BSYL Yr 8 - 23rd April. Foxes 3 - 1 Rockleaze

Another midweek game to end the season as the Foxes welcomed Rockleaze. The away side were finishing the year much more strongly than they had started it and their side and the performance were unrecognisable from when the two teams met earlier in the season.

The Foxes never really jelled, partly due to the return of some of the squad who had not been available for a while and partly due to a rejigging of the formation due to last minute illness with Archie moving to right back.

Both sides looked to attack and the Foxes could have scored more than the goals from, for the second week running, Ollie C, Sam and Jack. Rockleaze never gave up and on a different day could have earned a draw.

Man of the match - Jack     

BSYL Yr8 2nd April - Golden Hill Sonics 1 - 3 Foxes

Hot on the heels of the Foxes victory in the cup semi final, the rearranged league game was moved from the Sonics home pitch to the RGS astro. The two sides were vying for third place and a win for the Sonics would have left the Foxes with no chance of a top three finish.

The game was played in a  good spirit and at a fast pace, with both sides taking a while to settle. The Sonics went ahead through a mix up in the Foxes defence but after that the Foxes took control and ended up with a comfortable win through goals from Ollie C, Sam and Jack. Once in the groove the Foxes played some lovely passing football and deserved the win that, for the moment anyway, left them clear in third.

Man of the match  - Alec.          

Year 2 Foxes at the Clifton Tournament

Two teams of Year 2 Foxes crossed the Suspension Bridge to the Millionaire's playground that is the Clifton College Sports Ground. The sun was blazing down and the 3G pitches were laid out and waiting for the festival of football to start. Each of the Foxes teams played five matches, this time it was our old adversaries from the Friendly "League" who were providing the opposition.

Again, we were out of our comfort zone. Big pitches, five a side, goals that were about 10ft wide by 3ft tall and a playing surface with not a lump, divot or puddle to be seen. But we gave it a real go, a few (but not all) lessons had been learned and we doubled the number of wins from seven days previously as the goals flew in at both ends.

After joining last week, Hemang made his competitive debut for the Foxes. He started in goal and showed some good touches and well timed tackles when moved into defence. And there was another notable first when Jessica fired in her first goal for the Foxes and celebrated in great style. Ambrose and Jacob were the next Foxes to find the net. It took a while for the first win to come but soon after we were on a roll. After literally shaking the bar with a thunderous free kick, Omar notched a quick-fire double to win one for Dave's team which also included Hemang, Jess, Ambrose, Matt, Elliot and Ben. On the other pitch, an Eden and Cos goal avalanche was underway for Pete's impressive team which included Louis, Jacob, Monty and Morgan.

Last week's penalty saving hero, Jacob H was showing he can score as well as save whilst putting in some lung-busting running back to produce last ditch tackles that would have put Premier League defenders to shame. With Cos and Eden prolificating for Pete's team, it was great saves by Ben and Elliot that caught the eye in Dave's team. Unfortunately, Elliot wasn't actually in goal at the time but the penalty was missed anyway!

For their efforts in the hot sun, the 13 shiny medals were richly deserved.



Year 2 Hooped Heroes



Year 2 Foxes at the Thornbury Tournament

The Year 2 Foxes made their tournament debuts on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Thornbury. Encouraged by the massed ranks of hooped Foxes marching en masse to the arena, two Year 2 teams joined the Under 7 five a side fray.

Up on the Downs we're more used to 20+ scrimmaging in the mud in some sort of medieavel battle re-enactment. Here it was completely different. Firstly, it wasn't raining, secondly the pitches, marked out for the older age groups looked massive and thirdly it was only five a side. I did feel for our littl'uns stood lonely in acres of space. What the empty spaces did encourage was passing (though unsurprisingly, not much by us) and it was a pleasure to see some good football being played by many teams. To begin with our naivety (0-0-4 formations rarely work) was punished but soon we were getting organised, Elliot was flattening tackling people left, right and centre, Charlie and Eden were revelling in the space and Matt was doing everything but find the net including some excellent goalkeeping.

