UNDER 10 LIONS
Sean, Nathan, Shiloh,Henry, Ben, Kieran,
Olifemi, Leo, Billy, Ethan.
Management Team
Manager
Chris Dickinson
07880 671884
Administration
Mandy Dickinson
07789 395166
Match reports
Sunday 21st February 2010Glebe Lions vs Shelton
Result: Glebe 1 : Shelton 1
Man of the Match: Leo
After the disappointment of losing the Cup semi-final on penalties a.e.t. 2 weeks ago the boys were in determined mood today to gain revenge (Femi having perfected his revenge face!).
The starting formation today was intended to give us balance both in attack and defence, being aware of Shelton’s strengths. It comprised Leo in goal, Nathan and Ethan in defence, Kieran, Shiloh and Femi in midfield and Billy striker with Ben and Henry in reserve and Sean/Chris resting.
The weather conditions were not great with heavy rain falling (which in reality was a blessing as it softened the frost on the pitch making it perfectly playable). So, improvisation was the order of the day with the warm-up stretches taking place in the garage and with Shelton in agreement we kicked-off 5 minutes early.
The imperative was to start with a high tempo and the boys did just that, immediately taking the game to Shelton by getting the ball forward quickly and accurately to Billy who was scaring the Shelton defence with his pace and directness. After 3 minutes we were rewarded when one of Billy’s runs and shots came out to Ethan on the edge of the box who calmly slotted it into the keepers right hand corner. 1 - 0 to the Lions and game-on.
This pattern of play continued with the midfield and defence working hard to win possession, working as a unit to break-down any attempt by Shelton to pass the ball and create danger in our final third.
After 15 minutes, 2 changes were made to give Femi and Kieran a break who had worked tirelessly to support both attack and defence. Henry replaced Femi on the left with Ben coming-on at right defence allowing Nathan to move forward into midfield to combat their dangerous left-side midfielder.
Henry quickly got into the action by linking with Billy who played not 1 but 2 first time1-2’s between themselves with Henry then squaring for Shiloh who hit a first time shot that was goal bound all the way only to hit the post and go behind (how many times has Shiloh done that this season?). A superb move that Chris and Lee would have been proud-of as it was training ground drills, perfectly executed.
On the other wing Nathan was keen to take advantage of his unaccustomed midfield role by bombing forward at every opportunity, so a switch with Ben quickly ensued and resulted in calmness returning to the Management team!
But Shelton are a determined and disciplined team and as the half wore-on, they started to create a few chances resulting in corners which the defence, well marshalled by Leo, dealt with assuredly with Nathan winning header after header and tackle after tackle and Ethan mopping-up and playing quality balls through midfield.
However, close to half-time, a ball was played into our box – Leo dived to grab it but the slippery conditions meant that the ball escaped Leo’s clutches and a Shelton toe poked it across the line. Half Time 1 - 1.
The talk over oranges was that we had had a magnificent half and didn’t deserve to be on level terms but with more of the same, coupled with more communication, we could win the game.
It was the turn of Billy and Shiloh to take a break with Femi coming on for Billy and Kieran for Shiloh.
We tried to start the second half in the same way as the first but Shelton closed us down much quicker and ensured that Femi was closely marked by 2 of their players.
Shelton were now having more of the play and with their left midfield player coming more into the game it was time to make another switch with Shiloh replacing Ben after 13 minutes of the half who had stuck to his task diligently. Henry also made way for Billy with Femi switching to left midfield to use his pace there.
With 7 minutes to go Ben returned to the fray to relieve Ethan and with 5 minutes left Henry replaced Kieran in the centre who had worked his socks-off as always.
Both sides had late chances to win it but the defences/keepers held firm and in the end a draw was a fair result with Glebe having the best of the first half and Shelton the second. Every player on each side gave it their all and looked to play football as it should be played, with endeavour coupled with good passing and movement and in an excellent spirit. Both keepers were outstanding and on another day it could easily have been 6 - 6.
Overall the pace of the game was relentless, again the Shelton Management team commented on what a great game they had just seen. The heavy conditions and the strength of some of the Shelton players forced some tactical changes today to enable our lads to contain the threats, but they responded magnificently. Brendan, who was standing next to the Shelton Manager, even heard him talking about the tactical changes they had to make to contain us. Well done again to the Lions, a team to be feared.
