20/02: Match Report: Waverton Arrows 1 - Blacon Youth Spiders 9

Hi All,

Overall a quite disappointing morning - this was the first time in about two and a half months that we played on grass and it showed - in retrospect we could of done with a training session on grass prior to a game, but honestly the pitches were just not up to it.

As a team we seem to hate early morning kick off's, then when you add in the cold and at times rain today, you could really see how unhappy some of the boys were; we really need to find a way to get over this as although I can challenge the kick off time (in this instance it was originally set at 9:15 and I pushed back as much as I could), I can't control the weather!

Anyway to the match; we actually started positively - we passed the ball really well and kept our positions tight - I had complaints from the Blacon coach that the pitch was too small for 7v7 but I again reassured him that it was at the right dimensions (I'd already said this to him prior to the game). We broke at one point and Oliver Wrigley flew down his right channel and shot at goal which went in - well done Oli, I know you love that type of goal, as do I!

We were in control if I'm honest in that first quarter, but we made a minor mistake at one point and Blacon jumped on it and as a result equalised, ending the quarter: Arrows: 1 - Blacon 1.

Now this is where it all went collectively south; we stopped running as a whole when we lost the ball; our positioning disappeared and we seemed to not want to be there - something that for me was a real flash back to October/November on one or two occasions; something I thought we had well and truly left behind. Clearly this is something that I'll work on with the boys in training at the next session. In Q2 we kept losing the ball cheaply, enabling Blacon to pounce and score numerous goals during this period: End Q2: Arrows: 1 - Blacon 5 (by the way, at this point the complaints about the size of the pitch mysteriously went away...).

Q3 was pretty much a mirror image of the previous one; we had our chances, but we continuously seemed to be slow in responding to losing the ball; not what I've come to expect in the last few months from the Arrows. Because of how we were playing this morning we again succumbed to four more goals to end the quarter: Arrows 1 - Blacon 9.

Prior to the final quarter I was very clear with the boys that its a collective responsibility in defending and protecting our goalkeeper - we left him at times very exposed and we need to improve this aspect of our game in the immediate few weeks. I sent them very much with the objective to win the final quarter, using our skills and knowledge to play well; the boys really didn't let me or us as whole down - it became as competitive as it was in the first quarter and we really battled. The final quarter ended nil-nil, so overall the game remained as an end result of: Arrows 1 - Blacon 9.

A few points from me - looking back on the match as I have done today (sad I know, but would you expect otherwise?!?) we were exceptional in training on Friday - I thought that was the best session that I've seen to date; I am struggling to see why we couldn't transfer that to the match this morning as we have done on previous weeks. I can only mainly put it down to time of the KO and temperature - the team that was selected today was a competitive one and was able to make more of an impact than what actually happened - I'll again look at this in the coming weeks.

Some final words - it was great to see Sam Cheetham as captain today; thank you Sam, it was an overall solid performance from you today. It was difficult yet again in terms of the Man of the Match award this morning, there were three really strong candidates, but ultimately I awarded it to Henry as he has completely taken onboard the feedback given to him over the last few weeks and especially last night and this morning; using his height, strength and determination to drive the ball forward; Henry did the team proud today so will be my captain next week.

I'm going to leave it there, but I'll likely drop a note out later in the week regarding extra training sessions.

Thanks all.

Carl

AFC Waverton U8 Arrows
07896 515717

Match Report: Waverton Arrows 3 - Malpas 2

Yet another great game, reinforcing our competitiveness over the last few weeks. We are really coming together now, passing the ball accurately, defending superbly and overall the teamwork is exceptional, considering we are only still five months old as a team.

Playing against a good and well drilled Malpas side who had beaten us 5-2 just four weeks ago, we took to the pitch, confident with a recent victory against Upton and a very strong performance against Newton we went again.

We started really positively; controlling the ball and playing really nice football if I'm honest. Oliver Wrigley, always looking to get into space in order to make chances for himself found himself running onto a great ball and scored a trademark goal. This was followed very quickly with Sam Cheetham bursting down the left wing and producing a great strike, across the Malpas goalkeepers' body to put it into the net.

