Saturday 28th April 2017 @ Longlevens Junior School, Gloucester

Gloucester u10s 2 – 2 Erdington and Saltley u10s

Team: Tyrese, Bobby, James, Fareed, Telpher, Toby, Resharne, Jaiy, Kian S, Romaoe, Jeval, Liam and Patrick

Goals: Jeval and Toby

With eight of the team having played in the u11s game an hour or so earlier this game was always going to be a tough affair. Factor into the mix this being our first ever 9-a-side game and it suddenly becomes an even trickier fixture.

Yet despite these challenging circumstances, the young Ton soldiers fought their way to a very pleasing 2-2 draw. By fighting to the very last minute of the game, the boys showed enormous heart and desire. When it would have been easier to accept a 2-1 loss and rest their weary legs, the boys simply continued to battle of and were rewarded by snatching a last minute draw against the talented Gloucester boys.

The game could have started like a dream, only for Kian’s looping first minute shot bouncing off the crossbar. With the wind behind their sales, the boys attacked Gloucester at every opportunity only to fall behind to a stunning long distance Gloucester strike.

With the boys one goal down after the first third, it was left to the lively Jeval to level the scores, albeit through a fortuitous cross come shot from the right wing seconds into the second twenty.

Chances came and went for both teams before Gloucester took the lead for the second time in the game when they reacted first to a great Tyrese save.

With the ref’s watch ticking down and a Gloucester victory looking the most likely outcome, it was over to Toby to break the hearts of the Gloucester fans, when he scored with a looping shot from the edge of the box.

Both of our goals had a touch of luck about them but you earn your luck in this game by working hard and giving it everything that you’ve got. This is exactly what we did on Saturday morning at Longlevens.

The boys did us all proud by battling away for 60 minutes and certainly whet the appetite of all involved with The Ton, who look forward to 2017/18 with excitement.

Well done boys!

Up The Ton!

Saturday 28th April 2017 @ Longlevens Junior School, Gloucester

Midland Challenge Trophy

Gloucester 1 – 4 Erdington and Saltley

Team: Gerard, Ilani, Cameron, Cian T, Che, Tiarno, Toby, Kian S, Fareed, Liam, Resharne, Jaiy, Telpher and James

Scorers: Liam x 2, Ilani and Cameron

Man of the Match: James – the next in a long line of Mee/Whitty boys to represent The Ton was a rock at the back!

Gloucester away is always one of the games I look for first when the fixtures come out at the start of the season. I just love it! The Gloucester boys make us feel like royalty and the setup at Longlevens is something for all districts to aspire to replicate.

Saturday’s game was another really good game of football, played in the true spirit of schools’ football.

The match couldn’t have started any better for The Ton when Liam found himself in space on the left hand side of the area, before slotting the ball home to give us a one goal lead. However Gloucester soon rallied and clawed their way back into the game by capitalising on a Ton defensive lapse to finish past Gerard.

At half time we demanded more passion and energy as Gloucester were arguably the better team of the opening thirty minutes.

The boys responded in style by retaking the lead two minutes into the second half. Finding himself in acres of space, captain Ilani had time to take the ball out of the air before coolly putting the ball into the bottom right hand corner.

Now in the ascendancy, the boys from B23 made sure of the victory when the lively Cameron rifled home after some trademark tenacity down the left channel. The final goal ensured Audley boy Liam bagged himself a brace of goals and bounced back to form following a few quiet weeks. However had Che’s excellent work rate up front been matched by the team’s ability, or inability, to read the offside trap, another goal or two might have come our way.

Gloucester refused to lie down and tested Gerard on a number of occasions, with the Abbey shot stopper proving particularly adept when is came to one-on-ones. The Ton defensive line was further reinforced by Tiarno who was having a cracking game, after switching from his normal left back position to the right hand side of the three man back line.

The scoreline was pleasing but the most pleasing thing about the game was the manner in which the six under 10s and two under 9s stepped up to support the under 11s who were thin on the ground. They grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and rolled up their sleeves in true Ton style.

Furthermore the u11s boys should be given praise for the way that they looked after their younger peers. My lasting memory of the game will be the image of Ilani handing the Midland Challenge Trophy over to Resharne. The under 11s captain handing the baton to the under 10s captain in his penultimate game for the district.

Well done boys! You all did us proud!

Up The Ton!

We arrived as 11 boys but left as 11 men. What a week! What a team!