I have 2 big thank-you’s; to Brendan for his tremendous support and to Marc for another superb and totally unbiased refereeing performance.
C’mon you Reds!
Phil Baines
Sunday 14th February 2010 Glebe Lions vs. Wickham Wanderers
Result: Glebe 4 : Wickham Wanderers 0 Scorers: Ethan, Henry, Kieran & Sean
Man of the Match: Ben
Compared to the last meeting of these 2 teams we were a totally different side today. Last time we had a drastically reduced side. Billy and Ethan were at academy trials, Nathan had the flu and Femi was suffering with a groin strain. But today, with a full strength, fully fit side we showed the type of football that we played all last year with such consistency. The starting line-up was Leo in goal; Ben and Nathan in defence; Billy, Shiloh and Ethan in midfield; Henry up front and Sean, Kieran and Femi waiting in the wings. All 10 players raring to go.
The dominance the boys showed today gave dividends right from the start. Early Glebe pressure saw a quick first goal with some good forward passing, and pressure in the final third, giving Henry the chance of a very cool finish. 1-0 after 6 minutes.
Billy, with a shock move to right wing used his pace well and attacked the Wickham defence like Aaron Lennon. He reached the by-line on several occasions and pulled a number of balls back for the waiting players to pounce but the Wickham defence held firm. Their goalkeeper was kept busy though and performed well as we could have had 3 or 4 in the first half.
Shiloh got the chance to support the attack today and had 2 shots go narrowly wide after good build up down the wings. Ethan had a really good one-to-one tussle with the Wickham right winger and played an excellent game. Henry held the ball up well when receiving the ball with his back to goal and set up Ethan’s goal with a nice piece of interplay after a strong run through midfield by Ethan.
At the back Ben had an excellent game all-round at right back. Holding Wickham’s tall, skilful and quick left winger at bay and intelligently taking his moment to put the tackle in when the chance arose. The winger was quick to try the one-two’s with his central midfielder but Ben tracked his man well and nullified the threat. When he regained possession he distributed well centrally to Shiloh or Ethan, and down the channels to Billy or Kieran. He fully deserved his man of the match vote by the parents. Intelligent play indeed.
Nathan was as solid as ever especially against the visibly taller striker whom he contained really well. The striker was good though. Always looking to get round the back when no one was looking. But when the through ball got to him Nathan and Ben both made excellent recovery runs to foil the breakthrough. Leo had an excellent day in goal and never looked like being beaten. He made one particularly good save from a strike that was bound for the top left angle that he palmed over one handed. He also made a couple of lovely punches from crosses/corners to clear, under pressure from the tall Wickham forwards. He distributed quickly with kicks from his hands or intelligently with short goal kicks as we’d been practising on Saturday.
When Femi came on he played a really solid performances at both left midfield and left back in the second half; never letting his marker get away from him and intelligently launching some outstanding throw-ins to keep the pressure on Wickham. He made one fantastically timed sliding tackle on the edge of the box to stop the Wickham winger from being clean through midway through the second half.
Kieran played in two roles today; a striker and centre midfield. With the amount of running needed in the centre of the park he came on for Shiloh and kept the Glebe dominance going. His ‘engine’ is getting stronger all the time. His goal was a superb strike from the edge of the box, putting his foot right through the ball, giving the keeper no chance. In true strikers fashion Billy put a toe on the ball as it almost reached the line but the goal had Kieran’s name on it as soon as it left his boot. The premiership stats would have seen that as Billy’s goal but he was gracious at the end to award Kieran with the hard work and credit. Lovely strike Kieran.
Sean came on in the first half at left wing and struggled against his Wickham counterpart. But in the second half he came back on as striker when Billy took a knock to his thigh. At this point he chased everything down and raised his game by battling for everything that came his way. His aim – be first to the ball. He linked well with Henry on the right wing and was rewarded with a goal from solid strike just outside the 4-yard box which fell to him after Henry had put a ball across the box in another Glebe attack. Quick reactions and nice finish.