For the majority of the first quarter (and for the first time we were playing 4 x 15 min quarters) we controlled the game fantastically, but in the last five minutes we switched off a bit and succumbed to two quick goals by Malpas bringing them level and back firmly in the game. End of Q1: Arrows 2 - Malpas 2.

Q2, like the previous period we played really well, moving the ball into space and making some great attacking runs; we were really unlucky to not score 2-3 goals during this period whilst Tom, taking goalie duties from Jack Broadhurst was relatively, but not completely untroubled, having that great concentration that's need in the position to be ready when needed. End of Q2: Arrows 2 - Malpas 2.

Q3 was pretty much an exact mirror of Q2; these games are starting to resemble proper football matches now! It again was a real battle; end to end stuff, but competitive throughout. There was a period of controversy though and something that made the parents wonder what was happening... At one point we had a goal kick which Malpas failed to move back to the half way line for (they were very much in and around the goal area), this was the compounded quickly by them making an extremely strong challenge on Jack Broadhurst (the honest sheer terror on his face at the time made me think he'd broken something) and both myself and the Malpas coach ran on to see him; he was eventually fine but amidst all this the Malpas players carried on and scored (we had clearly stopped playing). Initially the goal was given but then to compensate (to enable the Malpas boys/parents to not complain we were given a compensatory goal). I have since scrubbed both of these goals as neither counted and I want to stay true to the actual in-flight game. End of Q3: Arrows 2 - Malpas 2.

During Q3 and Q4 I had boys rolling in and off the substitution line; it played dividends; in Q4 we continued to fight and sustained a massive amount of pressure on our goal over a period of minutes (which at the time honestly felt like half an hour!) but we held our nerve and broke positively on a number of occasions; one of which was Sam Cheetham again belting down the left wing and doing exactly the same as what he did in the first quarter; burying the ball in the net. The final five minutes were very tense - we controlled the play though and at the final whistle I can wholeheartedly say we were deserving winners - well done boys! End of Q4: Arrows 3 - Malpas 2.

Every single player was fantastic today; our Goalies (Jack, Tom & Oscar had good control and each pulled off some great saves), our Defenders (Harry, Max and making his impressive debut today, Oliver Golding, were honestly like a wall - very commanding in ensuring that the ball was theirs), our Wing Backs and Midfielders (Oli Wrigley, Casper, Sam, Jack and Oscar when the latter two were out of goal) really controlled their positions and made some strong challenges and fantastic sprints with the ball. Purely down to his amazing runs on the left and his two valuable goals, the Man of the Match award was given to Sam Cheetham who will now be my captain at our next match which should be against Blacon on the 20th Feb (remember it is Arrows v Arrows this coming weekend).

Final note, Harry was outstanding as my Captain today - he showed great composure and really helped Oliver Golding settle into the team. Thanks Harry; you've raised the bar on what it means to be a Captain!

I'll be dropping two further emails out later; one regarding the Arrows generally (plans for the next couple of months) and one regarding kit orders, notably socks!

Have a great weekend all.

Carl
AFC Waverton U8 Arrows
07896 515717

Match report - Newton Athletic 7 - AFC Waverton Arrows 5

What a game!

In equal measures it was fantastic, encouraging and frustrating, but overall I think no-one would of walked away from this match without a smile on their face, and knowing that every boy (and girl) involved had a real game.

We started off the match knowing that one of the selected squad, Elliott, was ill and couldn't attend and we all hope he will get over this nasty bug that's going around quickly. I was determined to go with our 7v7 plans so it meant that all boys remaining would play the entire match which was a gamble, but I honestly thought was one worth taking as overall it was a really strong match squad.

