saturday 4th March 2006 and had a somewhat mixed morning. Here are the scores:
Oakley A 0 vs. The Hills A 4
Oakley B 2 vs. The Hills B 1
I know Oakley were a little depleted however not through illness, more through general unavailability!
Our A Team benefitted a little from Oakley's misfortune although we did play exceptionally well (again!) and our B Team suffered somewhat as a result of this situation and we were a little out of sorts and Oakley were very well organised and overall deserved their win.
It was a good morning once again, despite the cold.
Year 3 Football Squad played two games at home on Saturday 4th February 2006 morning, against Bromham Lower School's Year 3 squad.
The Hills squad was at full strength numbers-wise although several players were or had been feeling under-the-weather.
Accomodating as we are, we reverted back to playing games of 4 x10 mins. - Bromham's request, it really made no difference to us.
In the first game, both teams started slowly as if they were playing a tactical chess game and it needed something to get it kick-started. The spark came from a familiar source - Reece W. He made two penetrating runs which caused Bromham problems and from his third one, he outwitted the defenders and produced a good finish to put The Hills 1-0 up.
Bromham reacted well to this set-back and had one clear-cut and one half-chance to score but failed on both occasions without troubling Callum in The Hills goal.
In truth, Bromham created little in the way of good opportunities to score for the first three quarters of the game. They produced some good approach work and support play but did not possess the craft and quality on the day to break through The Hills defence. Richard D was solid and dependable as usual without really getting into the game as much as we know he can do and James S adopted a 'thou shall not pass me' attitude and they didn't! Every time Bromham got anywhere near the goal he was there to deal with the problem and did so to great effect and much to the frustration of the Bromham manager - who later complimented James via myself, on his performance. Tom P showed his trademark tenacity in The Hills midfield and there were glimpses of his improving passing ability. He very nearly 'capped' his performance with what would have been a fine goal from a long-range shot which was goal-bound until blocked by the Bromham defence.
James B who was way below par, running on empty and unusually quiet on the day was really not feeling well and sustained a knock on his ankle early in the third quarter and was replaced by Harry C.
It has to be said that James B's energy and goalscoring ability has been key to The Hills achievements so far this season and without his prescense The Hills lacked the outlet for Reece and Max's passes and interplay.Those three in particular have formed a very potent attacking unit in recent times. The Hills also lacked a little of their team shape and discipline as the players took it upon themselves as individuals to create the chances to add to the early strike from Reece, rather than build-upon the team play aspect.
Reece was instrumental in this as he set about Bromham almost single-handedly - he hit the bar with a fierce shot from the angle and missed with an opportunist effort from distance when the Bromham goalkeeper was out of position. From another surging run from a James S pass, he was fouled in the area, from the side, as he was about to strike the ball. He got up and took the resulting penalty himself and gave the Bromham goalkeeper no chance as he smashed the ball high into the Bromham net - 2-0.
Harry C who seemed a little bit slow at getting into the game very nearly added to the score and in some style too. He had two late chances to score, one of which was a cracking shot from the edge of the area however both shots were blocked.
Bromham never gave up and fashioned a great opportunity to score a consolation goal only for Callum to make a wonderful save to ensure he and the team kept a clean sheet.
The Hills were not at their best today which was disappointing. It was a hard and closely-fought game and one where I felt the quality of The Hills football, which we have seen in recent games, was missing. The passing was not that fluent although they showed they are happy to play from the defence and for the most part, are comfortable on the ball. This is where players like Max D have shone recently but it didn't quite happen today.
The team shape was a little array and the teamwork went out of the window - the communication aspect in particular was poor however, the better team on the day won and like all good teams, if you can win even when you do not play as well as you know can, then it shows that The Hills have a strength, determination and a certain quality which can always shine through.
Final Score: The Hills A 2 vs. Bromham Lower School A 0
The second game started in much the same way as the first.and there was very little to choose between the two teams.
Richard D played in goal for the first twenty minutes and had very little to do although did play a key role in the opening goal. He sent a big kick down the pitch which Dale M latched onto, battled his way through the Bromham defence and cooly slid the ball home - 1-0.
Once again, Bromham reacted well to this set-back and created several chances to score but much the same as their 'A' Team had done earlier, they failed to equalise.
On the touchline, there was a growing sense of frustration from The Hills manager that despite working hard in training to keep team shape and to find their own space
in which to play and develop their skills, some of The Hills team still had the 'herding' mentality of everyone chasing the ball and today, perhaps more than at any other time this season, the problem seemed to have gripped both sides and was making for a game more akin to the 'rucking and mauling' normally associated with rugby union.
Daniel S and Jonathan F to their credit worked hard and showed that they can tackle hard and win the ball and are showing signs that their passing ability is coming more to the fore. What they need to do now is believe in themselves more - it is clear that their respective fathers and the manager believe in them.Confidence in knowing that they are doing well and that they can play is what is needed here.
Tarik D didn't have one of his best games which was a pity as he has worked very hard developing his passing ability and yet this was a game in which it was felt he could show everyone what he could do.
After much shouting and cajoling the 'penny finally dropped' with Dale M and Ross S. Dale realised that he needs to up his work rate and get himself into space in order to receive the ball and he needs to move towards it too - it doesn't always come straight to you and Ross stopped wandering all over the pitch in search of the ball and getting in teamates way and took up his position on the right-hand side of the pitch. Within minutes, he had not only found himself in good positions to receive the ball and actually did so, he also had at least two great opportunities to score and was unlucky not to.
And then there is the one constant in all of this.....Mr Consistent and another Mr Dependable - Sam Southgate. He played at the heart of The Hills defence and was strong, resolute and showed the same attitude as James S did in the earlier game. He held the defence together and on far too many occasions he was the defence.
Slowly The Hills began to sort themselves out and the game became a little more open as the players grew less keen on chasing after the ball.
Harry C took over in goal from Richard D and didn't have a great deal to do in all honesty and Callum M came on pitch for a run out and immediately got involved in the game.
In the latter stages, The Hills began to create more pressure on the Bromham goal and several chances came and went. The best one fell to Dale M who went through on goal but skewed his shot well wide.
The missed chances were to cost The Hills as Bromham seized upon a defensive mix-up and equalised with two minutes to go and this was enough to give them their first point of the season.
Not the best of mornings for The Hills 'B' Team but credit to the Bromham 'B' team who battled hard to the end and deserved their point.
Final Score: The Hills B 1 vs. Bromham Lower School 1
Mr Murphy very kindly donated two trophies which the squad can use as Man Of The Match Awards - the idea being that the players chosen on each occasion can keep the trophy until the next game and will also have a certificate to keep as a record of their achievemment. It was Mr Murphy who selected this week's recipients and they were as follows:
'A' Team game - Reece W - for all of the reasons detailed earlier on in the report and
'B' Team game - Sam S - an outstanding performance on the day and head and shoulders above everyone else despite the fact he is virtually the smallest player on the pitch.
Congratulations and Very Well Done!
Many Thanks must go to Mr Barron (Snr) for refereeing the 'A' Team game - very well handled and controlled and to Dave C for doing likewise in the 'B' Team game.
Both Hills teams remain unbeaten this season and this is a fact they should remain rightly proud of. There were problems today although nothing so serious that cannot be worked on.
Both managers agreed that it was a tough, competitive and above all enjoyable morning's football, which at this age, should be what it is all about. Many thanks and best wishes for the rest of the season should go to Bromham who displayed a very sporting attitude on and off the field.
Finally, although the official transfer window has now shut it would appear that The Hills may be about to make a new signing of their own which should be a pleasing and welcome addition to our squad - watch this space for news on this new development.
