Saturday 30th September 2017 @ Holte Secondary School, Aston

Aston 0-10 Erdington and Saltley

Team: Tyrese (c), Louie, James, Klechai, Toby, Jiay, Enoch, Che, Mason, Callam, Cian L, Reece and Rhys

Goals: Reece x 5, Jaiy x 2, Cian L x 2 and Mason

Man of the Match: Jaiy – when you win the award ahead of a team mate who bagged five goals, you know you were on fire! Jaiy was at the centre of everything that we did yesterday. Everything. A masterful performance and a pleasure to watch. Well done Jaiy!

10:26am, four minutes before kick off and we had six players. It was far from the perfect start to a morning that ended in glorious style.

10:30am, as the ref blew to signal the start of the 2017/18 West Midlands County Schools FA League campaign, we had nine players on the pitch, although the frantic start to the game meant we were far from cohesive. Fortunately we rallied in style and took an early two goal league as school mates Cian and Jaiy stuck the ball in the back of the net for The Ton. After the first third, our lead was a comfortable 3-0 and we now had a full squad following the late arrivals of Toby and Reece. The final goal of the first period was a spectacular team affair, with Toby, Jaiy, Enoch and Cian all linking up superbly in a free-flowing passing move – it really was a joy to watch.

The middle period saw Reece come into the fray and pick up a goal, alongside a second for Jaiy to make the score 5-0 to The Ton. In truth, the middle twenty saw our play become a little scrappier as too many players drifted into the middle of the pitch, making it very congested. Nevertheless the quality of the goals continued to excite the watching crowd.

After being told to spread out and use the whole of the pitch, the lads took full control of the game during the final third, scoring five goals and protecting their clean sheet. While the attackers will naturally draw praise for their play and great goals, such as the volley scored by Mason or top corner screamer by Reece, the defence and keeper deserve a great deal of praise too! James was a commanding presences in the heart of the defence, with Klechai and Louie marshalling the flanks expertly. In goal, Tyrese played the role of the sweeper-keeper like a young Manuel Neuer!

Throughout the team, boys played with aggression, flair and bravery. There was no moaning or groaning and a great deal of teamwork. It really was a joy to behold!

Finally, the performance and result was made even more satisfying by the presence and efforts of five u10s lads – Che, Cian, Neil, Rhys and Toby.

To their credit, Aston refused to give in and actually had their best chances late in the game, therefore illustrating their determination to keep going until the final whistle.

Well done boys! What a game!

Up The Ton!

Saturday 16th September 2017 @ Colney Heath

Young Erdington and Saltley side travel south and leave unbeaten following four great performances. With players filling in a number of different rolls, it was great to see the flexibility and potential of the squad. It was also great to see the five u10s step up to the challenge of competing against older u11s players, as well as the manner in which the older boys took the lead.

Results from the St. Albans Festival:

W 1-0 vs. St. Albans

D 0-0 vs. Dacorum

D 1-1 vs. Wokingham

W 2-0 vs. Woking

Saturday 30th September 2017 @ Heartlands Academy

BPSFA 6-a-side Championship

A morning of near misses, fine margins and frustrations! One more goal for either team. One more victory. That’s all it would have taken to qualify for the knock-out round and the chance to retain the trophy we won in both 2015 and 2016. Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be and the boys were left to rue the missed chances. Nevertheless, Tonn, Lamar and Scott, who took the teams, saw more than enough positives to remain highly optimistic ahead of the new league season on Saturday 30th September.

Friday 21st July 2017 @ Hollyfields Club, Erdington

Erdington and Saltley (Black) 3 – 0 Harborne

Tyrese, Aidan, Daniel, Klechai, Toby, Resharne, Reece, Olly and Cian L

Goals: Aidan, Olly and Cian L

Erdington and Saltley (Gold) 3 – 1 Harborne

Padraig, James, Angelo, Emmanuel, Enoch, Neil, Harley, Mason, Louie, Jamie and Liam

Goals: Liam x 2 and Neil

Over the past few weeks we have put two teams out whenever we’ve had a game and invariably one team has come out on top. However this week both teams excelled, with both sets of players picking up a victory following pleasing performances.

First up was the Black team, who quickly stamped their authority on the game thanks to their energy and drive, as exemplified by Toby in the centre of the park.

The first goal came from an unlikely source, after centre back Aidan wondered up the pitch, expertly controlled a cross, before cooly smashing the ball into the roof of the net. It was a finish fitting of any striker! The second goal was also smashed into the roof of the net, after left-winger Olly cut into the box and unleashed an unstoppable shot past the Harborne keeper. With the boys in control of the game, it was left to Cian L to place the cherry on the cake with a close range finish to top off a fabulous team mover involving Toby and Olly.

The passing and teamwork of the team was unquestionably the most pleasing thing about the performance. Despite still being in their infancy as a team, the signs are promising as the boys are gelling really well as a team.

However it was left to Tyrese to steal the show. The Birches Green shot-stopper cam rushing out of his goal to cut out some danger and with the ball at his feet, he sprinted the length of the field before spreading the ball out wide to Reece. Not content with this piece of trickery, he continued his run into the box and demanded the ball back, only to fall agonisingly short of the subsequent cross. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before in my life!

The second game of the evening saw the Gold team take on Harborne and just like the Black team, they took an early lead, this time courtesy of Liam. Shortly after his first goal, the Audley finisher almost got his second, only to see his effort bounce off the crossbar. With The Ton leading 2-0, thanks to another Liam goal, Harborne dragged themselves back into the game when their player rose at the back post to score a great header. The goals continued to flow and Neil popped up in centre midfield to score the goal of the game from a significant distance. His rocket of a shot looped high over the Harborne keeper and nestled into the back of the net to restore our two goal lead.

Overall this was the Gold team’s best performance of recent weeks. Every player worked hard for the team and gave it their all. We couldn’t have asked for more and couldn’t have been happier!

Well done lads!

Up The Ton!

Sunday 16th July 2017 @ Sutton Coldfield Town FC, Coles Lane

Sutton Coldfield 0-2 Erdington and Saltley

Team: Tyrese, Daniel, Bobby, Angelo, Mason, Resharne, James,  Toby, Reece, Liam, Cian L and Neil

Goals: Reece and Resharne

Man of the Match: Tyrese

After the excitement of the ten goal thriller played out between the girls of Sutton and Erdington, it was over to the boys to take centre stage. Despite having less goals than the previous game, it certainly matched the 5-5 draw for entertainment and drama.

During an end to end encounter, both teams created chances and both teams battled with every ounce of energy in their bodies. Mike, Ton and I were all left proud of the effort shown by our respective teams and we genuinely can’t wait for the season to start.

The first goal came from the left boot of captain Resharne after he arrived late in the box and latched onto the ball, rifling it low and hard into the back of the net. The second goal came from Reece, after he angled his run into the box and scored from a narrow angle.

Yet this only tells half of the story, as Tyrese saved two penalties with the score line finely balanced at 1-0. The second of the saves came in the final minute of the game, before we charged down the other end to make it 2-0.

The most pleasing thing about the game was the heart and fight shown by the boys, especially during the final 15 minutes when Sutton were in the ascendency. Such spirit will be key to any success we hope to achieve this season.

Excited is an understatement !

Well done boys!
Up The Ton!