We were beaten by one man in a game against St Valliers (whoever they are!)which was a real eye-opener what individual talent exists at this young age. (Saw him and his mum leaving clutching an invitation to attend Ipswich Town academy - I don't envy his parents making that midweek drive to training!).

But soon it was the Foxes quality shining through. Eden notched a brace as the first win was bagged, then shortly after a tactical battle was won (by leaving our striker in the opponents half on his own) as Ambrose, Omar and Charlie all latched on to long balls to score.

But the real drama was left to the last game as Pete's boys battled not only their opponents but a young ref too. Free kicks are rare at this level, penalties are rarer than hen's teeth. Imagine our surprise when we had one awarded against us! Fortunately Jacob H made the save. Imagine our slight consternation when we had a second awarded against us. Jacob H made the save. Now, this is only a five minutes each way match so you understand the "disappointment" amongst the Foxes following when unbelievably we had a third penalty awarded against us. Jacob H made the save! I bet you can't guess what happened next. We had a fourth penalty awarded against us! The moment of truth, could Jacob do it again. Surely they would score this time? Bang! Smashed against the bar and away to safety. Never was a 0-0 draw more deserved.

Player of the Day: Jacob H, great defending and unbeatable from six yards. A true Foxes hero.

Year 2 Foxes v Shire Colts

The final match of the Year 2 Foxes debut campaign. A tricky away day at the little known Sea Mills Rec. An oasis of calm that proved a little stressful until you realised that there was no entrance, just four footpaths from the surrounding roads.

But we all got there sooner or later. Sixteen Foxes stood proud and ready for battle. The sun was blazing but the conditions were tricky due to long grass and dandelions. Same for both teams. Four games were played, the Foxes split evenly, the Colts, well who knows!

Pete's team played two fantastic matches, evenly matched against both Colts teams. In the first, Omar found his scoring touch whilst Jacob H scored for the second saturday running. The whole team were excellent and gave a battling performance against some skillful opponents. In the second game, Pete's team were on top as string of chances were created and Charlie scored the goal that was the least that his performance merited.

On the other pitch my team "enjoyed" a mixture of emotions. In the first game it was one way traffic with Matt bagging a quick-fire hattrick, Josh adding a brace and Toby firing in for the second game running. London Buses anyone? Sophie was adorned in Foxes hoops for the first time and certainly looked the part. By the second game, it had all changed. One way traffic again and we were the ones in reverse. Elliot and Oliver were the goalkeepers with plenty of back-breaking work and our attempts to park the bus would not have impressed Jose Mourinho. Still, we kept going and saved the best to last. Matt went on a solo dribble (instructions on man to man marking seemingly lost in translation!) and headed for the Shire goal. The keeper woke from his twenty three and a half minute slumber but was too slow to react as Oliver found himself in front of goal with the ball at his feet. Bang! the ball was in the net, Oliver had his first goal for Foxes and the rest is history. The cheer must have woken the posh folks of Stoke Bishop and Sneyd Park.

Players of the Week: Non-Stop Charlie and Goal Machine Oliver!

Year 2 Foxes v Sefton Park Scorpions

A sunny day and a perfect pitch greeted the Foxes as they returned from their well earned Easter break. 22 hooped heroes were up for action, Scorpions brought 14 so it was four games of seven a side on The Downs.

Foxes gave a debut to Sophie who didn't disappoint. The first games kicked off and the goals immediately followed. Dave B's team had Josh at his best and a solid defence. Hatrick! On the other pitch Pete's team couldn't stop scoring, Matt hitting four to add to doubles from Cos and Eden. Andrew hammered in another. Goal of the game was a Cos chip. Sublime.

The second set of games saw the underemployed Foxes keepers given a run out. Omar had been waiting for a long time for a touch of the ball! He was bright and threatening throughout as the Foxes found it harder going against better organised Scorpion sides. The Foxes rear guards were finally breached but there was plenty of action at the other end too with Josh adding to his tally, Charlie showing his quality, Jacob H finding the net for the first time since the reverse fixture in the Autumn and all this was topped off by first Foxes goal for Toby!