With a little more awareness in the final third we could have had several more goal opportunities but the Wickham goalkeeper and defenders kept the score down to 4 – 0 by the end. A strong performance by them under a lot of pressure. Some of the Glebe forward passing play was lovely to watch today and with a little more generous, quick-touch, passing play in the final third the goal tally will start to rise even higher. The defensive team work was good and the recoveries even better. A well deserved clean sheet. Overall, really well done lads.
Thank you to Marc S for a superlative piece of refereeing today. Allowing the game to flow when needed and stopping it appropriately. Both teams have good sportsmanship with what few fouls there were being due to lateness of tackle rather than any maliciousness. A credit to both squads and their coaches.
Finally thank you to all who contributed to Julie’s charity for her London Marathon run. Cheer her on, on April 18th. I’ve been there (7 times!) and know what it takes to prepare for this event. She’s running for a really worthwhile medical charity so please support her if you can.
C’mon you reds!
Chris
Sunday 7th February 2010Shelton FC vs. Glebe Lions
Result: Glebe 1 : Shelton 1 – after extra time.Shelton won 4:3 on penalties
Man of the Match: Ethan
Overall a magnificently fought battle between 2 evenly matched teams but the brightness of the game, for us, was dimmed by the denial of penalty decisions during normal time. Even a number of the Shelton parents admitted that one of the ‘Billy-bring-downs’ in the box should have been a penalty. The only person that didn’t see was the most ‘important’ one on the pitch. But ‘that’s football’ as they say.
Such a closely fought game was always going to be scrappy at times with few clear cut chances and the first half saw both teams have half chances but nothing that desperately troubled either keeper. Both sides had a couple of corners each but deliveries either went wide or were saved. Shots were from half-chances and went straight into the keepers arms. Both keepers had really solid performances. Most of the play was compressed into the middle third of a hotly contested midfield. One Shelton half-shot/half cross was headed onto our post by Nathan who defended magnificently today. Both Kieran on the right wing and Sean on the left ran their legs off today and battled for every ball. Kieran had a particularly big left sided player to contend with and they had a battle-royal throughout the game. Shiloh worked really hard to stamp his authority in the centre of the park and was matched for effort by his opposite number. Mid-half Henry came on for Kieran, Ben for Sean and Leo for Shiloh to keep midfield legs fresh. They kept Shelton busy and both teams played some good passing play going forward but the defences held firm. Henry fed a couple of lovely through balls to Billy but he was close marked by both Shelton defenders throughout the game.
Stalemate: 0 – 0 at half time and deservedly so in my opinion as neither team gained the upper hand. Second half started in much the same way but Shelton took first blood, a quarter of the way in, with some quick play on the edge of the area and a another half-chance, this time, tucked away. Glebe heads didn’t go down though and the boys responded well with Ethan moving to centre-mid where he battled valiantly. He deserved his man of the match award for his efforts there, following a solid performance at left back in the first half. Ben made some fine tackles in this half and Nathan and Shiloh worked well together at the back when Shiloh switched positions.
But we hit back 10 minutes later after another short spell of pressure where Sean, Ethan and Billy linked to put the Shelton defence in trouble. In the second half I think we had the balance of the closer chances: 2 of which saw Billy brought down in the box. He bears a nice cut on his neck as proof of one of them although it had become obvious at this point that these indiscretions were never going to be given. So I gave up protesting and concentrated on calming our normally placid parents down as their frustrations were starting to show. Even the (fair and pleasant) Shelton coach was rolling his eyes with me at one point and I think we both thought that someone was out of his depth in a game of this intensity and level of importance to the players. We certainly felt we were playing against 8 rather than 7. Even the Shelton web site recognised that Shelton had won “against a stronger Glebe side”
Shelton pressed well especially down their left wing with a number of crosses and corners that were not capitalised upon and shots that went wide. But Leo worked hard to keep our defence tight and they held firm with Nathan, Shiloh, and Ethan all showing their metal by taking their turns at the back too. Femi was solid taking hold of a couple of shots with very assured handling and one diving save low to the post.