Q1 - We started positively; pushing the ball out to our wingers and attacking forward; there was some great movement from both teams and it was great to watch; midway through the quarter we gave a corner away and as a result, the cross made good contact with a Newton player and we went down by one. We kicked off again in positive fashion and really pressed the ball; Jack Binns, playing on the left wing was doing really well, and on one such sprint he cut in to the field, unleashed a shot and we equalised. From kick off, again it was a real contest and we were unfortunate to concede a second just prior to the whistle. End Q1 - Newton 2 - Waverton Arrows 1.

Q2 - Moving some of the boys into different positions played dividends in this quarter; we continued to be solid at the back, whilst both Oli Wrigley and Jack Binns were storming down the wings (building on the intense training we did on Friday), Harry and Sion were keeping a solid lock on defence. Whenever we had the ball we went positive, trying to push it forwards and this great, enthusiastic type of play played dividends as Jack Binns scored his second and Oli Wrigley scored his first; Newton had no reply at all. End Q2 - Newton 2 - Waverton Arrows 3.

Q3 - Keeping with the same positioning as Q2 we continued to battle; this was a really good game to watch and during a real tussle in midfield, the ball broke for Newton and they took their chance and buried it to bring them level.  We kicked off and like the first two quarters went positive; pushing the ball forwards to team mates, really great football to watch and it culminated with Jack Binns scoring his hat trick, a great goal and I'm so pleased for Jack, he has tried so hard lately to score and today its really paid off. End Q3 - Newton 3 - Waverton Arrows 4.

Q4 - I pushed the message to the boys beforehand that we needed to play the ball into Newton's half so to keep the pressure on them and make them defend; unfortunately this quarter was the opposite; we started to defend deep in our own half, very close to our goal line and this resulted in four goals being scored by Newton (three of which were moments and strikes of brilliance by the way) and another being a scramble across the line. Sion spun forwards towards the very end, and with sheer determination hit another goal for the Arrows. End of Q4 and the match - Newton 7 - Waverton Arrows 5.

Please understand this - we played fantastically well today; the training on Friday night shone through in parts and I'll continue to push the boys technically to make us even more competitive. There were times on Friday night that I could see the boys thinking ' what is this about?', but then today they were applying that learning naturally to the game, which was great to see.

Before the match I made Jack Binns captain, which he took on wholeheartedly and his performance showed as a result; a hat trick followed and he was really unlucky to not get the man of the match reward.

Harry Reid was awarded the man of the match reward purely down to him being an absolute rock in defence; he was assured and confident and played the position really well - I'm really proud of you today Harry, well done. Harry will be my captain in our next match.

Three final quick messages - Tom Taylor was amazing in goal today; Jack Broadhurst settled the nerves in the first quarter, but the rest was dominated by Tom - amazing saves by hands, feet and bum on one occasion!; well done Tom you were great today. We have a new boy that is going to solely train with us on Friday's - Larry was really made welcome by the boys with them all chanting his name during the session; I'm so proud of all the boys in the Arrows squad - you really make me proud. The final message - I turned up to the match today to find Oliver Golding there looking to support his new team mates - I thought this was a magnificent show of support from our newest squad member and I'm really looking forward to seeing him in action.

Have a great weekend

Carl
AFC Waverton U8 Arrows
07896 515717

Sat 16th Jan '16: Game & Match Report

Hi All,

Quick review of this mornings performances, but firstly thanks to all that got to Goals this morning; especially for the early game - to find that Goals delayed their opening when we were there at 8:30 was a bit frustrating, but we all took it in the right spirit.

 

Right, first game vs. Blacon. I had hoped that this would be a proper match, but within minutes knew it wouldn't be; Blacon were insistent to play off the sides and the ends so the ball was always in play, i.e. no throw-ins and no corners - this therefore would not be a proper football match and we just aren't prepared for this (we don't train this way, and why should we?) and it showed - we paused and stood back at times when the ball 'should of gone out' but Blacon (who train there and are used to playing off the walls) continuously carried on - we had a few moments where we broke through, but ultimately Blacon thrived and scored many goals. I am not going to share the score-line as it doesn't prove anything and as mentioned, this to me wasn't a match and not how a competitive match should be played, but instead we should view this as a fitness and movement training session for the boys involved. I very much look forward to playing Blacon on a grass surface (or at the very least the 7-aside pitch at Goals which is more appropriate to be honest - I dislike the smaller 5-aside pitches immensely).

