The year 5 Foxes had a bit of a wake up call when a strong Bishop Road squad came to the Downs and inflicted this year group's first Saturday defeat for some considerable time.
Ewan's squad (Omar, Alec, Jacob, Raul, Owen, Seb, Jack C, Jack T, Joey, Nick, Sam P) battled back strongly in their first game after falling behind to an early goal, and Jack C bagged a well deserved equaliser from close range. After that, a strong BR side edged ahead again after knocking in a rebound from their initial shot. The Foxes then played some good stuff, creating several chances, before losing a sucker punch third late on to lose 1-3.
In the second game, it looked all gloom and doom at half time. The Foxes trailed 3-0 to three slightly bizarre goals, two of them fairly soft and from defensive lapses, the third a long range lob over our unfortunate keeper. Some heads were beginning to drop and tempers fray in the freezing cold. But then... Joey, in a powerful display, swept through the BR defence to get one back early in the second half. Then it was wave after wave of Foxes attacks, with Jack C excelling down the left wing and Raul and Jacob both coming close. Joey then made the breakthrough by dribbling through the centre to slot home, then doing the same a few minutes later to complete his hat trick and level the scores. Roared on by the watching (freezing) parents, another attack came, Joey fed Nick who squared it to Jack C, and the ball was coolly slotted home for the Foxes to take the lead. A late highlight came when a BR goal attempt from point blank range was saved by goalie Omar with a 'scorpion' kick while lying face down on the ground, then hooked away by Owen. It finished 4-3, with good displays by everyone who took part, and took their turn as a sub, on a difficult and cold day.
Special mentions to Joey for his hat trick, Nick and Alec for their pace down the wings, and Jack T for his defensive bravery, but player of the squad this weekend was Jack C.
Dave's squad (Max, Danny, Archie, Harri, Ian, Sam L, Aidan, Sonny, Harry, Ollie C and Ollie K) did not have their best couple of games. They struggled to keep their positions and never really got going throughout a cold, cold morning. In the first game they were slightly lucky to be only 1-0 down at half time. This soon became 2-0 and after Danny got the final touch on a rare bright piece of play, Bishop Road finished the job with a well-deserved third goal.
The second game followed a similar pattern and only remained at 0-0 for so long due to a string of brave goal line clearances by the keeper and defence. Against the run of play Sam scored a good goal from a great through ball from Ian, but we conceded an equaliser almost immediately and never really got going in the second half as Bishop Road found the net twice more. 3-1 again.
Man of the match was Ian.
Bishop Road deserved to win 3 games to 1 on aggregate. They were better organised and did the simple things (passing, tackling, supporting each other) better than the Foxes. After some great performances this season hopefully this will only be a blip in another successful season.
Thursday 27 January 2011
Tuesday 25 January 2011
22nd Jan: Y4 Girls' Inaugural Fixture vs. the BLUs
Many congratulations to the Y4 girls on their first competitive matches, played against the BLUs (Bristol Ladies Union) at Coombe Dingle last Saturday.
With only a few exceptions, the Y4 girls are new Foxes this year, so to play against such an established team was a tough challenge (BLU's Y4s are in their 2nd season, and have played 6 competitive fixtures already this year).
It was a great turn-out from the girls on a cold morning - 15 eager players represents almost our entire squad, so very well done to the parents for remembering to not turn up at the Downs! We and the BLUs each split into 2 teams, so had 4 games in total.
It has been amazing to see the fantastic advances the girls have made since joining the Foxes, and Saturday demonstrated this even further. Although the Foxes started a little slowly, by the end they were fighting for every ball, defending like terriers, and being every bit as tenacious and canny as their proverbial namesakes in attack.
There were magnificent contributions from all of the team and the Foxes were rewarded with a couple of tremendous, pile-driving goals from Scarlett and Teya (also now our “long throw-in” expert). The posts were also shaved a couple of times with superb left-foot strikes from Ella, and further attacking support was provided by Grace, among others. Serious midfield battling and defensive efforts were seen from Anna, Amy, Lilica, Megan, Tabatha, Taryn, and Amelia (who somehow manages to maintain an impressive sense of fashion-consciousness even when tackling with laudable ferocity). Some truly stunning (and often brave) goalkeeping from the likes of Rhiannon, Luella and Ella, as well as committed and heroic defending from Holly and Madeline, kept the games really competitive.