We too had a number of near misses that were just shy of a toe that could have put us in the lead but full time came ‘even-Stevens’. 2 periods of extra time went the same way and so on to the glorious lottery of penalties. Both keepers made some fine saves, especially Femi’s left handed reaction save in the last of the 10 normal penalties. The quality of the keeping was such that it was only 2 – 2 after the first 5 penalties each. The ‘sudden death’ went Shelton’s way to scenes of jubilation and despair as befits these moments.
The incredible effort by both teams in high tempo, hard fought cup semi-finals like this one deserve match-control and decision-making of an equivalent quality and experience. For me, at semi-final level and above, neutral, non-affiliated, experienced referees should be nothing less than boys at this level of play deserve, where conflicts of interest will not apply.
Congratulations to the Shelton boys and all the best in the cup final. If we can make it to watch I’m sure we will come down and support your boys on the day as you produced a cup semi-final battle to rival the commitment of any of the derby games I saw on the TV this week end. It was a spectacle of commitment, skill and passion by both sides that would have graced the Tandridge league cup final itself. Well done every player.
Sunday 8th November 2009.
Glebe FC Lions vs. Danson Sports FC
Result: Glebe 0 : Danson 1. Man of the Match:
Every Glebe Lion
“Some days, it’s just not meant to be”, and today was unfortunately one of those days for the Lions. Hopefully it will be sometime yet before our boys perform so well, create so many chances and still come away with a loss.
Incredible effort, endeavour, passing, shots at goal, near misses, even team tears – Glebe Lions had it all but great keeping by the Danson goalie, with assistance from his defence and spices of luck on the line denied Glebe victory today.
Remembrance Day Sunday started with a well-observed minute’s silence. Thanks to Kids and parents and everybody who showed such respect. Battle commenced with Femi in goal, Leo in his familiar right back role, Ethan starting at left back, Shiloh at centre midfield, with Kieran and Sean supporting on the right and left respectively. Billy was the lone striker with Henry and Ben starting as subs.
Surprisingly, the match started evenly enough with the game being played in the middle third, before the pattern for the rest of the match was set. Again and again, Glebe attack, spending time in the Danson half of the pitch before Danson break with greater numbers and Leo doing enough, holding back and not committing himself before reinforcements arrive or Femi confidently rushing out to snuff out the danger.
Some of the Glebe passing today was a pleasure to watch. Ethan and Sean combined very well together several times on the left hand side. With Shiloh completing the triangle, Sean put in several dangerous crosses but unfortunately the Lions never capitalised or the Danson defence just managed to put a boot in the right place.
Shiloh was as usual everywhere. Whether helping in defence or linking with Kieran and Billy on the right, you bet he would be there or thereabouts. He even had a couple of close efforts from outside the box including a free kick which went just over. Even Leo normally the anchor had space to get in on the act from a well-worked free-kick involving Shiloh to Kieran before Leo’s shot went just over.
Billy worked tirelessly as usual, combining several times with master dribbler Kieran on the right to force several corners – how many corners, how many near misses and yet nothing to show at the end?
Half-time came and opinion was that with Danson FC having such a dominant keeper and a lot of luck, a single goal would decide this match.
The second half started and followed the same pattern as the first - the only difference was the team changes. Henry had come on for Kieran and Ben was on for Sean in defence, with Ethan moving to midfield.
Ben in forayed forward several times combining well with Ethan and Shiloh. There was one sweet passing movement involving Ben, Kieran (now on for Billy at striker) and Ethan resulting in Ethan nearly scoring with the ball squirming under the Danson FC goalie but wide. Henry went close with a shot on target from the right forcing yet another save and yet another corner. In another move, Kieran went solo taking on the defence with a master class in dribbling but was foiled by the last defender on the line.
Ethan (right foot as well!), Henry, Billy, Kieran all came tantalisingly close. Even Shiloh and Leo had long range efforts on target but it was not to be today with the Danson goalie in fine form – what he did not get to, his defenders managed to get a toe poke in first. Even the Danson defender came close when he accidentally kicked the ball off the line without realising it!
The lone goal came after a Glebe Lions throw-in well inside the Danson FC half. Somehow Danson got to the ball first, broke quickly and with four against Leo and Femi in the Glebe box, scoring off the post.
