Tuesday 17 April 2012

The away fixture at Rossington kicks off at 6.30pm and players should arrive by 6.00pm for warm up drill.

Directions: Rossington play at the Miners Welfare Ground. Head into Rossington from the direction of Parrotts Corner. Take the second exit from the mini-roundabout and head over the rail crossing. The Welfare Ground is a short distance beyond the rail crossing on the right hand side. Park in the Welfare Ground car park.

Good luck everyone.

Next training for the U14's will be at Cantley Park on Thursday 12 April 2010 6.30pm - 7.30pm and then on Saturday 14 April 2012 9.00am - 10.15am - again at Cantley Park.

The away fixture against Rossington Juniors has been brought forward a day to Tuesday 17 April 2012 - kick off time still to be confirmed. Our final league fixture for the season remains unchanged - home against Edlington White Stars on Sunday 22 April 2012.

The end of season presentation evening will be held at the Hawthorne Club on Goodison Boulevard on Wednesday 9 May 2012.

Sunday 1 April 2012

Venue: Cantley Park

Blues 2 (0) - (2) 4 Hemsworth Terriers

Blues Scorers:

Mark 1

Nathan 1

PoM: Joe

Referee: Mr P Talbot

Linesman: Mr D Talbot

A full turn out for the Blues with a squad of 13 - Joe, Nathan, Matty, Tom, Liam F, Jamie, Jack, Steven, Liam S(c), Adam, Jordan, Mark and Alex.

The match started in fairly even fashion with the Blues looking to improve on their Wednesday performance. Midway through the half the visitors took the lead and doubled their advantage by the break.

In the second half the Blues were awarded a free kick just outside the 18 yard box on the right. Liam S took the kick which was beaten out by the visitors defensive wall giving Liam a second bite of the cherry - he floated his next attempt into the visitors box and this time Mark found the back of the net with a shot from just inside the 6 yard line to register his name on the score sheet for the first time in about 2 years - well done Mark! 2-1 to Hemsworth.

The visitors hit back with a third goal and then a fourth following a penalty kick. The penalty looked harsh on Tom when the ball bounced unexpectedly on the bobbly pitch and caught his hand which was by his side and was more a case of ball to hand - probably outside the box too - but that's football! Joe managed to pull off a cracking save from the initial penalty shot but unfortunately the Hemsworth spot kicker managed to tuck away the rebound despite a valient attempt by 3/4 Blues players to block his effort. 4-1 to Hemsworth.

The hosts had the final say when Jamie released Nathan up the right wing and the latter managed to force the ball home from a tight angle. Final score 4-2 to Hemsworth.

Mrs Hogg and Mr Pinkney were todays match assessors and awarded their vote to Joe for a first class performance in goal. He pulled off a spectacular one handed diving save to his right in the first half and had to draw on all his powers of versatility when faced with an awkward looking elevated back pass in the second half. He elected to head the ball in the air and completed the move with a vollied clearance. The penalty save was top drawer - Well done Joe.

Mrs Swaby's raffle collected £21and was won by one of the visiting supporters - a big thank you to all who contributed.

A better performance today following the drubbing in midweek but some defensive lapses ultimately cost the Blues the game. The back line looked a little exposed at times and something to work on therefore before our next outing.

We will take a break from training next weekend and meet again at Cantley Park on Thursday 12 April 2012 6.30pm - 7.30pm. Beyond that normal weekend training will take place at Cantley Park on Saturday 14 April 2012 9.00am - 10.15am before our trip to face Rossington Juniors on Wednesday 18 April 2012.

Ballot papers for the player of the season award have now been circulated and we need to collect these as soon as possible. The awards will be held at the Hawthorne Club on Goodison Boulevard in May 2012.

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Moorends 8 (4) - (0) 1 Blues

Blues scorer: Liam S

Player of the Match: Steven

Linesman: Mr C Byrne

12 in the Blues squad for a 6.15pm kick off at Moorends: Matty, Adam, Jack, Tom, Steven, Jamie, Mark, Nathan, Jordan, Liam S(c), Liam F and Alex. Joe withdrawing due to illness and Harry returning as a spectator.

The hosts started strongly forcing the Blues well and truly onto their back feet! With deft flick ons, quick balls over the top and strong running forward players Moorends were clearly up for the game. The Blues in contrast were a yard short of pace all over the pitch and by half time it was as good as over. 4-0 to Moorends.

The second half started in the same vein with Moorends quickly moving the score on to 5-0. A handball in the home penalty area secured the visitors a spot kick and captain Liam S stepped up to plant the ball in the back of the net and reduce the arrears to 5-1. The hosts resumed their normal business shortly afterwards extending their lead to 7-1. At this point the Blues reorganised themselves somewhat and started to gain more purchase in the game causing the scoring rate to slow. It stayed at 7-1 until a couple of minutes from the end and with dusk gathering momentum Moorends completed their goal fest with a final strike to run out 8-1 winners.

The match assessors Mesdames Byrne and Mulligan highlighted the efforts of Matty, Nathan, Jamie and Mark and awarded their vote to Steven. Steven started the game at left back where he had his work cut out defending against the fast Moorends forwards and moved to strike during the second half. Well done Steven.

Not really a game to dwell on from a Blues perspective save to say they were generally second best all over the pitch for much of the game and perhaps we can put it down to a late kick off at the end of a hot day and a scramble to get to Moorends on time before the sun went down!

Looking ahead we have now finished mid week training at Hayfield and we will next meet at Cantley Park on Saturday 31 March 2012 for weekend training 9.00am - 10.15am.

On Sunday 1 April 2012 the Blues entertain Hemsworth Terriers at Cantley Park in a home league fixture. The match kicks off at 10.30am and players should arrive by 10.00am for warm up drill. Good luck everyone.