Under 10s continue to show their exciting potential

Wednesday 9th July 2015 @ Jaffray Road, Erdington

Erdington and Saltley U10s 3 – 0 Trialists

Erdington and Saltley U10s 3 – 3 Phoenix United

Scorers: Reharne x 2, Cameron x 2, Kian and ?

It’s sometimes worth stopping and taking a look back at the progress that has been made. Too often we’re concerned about racing off ahead towards long term goals, that we forget how far we’ve come.

Last night was only the second time that this group of boys have played together. They’re still effectively a team of strangers, and yet they played some majestic football last night, fought back from 3-1 down to draw against an incredibly talented Phoenix team and had a fair bit of good old fashioned fun!

The first match saw the 2015/16 squad take on a team of hard working trialists who were competing for places in the under 10s and 11s teams. After racing into a 2-0 lead, the boys created a number of other chances, only to go narrowly wide each time. During the second half I increased the challenge by giving the opposition an extra player (two of who were in year 5). However that didn’t daunt the lads, as they scored a third to seal their victory.

Our second match saw us take on Phoenix United, which threw up a few logistical issues as four of the boys play for both teams! In fact five do, but Tiarno was away on holiday. During the first half, Cameron and Kian played for the district, whilst Ilani and William played for Phoenix. After half time this arrangement was reversed.

With Taylor as our only recognised defender, Danny and then William, were asked to curb their natural attacking instincts in order for the good of the team, with both young men doing this expertly!

After finding ourselves 3-1 down and with time running out, the lads rolled up their sleeves, found something from deep within, before leveling the game at 3-3.

As mentioned above, yesterday was great! Every time we get together the lads come out of their shells that little bit more. It was especially fantastic to see the talented year 3 duo of Reece and Reharne shining, with the latter bagging a brace of goals. Last year we had Eddie, Ilani, Kian and William shine whilst playing a year up and it seems that this year we’ve been blessed once again. In fact, we’ve been blessed with a whole squad of amazing talent!

A huge thanks must go to Lloyd and the Phoenix family for their wonderful hospitality. It’s great to see our relationship grow and prosper, as yesterday also saw Phoenix support the trials for the new girls’ team. Thank you Lloyd. Thank you Phoenix.

Finally, thank you to our parents for your wonderful support!

Up The Ton!

Information Update: Girls’ Trials 2 – Under 10s Training – Presentation Afternoon

Girls Trials

The second session for all budding girl footballer is on Wednesday 8th July 2015 at Jaffray Road, 5:00pm – 6:30pm

Under 10s Training

There will be a session on Wednesday 8th July at the same time and venue as the trials for the girls’ team.

Presentation Afternoon

Sunday 5th July 2015, 2:00pm – 5:00pm for all members of the 2014/15 team. The Wylde Green Pub – Be there or be square!

End of Season Memories

With the presentation afternoon quickly approaching, I wish to collect your memories on what has been a truly tremendous season! Please complete the form below. All memories will appear in an end of season programme that will be distributed at the presentation afternoon. Thanks.

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2015/16 Under 10s – Final Squad

It’s with great pleasure that I announce the final under 10s squad for the 2015/16 district season.

Brad – Oval

Gerard – The Abbey

Taylor – Coleborne

Ilani – Yenton

Bradley – Brookvale

Eddie – Paget

William – The Abbey

Kian – Gunter

Reece – St. Mary and St. John

Tiarno – St. Clement’s

Cameron – Marsh Hill

Resharne – Brookvale

Danny – Gunter

Blessing – Court Farm

Well done boys, you’ve done amazing and should be incredibly proud of making the final squad. We’re all very excited about the season ahead!

Up The Ton!

Under 11s: 2015/16 Team Trials

Following the first two trial sessions which were held during May and June, today saw the lads compete in a tournament. This was a great opportunity to see the lads in competitive action and it certainly gave much food for thought. The final round of the trials will be a training session held after the 2014/15 squad presentation afternoon takes place on Sunday 5th July. I’ll be in touch with all involved in good time. Thank you for your fabulous efforts to date.

2015/16 Under 11s Trials Continue

Sunday 21st June 2015

Today saw the potential under 11s for 2015/16 come together to compete in a tournament made up of teams that will be under 12s when the new season starts. If that wasn’t enough, each of the teams competing had been hand picked as they had won their respective Sunday premier league, with teams coming from across the Midlands.

