Colts Off To Another Good Start September 2005

PORTISHEAD ‘A’s – 14/05/05

Orange Team – Joby, Jack, Sam B, Ethan, Tom, Josh, Joe C & Sam K

This summer would see a more determined attempt to do well, taking just one team to most tournaments. This started at Portishead ‘A’ tournament where two teams had failed to score a single goal in the previous year. Andy was actually ill and had to back out on the morning with Mark taking charge, but recovered enough for Fran to bring him, in time to see the end of the first game. We drew our first 0-0 with Warmley, but then beat Bradley Stoke Utd ‘A’ 1-0 thanks to a goal from Joe, before losing 1-0 to Portishead ‘A’. It was enough to take us through. In the semi-final we beat Shire Colts 1-0 after it had finished level and both ‘keepers as well as two players each had been withdrawn leaving us 4 v 4. Tom volleying in from 20 yards put us through to a final with Portishead ‘A’. We ended up losing 2-0, but this was no disgrace against arguably the best team in Bristol – 2005 Runners-Up

Man of the Tournament – Chosen by the parent’s for a great display – Tom

FC CHIPPENHAM YOUTH – 21/05/05

Orange Team – Jamie, Sam B, Mark, Sam K, Dan, Josef & Joe

Andy was away in Liverpool, leaving Tim in charge of a tournament, which turned out to be a festival of football. We lost 2-1 to Warminster Highbury ‘B’, Joe scoring the goal. We then lost 2-0 to Chippenham Tn ‘A’ and drew 0-0 with White Horse Juniors ‘A’. We beat Trowbridge Town ‘B’ 2-1 thanks to goals from Joe and Sam K, and then ended the festival beating FC Chippenham Youth ‘B’ 1-0 with another goal from Joe.

Man of the Tournament – Chosen by the parent’s for a great display – Josef

PORTISHEAD ‘B’s – 22/05/05

Orange Team – James, Jack, Ethan, Tom, Joe C, Mark, Jim, Ben W

The day after Chippenham, Mark took a team to the site of our first tournament win as we tried to retain our trophy. We drew with Clevedon Utd 1-1, Tom getting the goal, then we beat Portishead Utd 3-0, thanks to a brace from Joe and one from Jim. Looking good for the semi’s, the rain then came down too hard and the tournament had to be abandoned. With no winner, we claim our right to say that we are still the defending champions!

Man of the Tournament – Chosen by the parent’s for a great display – Joe

FRY CLUB – 29/05/05

Green Team – Aaron, James, Josef, Luke G, Sam K & Sam B

Yellow Team – Jamie, Jim, Luke A, Spike, Dan & Oscar

Orange Team – Joby, Jack, Josh, Max, Ethan & Joe C

With a team dropping out at the last minute, we decided to field three teams, but could only get 18 players meaning that it would be a long hard day. As it turned out we were stretched too thin and it was too hard. Maurice took the Green, Dave C took the Yellow and Andy took the Orange. The Green team lost 2-0 to Longwell Green, then 1-0 to Avishayes Barracudas. They drew with Abbeymead ‘A’ 0-0 before beating Paulton ‘B’ 1-0 thanks to a goal from Aaron. They lost 2-0 to Weston Crusaders before beating the Yellows in an excellent and exciting game 1-0. The goal was from Aaron, but the key point was Luke G saving Jim’s penalty. The Greens ended the day drawing 0-0 with Frys Junior Blues. The Yellows lost 1-0 to the Juniors Blue team, drew 0-0 with Weston ‘A’ (the team that lost in the final!), drew 0-0 with Paulton ‘B’, lost 1-0 to Abbeymead ‘A’, 0-0 with Avishayes Barracudas, lost 1-0 to the Greens, and finally 2-0 to Longwell Green. The Orange beat Frys Juniors Red 2-0 with goals from Josh and Joe, then beat Weston ‘B’ 5-0 with Josh and Joe both getting two goals each and Max making it five. They then drew 0-0 with Paulton ‘A’ before losing 1-0 to Abbeymead ‘B’. They bounced back with a 2-0 win against Avishayes Dolphins thanks to Joe both times, We then needed to win one of our last two games, only to lose 1-0 to Southside and 1-0 to Clevedon.

Men of the Tournament – Chosen by the parent’s for a great display – Max, Luke G & Sam P

AFC CORSHAM – 05/06/05

Orange Team – Jamie, Oscar, Dan, Luke A, Spike & Max

This was a festival, but after entering two teams, could only get enough for one team out of 24 players asked! My thanks to those who came. We all enjoyed it immensely. We drew 0-0 with FC Chippenham Panthers and then 1-1 with Trowbridge Wanderers ‘B’ thanks to a goal from Max. We drew 0-0 with Chippenham Town Yth ‘B’ and then 2-2 with Warminster Highbury ‘B’ thanks to goals from Dan and Luke. We ended with a win, 2-1 against Bath Arsenal ‘B’ thanks to two goals from Max. Undefeated and group winners.

