Friday 20th February 2015 @ Heartlands Academy

Teams:

One – Harvey, Brandon, Kane, Tyrese, Kruize, Troy and Shilo

Beat Aston 2-0

Lost 1-0 to South

Beat Harborne 4-0

Lost 1-0 Kings Norton

Beat East 3-0

Semi-final: Beat Harborne 3-0

Final: Beat Aston 2-0

 

Two – Rahmane, Teon, Shaun, Jermaine, Tristan, Cameron, Hayden, and Romeo

Drew 1-1 with Kings Norton

Drew 0-0 with South

Lost 3-2 to Harborne

Lost 2-0 to Aston

 

Scorers – Cameron, Kruize x 2, Kane, Tyrese, Shilo x 7, Troy x 3

 

Sorry for the delay producing this match report but I’ve been busy staring at the trophy for the past couple of days!

Erdington and Saltley, Champions of Birmingham. It has quite a ring to it! We couldn’t be prouder of the whole squad. Since September  we’ve watched as this group of young men have developed into a fine team. That 9-0 defeat to Solihull seems a long time ago now! Plus the exciting thing is, I genuinely believe we can get even better. You only have to look at the fact that the two goals in the final were scored by Year 5 lads (Kane and Troy), whilst Cameron was a constant handful for the other team. Exciting times indeed!

In terms of a blow for blow account of Friday…er…er…I’m going to be honest, it’s all a blur! I remember a few things, but not much!

There was team two’s comeback from 2-0 down against Harborne, only to suffer a late heartbreak. Nevertheless, the way that they dragged themselves back into the game was brilliant. Guts, determination and commitment were all evident. Then there was team one’s nail biting escape from the group! After losing two games, we knew we needed South Birmingham to do us a favour and beat Kings Norton if we were going to progress from the group. Luckily for us they did, and our 3-0 defeat of East Birmingham put us through courtesy of our better goal difference.

Once we were out of the group, we turned on the style! We faced Harborne in the semi-final and raced into a 3-0 half time lead, before seeing out the remainder of the game. The final promised to be a juicy affair, with Aston the opponents. As an Aston teacher, I have a soft spot for them and love playing against them. It was the perfect final for me. However we knew it would be a stern test as they’re a talented bunch of lads. The boys were told that they had to match Aston’s work rate and strength if we were going to get anything from the game. Fortunately for us, this is exactly what we did! With two minutes of the final remaining, Shilo burst down the right and crossed for Kane, who steamrolled in and slotted the ball away despite pressure from the Aston defender. Then the trophy was secured when Troy raced clear to rifle the ball into the roof of the Aston net.

To become the first winners of the Daniel Sturridge Trophy is something to be immensely proud of. Just over ten years ago, Daniel was playing district football and now he is an idol for millions of fans around the globe. Let’s dream boys and aim big! That could be you one day!

Mr Waldo was awarded player of the tournament after finishing the top scorer with seven goals, and is now only one goal away from beating the 30 goals that he scored last season! Well done Shilo. However, we’re not a one man team and everyone played their part on Friday. From Shaun anchoring the defence of team two, to Tyrese switching from playing up front to dropping back into defence for team one. Without everyone’s contribution we wouldn’t have won the trophy. We’re a team and we win and lose as a team. Therefore, well done everyone!

 

Man of the Match – It’s hard to disagree with the Sturridge family who picked Shilo as their play of the tournament.

 

Up The Ton!

 

 

 

Wednesday 18th February 2015 @ Heartlands Academy
Erdington and Saltley 2 – 4 Colron

Team: Harvey, Ilani, Harvey, Kye, Kane, Cameron, Samim, Oakley, Pharelle, William, Jermaine, Kian and Tion
Scorer: Jermaine x 2

I ended my programme notes with a quote, and I’ll begin this match report with another:

 

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

Michael Jordan

 

If the greatest ever basketball player (and one of the greatest sporting talents in the history of the whole wide world) said this, it must be true! These words should be at the forefront of our minds when we think about tonight’s game. I could see the disappointment in the eyes of the lads and this shows just how far we’ve come in the space of ten games. We’ve developed a great team bond that the boys were genuinely disappointed to lose. However, as Michael Johnson said, every setback is an opportunity to learn.

 

The game could have started better for The Ton, after we fell 2-0 behind within the first ten minutes of the game. Although in fairness we had hit the post after one minute! Once the initial nerves had settled, we dragged ourselves back into the game and ended the first 20 minutes far more assured and more composed. Adam (taking the place of Tonn for today) and I told the lads that we had to have more conviction in the things that we did. Both in terms of the tackles that we were making and the passes we were choosing.

The second twenty was in stark contrast to the first. The Ton took on all of the advice that they were given and came out fighting. Consequently we had far more of the ball and created more chances. Although football is often far from fair, and Colron took a 3-0 lead against the run of play. Goalkeeper Harvey, trying to play the ball out from the back, played it to defender Harvey who immediately found himself under pressure. The Colron player won the ensuing battle and crossed for his teammate to finish. At this point it would have been easy for the lads to drop their heads and bemoan the fact that nothing was goign their way. However, rather than take the easy option, they rolled up their sleeves and went for it again. Good work down the right from Kane and then Pharrelle, allowed Jermaine to dart in on the back post and finish on the half volley.

