Wednesday, October 31, 2007

True - and from what I saw of Kennet in their game against PO on the pitch next to us, they weren't exactly brilliant considering they're now top of the league. Though if they'd seen 5 of the 6 goals we conceded on Sunday, they won't exactly be scared of us either...

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Bucklebury 'just' beat us and then get stuffed 4-0, come April there's likely to be 4/5 teams fighting for the title at this rate.


5 1 Clock Tower Inn v Berkshire Arms
3 3 FC Hogs Head Reserves v Falkland
4 0 Hermitage Reserves v Bucklebury
2 1 Kennet v Newbury Post Office

Monday, October 22, 2007

Yeah the other results were probably as friendly as they could have been. As Screw says, other people will take points of Bucklebury this season, and hopefully we will next time we play them. Q Ass obviously have defensive issues which is good.

As for yesterday, we played quite well, we've played worse and beaten better teams. Just one of those things that happens now and then. I'll try not to move people around quite so much when making subs in future, think that might have been part of the reason we didn't flow quite as well in the second half, but even then their goal came from nowhere, wasn't as though they had a host of chances.

We just have to pick ourselves up. It was a slap in the face, nobody's fault, no one to blame, everyone played well, just didn't work out for us. Probably good to have a good tough cup game coming up to focus the minds and if other teams are playing league matches it means we'll drop a bit and not focus on league position so much - just concentrate on individual games. That's what happened the first time we won Div 2, where we didn't really know where we were in the league til Feb time.
In terms of our league position we actually got off very lightly with 'Q' drawing and Hogs Head losing to a team below us. We can't afford to be losing games anymore though otherwise the top team are going to start pulling away. The Swan are banging in the goals that for sure. Does anyone know anyone that plays for them?

Turnpike look as if they can't raise a side so I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled out the league anytime soon...

Cross keys next week in the cup which should be a good test for us as they are likely to be a decent side...

Results

Berkshire Arms 6-2 Swan (Compton)

Falkland 4-1 FC Hogs Head Reserves

Hermitage Reserves v Turnpike Sports [ Postponed ]

Kennet 4-1 Clock Tower Inn

Q Associates 5-5 Newbury Post Office

Shefford 0-1 Bucklebury

League


12 Teams

Games
Played

Games
Won

Games
Drawn

Games
Lost

Goals
For

Goals
Against

Goal
Difference

Points

Swan (Compton)

6

4

1

1

24

6

+18

13

Bucklebury

6

4

1

1

15

5

+10

13

Kennet

6

3

3

0

17

9

+8

12

Q Associates

5

3

2

0

16

10

+6

11

Shefford

5

3

0

2

12

4

+8

9

FC Hogs Head Reserves

5

2

1

2

12

15

-3

7

Falkland

5

2

0

3

14

14

+0

6

Clock Tower Inn

6

1

2

3

15

21

-6

5

Hermitage Reserves

4

1

1

2

7

10

-3

4

Newbury Post Office

6

0

4

2

12

16

-4

4

Berkshire Arms

7

1

1

5

11

33

-22

4

Turnpike Sports

5

1

0

4

10

22

-12

3

Friday, October 19, 2007

Yeah, but we've got a new kit.
Dave Lewis correctly pointed out last night that The Sun have in fact now played 5 games and have won 4 lost 1. They are 2nd in their division only having lost to the team who are top.

He further pointed out that it wasn't Caversham who beat us last season, it was Spread Eagle, who were bottom, of the division below.

Um...

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Sourcenet Solutions 20 14 4 2 63 19 46
Eastern Rangers 20 11 5 4 65 48 38
HENLEY TOWN RES 20 11 4 5 34 24 37
Aura 20 9 4 7 39 41 31
The Sun 20 8 5 7 49 49 29
Thames Conservancy 20 8 4 8 54 47 28
Henley YMCA 20 8 4 8 30 30 28
The Mod 20 6 5 9 37 45 23
Alfreds Head Ath. 20 5 5 10 35 47 20
Autocare 20 6 2 12 51 20 20
Caversham United 20 2 2 16 24 52 8


Last season's finishing positions in their table. Top of the chasing pack. Wasn't it Caversham United we played last season and laughed at their shite position in the league table and then lost? Uh-oh...
Assuming it's the same 'The Sun' we won't really have a clue what they're like. Play two, won 1 lost 1


*** Division DIVISION 2 CENTRAL

Team P W D L F A Pts
WRIGHTCHOICE 2 2 0 0 9 0 6
ALFREDS HEAD ATHLETIC 2 2 0 0 9 4 6
HENLEY TOWN RES 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
AUTOCARE 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
CAVERSHAM TOWN 1 1 0 0 0 0 3
SUN (THE) 2 1 0 1 5 7 3
NO LIMITS 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
THAMES CONSERVANCY 1 0 0 1 2 3 0
AURA 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
CLUB DEPORTIVO LA STAR 2 0 0 2 1 3 0
HENLEY YMCA 1 0 0 1 1 3 0
R.A.O.B. 1 0 0 1 0 8 0

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Cool - thanks for the correction Matt. Ads, sorry I forgot it was your quality cross. In my defence, I had been running around for about 15 minutes by then. After 10 minutes my brain stops committing anything to memory in an attempt to protect myself from post-traumatic stress disorder.

