Roll Call

 

WESTWOOD COLTS U10 SECURE 2^nd SPOT AND PROMOTION!!!!!!

 

Well the boys managed to secure their first honour after a hard fought season.

The season started so well with an unbeaten 7 game run without even conceding a goal!!! Then we were still in the running for the title but unfortunately we were up against the only team in the whole BYDL  U10's section that just didn’t lose.

8 games into the season there was only a point between us and the big match against Maidenhead was a fantastic game if we had luck on our side I think we could have got something out of the game there was nothing between us, but unfortunately we came out second best, a great learning curve for the boys though.

The harsh winter set in and we didn’t get to play much, when we returned at the end of Jan we played our first game on a frozen pitch with only 7 players available, everyone else cancelled their games, but the boys wanted to play and bravely lost to a team with more subs and more coats than us.

The ice and snow finally disappeared and we seemed to find our momentum and we became the first team to take a point of the runaway leaders. We had a bit of a setback when we faced our only contenders for promotion but on the day it just wasn’t to be, The boys now knew we had to win our last 6 games to maybe come away with something at the end of the season.

Myself and the parents tried to not give the boys any more pressure, Go out there play your football !!!!

Well after 4 cup final games we were still in with a chance, Could the wanderers help us out by snatching a point away from our main rivals??

Yesss!! Dave and the boys took 2 points off them and we now knew 2 games 2 wins and promotion was ours!!

9 goals and 2 wins later the boys had done it.

I must say the football we played in our last 6 games and the pressure we were under was absolutely breathtaking. Every single player has played there part in what has been a really enjoyable season.

Boys and parents I would like to congratulate you all ,

As we kept on saying" we win as a team, we lose as a team, we are a team!!!!

Once again thanks to you all it has been an absolute pleasure

Roll on next season

Colin

 

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WESTWOOD COLTS 4 vs HURST ROMANS 0

Once again the sun was shining and everyone was looking forward to a hard match against what was a well drilled Hurst side.

The lads warmed up and the pre match chat was all about carrying on passing and moving but also to keep concentrating at the back and not to get dragged out of position.

As usual or so it seems the boys took a few minutes to wake up, Hurst had a couple of attacks and on 1 occasion Callum had to make a brave save at their lively forwards feet, the ball then spun off both of them only for Callum to pounce on it once again. That little shock of someone daring to come into our penalty box seemed to make the boys realise that once again every team we play will not let us win without making a game of it.

Colin informed the boys in his own unique style that it was time to get hold of the ball and show everyone how we play football, from then on the boys seemed to settle down and get on with their passing game. Our first real attack of the game saw Owen, Alfie and Harry combine well only to see Harry’s shot go narrowly wide. The boys gained a throw in down the right, a good throw in from Jack saw Owen beat his man and whipped in a low cross into the penalty area Alfie hit his shot first time only for it to rebound off the keeper, Alfie kept his cool and calmly slotted the ball home. Well done Alfie his first goal for the team 1 nil to us.

By now the boys were in full flow attacking at will down both flanks, and on one such attack Johnny superbly finished a good cross from Harry 2 nil to us.

Matt came on for Harry who is slowly getting back to full fitness. BE PATIENT H. IT TAKES TIME MATE.

Hurst did try and get back into the game but were quickly snuffed out by Jack k and Couper who were in total control at the back, timing their tackles and positioning themselves very well.

From a clearance by Couper, Matt picked up the ball beat his marker to lay on a great pass for Johnny to latch onto, he then powered towards the Hurst penalty area beating a couple of their players before letting loose a fantastic swerving shot into the top left hand corner 3 nil to us GREAT GOAL.

The lads then won a penalty right at the end of the half but the Hurst keeper made a brilliant save. In my opinion though, a penalty should be taken from the penalty spot not the edge of the penalty area, but I suppose we must accept the ref’s decision.

HALF TIME 3 - 0

Max and Jordan were introduced into the action at the start of the second half and quickly slotted in with some great tackles and passes. Max was very unlucky not to score when a through ball from Jack seemed to hit a bump on the pitch just as he shot.

The boys were still pushing forward and Hurst every now and again ventured into our half only to be quickly dealt with by our defence who as always were being controlled by our keeper Callum.

I think our solid defending knocked the Hurst player’s confidence and the final part of the match saw the boys really start to dominate once more.