The third and final twenty minutes was very similar to the second – The Ton having lots of the ball and creating a number of chances, only for Colron to hit us with a sucker-punch. Once again, despite now being 4-1 down, The Ton picked up their heads and gave it another shot. With ten minutes left on the clock, Jermaine rifled home his second of the game to give the lads hope. Alas it wasn’t meant to be. At the end of a game in which we created a number of great chances, hit the woodwork a couple of times and had a shot cleared off the line, The Ton lost 4-2 to a very talented Colron team.

As a teacher, I’m all about the learning! What can we learn from today? There wasn’t a whole lot wrong with what we did but we could have played with a little more conviction. This basically means making your mind up earlier and sticking to your decision. On the football pitch this would mean winning tackles that we go in for. Making passes that are open to us. Where would Michael Jordan have been if he didn’t learn something from every defeat, every miss and every upset? I’m not sure, but I’m certain he wouldn’t be known as the greatest every basketball player the world has ever known! We’ll dust ourselves off and come again.

Finally, lets remember one thing…we’re 8, 9 and 10 years old. We’re kids. This is schools’ football. It’s not professional football and neither is it the World Cup final. We play for fun and for self-improvement and nothing that we saw tonight will change that!

Well done boys! I’ll see some of you on Friday when the Under 11s take part in the Daniel Sturridge Cup, and the rest of you in a week or so. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your half term and remember to smile!

Man of the Match – I thought Ilani did a great job, playing at the centre of a back three for the first time ever. Not only did he fill in for Sam, but he is also in Year 4 let’s not forget! Tion also did well, especially when dropping back into defence. Jermaine bagged himself a brace and was positive throughout. However, Kane sneaks it this week, after putting in a committed midfield performance and battling from the first to the last whistle.

 

Up The Ton!

Saturday 14th February 2015 @ Heartlands Academy

Erdington and Saltley 7-1 Harborne Primary Schools

Scorers – Shilo x 3, Tyrese, Troy, Kruize, Kane

 

A couple of weeks after the great 9-0 win against South Birmingham, the Under 11s were in action again, this time against Harborne. Our first meeting of the season a month or so ago was a very tight affair, with The Ton eventually winning it 2-0, although Harborne had a number of chances of their own and could have scored. The lads were reminded of this and told to prepare for a battle. However the first half couldn’t have gone any more to plan, after we ended for first thirty minutes leading 3-0. The opening goal was a perfect illustration of the work rate and effort that have become part of game in recent times. Kruize, who was a menace today, riffled a fierce shot at the Harborne keeper, who could only parry it, only for Kane to sprint from the half way line, before stabbing the ball home. The goal was all about Kane’s unrivaled determination. The second goal was courtesy of another Year 5 player. Troy picked the ball up on the right and skipped past several challenges, moments before calmly lifting the ball over the onrushing keeper. With the ref checking his watch and readying his whistle for half time, Shilo curled in a right footed shot from the edge of the area, that rose high past the keeper.

This was possibly our best thirty minutes of the season. We worked as a team, defended as a unit and attacked in numbers. More importantly all of the above meant that we were rarely threatened and Harvey had very little to do in goal.

The second half was a little different, as Harborne bounced back well and put us under more pressure. In fact, it is fair to say that they had the better of the first fifteen minutes of the second half, although they couldn’t score. Fortunately the lads refused to let frustration get the better of them and continued to play their own game. With Cameron working hard up front, defending in the final third, Shilo was able to break forward from midfield and pick up the balls that Cam was playing out wide. Shilo latched onto one of these very balls, whilst squirming his way into the box and poking the ball home. This goal heralded the beginning of a goal avalanche for The Ton, with three more goals coming in the space of ten second half minutes. Shilo got his third of the game and seventh in the past two games (22nd of the season), whilst Kruize capped off a man of the match performance with a rasping drive from distance after seeing out the second half in centre midfield. However the goal of the game came via Tyrese, who unleashed an unstoppable drive from distance, that smashed off the underside of the crossbar and over the line. It’s also worth noting that we hit the woodwork three times, twice through Shilo and a third via Tristan, plus we had a couple of goals ruled out for offside. Overall a very good day at the office.

In the last four Birmingham League games we’ve scored 19 and conceded 1, winning all four games along the way. This is something to be proud of and testament to the hard work that the lads have put in and evidence of how much they’ve gelled as a team since November/December. Every single one of the lads should be proud of their performance today, with all 13 of the squad contributing something during the game. Although it would be rude not to end this report with a special mention for the two birthday boys. Kane, as stated above, scored a goal on his 10th birthday, but also pulled the strings from the centre of the park, particularly during the first half. Then there’s Brandon, who had a commanding game at the heart of the defence on his 11th birthday. His reading of the game and ability to be in the right place at the right time was brilliant today!

Well done everyone! As ever, the pleasure was all ours!

 

Man of the Match – Kruize

 

Up The Ton!