SATURDAY 14TH JANUARY
GIRLS U10
Capital Girls League Football Festival
First tournament of the year and the girls played really well. We had 2 news girls play their first tournament this week - Annabel & Lily May. Both girls were really nervous when they started but soon got stuck in and really enjoyed the morning. It was extremely cold, but the girls managed to keep themselves warm by battling hard and keeping their spirits up. We drew one game and lost 2. We played Hampstead, Old Actonians and Ruislip Rangers. Charlotte came so close to scoring in the first game. Practically each time she received the ball, she had great control, but alas a goal alluded her. But she scored a fantastic goal in the last game. Was well deserved. Just a shame that Ruislip scored a great goal to take them into the lead and win the game. Elize was our other goal scorer, and as always played extremely well in mid field, supporting her strikers and defenders. Taylor as always played excellently in defence and between her and Aisling managed to keep many balls out of our goal. Millie played well in whatever position she was asked to play in. As always a valuable member of the team. Well done girls. Performance Rating 8.0
U12
Friendly
VENCEREMOS 7-1 HEADSTONE MANOR 'B'
TEAM: Glen, Lewis M, John, Jordan, William, Leo, Abinesh, Laurence, Luke, Ishmael, Harmit, Ihsan, Owen, Keith. SCORERS: Luke 2, Ishmael 3, Lewis M 1, OG.
Performance Rating 9.0
SUNDAY 15TH JANUARY
Harrow Youth League Division 4
VENCEREMOS 1-6 LONDON ATHLETIC
The Vs first home game of the new year saw them against a London Athletic team which were in a great position for promotion. We had changed our formation and settled into the game from the whistle. End to end play saw both goalies and defence make great saves and well executed tackles. The battle for advantage was being won in the middle of the pitch and the Vs had their share but a sweeping ball from the LA's centre back saw their forwards in, a great finish to follow 1-0. The Vs replied immediately from the centre kick with a great ball to wing a great cross was met by Evan who headed the ball into the top corner for the equaliser 1-1. Just before the half time break LA caught the Vs short down the right side and scored 2-1. Half time team talk was we were happy with our formation but had to win the ball more in the middle to stop their 3 forwards making dangerous runs. Second half, the Vs battled on and played great football with attacks defence and midfield putting in a great shift of ability and passion. Goals followed for LA but the Vs carried on through with heads up enjoying their team comradeship and link play. It was a pleasure to watch for all. The final whistle blew and this result could of been a whole lot different. Well done to our goalie Rajun who won (Man of the Match) a great team effort by all (Lets keep it going Vs).
Performance Rating 8.0
Harrow Youth League Division 4
VENCEREMOS 2-3 HILLINGDON YOUTH
Despite putting in a disjointed performance the boys could and should have gained at least a draw from this fixture. We started well hitting the post and generally were on top but too many players lacked sharpness which meant our opponents picked up the second ball. Hillingdon took advantage with a goal after 20 minutes and created some further chances with our defending excellent the week before not particularly impressive. We came back into the game as half time approached missing a penalty and another very good opportunity. After the break we improved but our passing remained disappointing at times. Nonetheless we equalised with a very good finish from Ishmael and with Luke impressing up front we looked increasingly dangerous. With 18 minutes left we took the lead with Lewis D also finishing well. That really should have been it but we got caught on the break then didn't deal well with a corner giving Hillingdon the lead. For the third time this season our late rally proved fruitless resulting in another one goal defeat. The boys can probably count themselves unlucky but this was really another game they would have won comfortably had they imposed themselves from the start. Well done to all those who played on Saturday when a far sharper performance resulted in a comfortable friendly win. Performance Rating 7.0
Friendly
VENCEREMOS 2-4 HEADSTONE MANOR 'A'
This friendly against Headstone Manor 'A' was very much a game of two halves. The gulf between a team who are in Division 1 and Venceremos was very much in evidence during the first half when Headstone controlled the game, with the Vs failing to keep hold of the ball. The Vs were missing Fred, Ronaldo, Oliver from the squad and Remy missed the first twenty minutes of the game. Headstone took the lead on 15 minutes after Jordan, who was in goal, handled the ball outside the area. The exquisite free kick from outside the area was perfection in terms of placement and pace giving Jordan no chance. Headstone continued to dominate and the Vs restricted them to two more soft goals in the half. The Vs failed to have one shot on goal in the first half with Niall producing a strong performance to help keep the score down. Dylan went in goal for the second half, with Jordan moving into a central defensive position. With the slope of the pitch on their side, the Vs started the second half very strongly and managed to produce three good shots from Remy, Troy and Sami within the first five minutes that were saved well by the Headstone keeper. With the Vs in the ascendency, Alex found himself through on goal on 40 minutes to slide the ball past the keeper to make it 3-1. The Vs continued to press and with eight minutes to go were awarded a penalty for handball. Jordan converted the resulting spot kick to make it 3-2 and set up a grand finale. With a few minutes to go and with the Vs pushing forward, Headstone managed to counter-attack and put the game beyond reach. The Vs produced nine clear-cut chances in the second half to completely transform the game. The Headstone keeper was their MOM, but for the Vs, Niall was awarded the honour with a real captain's performance. Performance Rating 7.0
Harrow Soccer Sevens Combination Division 4
VENCEREMOS 2-5 ST LAWRENCE
From the off the V's were on the back foot against a strong and talented St Lawrence side. Tackles were not won and passes not completed which allowed the opposition to attack with ease, breaking through the V's lines at will. The inevitable goals came on 5, 8 and 13 mins and it was a relief when the half time whistle blew. At half time the boys were told that if they start winning tackles and finding each other with passes then they can get back in the game. The boys responded well and began to compete and the rewards came but not before St Lawrence added a fourth on 29 mins. Almost immediately Sam K broke down the right, beat his man and headed for goal to score a great solo effort. James added a second from tight angle on 38mins and the V's were on top. The St Lawrence goal was under seige but every chance fell kindly for their keeper and on the occasion he was beaten the sticky mud prevented the ball from crossing the line. It was left to St Lawrence to have the last word as they added a fifth on the whistle. Although the V's showed great fight in the second half, the game was lost on the poor first half display. Performance Rating 6.0
U9 RED
Inter-club match
The U9 squad played out a high scoring game which finished 7-3. Lauren was player of the match.
Squad (Goals): Daniel (4), Ben (3), Lauren, Shane (1), Will (1), Ethan W (1), Mike, Youness, Ethan B, Joe, Mohamed, Cameran, Tom, Joel.