That said, there were a few things to note from the boys involved in the early session - some good goals by Jack Binns, Jack Broadhurst (2) and Sion were good to see, especially by Jack Binns who had been trying really hard over the last 4 matches to put them away. The two Sams (Curtis and Cheetham) played incredibly well, but the thing I was most pleased about was the continued growth of Oliver Barnes - his best game yet by far; building on his solid display last week against Malpas - he at multiple times took on two and three of the Blacon team and won each time (his dribbling was fantastic - last nights training played dividends!), he had the confidence to take a shot too - and was whiskers away from scoring; I'm really proud of Oliver's performance today, I really cannot emphasise that enough.

Arrows vs. Upton
Our formal league match was against Upton, who beat us convincingly 11-3 last time. We kicked off and played in the positive vein I had asked the boys to do - we were too asleep from the start in our two matches last week and the boys took this on board and went for it - a relative early break from Upton against the run of play saw us concede an early goal though. The boys kept their heads up though and within the first quarter had scored three in reply (Tom 1, Xander 1 and Oli Wrigley 1).  End of Q1 Arrows 3 - Upton 1.

The second quarter was just as competitive and we continued to press the ball, pushing it forwards at every opportunity. Casper scored a great goal and we were in control then, albeit for a sloppy corner and some lashing at the ball for us to concede an own-goal. End of Q2 - Arrows 4 - Upton 2.

 

The third quarter was a real battle - end to end really, but we always looked solid at the back with Elliott dominating like he did last week. Tom burst forward and scored his second of the match, his forth in three matches now - well done Tom. End of Q3 - Arrows 5 - Upton 2.

 

The final quarter again started well, although I could see that some of the boys were starting to look quite tired. They battled on though, but unfortunately succumbed to a fortuitous goal by Upton. I did worry that the boys heads would start to drop, but this didn't last for long as Xander confidently blasted his second, and the Arrows sixth, quite soon after. End of the quarter and the match - Arrows 6 - Upton 3.

 

A great effort today by all the boys, I'm happy with all of them, but I must admit to being especially pleased with the boys faces after the Upton win; they were so happy - it was hard fought and well deserved. Our first proper league win!!!!

 

Next league match *should* be against Princes Villa away; we will see if that gets progressed. If not, then Goals is already booked for two hours next week in what will be an extended training and intra-Arrows match :-). (its booked from 10:30 though (that's 10:30 Rob Barnes!) so not a nightmare start like we had today.....

 

Have a great weekend.

 

Carl

AFC Waverton U8 Arrows

07896 515717  

Saturday 9th Jan '16: Match Reports: G1 - Arrows vs Princes Villa & G2 - Arrows vs Malpas

Hi All - firstly thank you again for your incredible support.

Arrows 2 - Princes Villa (PV) 5

 

The first of our two matches today which was against opposition we had played only once before, early on in the league season. That earlier match ended 5-1 to PV with us at the time giving ourselves an uphill struggle in Q1 by conceding some sloppy goals. How history repeated itself today! We were hit with four first quarter goals which took the wind out of our sails; however after that, in context, PV only scored one more goal in the rest of the thirty minutes game time. We cannot start to do this type of play in the first quarter (see next report for the same); I'll work with the boys to regain the focus we had shown just before Christmas and in the two Tarvin games.

 

Quarter 2 was much more competitive (we looked like we had finally arrived on the pitch!). Sam Cheetham scored his first goal for the Arrows with a really well placed shot from about a third of the pitch away from the goal - well done Sam! Just before half time, PV scored again and we went in 1-5. 

 

Q3 continued in the same vein as Q2 - we played so well and our efforts were rewarded by Tom scoring his second goal for the Arrows - that's two goals in two games now for Tom. 