Pete's team were also on fire, Eden adding to his two from the first game, and although they were pegged back during a disorganised mass substituion, Matt blasted another quickly followed by a cool finish by the dangerous Own Goal. Tremendous defending kept Foxes at bay in the second half with Matt sending across corner after corner. Finally, at the fourth attempt, super sharp Cos applied the super finish that Matt's deadly delivery deserved.

Players of the day: Josh and Matt. Razor sharp.

BGL U11 Bradley Stoke 1 v 1 Westbury Park Foxes

Foxes Go Unbeaten All Season!

Today saw the final game of a tremendous season for the girls. An away game at Bradley Stoke was always going to be tough match, but the girls were determined that they wanted to end the season on a high, without losing a game.

It was a vastly depleted Foxes squad, with only 8 girls available due to the Easter Holidays. Regular defenders Izzy and Amelia  were away, and star striker Sim had left for the Lake District at 5am. However, with Stoke's leading scorer Daisy Ackerman not in the home squad, it looked like the teams would start even.
If the Foxes required any more encouragement, then knowing that their training coach, and star of 'Class of '92', Raph Burke was coming to watch, provided all that was needed!

The Foxes lined up with Betty in goal, Rhiannon and Molly in defence. Lulu, Mara and Ella B started in midfield, with Lily leading the line.

The Foxes were quickly into their stride, attacking down the flanks and winning most of the 50:50 balls in midfield. Whilst the attackers were getting to the side of the box, the final ball in was lacking, and too often the Foxes resorted to shooting from impossible angles, or not finding a team mate with the cross.

Foxes attack the corner!

The Foxes forced a number of corners, but failed to convert from the set pieces, and often had to scramble as Stoke countered with some slick passing of their own. Ella W joined the fray as Lily recovered from a stich.

Midway through the first half disaster struck, as a Stoke counter attack evaded several tackles resulting in a shot that Betty could only get a palm to as it flew into the side of the goal. The Foxes were 1-0 down. On the side, regular match day coaches Graham and Martin, tried to remember the last time we had trailed in a game, (and couldn't), in an attempt to remedy the situation.

Rolling up those extra long sleeves!

The girls rolled up their (extra long) sleeves, and set about trying to rectify the deficit. Rhiannon  went on a trademark mazy run down the right and flashed a cross that rolled agonisingly close, but again there were no Foxes on hand to tap home. Then Mara was able to run at the defence, cut in from the left and send a shot fizzing over the bar. At the other end Stoke also had a shot against the bar that Betty had covered.

So the half ended with the Foxes still a goal down. Time for a well earned breather, and a tactical change. The coaches realised that our best chance of an equaliser was to move Mara into a more central striking role, whilst utilising Lily's pace with the ball to supply down the right wing. Ella B switched flanks to the left.

The second half began brightly with the Foxes on the front foot again. The switch almost paid immediate dividends as the fast Foxes line caught the Stoke defence high up the pitch and had a 3 on 1 with the defender. The resulting shot was straight at the keeper, but was encouraging for the away side.
10 minutes in though and the front 3 combined well again to run at pace at the Stoke defence. This time there was no mistake as Mara slotted cooly passed the Stoke keeper to level the scores.
Relief on the sidelines as the unbeaten record was back on!
The Foxes, spurred on by the goal again went on the attack again, and a fine run down the right by Lily was eventually  forced out by the final defender for a Foxes corner.

Stoke were recycling the ball quickly, with the keeper's long kicks going 'route 1' down the slope. Betty did well to come out and clear the box, and was soon called into a brave save as 2 Stoke attackers closed in on goal. The home tactic meant a huge amount of running back afar attacks for the tiring Foxes. Stoke were able to keep things fresh with rolling substitutions.

In the end neither side could add to the goal tally, and, as the final whistle blew,  all agreed that a draw was the right result for such an entertaining game.

After the match, coaches Graham and Martin were pleased to learn that Raph had suggested the same changes at half time, to Director of Football Tamsin, as they had thought of themselves!

With Raph after the final whistle!

So, in the end, a fantastic finish to a Championship winning season. We will keep training hard ahead of the ESFA national finals in May, but will savour a great season in the BGL!

Captain of the Week: Ella Beswetherick

Girl of the Game: Lily Kington Miller