Our results were as follows:

Barrow Town (Winners of the Leicester Premier League) 1 – 0 Erdington and Saltley

Colron (CWYFL Cup winners; 3rd in CWYFL Premier Division) 1 – 0 Erdington and Saltley

Old Wulfronians (Runners-up Stourbridge Premier League) 0 – 0 Erdington and Saltley

Bedworth (Winners of Coventry Premier League) 1 – 0 Erdington and Saltley

Lane Head (Winners of Walsall Premier League) 2 – 2 Erdington and Saltley

Scorers:

Sam – bullet header

Kane – shot deflected into the net by defender

 

On first sight to say this was a great morning might seem a little strange. After all we lost three games and failed to win any. However, that doesn’t even begin to tell the story. Our first two games were lost to a couple of unfortunate errors, that on another day would have been cut out. Whilst our 0-0 draw could have been different, only for the Old Wulfronians defender to make a superb last minute clearance off the line, as Kane looked destined to score. Then in the final match, a mazy Rio run down the right as the final seconds on the clock ticked down had the crowd on the edge of their seats, only for the Birches Green midfielder to be thwarted by the keeper. So as you can see, luck wasn’t always on our side today.

 

However we played some great football today, especially as the games went on, and by the time we played our final game we were truly into our stride and passing the ball with style!

 

Oh and as I left, I couldn’t help but notice that the team who beat us 1-0 in the opening game with a fluke of a goal, were in fact contesting the final. Not a bad achievement against which to measure our efforts today.

 

So overall a very good day at the office!

 

Up The Ton!

Dream end for a dream team

Saturday 20th June 2015 @ Wednesfield High School

Burton Shield Final

Erdington and Saltley 0 – 0 (AET) Redditch

 

Team: Harvey, Tyrese, Brandon, Jermaine, Haydn, Kruize, Shilo, Kane, Troy, Marc and Shaun

 

Almost one year on from the disappointment of losing a closely contested Burton Shield final with Wolverhampton, the boys (including three from that day last June – Shilo, Tyrese and Kruize) ended the season battling it out for the West Midlands Schools’ FA Cup yet again. With the athletics and cricket pitches marked out, it was once again played very late in the season. However, as the saying goes: Save the best until last!

We hadn’t come up against Redditch prior to yesterday morning, so knew very little about them. All that we knew was that they were a quality team, exceptionally well organised and with no shortage of talent.

The first half, if truth be told, wasn’t our best. Redditch seemed to be more organised and better at retrieving the ball when not in possession. The Ton were second best, although it wasn’t for a lack of effort. The lads tried their very best and put in a shift, although we lacked composure once we had the ball at our feet. Nevertheless we dug deep and made it through to half time all square at 0-0.

The half time message was simple – calm down when you have the ball and play your natural game. As soon as the second half started, there was more bite and purpose about the lads’ play. We looked to build attacks as a team and were far less wasteful when we had the ball. Consequently we created far more chances. Shilo went agonisingly wide of the post after rifling in a low free kick, whilst Kane place a shot to the keeper’s left from distance, only to see the Redditch shot-stopper somehow tip it wide. The midfield was being marshalled by Marc, who as we all know by now, won every ball in the air! Out wide, Kruize and Troy were a constant threat. Plus Troy’s aerial ability came in useful on a number of occasions when he won several dangerous balls in our own box. Speaking of the defence, Ty and Brandon put in very composed performances at the centre of the back three, with Biggy, Haydn and Jermaine utilising their pace to great effect out wide. In fact Jermaine had the game of his life. Which is no mean feat considering it was his first ever game at right back! A tactical master stoke or total fluke from Tonn?!

With neither team able to break the other down, the ref had no option but to send the match into extra time! During these ten (long) minutes, both teams created chances to take the lead but once again were unable to penetrate each other’s resolute defence, with Harvey earning a great clean sheet. With penalties not an option, all that was left to do was crown both teams Burton Shield winners. A fitting end to a great game!

 

Man of the Match – Jermaine

 

This has been a long but brilliant season. Daniel Sturridge Cup winners. Midland Challenge Trophy winners. Burton Shield winners. Birmingham league runners-up. Birmingham FA Cup runners-up. The list goes on but for now I’ll leave it on this note:

 

Thank you boys and parents for a wonderful year. It really has been our pleasure.

 

 

Up The Ton!