A sneaky late goal robbed us of a deserved draw in the first game (finishing 2-1), and other results were 5-0, 5-1 and 4-0 against us, but the girls made the coaches very proud. We all had a good time, have all learned a great deal, and we will be back!
Thanks also to the many parents that came to support the Foxes - their enthusiastic (yet admirably sporting) encouragement was much appreciated.
Business as usual next Saturday: Downs at 10am – wrap up warm!
Y4 girls’ coaches: Michael Welbourne, Rob Wallis and Pete Life
With only a few exceptions, the Y4 girls are new Foxes this year, so to play against such an established team was a tough challenge (BLU's Y4s are in their 2nd season, and have played 6 competitive fixtures already this year).
It was a great turn-out from the girls on a cold morning - 15 eager players represents almost our entire squad, so very well done to the parents for remembering to not turn up at the Downs! We and the BLUs each split into 2 teams, so had 4 games in total.
It has been amazing to see the fantastic advances the girls have made since joining the Foxes, and Saturday demonstrated this even further. Although the Foxes started a little slowly, by the end they were fighting for every ball, defending like terriers, and being every bit as tenacious and canny as their proverbial namesakes in attack.
There were magnificent contributions from all of the team and the Foxes were rewarded with a couple of tremendous, pile-driving goals from Scarlett and Teya (also now our “long throw-in” expert). The posts were also shaved a couple of times with superb left-foot strikes from Ella, and further attacking support was provided by Grace, among others. Serious midfield battling and defensive efforts were seen from Anna, Amy, Lilica, Megan, Tabatha, Taryn, and Amelia (who somehow manages to maintain an impressive sense of fashion-consciousness even when tackling with laudable ferocity). Some truly stunning (and often brave) goalkeeping from the likes of Rhiannon, Luella and Ella, as well as committed and heroic defending from Holly and Madeline, kept the games really competitive.
A sneaky late goal robbed us of a deserved draw in the first game (finishing 2-1), and other results were 5-0, 5-1 and 4-0 against us, but the girls made the coaches very proud. We all had a good time, have all learned a great deal, and we will be back!
Thanks also to the many parents that came to support the Foxes - their enthusiastic (yet admirably sporting) encouragement was much appreciated.
Business as usual next Saturday: Downs at 10am – wrap up warm!
Y4 girls’ coaches: Michael Welbourne, Rob Wallis and Pete Life
Thursday 20 January 2011
Y4 make history against Rockleaze 15 Jan
For many, Rockleaze Rangers are the benchmark club against which to be measured. Over the past few years, our players have enjoyed several wins and many close matches against Rockleaze, but overall we have never won this fixture. Until now.
21 game Foxes turned up on a cold, overcast morning for the first competitive matches of 2011, itching to put some fine winter training performances into practice. There was a scent of victory blowing across the Downs as we split into two squads to take on 3 teams from the mighty Rockleaze.
Rob’s Green Squad: William LP, Brody, Eddie, Matthew W, Jamie, Sam, Henry, Joseph, Josh, Rowan and Tee-Jay.
Match 1 - started very brightly with the Foxes pressing Rockleaze back to defend for most of the first half. A goal for the Foxes by Henry was quickly followed by a second - Matthew W pouncing on a shot dropped by the keeper to put the Foxes 2 - 0 in front. A very observant Rockleaze coach, who obviously couldn't believe the Foxes were scoring so easily, alerted the referee that the Foxes were fielding 8 players (thanks Jim!) on the pitch compared to their 7 players. Graciously we invited Rockleaze to bring on an additional player to make the numbers even. The Foxes scored almost immediately after half time - a great finish by Henry for his second goal of the game. The quality of the football played by both sides was great to watch, with lots of movement off the ball to create space.
