Saturday 6th April 2019 @ Vale Stadium, Castle Vale

 

Erdington and Saltley Black 7- 4 Solihull

West Midlands County Schools’ FA League

Team: Danny, Kian S, Jeval, Romaeo, Rhys, Elijah, Toby, Markie, Daniel, Callam, Kyran  and Tavani

Goals: Markie x 3, Kian S, Romaeo, Jeval and Tavani

 

Erdington and Saltley Gold 4 – 2 Sutton Coldfield

Representative Game

Team: Corey, Hughey, Ethan, Oscar, Kayden, Joshua, Lennon, Keon, Gonzalo, Kian and Wiktor

Goals: Kian x 2, Keon and Ethan

Maldini. Beckenbauer. Baresi. Cannavaro. Even these lads couldn’t have stopped the Erdington boys from scoring on Saturday! Our shooting boots were on fire! The boys were excellent. Both teams were a joy to watch.

However, neither side had it easy as both teams fell behind and had to battle back into their respective game.

The Black team were behind to an incredibly strong Solihull side on two occasions, fighting back from 1-0 and 2-1 behind, before accelerating ahead during a scintillating middle period that witnessed some amazing goals fly in.

At the same time, the Gold team also saw their game also turn on its head during a four minute period when they went from 2-1 down to 3-2 up before bagging a fourth late on.

The goals were amazing, including two calmly taken breakaway finishes from Kian C, a breathtaking strike from outside the area from Kian S, a snaking run and finish from Markie and the most audacious goal of them all from Romaeo – a strike from the half-way line!

The Black team’s play in recent weeks has been characterised by the boys determination to play as a united team. Their increasing maturity has seen them put team glory before personal glory, a shift in mindset that has seen them win 6 on the bounce.

A united team is exactly what the Gold team has been all season and there was nothing different on Saturday as they played some superb passing football to claim a superb victory against a very talented Sutton Coldfield u10s.

Overall it was a morning of jubilation and pride.

Well done boys!

Up The Ton!

Saturday 30th March 2019 @ Vale Stadium, Castle Vale

 

Erdington and Saltley Black 4-0 Leicester

West Midlands County Schools’ FA Cup Semi-final

Team: Danny, Kian S, Rhys, Jeval, Elijah, Romaeo, Kyran, Toby, Daniel, Callam, Tavani and Markie

Goals: Toby x 2, Markie and Callam

Man of the Match: Jeval – An attacking threat throughout the game; closely challenged by Toby who was a dominant force in the centre of the park.

 

Erdington and Saltley Under 10s 7 – 4 Aston Under 10s

Representative Game

Team: Corey, Nathan, Ethan, Oscar, Chase, Josh, Lennon, Keon, Jason, Kayden, Uzi and George

Goals: George, Ethan, Jason, Keon x 2, Kayden x 2

Man of the Match: The accolade is shared between the dynamic wing wizards of Jason and Keon, although Ethan, Josh and Lennon could make a strong claim for the title….in fact, everyone could!

As glorious spring sunshine rained down over Vale Stadium and the bluest of skies engulfed the pitch, everything was alright with the world. Saturday was a day of breath-taking football, of exciting skills, unrivalled teamwork and stunning goals. It was a day to be proud of!

Both teams played as united sides. Both teams excited the crowd. And both teams were a pleasure to work with.

As Toby gave the Black team a deserved early lead in their county cup semi-final, Jason, Josh, Lennon and Keon were linking up almost telepathically on the adjacent pitch. As the opening third drew to a close, the young guns found themselves leading 3-0, while the old boys were two goals to the good.

More pleasing than the goals was the manner in which both sides played. The spirit amongst all of the boys was incredible and this resulted in some fantastic football.

After hitting the woodwork a couple of times, the Black team extended their lead via a solo dribble and finish from Markie. This all but put the tie to bed with half of the match remaining.

Things were not as clear cut in the under 10s game as Aston forced themselves back in the picture early in the middle period thanks to their never say die attitude. With goals flying in from all angles and both teams on top form, the scoreline was soon 5-3 to The Ton.

With the temperature rising, the Black team put both feet in the final when Callam rifled home the fourth of the day and his 31st of the season. Yet as pleasing as the goals were, it was the dogged determination of the boys to protect their clean sheet that pleased most, especially as the back line bore an unfamiliar look as the game drew to a close.

