Saturday 12th October 2013 @ Maidstine Bridge Primary School

Brierley Hill 1 – 0 Erdington and Saltley

Team: Dermot; Mark, Michael; Amari, Ramello, Ethan, George, Tyrese; Shilo      Subs: Callum, Leyton

 

After a long 50  minute drive, the lads arrived in good spirits and buoyant from their great start to the season. After hearing good things about our hosts, the lads knew exactly what to expect and went into the game fully prepared for a battle.

The Ton started the game in a surprisingly subdued mood and allowed the Dudley boys to take control of the game. After 10-15 minutes, The Ton conceded a goal and found themselves behind in a 9-a-side game for the first time in five outings. If anyone was unsure about Dudley at the start of the match, they were now fully aware of their opponents credentials. Every time we got the ball, two or three Dudley players closed us down and prevented us from building up any decent attacks. It was a real lesson in how to defend as a team and how to win the ball back. The lads were restricted to trying to catch Dudley on the break and Shilo worked tirelessly up front on his own, chasing down every through ball that was played his way. However the wet conditions meant that many of these through-balls skidded off the surface and raced away from young Mr Waldo.

Half time came and went, with the message of work harder to win the ball back being the theme of the team talk, as well as holding our shape. The second half saw an improvement in The Ton’s play but we were still second to many balls. In a bid to try and drag ourselves back into the game, players were jiggled around and asked to play in different positions. Amari came in from the wing, with Ethan deployed out wide, whilst Shilo and Ramello swapped positions, with Shilo’s battling qualities used in midfield and Ramello’s pace upfront. Despite making positive changes and finishing the game with two strikers, The Ton had to accept that it simply wasn’t going to be their day.

After an amazing preseason and a blistering start to the district season, we have to pick ourselves up and simply put today down to a learning experience. Out of every negative comes an opportunity to learn and improve. At the end of the day we are a group of 9-11 year olds and if you can’t have a bad day as a kid, when can you?

 

Man of the match – This was tough, because despite the result, several of the lads stood out. Firstly, Dermot pulled off several saves that would have been shown on Match of the Day again and again if Joe Hart had made them. One particular triple save left me speechless. Then there was Mark, who despite being smaller and younger than many of his opponents, was a colossal at the heart of defence. Fearless and composed. Perfect characteristics for a centre back.

Well done boys, both of you were MOM for today.

 

 

Final Word – The message that the lads were left with was simple: One bad day doesn’t make a bad team,

Up The Ton!

 

 

East Birmingham 0 – 7  Erdington and Saltley

Scorers: Amari x 3; Shilo x 4

Team: Dermot; Michael, Mark; Ethan, George, Tyrese, Amari, Ramello; Shilo Subs: Callum and Leyton

M.O.M. – Shilo

The five hours restless sleep was certainly worth it! Twenty-nine  years old and I still get nervous the night before the start of the season! Anyway, like I said, it was certainly worth it!

Despite starting the game the better team, East Birmingham were unable to maintain their control of the game and after the first ten minutes it was all about The Ton. At times the quality of our play took my breath away. The standard of passing and the level of finishing deserved to be on Match of the Day!

Now as always, I can’t actually remember all of the goals because I get caught up in the moment, but I’ll give it my best shot! The first goal was a sublime left footed finish from the edge of a crowed box by Amari. Shilo put the second away after latching on to a quick Dermot throw, he slotted the ball away to the keeper’s left. The third was a ridiculously classy finish by Amari. Bursting down the left wing, he cut in on to his right foot and lobbed the keeper from an almost impossible angle. Pure class! The fourth came courtesy of another Shilo finish, after the lethal forward sprinted through the offside trap (although he did stop to look at the linesman!) and rounded the keeper to cooly finish. The half time score was 4-0 to The Ton and it was the least we deserved.

The second half brought more of the same – more goals from Shilo and Amari! I can’t really remember all three of them but I do remember Shilo’s fourth and final goal. Ethan won the ball in our half and drove forward, evading the tackles of two or three players. With only the keeper to beat, he was fouled and a penalty looked certain. However, the referee played the advantage and Shilo instinctively finished. The final ten minutes brought plenty more chances, although at times we were a little too greedy! Nevertheless, the standard of football that we played was astonishing! The lads played quality passing football throughout the morning and should be incredibly proud of their efforts. I certainly am!