Result: Foxes 3, Rockleaze 0
Match 2 - was a harder fought game. Both sides created chances but some good goal keeping from Body and solid defending from Sam and Rowan prevented Rockleaze from scoring. Josh and Tee-Jay had difficult chances in front of goal but the game had 0 - 0 written all over it as the two sides were too evenly matched for either to break the deadlock.
Result: Foxes 0, Rockleaze 0
Match 3 – by now the Foxes were visibly tiring and the high level of concentration all the players had shown in the two previous games began to wane. The Foxes fell behind by two goals - a little harsh given the high standard of Foxes’ play. Joseph finished a fine solo run down the right wing with a great strike to bring the Foxes back into the game but Rockleaze scored one more to put the game beyond the Foxes in the final minutes.
Result: Foxes 1, Rockleaze 3.
Thanks to Al and James for refereeing.
Man of Match - Henry for two great goals and some tireless running.
Colin’s White Squad: Jack, Caleb, Caston, Matthew Y, Billy, Oskar, Ludo, Benji, Stanley and Harrison
Match 1 - a close contest in the first-half with much of the play alternating from end to end. Sound defensive work from Jack and Matthew kept a determined Rockleaze attack at bay. However, a fine move from Rockleaze saw them edging in front as we went into the break. The second half saw a galvanised Foxes team showing self-belief, spirit and determination with Harrison slotting an equaliser from wide on the right. Just as it looked like a draw being the only outcome, Stanley latched onto a beautiful cross from Harrison to calmly put the ball into the Rockleaze net – a classic training ground move - just as the ref blew for full time!
Result: Foxes 2, Rockleaze 1
Match 2 - a reshuffled line-up against Rockleaze’s strongest squad. They quickly took a 2-goal advantage over a stunned Foxes side. Despite the best efforts of Benji, Caston and Oskar in midfield, Rockleaze were able to put some good moves together to get through the Foxes' defences. The second-half saw more of the same as the Foxes were punished for some poor marking at the back and not clearing their defences quickly enough. Rockleaze added another 2 goals, the last on the final whistle that couldn’t come quickly enough. To the Foxes’ credit, they kept their heads held high and worked hard right until the end.
Result: Foxes 0, Rockleaze 4
Match 3 - saw a return to form for the Foxes. The whole team appeared to have learnt from the last game. Every single player played brilliantly, both individually and as part of the team. Jack was solid in goal, providing confident cover and some excellent kick-outs; Caleb and Billy showed tenacity at the back, thwarting any efforts from the Rockleaze attack; Oskar, Benji, Matthew Y and Caston provided great support in the middle, helping at the back when needed and supplying our attack when the opportunity arose, and Harrison and Stanley showed killer instincts, constantly harassing the Rockleaze defence. When the goals came, every one was a corker!
Goal 1 – a beautiful solo effort from Harrison, taking the ball around 2 players to slot in.
Goal 2 - another fine finish from Harrison who latched onto a great goal kick from Jack.
Goal 3 – a Matthew Y thunderbolt after pouncing on a poor clearance from the Rockleaze keeper.
Goal 4 - a first goal from Oskar who showed some great skill on the right wing and almost broke the back of the Rockleaze net with the power of his strike. A goal and a celebration to be remembered!
Result: Foxes 4, Rockleaze 0
Man on the Match:
Oskar for a brilliant overall performance and a cracking first goal.
Stanley for being involved all over the pitch and his tireless running.
Final result: Played 6, won 3, drew 1, lost 2, goals for 10, goals against 8. A great morning’s football against a very strong Rockleaze squad and hopefully a good omen for the rest of the year.
Well done to everyone of our fine Foxes for a great display of football and spirit. You make us proud!
21 game Foxes turned up on a cold, overcast morning for the first competitive matches of 2011, itching to put some fine winter training performances into practice. There was a scent of victory blowing across the Downs as we split into two squads to take on 3 teams from the mighty Rockleaze.
Rob’s Green Squad: William LP, Brody, Eddie, Matthew W, Jamie, Sam, Henry, Joseph, Josh, Rowan and Tee-Jay.