My memory of last week's training is a jog around Henwick and then Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Many thanks for the report, and the correction. I was thinking something didn't seem right.
Just for the report - it was Ad who put the ball in for Lewies' second header.

Three draws at the weekend which is good for us. The Swan are looking one of the better teams in the league, although they lost 2-1 to Q Ass earlier on in the season.

*Although we lost to 'Dicks Utd' so there's a good chance they jut had a bad game too...
Yesterday's other results:-

Bucklebury 5 - 1 Falkland
HH Res 2 - 2 Berks Arms
Kennet 1 - 1 Q Ass
Newb PO 2 - 2 Herm Res
Swan 5 - 1 Clocktower

Leaves us 4th in the table on 9 points, 1 point behind each of Q Ass (3rd), Bucklebury (2nd) and Swan (1st) and with a game in hand on Swan and Bucklebury. We're in the familiar position of having conceded the least goals in the division. Let's see it stay that way.

Makes Sunday's match all the more important as a 6-pointer against Bucklebury.
For the benefit of Mr Sills, here's an overview of yesterday's game.

Turnpike suck. Their players are rubbish and they only had 9 men. Apparently Jenny (Tony's girlfriend) has a younger brother who's signed on for them. Fair enough he is quite young, but they hadn't even phoned him to see if he would play for them. Better to have him on the pitch and stick him up front surely? Just tell him to chase everything. Ah well. So anyway they only had 9 players, and at least 4 of them were very poor.

So we decided to pull out a right stinker. You can expect them to dig in a bit and hold out for as long as possible, but we made it harder for us than they did. Lewis fired in what he made to look like an easy goal after about 15 minutes, (Owen would have fired it straight at the keeper) but after that we struggled. Not struggled in terms of under pressure (they had one good chance to equalise but it fell to one of their players who was rubbish and he shot wide) but struggled in terms of having too much time/space/options. Consequently people either held onto the ball for too long while sizing up the passing options, tried to play a killer ball because they weren't under any pressure just to pass it to the nearest person, or tried to do the right thing but for some reason (too relaxed maybe?) didn't kick the ball properly and gave it away.

Really frustrating to watch and there was a bit of moaning going on. A lot of that moaning was me, so I tried to bite my tongue and encourage instead. Hard work though. Matty went on at half time and provided a reminder of what composure is, but with 15 minutes of the second half gone it was still only 1-0 and I started to get a little nervous of them nicking an equaliser and putting us under real pressure. They've pretty much lined 7 players up along their 18 yard line and left 1 guy up front, but we couldn't break them down.

Browny and I went on with 30 minutes to go and after 5 minutes Crabbeman's slipped me the ball on the left hand side. Lots of space and time to pick out Lewis and he's nutted it in giving the keeper no chance. Within a couple of minutes Lewis has picked the ball up on the edge of the D, jinked right to open up some space and fired a fizzing shot straight through all of them and into the net. Then a couple of minutes later again someone (can't remember who crossed it, might have been Crabbeman) crossed it over for Lewis to head it back across the keeper and in again.

After that we had a fair few other chances, one came off my nipple (still sore today) and Lewis was hungry for a double hat trick but couldn't find the net again.

Big shouting match with their linesman/manager too. They got a corner and everybody except their keeper went up into the box. Lewis and I stood up on the halfway line telling Smurf that as soon as he got the ball to launch it. That's what happened and their manager's taken a couple of steps and then put his flag up. Cheating bastard. Lewy and I have gone for him, calling him everything under the sun. The ref didn't do anything so we laid in a bit more.

Later on I've gone over to take a corner and he said "See I've let you go there" cos he hadn't flagged as I was running through. I said "That's cos I was onside" and he said "Yeah but you have a go at me when I do flag but you don't say thank you when I don't." Prick. Man of his age, in charge of impressionable young men and blatantly cheating like that when you're already 4 goals down. Should be ashamed of himself.