Man of the match? I genuinely could have given it to any of the eleven players! Dermot was commanding in goal, keeping a clean sheet and setting up Shilo for one of his goals. Tyrese put in a real shift in the centre of the park. Mark marshalled the defence like a pro. Ethan and George ran the game from the centre. Amari scored goals that Rooney would be proud of. The list is endless! I could mention every one of the lads. However, for his four goals and desire to win every ball, Shilo is my man of the match.

 

What a start to the season – six-a-side champions and a 7-0 win! The standard has been set incredibly high and now it is up to us to maintain these standards!

Well done boys you’ve made me an exceptionally proud manager!

 

Up The Ton!

 

Saturday 28th September 2013 @ Braemar Road

Final – Erdington and Saltley 1 – 0 South Birmingham A (aet)

Semi-final – Erdington and Saltley 0 – 0 South Birmingham B (3-2 on pens)

At the start of the morning, both Liam and I had a strange feeling in our bellies…optimism! Neither of us wanted to get carried away but we couldn’t help but get excited about the morning ahead. We sorted the players into two teams – The Greens: a solid defensive unit who would be able to stand the test of whatever each district threw at them; The Black and Whites: an attack minded team who would look to score at every given opportunity.

The Teams:

The Greens – Alfie, Daniel, Callum, Kieran, George, Rayhaan, Leyton

The Black and Whites – Dermot, Mark, Ethan, Michael, Ramello, Amari, Shilo, Tyrese

How it turned out . . .

The Group Stage

For all of their fighting spirit and defensive strength, The Greens found it difficult to break down their opposition, although the same can be said for the opposition. Their experience in the group stage can be summed up in a few words: difficult to score against, difficult to score. With a little bit more luck, The Greens would have won a game or two and finished higher up the table. As it is, they drew a pair of games and never conceded more than one goal in a game. It just wouldn’t happen for them in front of goal despite their herculean efforts.

Scoring was not a problem for The Black and Whites. They found themselves in an incredibly tight group where the vast majority of games ended with one or no goals. In fact, other than The Ton, only one team scored more than one goal during a Red Group match. The Black and Whites put two past South Birmingham and five past Harborne, whilst also playing some attractive attacking football. Whenever possible, the lads played the ball out from the back and looked to play fast paced passing football.

The Greens – Played six, drew two, lost four, scored none, conceded four – 2 points

The Black and Whites – Played six, won three, drew two, lost one, scored nine, conceded one – 11 points

The Semi-final – Erdington and Saltley 0 – 0  South Birmingham B (The Ton win on penalties)

This was an incredibly tight affair and despite never looking like losing it, The Ton knew that whilst the score remained 0-0, there was a danger that South Birmingham would nick and goal and with it, a place in the final. The game went to an inevitable penalty shootout and with every one of the eight players volunteering to take a spot-kick, the three ‘lucky’ takers were Ethan, Tyrese and Amari. Ethan tucked his kick away to the keeper’s right and Tyrsese smashed his straight down the middle. Amari…er…Amari kicked his…er…I don’t actually know what Amari did with his kick as I couldn’t watch! However nervous I felt, I still had full faith in Amari’s kick taking ability after watching him score a penalty during the group stage (twice!). The nerve shredding victory in the shootout put us through to the final to face South Birmingham again!

The Final – Erdington and Saltley 1 – 0 South Birmingham (aet)

“Lets do this the easy way lads.” Clearly they never listened to me! Chances came and went, with Amari smashing a shot against the post and Michael putting a shot wide whilst one-on-one with the keeper. With the match in the second period of extra time and with two minutes left, Shilo was thrown back into the lion’s den and asked to get us a goal. With the clock ticking down and the prospect of the trophy being shared looking increasingly likely, Shilo picked up the ball on the right and skipped past three players. With the defender closing him down, he slid the ball into the path of Tyrese who crossed it first time for Amari to tuck the ball away. With one minute remaining, The Ton kept the ball and saw the clock down in a mature fashion. With the final whistle echoing around Braemar Road, The Ton lads remembered their opponents and kept their celebrations on hold whilst paying respect to their opponents.

A team who play with skill, flair and sportsmanship….perfect!

Goals: Ethan x 2, Shilo x 2, Tyrese x 1, Amari x 3, Ramello x 3

Well done to both teams and a huge thank you to all the parents who gave The Ton incredible support all morning. If we continue to work hard as a team, this could be an exciting season!

Up the Ton!