Thursday 27th August 2020 @ Vale Stadium, Castle Vale
Erdington and Saltley u11s 2-3 Boldmere St. Michael’s u12s
Team: Benji, Reo, Uzi, Rhys, Omari, Mahliq, Keon, Jason, Ebrima, Lennon, Kyle and Leeson
Goals: Lennon x 2
Man of the Match: Lennon – drove the team forward and bagged a brace of goals
Saturday 29th August 2020 @ North Birmingham Academy, Erdington
Erdington and Saltley u11s W-L Paget Rangers JPL u11s
Goals: Kyle x 3, Lennon x 3, Ebrima x 3, Keon x 2, Omari x 2, Dylan x 2, Andrius and Uzi
Man of the Match: Keon – has taken to CM like a duck to water!
Two games across three days brought an end to our pre-season preparations as the boys locked horns with two talented local sides. First up was Boldmere St. Michael’s u12s who were spearheaded by 2019/20 player Oscar and then less than 48 hours later they took on Paget Rangers JPL u11s.
The battle with Boldmere was an end-to-end affair and a genuine battle between two sides who refused to give in. Twice we clawed our way back into the game from a losing position, only to lose to a last-minute bullet header from the aforementioned Oscar. We lost to a goal from one of our own!
Despite the loss, the game was packed full of positives. From our ability to match our older opponents physically to the resilience we showed to level the game on two occasions, we had a lot to be proud of.
Less than 48 hours later we traveled to North Birmingham Academy to take on Paget Rangers who are a very talented JPL side; we knew we would be in a match against very good players. However, from the first whistle, we found our fifth gear and improved in a number of areas that we identified coming out of the Boldmere game. The boys released the ball sooner, worked harder out of possession and showed more tenacity when attempted to win the ball.
The goals-for column obviously made positive reading, but it was the defensive side of our game that pleased us most. Across the park, the boys dug in deep and fought hard in order to preserve their clean sheet. Rion, playing a year up, produced arguably the best defensive display on a day when his teammates put in a string of impressive defensive performances.
A huge amount of credit goes to Paget Rangers for their unwavering spirit and refusal to give up. They fought to the very end and played some excellent football.
We wish both Boldmere and Paget the very best for the upcoming season.
As for our season…bring it on!
Well done boys!
Up The Ton!
Erdington and Saltley Primary Schools' FA 