Anyway, that's how it ended. We played much better in the second half of the second half. I guess it was just an awkward match, but easily the worst we've played for a long time, til we got that 2nd goal, then we started finding feet a bit more and doing what worked.

Got the new kit in now so we can wear that for the first time against Bucklebury on Sunday. They've not had a bad start to the season but haven't been tested up against anyone decent yet. Think we may have a full squad to choose from too for the first time this season.
"Freak gust of wind earns point at Oxford"

Friday, October 12, 2007

I bet it was a goal of the season contender...
Oxford Utd 3-3 Torquay: Sills (89)

Started playing for a new team eh Sillsy?!!

Monday, October 08, 2007

As for the cup:-

Kennet beat Falkland 3-2
Swan beat Hogs Head Res 4-2
Hermitage beat Turnpike 3-2

So that's us v Hermitage in the next round.
Berkshire Arms 3 - Clocktower 6

Post Office 1 - Bucklebury 1

We're currently 5th in the league with 6 points and with a game in hand over 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Q are top on 9.
Sillsy it was excellent! We actually started quite poorly, too many players unable to get on their toes so they were winning all 50-50 balls and their movement and passing was good. We started having a bit more of the ball and it was looking quite nicely balanced but then they got a free kick and the guy had a free header at the far post, didn't even have to jump. (Ben held his hand up at half time and said that it was his man and he'd let him get away from him which was very honest of him to do, especially as we were still losing at that point).

One goal down wasn't such a problem, but within a minute the ball's come through heading back towards Smurf, Smurf's shouted for it but JT's headed it back to him anyway, the slight change of direction was enough for Smurf to have to stretch, couldn't gather it and their striker was able to walk it into the net. Really bad goal to concede at a really bad time to concede a goal.

They got a bit more vocal then, they could obviously sense that we were there for the taking. A couple of retards turned up to watch them too and were being all mouthy but, get this, the ref told them to shut up. And they pretty much did. Very strange, good ref.

Crabbeman worked really hard in the middle shouting at everyone to keep people's spirits up and you could begin to see us gradually getting back into the game til Ben's fired in a lovely cross pinpoint accurate for Miller to head in at the far post. Great goal and that was about a minute or two before half time. Made a massive difference cos we all spent half time fired up and looking forward to getting back at them but they went in quite deflated.

Second half was all us, totally different game. They were destroyed just by being pegged back to 2-1 and then they realised we'd just put Lewis on as well. Ben had been working hard down the right but suddenly he was getting past his man every time. Macca came into the game down the left and started getting past him too. Genghis was up supporting attacks. Dave Screw was winning everything in midfield and pinging balls all over the shop and they just didn't know what was going on.

Lewis fired in a great shot but it cannoned back off the bar, but Ben picked it up and hit it flying into the top corner, but it's come back of the post, off the keeper's face and into the net. It was a good combination of a quality goal and a comedy goal and everyone piled onto Ben cos it was also the equaliser.

Never looked back really, we spent most of the rest of the game in their half. Macca had a brilliant header at close range but their keeper pulled off and excellent save to tip it over the bar, but from the corner Screw's drilled it in and Chris Miller's stabbed it home to put us ahead. Then Miller's dinked himself round the last defender and placed the ball past the keeper to make it four. Then I got the ball just inside the box and could hear Lewis screaming for it. Looked up and he's on the edge of the D totally unmarked. Slid him the ball and he's placed it into the bottom corner to make it five.

All that and they didn't have a shot on target. From being a bit mouthy and confident at two up they just shrank and shrank, argued a bit with themselves and then went home.

They're three wins from three in the league too so not only was it their first defeat (it was a cup match) but it sends out a great message to the rest of the league that we're gonna be one of the teams to beat this season.

Really enjoyed it. I wanted to give myself the second half but Miller was having such a good game I couldn't take him off.

Then Crabbeman and I got pissed and went for a curry.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Sounds like you lot put in a storming performance today!

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

john that is comical genius i think you have missed your calling
So did Crabbeman score with a header?
Nice one - that puts Q Ass at 3 wins out of 3, and shows that Berks Arms win against us is going to be their best result of the season, they've gone shit since then - but then we said if we'd got a second goal they'd have probably fallen apart against us.

Tough game coming up on Sunday then against Q, but we know we can beat them.
Results from the weekend were:

Bucklebury 6 - 1 Turnpike
Clock Tower 2 - 4 Q Associates
Kennet 5 - 2 Falkland
Swan 8 - 0 Berks Arms

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Anyone know any of the league scores from the weekend? Just wondering whether we managed to miraculously stay top without playing?

Monday, October 01, 2007

Definitely one to tell the grandkids. "...and then I knobbed it over the line..."