Match 1 - started very brightly with the Foxes pressing Rockleaze back to defend for most of the first half. A goal for the Foxes by Henry was quickly followed by a second - Matthew W pouncing on a shot dropped by the keeper to put the Foxes 2 - 0 in front. A very observant Rockleaze coach, who obviously couldn't believe the Foxes were scoring so easily, alerted the referee that the Foxes were fielding 8 players (thanks Jim!) on the pitch compared to their 7 players. Graciously we invited Rockleaze to bring on an additional player to make the numbers even. The Foxes scored almost immediately after half time - a great finish by Henry for his second goal of the game. The quality of the football played by both sides was great to watch, with lots of movement off the ball to create space.
Result: Foxes 3, Rockleaze 0
Match 2 - was a harder fought game. Both sides created chances but some good goal keeping from Body and solid defending from Sam and Rowan prevented Rockleaze from scoring. Josh and Tee-Jay had difficult chances in front of goal but the game had 0 - 0 written all over it as the two sides were too evenly matched for either to break the deadlock.
Result: Foxes 0, Rockleaze 0
Match 3 – by now the Foxes were visibly tiring and the high level of concentration all the players had shown in the two previous games began to wane. The Foxes fell behind by two goals - a little harsh given the high standard of Foxes’ play. Joseph finished a fine solo run down the right wing with a great strike to bring the Foxes back into the game but Rockleaze scored one more to put the game beyond the Foxes in the final minutes.
Result: Foxes 1, Rockleaze 3.
Thanks to Al and James for refereeing.
Man of Match - Henry for two great goals and some tireless running.
Colin’s White Squad: Jack, Caleb, Caston, Matthew Y, Billy, Oskar, Ludo, Benji, Stanley and Harrison
Match 1 - a close contest in the first-half with much of the play alternating from end to end. Sound defensive work from Jack and Matthew kept a determined Rockleaze attack at bay. However, a fine move from Rockleaze saw them edging in front as we went into the break. The second half saw a galvanised Foxes team showing self-belief, spirit and determination with Harrison slotting an equaliser from wide on the right. Just as it looked like a draw being the only outcome, Stanley latched onto a beautiful cross from Harrison to calmly put the ball into the Rockleaze net – a classic training ground move - just as the ref blew for full time!
Result: Foxes 2, Rockleaze 1
Match 2 - a reshuffled line-up against Rockleaze’s strongest squad. They quickly took a 2-goal advantage over a stunned Foxes side. Despite the best efforts of Benji, Caston and Oskar in midfield, Rockleaze were able to put some good moves together to get through the Foxes' defences. The second-half saw more of the same as the Foxes were punished for some poor marking at the back and not clearing their defences quickly enough. Rockleaze added another 2 goals, the last on the final whistle that couldn’t come quickly enough. To the Foxes’ credit, they kept their heads held high and worked hard right until the end.
Result: Foxes 0, Rockleaze 4
Match 3 - saw a return to form for the Foxes. The whole team appeared to have learnt from the last game. Every single player played brilliantly, both individually and as part of the team. Jack was solid in goal, providing confident cover and some excellent kick-outs; Caleb and Billy showed tenacity at the back, thwarting any efforts from the Rockleaze attack; Oskar, Benji, Matthew Y and Caston provided great support in the middle, helping at the back when needed and supplying our attack when the opportunity arose, and Harrison and Stanley showed killer instincts, constantly harassing the Rockleaze defence. When the goals came, every one was a corker!
Goal 1 – a beautiful solo effort from Harrison, taking the ball around 2 players to slot in.
Goal 2 - another fine finish from Harrison who latched onto a great goal kick from Jack.
Goal 3 – a Matthew Y thunderbolt after pouncing on a poor clearance from the Rockleaze keeper.
Goal 4 - a first goal from Oskar who showed some great skill on the right wing and almost broke the back of the Rockleaze net with the power of his strike. A goal and a celebration to be remembered!
Result: Foxes 4, Rockleaze 0
Man on the Match:
Oskar for a brilliant overall performance and a cracking first goal.
Stanley for being involved all over the pitch and his tireless running.
Final result: Played 6, won 3, drew 1, lost 2, goals for 10, goals against 8. A great morning’s football against a very strong Rockleaze squad and hopefully a good omen for the rest of the year.