Phil and Chris could not have asked for more. A great performance was not rewarded, but you could see how much the boys all wanted it – none of the boys wanted to leave the field at the end. I have never seen so many tearful eyes. It really was just one of those days.
Many thanks to Brian Wheatley our referee who was firm but fair.
Ade
Sunday 4th October 2009.
JEFC v Glebe FC U10 Lions
Result: JEFC 2 vs Glebe Lions 3 (Scorer: Billy, Kieran (2))
Man of the Match: Nathan
The Lions go roaring on. Unfazed by rumours of free-scoring JEFC, the Lions showed why they are the reigning champions.
A late morning kick-off, sun shining, little or no wind, a big pitch we could not have asked for better conditions for this top of the table clash , except for the hill from one end of the goal to the half-way line.
Playing downhill, JEFC pressed right from kick-off. Femi in goal was soon called into action, rushing out confidently to snuff out the danger. This was to be the order of the day with the goalie regularly in action.
Despite playing against the massive slope, Shiloh, Nathan and Leo worked tirelessly to break up waves of attacks, and Henry and Kieran on the flanks battled with their markers. Somehow Shiloh still had the energy to link up in attack with the busy Billy who was proving a real handful to both their defenders with his speed, aggression and ball control.
From yet another save, Femi threw the ball out quickly to Billy on the left. Billy took on the defence, cut inside beating two defenders with pace on the run to slot the ball past the JEFC goalkeeper, 1 0 to the Lions.
Ethan and Sean came on for Shiloh and Henry. JEFC created several chances but the Lions were not always on the back-foot with Billy using his pace and aggression to create a couple of one-on-one chances which went narrowly wide. From one of the chances, Ethan scraped the bar following up Billys shot. Your roving reporter had put his notebook away by now!
After 32 minutes of play and at least 6 JEFC corners (I stopped counting) it was half-time.
The 2nd half kicked off with the Lions having more of the play but JEFC were looking even more dangerous in possession of the ball. With safe hands Femi talking endlessly, the defence stuck to the task.
Midway through the half, Shiloh found space on the right to cross the ball for Kieran now at striker to hook past the goalkeeper, 2-0 to the Lions.
JEFC pressed even more and were finally rewarded with a follow-up tap-in following another save from Femi, 2-1 Lions.
The Lions passing game came to life when Femi took a short goal kick to Leo, who worked the ball to Shiloh who was able to find Billy breaking fast, staying strong and shooting across goal. Kieran took the ensuing corner and what a beauty it was, 3-1 to the Lions.
Your reporter lost count (not enough fingers!) of the corners that were safely defended by the Lions. Sean, Ethan and Nathan ran, worked and battled tirelessly on the left hand side against some very skillful individuals. Kieran and Henry on the right battled continuously, chasing back to support Leo. Billy kept the JEFC defenders busy and Shiloh was the gel. All the boys were brave and showed their passionate side against a very aggressive side who were not afraid of committing the odd foul, playing on home ground.
The final whistle finally went in the 38th minute - after JEFC had scored another tap-in from yet another Femi save, 3-2 Lions.
JEFC were as expected a well-drilled individual side and will win many matches by huge margins this season but our boys showed why they are the champions, playing with the 4 Ps.
Cmon you Reds.
Ade Sofolarin
Managers note:
What a match! 33 minutes in the first half and 38 in the second. For U10s at 25 minutes each way thats some extra time! The way the boys stuck to the game plan today was just outstanding.
When you see an oppositions results on the web site; scoring 19 goals in 2 games you know that they have exceptional capabilities going forward. But the invasion game of football has an opposite side. The best teams know how to soak up an invading side, repel them and hit their weak spots; and thats just what our boys did today.
JEFC were impressive going forward today but we were just as impressive going backward and thats where the difference lay. The team then also took their attacking chances well (and we could have had 2 or 3 more with a bit more luck) but the way they defended with such passion and quality astounded us all.
As a coach they did exactly the tactics I asked of them, and then some more. I was so proud of every boy today and if I could have given 9 man-of-the-match awards I would have done.
Raf
