Saturday 18th March 2017 @ Derby Moor Community Sports College

West Midlands County Schools’ FA League

 

Derby 3 – 2 Erdington and Saltley

 

Team: Gerard, Tiarno, Kian, Danny, William, Blessing, Taylor, Toby, Che, Liam and Telpher

Goals: Che x 2

 

Man of the Match: Toby – The youngest player on the pitch, alongside Blessing, were by far the most tenacious, hard working and determined players on show. However it’s the younger of the two who earns the man of the match accolade.

 

The equation was simple. Beat Derby and sit atop of the league, with only Dudley capable of catching us. Lose and relinquish the title won for the first time in our history during the 2015/16 season. Although we should know by now that nothing is ever simple in schools’ football!

The first twenty minutes was arguably the worst we’ve played all season. Despite one or two very bright sparks, collectively as a team we were second best by a considerable distance. We lacked the intensity and passion shown in our recent wins against Wolverhampton and Solihull. We were not good enough and found ourselves two goals down and with a mountain to climb if we were going to retain the league.

The second twenty was an altogether different affair. All over the pitch, gold shirts closed down their white counterparts. We battled, pressed and fought. We showed passion for the cause and gave it one hell of a go. We did everything that we didn’t do during the first twenty. After twenty minutes of unrelenting pressure, we found ourselves back in the game after Che scored to make it 2-1 to Derby.

Knowing that nothing other than a win was needed, we threw an extra man up front and chased the two goals that were required. Unfortunately we got caught on the break and fell 3-1 behind, before regrouping to quickly reduce the deficit to one goal, with the goal again coming from Che.

Regretfully we couldn’t undo the damage that was done during the poor opening thirty, despite two thirds of passion and effort.

A number of positives came out of the disappointment of losing. As well as the man of the match performance of Toby, box-to-box energy of Blessing and the team transformation during the second twenty, there was the debut of under 10s Telpher. Peacefully asleep at 10:30pm on Friday night, he didn’t even know he was playing until he woke up on Saturday, after my late night plea to his father. Yet he stepped up admirably and gave a debut performance brimming with confidence and bravery. Well done Telpher!

Nevertheless we will pick ourselves up and go again. We are still in two cup competitions and Jersey is only a few weeks away. Plus yesterday taught us a valuable lesson, a lesson that can be transferred to all areas of life:

Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard enough. 

Up The Ton!

Saturday 4th March 2017 @ Wednesfield High School

West Midlands County Schools’ FA League

 

Wolverhampton 0 – 4 Erdington and Saltley

 

Team: Gerard, Taylor, Danny, Kian B, Cian T, Cameron, Blessing, Che, William, Tiarno and Toby

Scorers: Cian T x 2, Cameron and Che

Man of the Match: Taylor. Gerard never had one shot to save. Not one. This is testament to the excellent defending of the Abbey shot stopper’s back three. Danny and Tiarno were excellent, as was Blessing, who had his best game for ages. However at the heart of defence was Colebourne’s answer to Paul McGrath who was a steady presence throughout. Often the attacking players get all of the credit, but as brilliant as they were today, the defence deserve all of the praise that comes their way!

 

After a week of heavy rain, it was touch and go this morning whether the game would go ahead. After inspecting all six of the Wednesfield pitches, we found one that was just right. Nestled in the far corner, it was a relative oasis compared to the other five, boggy pitches.

With the game now in full swing, it was clear to Tonn and me that the boys had taken on board our warnings about the need to work hard. The need to work harder than we did against Sutton a few weeks ago. All over the pitch the lads competed for 50/50 balls, chased lost causes and gave it their all. This was the hardest they’d worked for months and unsurprisingly it yielded their best performance since long before Santa had even considered servicing his sleigh.

By the time halftime came, the lads were three goals to the good, with a strike from Cameron and a brace from Cian T. Cam’s goal came after a beautiful one-two with midfield partner Cian T, before the midfield maestro got in on the act himself, rifling high into the net on two occasions.

The first half was also memorable for a return to form for Blessing. The Court Farm wing wizard was sensational down the right, beating his man time and time again before whipping in some delightful balls for the hard working Che to attack.

With 30 minutes left to play, it was now the turn of Toby to get in on the act. The Abbey youngster was playing against boys two years older than him but you’d never have known it judging from the ease as which he coped physically. Determined and brave, he broke forward with regularity and showed bravery in demanding the ball whenever possible. A truly brilliant competitive debut!

The fourth goal was a tap in from Che, although that does him a disservice as he sprinted into the box in hope of picking up a rebound, which is exactly what he did. The goal was just reward for the excellent effort that he put in all game.

Keen to grab his first ever hat trick, Cian T unleashed a couple of great long distance shots, with one low drive hitting the post and going out for a goal kick.

That leaves William, Gerard and Kian B. William attacked with flair after joining the game as a 20th minute substitute, before spending the second thirty bravely diving in to a number of tough 50/50 balls. Kian linked up well with Toby on the right during the second half, finding himself in advanced positions on a number of times and putting several great balls in the box. In goal, Gerard kept it simple and did what he had to do well. Throughout the game he could be heard communicating with his back line, reminding people of their duties with great maturity.

 

Well done boys! That was a great performance against a talented Wolverhampton side.

 

Up The Ton!

Friday 24th February 2017 @ Play Football Arena

Birmingham Primary Schools’ FA Futsal Championship

 

A Team: Tyrese, Taylor, Cian, Blessing, Ilani and Cameron

Man of the Match – Cameron

Won 10-0 vs. East

Lost 2-1 vs. South

Lost 3-1 vs. Kings Norton

Won 1-0 vs. Aston

Won 1-0 vs. Sutton Coldfield

 

B Team: Gerard, Tiarno, Kian B, William, Che and Danny

Man of the Match – Danny

Lost 2-0 vs. South

Lost 4-0 vs. Kings Norton

Drew 0-0 vs. Sutton Coldfield

Won 1-0 vs. Aston

 

Over the past few seasons the boys have taken the headlines and for good reason. However on Friday it was the turn of the girls to make history, when they finished as runners-up in the BPSFA Futsal Championship. In do so, they became the first ever ESPSFA girls team to get their hands on some silverware. What an amazing achievement!

I have personally managed this set of girls on a couple of occasions this week and know firsthand how much talent they have. Paula, who runs the girls team, is forever singing their praise and rightly so.

On Friday they put everything that they had worked on in training into action and finished the day with only one defeat, which came at the hands of the eventual winners and only after an incredibly close game!

Well done girls!

 

On the adjacent pitch to the girls, the boys B team had a day of ups and downs, although pleasingly they got better as each game ticked by. The more they played, the better they got. This was the most pleasing thing to take away from the day as it showed their ability to listen and act upon feedback. They saved their best until last when they beat friends Aston 1-0 in the final group game to round woff a day of learning and development.

 

That leaves the boys A team, who despite an early wobble, regrouped to pick up a pair of 1-0 wins, which helped them claw their way back up the table and into second position by virtue of goal difference. The early wobble started when the boys let a 1-0 lead against South Birmingham agonisingly slip through their grasp, despite putting on a brilliant performance. Understandably down following this blow, the boys struggled to bounce back against eventual champions Kings Norton. However as mentioned, eventually everything fell into place and their hard work and determination paid dividends when their late resurgence propelled them into second place.

 

Well done boys! Well done girls!

 

Up The Ton!