Results:

2-2 Orpington

1-3 St. Albans

0-1 Potters Bar

1-2 Jersey

3-0 Plymouth

4-2 Barking and Dagenham
Goals:

Cameron x 7

Ilani x 2

Taylor

Blessing
Player of the Week: Danny – a consistent force from the start of the week, Danny nailed down the right back position and kept every opponent who he came up against quiet. He has grown and developed as the season has progressed and is now one of the first names on the team sheet.

Every single one of the players did themselves proud this week and they all contributed to a great visit to Jersy. We are all so proud of how much the lads grew during the week and there’s nothing we’d change about our second visit to the Channel Islands. Thank you boys for a great week!

Number of songs created: one

number of times the word ‘violated’ was said: 7639

Friday 14th April 2017 @ FB Playing Fields, St. Helier

Erdington and Saltley 4 – 2 Barking and Dagenham 
Team: Gerard, Taylor, Tiarno, Danny, Ilani, Cian, Cameron, Blessing, Che, William and Kian

Goals: Cameron x 3 and Ilani

Man of the Match: Ilani

9:00pm on Thursday evening brought with it the news we’d all been hoping for: Erdington and Saltley vs. Barking and Dagenham. For the first time ever, these two great districts had been drawn to meet. The #rudeboyderby was born.

The best way to describe the Barking and Dagenham lads is that they’re Erdington and Saltley but with a cockney twang. The two sets of kids are so alike and as such, they struck up a close bond this week. Both sets of lads were desperate to play each other. The perfect way to end the perfect week.

The game started with The Ton in the ascendancy. However as we know only too well, if you don’t take your chances at this level you’ll get punished. This is exactly what happened when Favour capitalised on a Ton mistake to slot the ball home. At the start of the week this would have been the moment when the lads had collapsed. However by this point they’d overcome a number of challenges earlier in the week to become a proper tight group. Friends back each other up and this is exactly what the lads did as they overturned the Barking and Dagenham lead to take charge of the game before half time.

Our first goal came from a Cian through ball, which relaeased Cameron, who slotted away only moments after having a goal disallowed for being offside. Then a minute later they took the lead, although it could have been different had we not got away with some poor marking. From a Barking and Dagenham free kick, we switched off and failed to mark three of their players, only to narrowly clear our lines. Then with Cameron the only Ton player upfield, Ilani released him with a sumptuous ball and the Marsh Hill baller did the rest.

If the first half had been a fairly equal affair, the second half was all about The Ton. The boys peppered the Londeners’ goal, only to find their keeper in imperious form. Our persistence paid off when Ilani hit a low drive into the bottom corner to give The Ton a 3-1 lead. Shots continued to rain down on the Dagenham goal but none were converted, leaving the lads in danger of a sucker punch from the London lads. With five minutes to go, Favour once again raced onto a poor Ton ball before smashing the ball home. At 3-2 we looked a little nervous, until Cameron completed his hat trick to relieve the pressure and give the boys a well deserved victory.

The end of the game brought with it my favourite moment of the game. Both sets of players rushed to embrace each other and congratulate each other on their respective efforts. No player cared one bit about the result. The rivals were now well and truly friends. This is the beauty of Jersey!

It was then over to us coaches to show the boys how it should (not) be done! I don’t think I will ever be allowed to live down the foul throw, especially as I had moaned at one or two of the lads during the week for their inability to keep their feet on the floor.

Then it was on to Pizza Hut for the end of week celebration with the parents who’d travelled to the island to support the boys. One or two of the lads got sidetracked by the presence of some girls on the next table. You’ve got to admire their persistence!

There was still time on the clock after Pizza Hut for one final game of football. A mammoth game of beach football entertained the boys for a couple of hours and capped off a brilliant second half to the week on the pitch. Before heading back to the hotel, the boys left their mark on the sands of Jersey by writing their name on the beach. I’m certain their name will be remembered long after the sea has washed away the sands in which they wrote a The Ton!

Last year at the presentation evening, we knew nothing of the smart dress code and arrived dressed in our vests and shorts. This year we were better prepared and the lads looked the business in their best shirts and dancing shoes. If only the Pizza Hut girls could see them now!

The evening was capped off with a few games of pool and a blast of the Erdington and Saltley jukebox.

What a day!

Up The Ton!

