Saturday 20th September 2014 @ Arden Hall

Erdington and Saltley  1 – 2 Bath

Erdington and Saltley   5 – 4 Bath

 

Teams:

Match One – Harvey, Alfie, Shaun, Hayden, Brandon, Callum, Daniel, Kruize, Jermaine, Teon, Tyrese, Tristan, Jacob, Tierry

Scorer – Tyrese

 

Match Two – Kai, Ryaq, Elijah, Sam, Dylan, Jamie, Kye, Harvey, Cameron, Tion, Brayden

Scorers – Sam x 2, Cameron x 2 and OG

 

Today was another historic day for Erdington and Saltley. Not only was it the first time that we’ve played a ‘home’ game away from Braemar but it was also the first time that we’ve played Bath. I must say that both games were incredibly entertaining too. Brilliant in fact!

 

Game One:

The first game kicked off at 10:30am and saw both teams battling it out for a place in Round 2 of the Shires Cup. Thirty seconds into the game and with their first attack, Bath took the lead. Anyone who has followed the fortunes of The Ton over the last few years will know that we’re great at conceding early goals! I think it takes us ten minutes to wake up! However, we’re also pretty good at pulling ourselves back up and going again. Within five minutes of the game the score was 1-1. Tyrese raced on to a Teon through ball and was fouled from behind just inside of the area. The Blues midfielder pulled himself up and scored from the spot, slotting the ball into the bottom right hand corner.

The rest of the game passed me by in a blaze of frantic, fast paced attacking play from both teams. Despite encouraging the lads to slow down and take their time, The Ton continued to attack and defend at breakneck speed. This is something that we’ll improve on over time and we’ll soon be masters of the cool, calm approach to football. However before the game Tonn, Lemar and I asked the lads to show us heart and fight and this is exactly what they did. The improvement since the Solihull game was brilliant and that’s all we could have asked for.

Unfortunately today wasn’t our day, with Bath scoring a very classy goal with ten minutes left on the clock. On another day we’ll win tight games like this but just not today. A special mention should go to both Alfie and Harvey who were playing their first game for the district this season. Both lads were cool and collected in goal and should be pleased with their efforts. Well done lads!

Man of the Match: Jermaine

 

Game Two:

Anyone who watched this game was treated to a special sight – two teams attacking and attacking and attacking! The lads were superb, despite the fact that substitutions were made at five minute intervals and players were asked to play in a number of different positions throughout the game. Within 15 minutes, The Ton had raced into a 3-0 lead, with Cameron bossing the game in attack and Kye cool in defence. There was also a number of silky attacking moves, with Sam playing one particularly memorable drag back and pass in the first third of the match.

However, district football is a big step up from Sunday/School football and the slightest lapse in concentration is punished. Bath pounced on our sloppy play and levelled the game at 3-3. Lessons were learned very quickly though and we retook the lead twice in the last period, eventually winning 5-4. Braden

The quality of play bodes well for the future, especially with Oakley, Troy and Kane absent from today’s game. Wow what a thought! The future is certainly bright. The future is Black and White!

 

Man of the Match: Cemeron

 

Final Word:

A huge thank you must go out to Wayne and to the rest of the Bromford Lions family. Our home ground Braemar Road is out of action for a week or two and without Wayne’s help we would have been homeless and wondering through the football wilderness. He was there before me (I got there at 8:45am!) and left after me! We played Bromford during the summer holidays and are well on our way to building a great working relationship with this superbly well run local team. It’s links such as this that will allow us to grow further as a representative team. Thank you Wayne and thank you Bromford Lions!

Then there is Bath…what a great bunch of lads. Polite, cheerful and great ballers! The managers were alright too! This might have been the first time that our two great districts have met, but it won’t be the last!

Also a special thanks to everyone who bought a programme and to Sam’s mother for selling copies for me. The district would collapse without such support.

 

Well done lads. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

 

Up The Ton!