 

Q4 was a full on battle - PV continued their rather robust way of playing, resulting in a fair few knocks to our boys, but we carried on. Chances for both sides but the quarter ended 0-0 and the match overall 2-5.

 

Arrows 1 - Malpas 5

Another great game to watch, although frustrating at times. This was almost a mirror of the first one - at least all the boys are being consistent!! Q1 was dominated by Malpas (who actually by surprise brought half of their A team to the match today!) - we didn't get going at all and by the end we were 3-0 down. 

 

Q2 and again, like the first game we kicked in - Jack made some great saves in goal and the confidence flowed through the team. Towards the end of the quarter we played some dangerous passes across our box, resulting in Malpas scoring a screamer, so the end of the second quarter and the half was Arrows 0 - Malpas 4.

 

We went again in Q3 and were dominant, we really started to pass the ball well, finding space and trying to utilise all of the pitch. Oliver Wrigley took a great opportunity and scored a really good, solid goal, ending the third quarter Arrows 1 - Malpas 4.

 

Q4 seemed to go in a flash; again it was end to end and we were really unlucky - the ball took an awkward bounce off our defender and bobbled out of our goalies hands - end of match Arrows 1 - Malpas 5.

 

Overall thoughts

I'm really proud of our boys today; apart from both first quarters, we played well, although overall slightly within ourselves I thought. There is something I'd really like everyone to think about today (parents and players) - if we took the first quarter out of both matches we would have beaten Princes Villa 2-1 and narrowly lost to Malpas 1-2. If we can get our initial preparation and concentration on track from the first whistle then we will be a match for anyone in our league, and for some beyond.

 

Final one - most games were cancelled at U8 level today - by doing what we did this morning, a total of 28 boys across the Arrows, Princes Villa and Malpas teams were able to play football - this is at the heart of what I am trying to do here - I honestly hope you are all proud of what we did today. The Malpas coach told me that the main reason they wanted to play us today (and again want to in future) is because we are doing this in the right way - development of ALL boys, providing them with the platform to enjoy this fantastic team sport. 

 

I couldn't agree more.

See you on Friday.

Carl
AFC Waverton U8 Arrows
07896 515717

Match Report: Waverton Arrows 3 - Tarvin Athletic 0

Hi All,

Another great solid display by the Arrows today showing great concentration, great passing and good movement throughout the team from front to back.

We had some changes to our team that had won on Wednesday night and Tarvin strengthened as promised and it resulted in a match that was hard and well fought which made the game overall a great one to watch. It was really pleasing to see the boys work so well together and chase and work for the ball so much. This is very much how I want us to play - to try and control the ball as much as possible and make most of the play in our opponents half. We've been threatening it for a while now, but these last couple of games have really given us the confidence to push on again.

Anyway, to the match; the first quarter was a real battle as both sides were getting into their own strides - we had some good efforts and challenged well and it ended; Arrows 0 - Tarvin 0.

In the second quarter we really started to control the game, we were passing really well and Oscar, Harry and Elliott were stand outs in this section. In addition, Xander my captain for today, took the ball on the break and ran half the pitch before calmly slotting it home, a great goal meaning we finished Arrows 1 - Tarvin 0.

The third period again worked really well - I moved quite a few players into new positions so there was always a chance it could backfire, but the boys were excellent - again dominating the game and dictating the tempo. I have to call out Oliver Barnes who played some fantastic defence-splitting passes which was really great to see. Xander running down the left, played a precision pass to Harry who hit the target to take us to Arrows 2 - Tarvin 0.

The final quarter saw some minor changes but again it didn't effect our play - this is really encouraging to see as in the past we have got a bit confused, but the boys are coming on so well now. We slowed down play a bit in this final period, sometimes a bit too slow in my mind but the control was still there - Jack Binns took some great efforts in not only this final period but throughout the match but was just really unlucky - the wet 4G just taking the ball away from him at times, but in this final particular instance he struck the ball, took it through defenders, left the keeper on the floor and it was one of those that you didn't know whether it would sneak in at the post or rebound off it - Tom though charging in from the right absolutely buried it to earn his first goal for the Arrows - well done Tom! The game ended Arrows 3 - Tarvin 0.