In the under 10s game, Kayden arguably grabbed the goal of the day. Cutting in from the left wing, he put the ball onto his favoured right foot and curled it into the top corner. It was a thing of beauty!

The past two weeks have been some of the most enjoyable of the season. The Black, Gold and Under 10s sides have played amazing football and exuded the kind of positive energy that we always dream of!

Well done boys!

Up The Ton!

 

 

 

 

Saturday 23rd March 2019 @ Vale Stadium, Castle Vale

 

Erdington and Saltley Gold 1-3 Sutton Coldfield u10s

Jude, Wiktor, Sean, Oscar, Ethan, Elijah, Josh, Kian, Kayden, George, Kyran, Emron and Daniel

Goal: Josh – a menace in attack; composed and inventive throughout

Man of the Match: Ethan – A true captain; led by example, fearless and committed

 

Erdington and Saltley Black 9-1 South Birmingham

Danny, Elijah, Kyran, Kian, Rhys, Jeval, Tavani, Markie, Callam and Daniel E

Goals: Daniel x 4, Markie x 2, Callam, Jeval and Kian

Man of the Match: Everyone – it’s impossible to pick just one player after all of them played to their capacity and worked tirelessly for the team.

After hitting the post four times and finding a goalkeeper in sumptuous form, the gold team were left to reflect on what could have been. Yet despite falling to a 3-1 loss, the boys walked away with their heads held high following a great team showing. With seven players absent for various reasons, the boys also showed their strength in depth as they went toe to toe with a super Sutton side.

Despite having the better of the opening exchanges, the lads fell behind to a first third Sutton strike. Still positive, the boys in gold equalised early in the second third when the brilliant Josh raced through and calmly slotted home.

In between, the lads rattled the woodwork on a number of occasions and were thwarted by some incredible keeping!

It simply wasn’t their day but nothing should be taken away from the performance and effort of the boys. They shone brightly from start to finish and did us all proud!

Shortly after the gold team departed the pitch, the black team entered. After two and a half minutes, they found themselves with a two goal lead. From the opening minute of the game, the boys had the bit between their teeth, pressing high up the pitch and defending in numbers.

The opening third saw Daniel claim his hat trick with a forward performance Alan Shearer would be proud of.

The middle period brought a fourth goal and a penalty save for Danny. Yet while the goals slowed down slightly, the dominance of the boys failed to relent.

As the game entered the home straight, the boys stepped it up a gear and converted their chances brilliantly. The highlight of the game was arguably the sight of Kian racing forward from defence, encouraged by the whole team who were determined that he would get on the score sheet. His fine finish made it 9-1 and put a gloss on a brilliant performance.

While the scoreline was impressive, the attitude of the lads was even more incredible. This was our greatest team performance of the season. Each and every one of the boys encouraged teammates, congratulated others and played selflessly. It was brilliant to see and an example of what we can achieve when we put our mind to it.

 

Well done boys!

Up The Ton!

Saturday 17th March 2019 @ Vale Stadium, Castle Vale

Birmingham Primary Schools’ FA League

Aston B 0 – 10 Erdington and Saltley Black

Team: Jude, Kian, Elijah, Markie, Callam, Tavani, Jeval, Romaeo, Kyran, Toby, Lennon and Rhys

Goals: Jeval x 3, Callam x 2, Romaeo x 2, Markie x 2 and Toby

Man of the Match: Callam – composed and mature throughout, Callam pulled the strings and was at the heart of everything that was good about the performance.

 

With one league game left to play, South Birmingham might be the favourites for the BPSFA League, but that doesn’t stop the boys from trying to catch them!

From start to finish, this was a performance of quality and unity. The boys played with imagination and excited those in attendance. They did so by playing as one. By playing as a proper team. This hasn’t always been the case this season, but yesterday it most definitely was!

All over the pitch, the boys showed their attacking intent as they poured forward in numbers. However, they did not fall into the trap that has limited their success in previous games – shooting from all over the pitch! Instead they played as one and passed the ball with intelligence and intent. The player in the best position was always the one on the ball and this meant we created a huge number of shooting opportunities throughout the game. Had it not been for the acrobatics of the Aston keeper and the woodwork (that was hit on six occasions) the boys would have scored a few more.