The best move of the match saw Couper pass to Harry who jinked passed a defender and then with the outside of his boot swerve a pass into Mat’s path. Mat then beat his man and laid it onto Johnny, his inch perfect cross into the box was met by Owen diving in head first, for the keeper to knock it wide.

A throw in reached Alfie who beat his man with ease, Max received the ball and knocked it into Jordan’s path he then jinked into the penalty box and hit a cracking shot into the bottom, great finish Jordan 4 nil to us. Also a great celebration from Jordan and Alfie’s mum wish I had my camera for that one.

The match ended soon after.

Manager’s player - Owen - a real captains performance always doing his best for the team even helping Colin on the sidelines.

Parent’s player - Johnny fantastic display and a great second goal

Effort award - Jordan good goal and never let his head drop.

Colin’s VERDICT

A great display from the whole team, everyone played their part and once again after an early scare there was only one team in it, we know what an attacking force we are but a special mention to Couper, Jack and Callum who I thought played with passion but also very calmly.

Still need to work on that final ball though boys. See you on Tuesday and we will practice again.

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Westwood Colts 2 vs Barton Rovers 0

Once again we were given a pitch  far far away Colin really could do with some help with all the bags he is not as young as he looks!!

This is always an exciting fixture when we play our local rivals and we expected a tough match for the boys.

The game kicked off and straight away Barton were on the attack but were kept at bay with some fantastic defending by Couper and Samuel. Even though Barton seemed to be constantly on the attack they still didn’t seem to trouble our keeper Callum.

On the sidelines the coach and parents were starting to wonder if this match would be the end of our unbeaten run. But then as if by magic or Colin having a couple of “words” the boys realised it was game on!

Johnny received the ball and raced past 2 defenders to cross in to matt who was unlucky with his effort.

The boys started to see a lot more of the ball and after a great run by Owen we won a corner. Sam fired the ball to jack whose first time shot went narrowly wide.

Barton had a rare shot on goal only to see Callum coolly punch the ball to safety.

From his next goal kick Owen received the ball went straight past a Barton defender and fired his shot into the roof of the net

1.0

Harry replaced matt who was unselfish enough to admit he was tired and got straight into his first match since his injury with some good touches and an effort go wide.

Half time 1.0

The second half started with the lads putting Barton under pressure straight away, within 2 minutes Owen got his second of the game after some great passing between Sam and Johnny

2.0

Alfie came on and quickly got into the action with a couple of tackles and some great running with the ball.

Max came on for jack who had worked his socks off in midfield and also got into the action with some crunching tackles.

The second goal seemed to kill the game a bit and the ball seemed to spend a lot of time bouncing between the midfielders. But all the time the boys seemed determined not to give up their 100% clean sheet record and concentrated more on keeping the ball and slowing down the play.

Jordan then came into the action and within seconds whipped in a fantastic cross for Owen the crowd waited with baited breath but Owens brave header went just wide.

The game ended 5 minutes later with all the boys congratulating each other on a hard fought victory.

FULL TIME 2.0

COLINS' VERDICT

After a frantic few minutes at the beginning of the match the boys woke up and realised they would have to fight really hard to protect their unbeaten record and once they got going it was only a matter of time before we scored. Well done lads for being a bit more patient in your approach play and to have everyone in the squad play their part was very pleasing. Still need to work on that final pass though!!!

EFFORT AWARD-Johnny covered every inch of the pitch for his team

PARENTS PLAYER -Samuel cool as always at the back

MANAGERS AWARD-Couper had their lively centre forward in his pocket for most of the game never stopped concentrating well done.

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WESTWOOD COLTS 3 vs WOODLEY SAINTS KITES 0

The sun was shining and once again we were given a pitch far far away so looks like we could do with a couple of golf buggies especially for me!!!

The game kicked off and straight away the passing and the movement of the boys was excellent but Woodley were not going to give in easily and our goalie Callum made a couple of early blocks. From 1 of his kicks the ball fell to Johnny who turned and passed to Owen who went on one of his Maisy runs only to be denied a goal after some frantic defending by Woodley.

