Weekend Round Up

AFC Stoneham U7 Tigers

Today we didn't play our best ,but we got there in the end ,lots of effort, some important saves from our keeper. Two good free kicks and our rock at the back today Elliott.

MOTM Elliott.

U7 Hurricanes

Good game today for the boys playing a strong side, the boys definitely were feeling the cold and played the best they could given the temperatures, the two teams battled it out and it was an end to end game, which was very equal. Leo and Caleb both had a magical moment and showed great team work, Parents player was awarded to Josh who always tried to find space to recieve a pass to open up the game, Seb was awarded motm for 2 great assists.

U7 Wolves report:

Back to business with a bang for the Wolves after last weeks fun with Sholing today's visitors. This is a match that means everything to both teams and last time the opposition had won it with the last kick.

Sholing opened the scoring inside the first minute despite a good dive from Louie in goal but the flow of the game in the first quarter galvanised the Wolves who defended as a unit with Jacob as the rock, supported well by the others and counter attacked well together. Sholing managed to get another and we couldn't take our chances in the first half.

3 minutes completely changed the game. Fyfe swung in a brilliant cross and Jack controlled his finish. Fyfe won the ball in the midfield and played Jack in again to level. The interplay between the front three was a joy to watch and more than Sholing could handle despite a really well organised defense. Jack turned provider and Ollie gave the keeper the eyes to give Wolves the lead. Sholing replied immediately though to set up a tense final quarter.

The ever tenacious Vinnie provided a threat up front, but it was Harry who managed to break free and hold off a challenge before driving the ball home. It was no less than deserved for a high energy, resilient and mature performance.

Louie took over from Jacob and both showed great leadership qualities to keep their team mates working to hold onto the game.

Immensely proud of that performance, especially the passing creativity going forward and the awareness and strength at the back.

Players of the match were Jack and Fyfe; their creativity and clever passing were the difference today.

These Wolves hunt in packs and they never give up.

U8 Panthers

Great Sunday morning game in the sun against Totton and Eling U9 Tigers. Right from the start the Panther U8 boys took control of the game. Fantastic passing by all, and seen to be really utilising the whole pitch. Fraser had a solid performance in goal. Logan, Vinnie and Oscar were strong in defence, staying calm on the ball and feeding through to the attacking players. Further up the pitch we had Jack, Hayden, Freddie, Manny and Billy all passing the ball with precision and creating fantastic goal opportunities. Goals today came from an opener from Jack, a dual from Hayden and further goals from Manny and Freddie. Player of the Match went to Vinnie for his controlled and solid defensive work. Well done boys, anyone would forget you're playing up a year!

U9 Rovers

U9 Rovers played out a 2-2 draw wiv Provision Newbury Predators in a cold sunny afternoon at SLC.

Took a while for the boys to get their rhythm but did take the lead from a ‘worldie’ by Chase Marjason just inside our opponents half. A second quickly followed after a great passing move finished off by Harrison Jacobs.

Our opponents pulled 1 back after some pressure but the boys battled hard pushing for a third but just never came.

Unfortunately the pressure we were put under, which the boys dealt with well, finally paid off for our opponents who got an equaliser.

The boys pushed for a winner but just ran out of time and energy.

Good all round performance and POM went to Henry Polkinghorne who was excellent throughout and had the skills on show today.

U9 Spitfires

U9 Spitfires continued their great and unbeaten start to 2023 even though we were not at our best to start with.

A very slow start found us a goal behind from our own error and we’re on the back foot for majority of the 1st quarter. Some great saves by Hector Hobbs kept us in the game.

As the game went on the boys grew into the game and started to move the ball around and a superb through ball from Alfie Bungay sent Brody Hibberd clear who calmly slotted home to put us level. This was followed by a similar ball from Elliott Finch and again Brody Hibberd finished cooly to complete a great comeback.

Really impressed how these boys have adapted to the top league.

POM was shared today between Hector Hobbs who kept us in the game with some great saves and Alfie Bungay who covered every part of the pitch and was instrumental in the comeback.

U9 Panthers

What a great game of football today against a good AFC Stoneham Wolves team. We picked up from last week and kept going. Tacking, passing and driving with the ball. We all worked as a team, passing, moving into space. The training is slowly taking shape.

MOM went to Harry, he was so composed at the back, with important tackles and great distribution. Well done Harry. Well done all of you, I’m so proud of you all. Special mention to Jake with 2 well taken magical moments from corners and Jenson with the well deserved Goal.

U12 Jaguars

AFC Stoneham U12 Jaguars 5 Fawley Falcons U12 Warriors 2

Despite having not played for over a month, the Jaguars moved effortlessly through the gears to dispatch Fawley with a very impressive performance.

The hosts started brightly, putting the visitors under early pressure. Freddie B, dangerous throughout, made a number of threatening runs, one of which saw him brought down in the box for a penalty. Elliot stepped up but was unfortunate to see his effort ricochet off the post. However, there was nothing unfortunate moments later when Elliot took the ball in the left channel, cut in on his right foot and curled in the ball from the angle into the top corner. The remainder of the first half saw the Jaguars comfortably control the game. Daniel kept the left winger extremely quiet, John provided deft control and calmness on the ball at left back and Freddie K showed some nice touches on his debut. When the opposition did breach the defence, Finn’s excellent positioning and speed off his line meant he nullified the threat.

The Jaguars began the second in the same manner as the first, and doubled the lead from close range through Charlie following an excellent team move. The hosts continued to probe, and Krish, who worked hard throughout, pushed a shot narrowly wide. Against the run of play, Fawley scored on the break, but the Jaguars remained unflustered and continued to play their football, working hard for each other all over the park. An excellent spell of pressure and link play eventually saw the Jaguars restore the two goal cushion, albeit from an unlikely source. Following a three player passing move, Matteo broke down the right, evading several defenders, before pulling the ball back from the touchline. The ball found its way to Archie who drilled a bullet of a half volley toward the goal. The goalkeeper made an incredible save, but from the resulting corner the ball fell to Isaac on the edge of the centre circle. His shot, though not clean, bounced awkwardly and the spin deceived the keeper enough to see the ball nestle in the corner of the net.

The Jaguars then moved in for the kill. John, Freddie B and Elliot combined beautifully for Freddie to cut in on his right and place the ball past the keeper for the fourth goal, and shortly after Freddie followed in a powerful Ramesses shot to add the fifth at the second attempt. The Jaguars continued to make chances, and so it came as a surprise when Fawley scored a consolation a couple of minutes from the end, though it made little difference to the result.

It was a terrific team performance from the Jaguars, and proof that when they play as a collective, they are capable of beating any team in the league. Up the Jags!

Well done to all of our teams that did manage to play.

Thank you

#upthepurps