The U13 home fixture against Wheatley Warriors on Sunday 23 January 2011 at Cantley Park kicks off at 10.30am. Players should arrive by 10.00am for warm up drill.

Good luck everyone.

Sunday 16 January 2011

Bessacarr 4 (3) - (1) 3 Conyers

Bessacarr Goal Scorers:

Ben 3

Liam K 1

Referee: Mr P Talbot

Linseman: Mr A Rave

After Match Chocolate Chip Cookies by Mr Forbes

15 in the Bessacarr squad for todays match against Conyers from Conisborough: Alex, Nathan, Mark, Matty, Harry, Joe, Liam K, Jamie Mc, Liam F, Ben, Adam, Steven, Jordan, Jack and Jamie B.

Bessacarr played the first half with the wind at their backs but the visitors were first to show. A couple of through balls were spooned over the home cross bar by the Conyer forward. Bessacarr began to get a foot hold in the game and a good ball by Jamie Mc from midfield was collected by Ben who outpaced the visiting defenders to give Bessacarr a 1-0 lead. Jamie Mc found Ben with another good ball and again he made no mistake to leave the visiting defenders trailing in his wake. 2-0 to Bessacarr. Conyers replied with a goal of their own to reduce the arrears to 2-1 but Ben produced a strong run on the Conyers goal only to be brought down by the keeper when Ben beat him to the ball. Liam K took the resulting penalty and made no mistake. 3-1 to Bessacarr.

Half time score 3-1 to Bessacarr.

Playing into the wind Bessacarr continued to dominate and Ben might easily have bagged another couple of goals but football is a funny old game and two quick goals by the visitors put them on level terms at 3-3. At this stage Conyers were scenting victory but Bessacarr recovered their composure and Ben managed to stab the ball home late in the game following a goal mouth scramble to give Bessacarr a 4-3 lead and that is how it stayed.

Final score 4-3 to Bessacarr and a first win of the season after a lot of draws and a couple of losses.

Messrs Donnelly and Huby awarded the Player of the Match to Liam K for an excellent performance in midfield. Liam's natural instinct is to play further forward but he shouldered his responsibility well and took it on himself to play much deeper - particularly in the second half when Conyers were in the ascendancy. A big well done to Liam - he put alot of effort in today. The assessors also singled out Harry at left back and Matty at centre half for special praise. Congratulations also to Ben for a well taken hat trick - the Conyers manager - gracious in defeat - singled him out commenting he expects him to go on to bigger things. In truth it was a good all round team performance and everyone contributed to the long awaited victory.

The raffle collected £16 and was won by one of the visiting supporters - a big thank you to all who contributed.

A special mention to Joe who played his final game for Bessacarr today before leaving the club. Joe's family have moved house recently and it will be more convenient for him join a club near to his new home. Joe was with us throughout our promotion season last year and was a valuable member of the squad. He will be missed and we wish him well.

Finally we didn't have many losers today but poor old Mr Forbes shone in that particular department. He managed to get his car stuck in the Cantley Park mud and no amount of pushing and shoving by his coaching colleagues would free it. As far as I know it's still there stuck in a 6 foot deep rut! If you read of a middle aged man arrested for doing donuts in Cantley Park in next week's Free Press it's probably just Mr Forbes and a case of mistaken identity!

Training next week will be as normal at Rossington on Thursday 20 January 2011 7.00pm - 8.00pm and on Saturday 22 January 2011 at cantley Park 9.00am - 10.15am.

Next Sunday we have a home game against Wheatley Warriers. Provisional kick off is 10.30am but watch this space for confirmation.

The match against Conyers on Sunday 16 January 2011 at Cantley Park kicks off at 11.00am. Players should arrive by 10.30am for warm up drill.

Team to be confirmed at Saturday training.

Good luck everyone.

Sunday 9 January 2011

Branton 4 (3) - (2) 4 Bessacarr

Bessacarr Goal Scorers:

Jamie Mc 1

James 1

Ben 1

Nathan 1

PoM Ben

PoM Runner Up Tom

Linesman: Mr A Rave

After match flapjacks by Mr Forbes

14 in the Bessacarr squad for the short trip to Branton Juniors and the first game for almost two months: Alex, Nathan, James, Tom, Harry, Jamie Mc, Mark, Matty, Adam, Ben, Liam K, Jordan, Liam F and Jamie B.

The match kicked off with the visitors on the front foot and a scramble in the Branton goal mouth almost resulted in a Bessacarr goal - a strike against the cross bar being the difference. The hosts took the lead following a good through ball and then doubled their advantage to 2-0. The visitors fought back and a cross from Jamie Mc on the right wing became a shot that sailed over the Branton keeper and into the net to reduce the arrears. A good corner from Nathan resulted in a goal mouth scramble and James was on hand to stab the ball home and level the scores at 2-2. During this phase of play both teams had a goal disallowed for offside. The hosts retook the lead before half time.

Half time score 3-2 to Branton.

The visitors stepped up their efforts in the second half but they struggled to cope with the brisk wind at their backs and the downhill slope that kept forcing the ball too far forward for the Branton keeper to collect. Branton increased their lead to 4-2 following a penalty award and that is how it stayed for much of the half. The wind continued to foil Bessacarr - Ben had a good chance but snatched his shot when he had a bit more time to steady himself. he continued to create havoc in the home defence but the ball would just not land kindly for the visitors. The Bessacarr defence were also called into action on a couple of occasions with some last ditch tackles keeping the hosts at bay. Mr Donnelly took a centre half off and replaced him with a forward late in the game and this strategy worked. A weak goal kick by the Branton keeper was intercepted by Ben and returned with interest straight into the back of the net to reduce the arrears to 4-3. The ref signalled two minutes to play and then one minute and as the game drew to a close the vistors won a corner on the right. Nathan sent another excellent ball into the home goal mouth and this time the wind worked in the vistors favour. The ball oversailed the home keeper and into the net - it did take a deflection from a Branton defender but it had already crossed the line by that time and Nathan chalked up a rare goal to his name.

Final score 4-4.

Messrs Weedall and Mason decided Ben was the Player of the Match and declared Tom runner up. Playing at centre half Tom proved a dominant force in the heart of defence and his positioning was excellent. A natural left footer he used his right foot to good effect and made some fine clearances to set up attacking moves. At the other end of the pitch Ben made life very difficult of the home defenders and was very unfortunate not to have more goals to his name. Along with the whole team Ben never stopped or gave up hope and he provided much vocal encoragement to his team mates. Well done Tom and Ben.

After a break of several weeks this was the first opportunity for both sides to play football and it proved a very absorbing contest. With a little bit more luck Bessacarr might have had a more fruitful second half but a lack of coordination at times proved a big frustration. A number of unfamiliar visitors to the scoresheet was a welcome return for the day and Jamie Mc, James and Nathan will be avidly reading the Doncaster free Press this week to check the correct spelling of their names! A good team performance today in which everyone played their part and it was pleasing to hear the vocal encouragement from all corners of the pitch. Well done everyone.

Training during the forthcoming week will be as normal - Rossington on Thursday 13 January 2011 7.00pm - 8.00pm and Cantley Park on Saturday 15 January 2011 9.00am - 10.15am. On Sunday 16 January 2011 Bessacarr have a home fixture against Conyers. Kick off is provisionally arranged for 11.00am but watch this space for details.