Woodley then put the colts under a rare bit of pressure winning 5 corners in a row but the boys are now starting to understand their defensive roles and dealt with them comfortably. Couper and jack were playing really well at the back and were starting to push up our defensive line giving Woodley no room to play in one such move jack won the ball passed it to matt who passed to Owen then back to matt then to Owen who turned the defender and roiled it into Johnny’s path who then smashed it into the net. That was one of the best moves I have seen from a team of this age FANTASTIC !!!!!

1.0

The pressure continued and Woodley battled to keep us out with Johnny, Owen Alfie all having shots on goal.

HALF TIME 1.0

The second half started with Alfie tearing down the wing and passing into Johnny whose shot was well saved. Max came on for Alfie who had given everything he had for the team and needed a well earned rest. Within 5 minutes of being on max made his presence felt with a first time finish after great work from Couper matt and Owen who delivered a fantastic cross,

2.0

By now the Woodley team was clearly running out of steam and was finding more and more difficult to deal with the boy’s slick passing and constant shots on goal. But they did manage 1 rare attack which saw our keeper Callum make a fine save, from the kick Callum looped it over the entire Woodley team straight into the path of Owen who coolly beat the keeper with a clinical finish.

3.0

Jordan came on for Johnny who also needed a break after another fine performance. He was soon into the action with some crunching tackles and fine passes up to the forwards on one such occasion he even had a shot from the half way line go narrowly wide!!!

The ref blew the final whistle soon after.

FINAL SCORE 3.0

COLIN'S VERDICT

A fantastic display from the whole squad on another day we could have scored quite a few more goals, we just need to learn when to release the ball to a player in a better scoring position. Thrilled to bits to see all the boys working as a team they really are very exciting to watch! Well done everyone.

EFFORT AWARD   Alfie ­- his confidence is growing week by week

PARENTS AWARD - Couper our previous top goal scorer is now turning into a fantastic full back “a managerial masterstroke!!”

MANAGERS PLAYER -Callum coolly marshalled his troops and great distribution of the ball.

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WESTWOOD COLTS U10S 4 V CAVERSHAM HAWKS 0

After last weeks 0-0 draw with Dave Hunters Wanderers which I must say was the strangest game I ever think we have all been involved in. It was down to business with Caversham who were flying high after their cracking 3-0 win last week.

The boys were really up for this one and made their intentions known right from the kick off, quick passing and solid defending from Jack and Sam. It was one way traffic with Owen and Johnny linking well with Matt and Jordan, I lost count of the number of shots and near misses we had too many to mention.
We were all starting to wonder if it was going to be one of those days lots of possession with no luck in front of goal. The boys kept on pushing forward especially with our goalie Callum picking out his teammates from his excellent kicking. Couper came on for Jordan just before half time and quickly got into the action with some good passes to the forwards.
 
Half time 0-0
 
Colin gave one of his half time team talks in between munching on Jordan's birthday cake, and told the boys to carry on as they were.
The boys took no notice and decided to up their game even more!!!! Within 2 minutes the ball was smashed into the back of the net by Owen after a great move involving Johnny, Matt and Jack, 1-0.
 
By now Caversham were chasing shadows and a couple of shots from Sam and Alfie were tipped away by the Caversham keeper.
2 minutes later the ball was in the back of the net with another clinical finish from Owen after fine build up play from the entire team 2-0.
 
The relentless pressure continued with Alfie, Johnny and Matt combining well to set up Couper who's shot went just wide.
 
Another great move ended with Johnny scoring a well deserved goal "well done to Owen for not trying to claim it even on a hat trick" 3-0.
 
Jordan returned to the game and replaced Jack who I would say had by far his best game for the team, well done Jack.
 
With 5 minutes to go Owen completed his hatrick with a fine run and superb shot it was great to see the whole team celebrating together even I ended up hugging Julian!!!  4-0.
 
The boys still weren't finished and a penalty was awarded for handball our goalie Callum came running up to take it but as it was the birthday boy Jordan took it and his powerful shot clipped the crossbar.
 
The ref blew the whistle straight after.
 
Great performance, from a coaches point of view it was a great feeling to see the boys do everything they had been practising in training week after week.
 
WELL DONE EVERYONE
 
Parents player went to Johnny      never stopped running
Effort award went to  Owen         great finishing
Managers award went to Jack       solid and calm defending
 
All this with Harry back to full fitness in a couple of weeks exciting times.
 
COLIN