Yet, as brilliant as The Ton boys were, the Aston boys were equally brilliant. It would have been very easy for this young team to fold under great pressure but they refused to wilt and stood up firm until the final whistle. The scoreline does their efforts a disservice.

In terms of The Ton, it would be unfair to pick one or two players out when all of the lads were superb.

From Jude in goal claiming his first clean sheet of the season, to the two man defence made up of a combination of Tavani, Kian, Elijah and Rhys, defensively the lads stood resolutely all morning.

On the wings, Romaeo continued his rich vein of form, while cousin and partner in crime Jeval bagged a superb hat trick. In the heart of the pitch, Markie was an attacking whirlwind as Lennon controlled the park in a manner that belied his tender age. Up front, Kyran was a menace, linking up with his fearsome captain Toby to great success.

Last but by no means least, Callam dictated play in a way reminiscent of Pirlo in his prime and deservedly picked up the man of the match award for a stunning display.

Well done boys!

Up The Ton!

Saturday 9th March 2019 @ Nottingham University

English Schools’ FA Midlands 7-a-side Finals

Team: Danny, Kian S, Ethan, Rhys, Markie, Kyran, Daniel, Toby, Tavani and Callam

Goals: Tavani, Toby, Daniel and Callam

Man of the Match: Kian and Tavani – two performances of concentration, determination and desire. The two lads gave everything for the team in its quest for victory and a place in the national finals.

 

On a day better suited for the Midlands Kite Flying Finals, the boys travelled to a blustery Nottingham to compete in the regional stages of the ESFA inter-district u11s 7-a-side for the first time in the history of Erdington and Saltley. Having already reached the national finals of the 9-a-side game, the boys were determined to do the same in the smaller format of the beautiful game.

In their opening game against Nottingham, the lads had the better of the match, although couldn’t capitalise and finished with a 0-0 draw. This would turn out to be a great result against a very talented Nottingham team.

Next up was East Riding, the winners of the Humberside tournament. This was a historic match as it represented the first ever game between the two associations! After taking the lead through the right boot of Toby, the boys found their groove as they dominated the game despite failing to convert any more of their many chances.

Their third game was far less smooth, as the boys’ play became more disjointed and edgy. Nevertheless, despite being below their best, the boys snatched all three points late on when Daniel converted an Ethan cross with seconds left on the clock.

These three point left us in a great position to qualify, with the top two teams earning a place in the national finals. However, just when everything seemed to be going our way, we capitulated against South Derbyshire to give them their only points of the day.

That meant we had to win our last game against Leicester, although the boys knew they had to play much  better if they were going to progress. Thankfully they saved their best football of the day for their final game of the day and played as a united team to dispatch the East Midlands side. Goals from Tavani and Callam saw us finish the day on 10 points, one behind winners Nottingham, and progress to the national finals for the first time ever!

Well done boys! It wasn’t easy or pretty at times but you did it!

Up The Ton!

Saturday 2nd March 2019 @ Vale Stadium, Castle Vale

West Midlands County Schools’ FA League and Birmingham Primary Schools’ FA League

Erdington and Saltley 8-2 Sutton Coldfield

Team: Danny, Rhys, Kian, Ethan, Markie, Tavani, Daniel, Callam and Kyron

Goals: Kyran x 2, Markie x 2, Daniel x 2 and Tavani x 2

 

Man of the Match: Kian and Tavani – It was impossible to split these two young men after both put in a superb shift and worked their socks off for the good of the team.

 

Despite delaying the game by 15 minutes, we still kicked off with eight men following a spate of late withdrawals. Not for the first time this season, we were forced to dig deep due to player absences, although it did give us an opportunity to show what we’re made of!

With the scoreline still 0-0, Rhys made a late entrance to the field of play and slotted into the left hand side of the defence. Along with Kian, Ethan and Danny, the Marsh Hill blocker formed a formidable back-line and helped repel almost every Sutton attack during the 60 minutes.

The initial third saw witness to arguably our best football of the season to date. Energetic, committed and exciting – the boys started the game with only one thing on their mind: three points. After bagging an early brace, Markie watched on as Callam played a sublime cross-field ball to slice open the Sutton defence and play the onrushing Tavani through on goal. With only the keeper to beat, the St. Clement’s forward coolly slotted past the Royals keeper.

