Foxes Yr 5 v Rockleaze away 10th Dec .

The first proper frost of the winter was there to welcome the Foxes at Rockleaze on Saturday.
A good turn out from the boys and we had enough for two strong sides to take on a strong Rockleaze outfit. A pitch inspection meant that kick off had to be delayed so the boys were kept busy with some training drills and fitness work. At last we were given the go ahead to play.

Colin’s squad. Josh, Jarnell, Joseph, Harrison, TJ, William W, Matthew Y, Oscar

Game 1
A real game of 2 halves with the foxes playing uphill and fighting off an early Rockleare onslaught. Some good defending at the back, with Oscar providing some firm tackles and sending the ball up to our strike force of Josh, Joseph and Harrison. The foxes started testing the Rockleaze defence who stood firm with some excellent defending. Foxes son broke the deadlock with a great corner from Joseph which was volleyed over the defence by Josh and into the goal. This was soon followed up with another goal, starting with a powerful run on the left form Harrison, ball to Josh who crossed to Joseph who had found a great position on the penalty spot to slot in number 2. Our midfield of Jarnell , and William worked hard to keep the ball away from the Rockleaze team, Matthew kept out any threat in defence and when needed TJ was a safe pair of hands in goal.
The second half started brightly for the Foxes with more probing at the Rockleaze defence, however Rockleaze got a goal back with a sublime lob over our unfortunate keeper, Matthew, who stood no chance. Unfortunately this seemed to shake the foxes as the next rockleaze attack resulted in another goal.. The boys showed great character to not let their heads drop and the game played out to a 2-2 draw. A great game to watch.

Game 2
Game 2 was a cracker to watch. 8 a-side meant no subs and some cold , tired foxes played well. It was end to end stuff. 0-0 was the final result, mainly due to some outstanding goal keeping from TJ, who showed a great fearlessness from a lot of Rockleaze attacks. Matthew, who was in goal in the first half made a fantastic save only for the ball to be kicked from his hands and into the net. The ref decided to disallow the goal .Foxes tried hard to score but couldn’t find a way through the Rockleaze defence
2 good results today boys on a cold day. You played well as a team. Remember to keep your concentration and work hard for each other as you will be unbeatable. As always there were many contenders for man of the match. Today Jarnell gets it for his enthusiastic and ever improving skill in midfield and for making a couple of match saving tackles.
Thanks to the parents who remained patient whilst waiting for the pitch to thaw and your ever present support and encouragement for the boys

Rob's Squad: William LP, Jack, Jamie, Caston, Henry, Eddy, Stanley

Game 1

We started with now the familiar starting formation of 2-3-1 with Stanley playing the lone strikers role; Henry centre mid field; Caston and Eddy playing alongside Henry; Jack and Jamie in defence and Willian LP in goal. The Foxes started the game confidently, the midfield working hard to support Stanley when the Foxes were attacking but also backing up Jack and Jamie when the Foxes were called upon to defend. Stanley was proving to be very dangerous up front, always making himself available to receive a quick ball, turning defence quickly into attack, often supported by Henry making surging runs from midfield, whilst Caston and Eddy kept a firm grip in the centre of the park. There were not too many clear cut chances for either side in the first half but Stanley put the Foxes 1-0 up by half time. In the second half, Eddy swpped positions with William LP in goal. Rockleaze were now a little more threatening playing down the slight slope and the Foxes had to defend well. Eddy pulled off a magnificent save to deny Rockleaze and keep the Foxes in front. Conceding a goal could well have seen Rockleasze turn the game around but Eddy's magnificent save seemed to spur on the Foxes , with Stanley scoring his second goal. The thoroughly entertaining game ended Foxes 2 Rockleaze 0.

Game 2
In the second game we changed the goal keeping position again with Henry taking on the goal keeping duties for the first half. This Rockleaze team looked a little stronger than the first, passing the ball well and always streching the Foxes mid field and defence. Perhaps the Foxes were slightly prone to standing off Rockleaze and letting them run with the ball instead of tackling and making their presence felt. Henry played very well in goal but we changed the goal keeper again at half time to bring Henry back in an outfield position to try to strengthen midfield. Caston in particularly was becoming stronger as the game progressed, making some notable runs from mid field and providing great passes for Stanley and Henry to run on to but Willian LP was being kept very busy in goal with Jack and Jamie finding themselves increasingly pegged back in defence. The final score flattered Rockleaze a little with the Foxes loosing 4 goals to nil.

Man of the Match: Caston for putting in two good performances and getting stronger as the games progressed.