Well done to everyone of our fine Foxes for a great display of football and spirit. You make us proud!
Sunday 16 January 2011
Yr 5 v Long Ashton, 15th January
It had been so long since the year 5s had played a match that it all felt a little unfamiliar as we got ready for the game against Long Ashton. Thankfully the rain, wind and mud of the Downs soon made us feel at home.
The Foxes split into two squads. Graham and Dave took charge of Sonny, Jack C, Seb, Ian, Archie, Max, Harry, Alec and Danny.
Their first game was against Long Ashton's 'A' Team - the side that play in the Woodspring Junior League. It was a close game. The Foxes worked hard as a team and kept their shape. Both sides had their chances and both teams had their goalies to thank as the first half ended Nil-Nil. After the break the game opened up and Long Ashton hit the Foxes on the break to score a good goal. To the our credit we kept our heads up and worked hard to create several good chances, but the Long Ashton keeper was up to the challenge. The visitors scored another good counter attacking to end up 2-0 winners. Man of the match was Ian for his great display alongside Seb in defence.
The second game against Long Ashton 'B's was a more one sided affair as the Foxes ended up scoring 6 good goals (Danny, Sonny and Jack claiming two each) as the team carried on playing a high standard of football. Congratulations to all, but Man of the Match goes to Alec for his tireless work on the right side of midfield.
Andy and Ewan's squad (Joey, Omar, Owen, Harri, Sam L, Jacob, Raul , Jacob and Ollie C) won both of their games - and in some style. Firstly against the 'B's Raul bagged 4 really well taken goals and with scoring Joey one, we ended up winning 5-1. Man of the match was Raul, for obvious reasons.
Against the 'A's we started strongly, were strong in the middle and ended, err, strongly too. Raul carried his goal scoring form into this game with two goals, the first was really well taken. Harri finished well from the edge of the area and with an own goal from a high quality Sam L corner the team ended up winning 4-2. Man of the match for a great all round performance, a goal and an outstanding last ditch tackle with the score at 1-0, Harri.
Well done to all. Long Ashton came with a strong set of players and the Foxes matched them throughout.
The Foxes split into two squads. Graham and Dave took charge of Sonny, Jack C, Seb, Ian, Archie, Max, Harry, Alec and Danny.
Their first game was against Long Ashton's 'A' Team - the side that play in the Woodspring Junior League. It was a close game. The Foxes worked hard as a team and kept their shape. Both sides had their chances and both teams had their goalies to thank as the first half ended Nil-Nil. After the break the game opened up and Long Ashton hit the Foxes on the break to score a good goal. To the our credit we kept our heads up and worked hard to create several good chances, but the Long Ashton keeper was up to the challenge. The visitors scored another good counter attacking to end up 2-0 winners. Man of the match was Ian for his great display alongside Seb in defence.
The second game against Long Ashton 'B's was a more one sided affair as the Foxes ended up scoring 6 good goals (Danny, Sonny and Jack claiming two each) as the team carried on playing a high standard of football. Congratulations to all, but Man of the Match goes to Alec for his tireless work on the right side of midfield.
Andy and Ewan's squad (Joey, Omar, Owen, Harri, Sam L, Jacob, Raul , Jacob and Ollie C) won both of their games - and in some style. Firstly against the 'B's Raul bagged 4 really well taken goals and with scoring Joey one, we ended up winning 5-1. Man of the match was Raul, for obvious reasons.
Against the 'A's we started strongly, were strong in the middle and ended, err, strongly too. Raul carried his goal scoring form into this game with two goals, the first was really well taken. Harri finished well from the edge of the area and with an own goal from a high quality Sam L corner the team ended up winning 4-2. Man of the match for a great all round performance, a goal and an outstanding last ditch tackle with the score at 1-0, Harri.
Well done to all. Long Ashton came with a strong set of players and the Foxes matched them throughout.
Friday 14 January 2011
15th January - match locations update
YEAR 3 - the games against Rockleaze Rangers have now been moved to the Downs. We will meet at 10am as usual, and take it from there. Sorry for the short notice!
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