The second period saw Daniel get in on the action and bag a brace of his own despite feeling far from match fit. However, even though he was desperate to score his his hat trick goal, Daniel had to exit the game at the end of the middle thirty, forcing us to play out the final third with eight men.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, the boys added to their goal haul, with Tavani netting a second and Kyran scoring a pair of goals to leave the scoreline 8-2 to The Ton.

Overall it was a very pleasing morning for boys and one that sets them up for the ESFA Midlands 7-a-side final in Nottingham next weekend.

 

Well done boys!

Up The Ton!

Saturday 23rd February 2019 @ Vale Stadium, Castle Vale

Erdington and Saltley Gold 2-4 South Birmingham Blue

 

Team: Danny, Ethan, Jack, Sean, Keon, Kyran, Elijah, Lennon, Kyran and Joshua

Goals: Keon and Kyran

Man of the Match: Elijah – a defensive colossal through whom many attacks started

You don’t always get what you deserve in football and Saturday was an example of that! Despite playing superbly throughout the whole game, the gold team left Vale Stadium empty handed.

With South Birmingham Blue favourites for the title, the gold team knew they would have their work cut out and started the game tentatively. After repelling a number of early South attacks, the boys settled into the game and went from strength to strength, even taking the lead thanks to a long range Kyran drive.

The middle twenty started with the scores level at one goal apiece, although the boys were rightly disappointed with their defending in this instance.

Bouncing back from this early blow, the lads attacked the South goal in great waves but simply couldn’t get past their in-form keeper. In fact, we suffered another blow when South took the lead against the run of play, this time via an unfortunate own goal. This quickly led to another goal, although this time their was nothing unfortunate about it as the South boys slotted away a sensational team goal to take a 3-1 lead.

Once again the boys showed immense resilience in refusing to roll over and surrender. Winding his way down the left wing, Keon evaded several challenges to fire a low cross into the opposition box. With luck on our side for the first time in the game, Keon’s cross ricocheted off the South defender and into the net to cut the deficit to a single goal.

Throwing everything we had at South, the boys tried their best to level the scores and could not have worked harder. Yet with a minute to go and numbers pushed up the pitch, South scored a break away goal to put an unfair gloss on the game from their point of view.

Our boys were incredible in what was their best performance of the season. From Ethan and Jack marshalling the defence to Joshua and Lennon bursting forward with lung-bursting attacks. Every single one of the boys were brilliant! However, luck wasn’t on our side yesterday and to their credit, South had their shooting boots on. Alas, we will pick ourselves up and go again!

Well done boys!

Up The Ton!

Saturday 16th February 2019 @ Sporting Khasla FC

English Schools’ FA Midlands 9-a-side Girls

Monia, Le’Jae, Millie, Keeley, Keira, Rihanna, Savannah, Latia, Lacey, Shay-Leigh and Jess

Played 7; Won 6; Lost 1

Goals: Lacey x 3; Savannah x 3; Latia x 6; Shay Leigh; Jess

 

Football can be a cruel game. A game of fine margins. A game where you don’t always get what you deserve. A game that can turn on one moment. One split second.

Yesterday proved to be all of this and more.

Our girls were looking to repeat their marvellous achievements of last season by reaching the national finals. However, on a day when they played some sumptuous attacking football and kept six clean sheets courtesy of some excellent defending, it simply wasn’t meant to be.

We scored three times as many goals as our next nearest rival and only conceded one goal. We played some breathtaking football and scored some memorable goals. We gained a lot of new fans on a day when our girls did us proud and that is the most important thing despite the obvious disappointment of missing out on a second consecutive national final.

After a pair of convincing wins in their opening two games, the girls locked horns with Telford Black and in an evenly contested affair, were unfortunate to end up on the wrong end of a 1-0 defeat. Incidentally this was our first defeat of what has been another memorable season for the most successful team – girls or boys – in the history of ESPSFA.

Refusing to let this blow dent their spirits, the girls picked up another three victories and scored a bag full of goals in the process. This left them watching on nervously as Telford Black played out their final two games. We knew we needed a favour from the footballing gods and the unlikely seemed possible when Telford drew their penultimate game 0-0.  This meant anything less than a victory in their final game would see us crowned winners and national finalists.

With the Ton Army watching on with everything crossed, the Telford girls, to their huge credit, took care of business and won 2-0 to claim top spot by a single point.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. We finished as runners-up on a day when we most definitely did ourselves proud!

Well done girls!

Up The Ton!