Thursday 13th April 2017 @ FB Playing Feilds, St. Helier

Erdington and Saltley 3 – 0 Plymouth

Team: Gerard, Tiarno, Taylor, Danny, Ilani, Cian, Cameron, William, Che, Kian and Blessing

Goals: Blessing, Taylor and Cameron

Finally it clicked! Finally everything fell into place. Today was the first day since we’ve been in Jersey that everything was just right. From the moment the boys got up, until the moment the boys stepped onto the pitch, everything was perfect.

Plymouth are a quality team. Up until today they’d been on form. However our boys were too good.

The first goal was a messy affair, with Blessing poking home from a yard out following a goal mouth scramble. At 1-0 up at half time, the boys were told to release the ball quicker.

With Cameron now up front and Ilani in midfield, the boys repeatedly released the ball quickly to put Cameron through on goal. In midfield William, Cian, Blessing and Che supported Ilani in putting Cameron through to face the Plymouth keeper. On another day the lads would have got a few more goals, although the Plymouth keeper should be praised for pulling off a few class goals.

Our second goal came from a corner and via the knee of Taylor, before the third goal was slotted away with a touch of class from Cameron. The three goal lead was no more than we deserved. Clinical in attack and robust in defence. The boys were fantastic!

Off the pitch we went for a round of golf and some clay pigeon shooting. The shooting was won by me and the golf was won by no one as they all cheated! The shot selection in both activities was interesting to say the least! In clay pigeon shooting, most of the boys shot themselves in the foot. Whilst on the golf course, the lads genuinely believed the aim was to get the highest score possible! If that was the aim of golf, Blessing would definitely have won at a canter.

After a walk around the town on the evening, the boys had an impromptu dance competition. Blessing stole the show with some interesting moves!

Up The Ton!

Wednesday 12th April 2017 @ FB Playing Fields, St. Helier

Jersey 2-1 Erdington and Saltley

Team: Gerard, Taylor, Kian, Danny, Ilani, Cian, Blessing, William, Cameron, Tiarno and Che

Goal: Cameron

Players’ Man of the Match: Cian T – even though luck was against him and even though things didn’t work out for him, Cian refused to give up and showed immense bravery throughout! Similarly, Cameron, who was isolated up front for much of the game, showed great passion and pride from the first whistle to the last.
Not for the first time this week, we learned a valuable but tough lesson on the pitch: hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard enough.

Against Potter Bar the day before, we were warriors. We battled with every last ounce of strength in our bodies. Unfortunately we did not do this against Jersey, especially in the first half when the Islanders were first to every ball and could have scored more than the two goals that they carried into the half time break.

The second half saw a significant improvement in the boys, although the two goal deficit proved too much and the lads were unable to overturn it. However more importantly, the boys gave more for the cause during the second period. They showed the pride expected of anyone who pulls on the Ton shirt.

Nevertheless, despite being second best for long periods of the game, we still managed to create a number of clear chances, which on another day would have been converted. Even when way below our best, we pose a goal threat due to the quality in our ranks. If we can now match this talent with grit and determination we’ll be more than fine.

After the game the boys were given the chance to decide what they wanted to do. They voted unanimously for a second trip to Aqua Splash. Another afternoon was spent splashing and dashing in the water, sliding down the tunnels and playing with members of other districts. The boys made a wise decision!

The evening brought with it a visit to Jersey’s bowling alley and a twelve-way battle to be crowned Ton Bowling Champion of the Year. After an interesting first round, it was decided that the barriers were required! With each of the lads bringing their own unique style to the table, there were some interesting shots on show. Twice someone had to walk done the alley to retrieve a ball that had stopped due to the lack of power that was put into it. Plus I’m fairly certain I saw a maintenance man repairing the barriers after we had finished our game.

With Che crowed Ton Bowling Champion of the Year, the boys moved onto the arcade and pool table. The most popular game was the punch bag, with Taylor scoring the highest total, followed by Ilani. However it was Blessing who stole the show on the punch bag, when he attacked it with a Superman-like dive and punch. It had to be seen to be believed. On the pool table, Tiarno showed a total lack of understanding for the game, as he tried his best to defend the pockets from those pesky balls.

As has been the case all week, the result on the pitch was long forgotten by the time of lights out, and rightly so. The lads had another brilliant day! Plus at the time of writing, they were about to be given another chance to put the lessons of the Jersey match into practice against Plymouth. You’ve got to love the Jersey Festival!

Come on boys!

Up The Ton!