Man of the Tournament – Chosen by the parent’s for a great display – Max

BRISLINGTON – 12/06/05

Orange Team – Ethan, Mark, Callum, Jim, Max, Tom, Josh & Sam K

A strange tournament this. We drew 0-0 with Stoke Lane ‘A’ then beat Brislington ‘B’ 1-0 thanks to a goal from Tom, before drawing 0-0 with Lawrence Weston ‘B’. We battered all three teams, and we were far and away the best team in the group, but went out because, despite all of the pressure, we could only score one goal.

Man of the Tournament – Chosen by the parent’s for a great display – Ethan

THORNBURY FALCONS – 18/06/05

Orange Team – Joby, Sam K, Aaron, Josh, Sam B, Tom & Joe C

Because of the lack of support for Corsham, I decided that all outfield players would be drawn from those willing to travel to Westbury on the following day. We lost our first game to Avon ‘A’ 1-0 as we were still waking up. Then we could only draw 0-0 with Rockleaze meaning that goal difference would decide if we went through. We beat Thornbury ‘B’ 4-0 thanks to two from Tom and one each for Aaron and Sam K. We beat Bradley Stoke Utd ‘A’ 1-0 in the semi thanks to a long shot from Tom, before drawing 0-0 with Avon ‘A’ in the final, outplaying them for ten minutes. It went to penalties, three each, we lost 1-0 - 2005 Runners-Up

Man of the Tournament – Chosen by the parent’s for a great display – Joe B

WESTBURY YOUTH – 19/06/05

Green Team – Sam B, Sam K, Jordan, Josh, Callum & Aaron

Yellow Team – Jamie, Mark, Tom, Joe C & Josef

A bit of a journey to find the place, but it was fun for those who came. It does go to show however how the luck of the draw can effect you as two equal teams had wildly differing fortunes. The Green team started by outplaying Amesbury Tigers and losing 1-0, then drawing 0-0 with Trowbridge ‘A’. We then beat Westbury Youth 1-0 thanks to a goal from Sam K, before losing their last game 1-0 to Chippenham Town ‘B’. The Yellow team however won all four games without conceding a goal. 2-0 to Melksham ‘A’ thanks to Tom and Joe, 4-0 to Westfield with a brace from Joe and one each for Tom and Josef. We beat Chippenham Town ‘A’ 2-0 with goals from Tom and Joe, and 2-0 against Warminster ‘B’, Joe and Tom again the scorers. As it happened it was another festival so everyone had a nice memento.

Men of the Tournament – Chosen by the parent’s for a great display – Joe C & Sam K

BATH ARSENAL – 25/06/05

Green Team – Joe C, Sam K, Sam B, Oscar, Luke G & Luke A

Yellow Team – Jamie, Mark, Tom, Spike, Dan & Jordan

The following Saturday we went to what proved to be a rain soaked, but fun festival, which ended with all of the players getting the biggest picture in the Bath Chronicle! The Green team won 2-0 against FC Chippenham Panthers thanks to a brace from Sam K. They drew 0-0 with Bath Arsenal ‘B’, beat Peasedown Athletic ‘B’ 1-0 again thanks to Sam K, drew 0-0 with Bristol Rovers ‘B’ and finally drew 1-1 with Trowbridge Youth ‘B’, again thanks to Sam K. The Yellows had the harder group this time, drawing 1-1 with Bath Arsenal ‘D’ thanks to Tom, losing 2-0 to Bath Arsenal ‘A’, 2-0 to BRSJ ‘A’ (letting Zac score with a shot from the half way line!). We lost 4-1 to Trowbridge Youth ‘A’ with Tom getting the consolation and finally lost 3-0 to Shepton Mallet.

Men of the Tournament – Chosen by the parent’s for a great display – Sam K & Tom

WARMLEY RANGERS – 26/06/05

Orange Team – Joby, Jack, Sam B, Callum, Max, Josh, Joe C, Tom & Sam K

This was going to be a hard tournament as you will see by the teams we had to play and beat. We started badly, losing 1-0 to Longwell Green ‘A’ but then picked up. We beat Bradley Stoke Utd ‘A’ 2-0 thanks to goals from Tom and Sam K, beat St Nicks ‘B’ 2-0, this time Max and Sam K getting the goals. Josh got the only goal against his old team Brislington ‘A’ 1-0 and then we had to beat Yate Utd ‘B’ to go through, with them fully expecting to beat us. Joe did the honours, 1-0. We were through to the hardest quarter-final tie of the four, against Yate Utd ‘A’. From our kick, we passed back, but not hard enough. We all froze and their player ran through and smashed it into the goal. From that point we were always chasing the game and near the end they sewed it up with their forward hand-balling it into the net to make it 2-0.

