SATURDAY 12TH & 19TH NOVEMBER
GIRLS U10
Capital Girls League Football Festival
The girls under 10's team have played tournaments two Saturdays in a row and have played fantastically. Last weekend the team won 2, drew 3 and lost just the 1 game. All the girls scored a goal, with Charlotte being the top goal scorer with 2. She desperately wanted to get her hat-trick and was so close on many occasions, but the ball just kept going wide. Taylor got my player of the tournament as her attitude was positive, and kept battling in defence. She was also a great support to the forwards and the goalkeeper. Just the 1 goal conceded for the whole morning. Performance Rating 9.5
This week again the girls played really well. Each week that we play competitively, they get better and better as individuals and more importantly as a team. This week we played 4 games, won 2 and lost 2. A special mention to Aisling who received the player of the tournament for the fantastic saves she made and the support she gave her team mates. Performance Rating 7.5
SUNDAY 20TH NOVEMBER
Harrow Youth League Division 4
HARROW ST MARY'S 'B' 4-0 VENCEREMOS
Our eighth league appearance saw us away to Harrow St Marys. A good side, but hey so are we. We went into the fog with 4 of our players missing due to injuries and commitments, but we have big squad that can cope with these challenges. From the first whistle we played well with constructive play and kept the ball. But as the half unfolded we were beaten by the bounce and 2 similar goals were scored by the Saints. (We must beat the bounce of the ball). Half time we were 2-0 down and made changes knowing if we win, keep and play the ball they can't score and we would wear them down with our passing game. We got caught out from the second whistle 3-0. But the Vs pulled themselves together and played great football being denied goals that they deserved from their great play by the saints goalie who had a good game. The Vs soldiered on looking for the net and yet again 10 minutes from the end, the ball was allowed to bounce in the saints favour and 4-0. For the last ten minutes the game was end to end and the Vs team play was displayed in all its glory. Well done to Victor who won man of the match and Gregg, who was so close to a hat-trick but was denied all three. (Well done all). The wins are a comin! Performance Rating 6.5
HarrowYouth League Challenge Cup 2nd Round
LNER YOUTH 'B' 6-2 VENCEREMOS
A very disappointing display where the boys lack of collective competitiveness meant that a side who were technically no better than them won comfortably. Another adult pitch didn't help and LNER have one excellent forward but that doesn't justify the weakness of the display without the ball particularly in the first half. LNER sped into a 2 goal lead because players didn't compete further up the pitch and the long balls we talked about avoiding were constantly played in behind our back 4. A well worked move resulted in a clever finish from Lewis D and we had some other goalmouth scrambles that could have gone our way but it was far too easy for LNER when they had the ball resulting in a 4-1 halftime scoreline. We were slightly better after the break with less regular players William, Aaron and Glen showing commitment that was lacking in some of their teammates. Nonetheless we still lost the half 2-1 despite a great finish from Lewis D. The reaction from some of the boys after the game suggested that they were very frustrated by the performance and the development of the side will hinge on others having the same attitude. Performance Rating 5.5
Harrow Youth League Division 4
VENCEREMOS 3-0 CHALLENGER YOUTH
The Vs put in a good performance in the second half to win the game 3-0. The first half was a ragged affair, with the Vs failing to dominate against a team who had 10 players for the first 15 minutes. Challenger Youth were strong for periods of the first half, but failed to penetrate the Vs defence. Munquadullah went in goal for the second half with Troy and Remy making up the strike force. The Vs scored after 10 minutes in the second half when Remy converted a cross from the left wing with the resulting shot proving too strong for the keeper. The Vs had other chances to make the game safe with shots from Dylan and Sammi both going over the bar before Oliver made it 2-0 with a looping shot from an acute angle. Jordan secured the victory with a fine goal from outside the box. There were strong performances from Oliver and Billy, but the man of the match went to Alex who had another good game.
Performance Rating 7.0
Harrow Soccer Sevens Combination Division 4
VENCEREMOS 1-5 SOUTHALL YOUTH 'B'
The V's entertained the league leaders Southall Youth who with a 100% record would be a tough test for the boys. The game began positively for the V's who competed well and from this they almost took the lead but Sam K could only find the keeper with his shot. Southall showed why they top of the league and their excellent passing and movement pulled the V's all over the place at times. Although the defence of Krish & George stood firm for a while Southall took the lead. They added a second just before the break as they broke forward on mass to give the outnumbered defence no chance. With the customary half time changes made the V's enjoyed a good spell of possesion but not before Southall had added a third. Daniel enjoyed plenty of the ball down the left and Krish had a great chance but fired straight at the keeper. Southall remained dangerous and with the boys not managing to keep up with the swift breaking play conceded twice further. The V's did however keep plugging away and were rewarded with a deserved consolation goal courtesy of a great strike from James that found the bottom corner. Performance Rating 7.0
Inter-Club Match
REDS 4-1 YELLOWS
The Reds went into a two goal half time lead thanks to goals from Will & Mahmoud. The yellows though were not without chances and Sam P should have scored but his shots were directed straight at Ethan B in the Reds goal. Kai kept the score down with some good saves for the Yellows. With both teams displaying some good strong tackling all they need to do is think more about there positional play when they have the ball and spread out rather than all go for the ball. The Yellows got back in the game following a strike from George that made it 2-1 and had lots of possession but were unable to score and were punished by the Reds with two breakaway goals that saw Mahmoud complete his hat-trick. Man of the Match Kai.
YELLOWS: Harvey, Lauren, Mohamed, Joe, George, Kai, Sam P.
REDS: Reece, Mike, Tom, Ethan B, Will, Mahmoud, Charlie.