As mentioned, Xander was my captain today and did a great job; the man of the match today though had to go to Harry who followed up his fantastic performance on Wednesday night with what could be argued as an even better one today - he played in defence, midfield and attack during the game and looked naturally at home in each - I'm really proud and look forward to Harry being my captain at our next match.

I've mentioned all the match-day boys in this report today, with the exception of one that I don't want to miss out - Jack Broadhurst was due to play today but due to some, shall we say, junior dental problems wasn't able to join us - he was gutted, as was Dawn and I and I love the way our team has bonded as the boys were all concerned - hopefully Jack will be back in the next match, but believe me its been a bit gruesome today!

Our next match should be against Princes Villa away on Saturday - this will be an interesting match as we have only played them once and that was in our early weeks so keen to see where we are now. I'll be dropping out availability requests shortly. If for whatever reason we don't play them, I'll try and set something up against another team (we have lots of offers at the moment!).

Thanks all, and happy New Year to those I didn't see today - see you all hopefully on Friday at training, timings and details again to follow.

Carl
AFC Waverton U8 Arrows
07896 515717

Match Report: Waverton Arrows 9 - Tarvin Athletic 0

Hi All,

Slightly different structure to the game tonight as we played 3 x 15 minute thirds against a Tarvin squad that on the whole play in the Mid Cheshire League (a different one to us). It meant that my cockiness of having plans for 6 aside and 7 aside were quickly thrown in the bin as I had to ensure that all the boys had as equal a playing time as possible!

We started off a bit sluggish if I'm honest and it was difficult to get the boys to acknowledge what myself and Darren were saying initially (shows what a week without training does!) but quickly it started to come back and we started to control the game. A great goal from Xander settled nerves and then a follow up goal, again from Xander, this time an absolute screamer from the halfway line meant that we finished the first third; Arrows 2 - Tarvin 0.

A shuffle of personnel in the second period showed us to be willing to fight for every ball - fantastic to see, with some great defending and also great forward play from everyone - Oli Wrigley in particular made some great runs and crosses from the right wing. Xander completed his hat-trick by making a trademark run through the Tarvin team before slotting it home. End of the second third; Arrows 3 - Tarvin 0.

The final period got underway with Jack Broadhurst really penetrating the Tarvin team and burying it, then with the resultant kick off Sion and Jack teamed together nicely and played some great one-two's up the pitch and Jack first hit the post and then within minutes hit the crossbar before finally Sion under great pressure opened up his scoring for the night.

Jack Broadhurst scored two more and then hit the post a few more times before taking his tally overall for the night to four. After a great battle between the two sides, Sion completed the scoring for the Arrows with a great effort which left the end result as being Arrows 9 - Tarvin 0.

This was great to see - we dominated possession and really controlled the game; this wasn't just about our attack though as our defence in Harry, Sion (early on), Oscar and Jack Binns really gave massive protection to Tom who was our captain for the evening and showed that great trait that a goalkeeper needs - concentration - he was great when called upon and made some really important saves.

Xander was named my Man of the Match for his overall contribution as well as his screamer in the first third; well done Xander. You will be my next captain in what is looking likely to be against Tarvin again this Saturday (subject to him being available).

Thanks everyone - literally 5 minutes after the game ended the heavens opened - and it hasn't stopped since - a lucky escape for once!

I'll drop an email out shortly regarding the next match - if we can get a squad together then that would be great, although Tarvin have already said they will be bringing a much reinforced team!

P.S. A shout out to Rob Stewart's Rockets team who also played a Tarvin squad last night alongside us. A great 2-1 victory for the Rockets!

Thanks all,

Carl
AFC Waverton U8 Arrows
07896 515717