Men of the Tournament – Chosen by the parent’s for a great display –The Whole Team

DEERSWOOD YOUTH – 02/07/05

Orange Team – Joby, Jack, Sam B, Sam K, Jim, Tom, Max & Joe C

One week later, back at the same ground. How would we fare this time? We started by drawing 0-0 with St Aldhelms ‘A’ before smashing Downend Saints 4-0 with a hat-trick from Joe and Max finishing the job – all in the first half! We then drew 1-1 with Deerswood ‘A’ thanks to a goal from Tom. Max gave us a 1-0 win against Quedgeley Wanderers ‘B’ and we drew our final group game 0-0 with BRSJ ‘B’ taking us through as group runners-up to St Aldhelms. In the semi-final we played 14 minutes normal and then 6 minutes golden goal without scoring, (Joby only had two saves to make, whilst their ‘keeper was very big). So it went to penalties! When we missed, they did, when we scored, so did they. In the end, we missed our 9^th penalty and they scored theirs.

Men of the Tournament – Chosen by the parent’s for a great display –The Whole Team

STOKE LANE AFC – 03/07/05

Orange Team – Tom, Joe C, Ethan, Mark, Callum, Dan & Spike

Andy had a Licensing Course to take so Dave Churches kindly took charge for the second time of the summer. For some reason Jamie didn’t show, so they took it in turns to go in goal. When you look at the groups, again we were in the hardest group, but the players did well nonetheless. We lost 1-0 to St Vallier ‘B’, lost 1-0 to Stoke Lane ‘A’, beat Bradley Stoke Utd ‘B’ 3-0 thanks to goals from Tom, Ethan and Spike, before finally losing 1-0 to Portishead Juniors ‘A’.

Man of the Tournament – Chosen by the parent’s for a great display – Ethan

BRSJ FC – 10/07/05

Orange Team – Joby, Jack, Sam B, Ethan, Josh, Max & Sam K

Our final tournament of the summer, and maybe it was one too many as, on a very hot day, we just seemed to run out of steam. We drew 0-0 with BRSJ ‘A’, the 1-1 against Portishead Juniors ‘B’ thanks to Sam K. We drew 0-0 with Bradley Stoke Utd ‘A’ before beating Bishport Utd 1-0 thanks to a goal from Max. Finally we beat Longwell Green ‘B’ 2-0 with goals from Ethan and Sam K to set up a quarter-final game against Longwell Green ‘A’. We had showed signs of weariness in the group games and it was cruelly exposed here, losing 3-0 and never really looking like scoring.

Man of the Tournament – Chosen by the parent’s for a great display – Joe B

Afterthoughts…………………………………………………

Now that was a long summer, and one that I enjoyed immensely. Memories for me this year was obviously the Thornbury final and the agony of penalties, the semi-final at Deerswood and again the agony of penalties, the way the team played at Warmley, and the enjoyment gained at Corsham for the six players and their parents who huddled with me under the gazebo as the rain came down, but went out with a smile at each game and came away deservedly the best team in the festival group.

The biggest highlight however was the Portishead ‘A’s tournament. After not scoring a goal in six games there last year, to go again and make the final was a joy, especially for me seeing how ill I was, having to send the team on and only getting there thanks to my wife taking me! (She also thought it was great!) As I said last year, I love my tournaments, and 13 entered shows that again. Players (and wife) willing, I will always do that. Roll on next summer!

U8’s – Appearances and Goals

P = Played in the Tournament

M = Man of the Tournament

G = Goals scored

P M G

Aaron Sutton 3 3

Ben Watt 1

Callum Payne 4 1

Daniel Churches 5 1

Ethan Chilcott 6 2 2

Jack Yeoman 6 2

James Baker 2

Jamie Charles 4 1 1

Jamie Godwin 5

Joe Bray 6 4

Joe Carreyett 10 4 20

Jordan Harris 2

Josef Hill 3 1 1

Josh Batt 7 1 4

Luke Andrews 3 1

Luke Glover 2 1

Mark Gratton 6

Max Stevens 6 4 7

Oscar Hutchings 3

Sam Burgess 9 2

Sam Kipling 10 4 11

Sam Pike 4 1 1

Tom Johnson 9 4 15

U8’s Fixtures and Results

May 14 O Portishead A’s Runners-Up

21 O FC Chippenham Festival

22 O Portishead B’s Rained Off

29 G Fry’s Group Stage

29 Y Fry’s Group Stage

29 O Fry’s Group Stage

Jun 5 O Corsham Festival

12 O Brislington Group Stage

18 O Thornbury Runners-Up

19 G Westbury Festival

19 Y Westbury Festival

25 G Bath Arsenal Festival

25 Y Bath Arsenal Festival

26 O Warmley Quarter-Final

Jul 2 O Deerswood Semi-Final

3 O Stoke Lane Group Stage

10 O BRSJ Group Stage

Well done to everyone who participated, see you next Summer!