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| Under 11 Kestrels - 2009-10 Season |
Saturday 3rd October 2009
Olney Town Colts Galaxy 1 Kestrels 3
On a glorious November morning, MK Wanderers Kestrels arrived at Olney looking like a professional set up in their new rain jackets. Not only did we unveil our new rain jackets, we also felt it was time to unveil a new formation - which is geared up for attack. With players returning from injury, illness and holiday, it was the first time this season that we have had a full squad of 14 players.
Olney are currently at the foot of Division 6. They have been on the wrong end of a couple of heavy defeats (9-1 and 8-3), and league leaders Utd MK recently beat them 3-0. This suggests that despite early results going against them, Olney are improving. In training we have worked a lot on shooting, and pass & move. Our pre match team talk gave the boys a priority of keeping a clean sheet today. Our other priority was to pass the ball about. Both teams started well and there was no indication that Olney were going to be a pushover. Early advantage went to Olney. Once again we switched off after 5 minutes (how many more times are we going to concede at this stage of the game ?). We did not defend a corner kick particularly well and Olney did not hesitate in punishing us. Despite the early setback, the boys showed character and immediately set about the task of levelling the scores. On 7 minutes a wonderful passing move down the right involving 4 or 5 of our players was clinically finished off by LF to bring it back to 1-1. The build up to the goal had the coaching team purring like Cheshire cats, this is how football should be played. We instantly decided that this is our Goal of the season (so far !). We used this game to experiment with a couple of the boys in different positions. AS once again, showed how adaptable he is by putting in a solid performance at the heart of defence. CO was brought into the centre of midfield halfway through the first half. Despite carrying a slight injury, he made a very positive contribution. However, Olney put up a real fight. They were in determined mood and the most outstanding performance of the half came from SB. He had lots to do today and his 'no messing about' approach to defending was put to good use. He also showed good maturity in his decision making. He has turned into a very useful full back. It looked as though it would be honours even at half time, but we just about got our heads in front on 27 mins when JF fired home a penalty for handball.
Half time: Olney 1 Kestrels 2
For the second half, the message was simple - don't concede a goal, keep pressing to add to our goals tally, and don't give the Olney keeper any options for his goal kicks. JR had been introduced just before half time. His mazy runs always cause problems for opponents. Today was no different. This time it was a mazy run, some passes and a good finish that brought the score to 3-1 on 35 minutes. This did not dampen the spirits of our hosts as they continued to battle. Our midfielders were regularly helping out in defence and JM (who came on as a 2nd half sub) produced a fantastic tackle to prevent what looked to be a certain goal. His timing was first class. Not only did this match produce goal of the season (so far) , it also saw tackle of the season. Sadly, for JM he missed a penalty in the final 5 minutes. However, his defensive contribution more than made up for the miss and he remains our first choice penalty taker.
Full time: Olney 1 Kestrels 3 |
Saturday 3rd October 2009 - MKDJ7 Division 6
Kestrels 2 United MK 3
This was the Division 6 match of the day - Kestrels, unbeaten and 2nd in league against United MK, 3rd in the league also unbeaten. A game that we have been looking forward to for 2 weeks and a game that we expected to be a real test for the boys. Not only did we have to battle against United MK, but we also had a battle against the blustery conditions.
We started the game with JF at left back. He was a revelation in this role against Moretonville, so we decided to continue the experiment. His usual slot up front was filled by AS who was a proven goalscorer with his previous club. We started brightly and United knew they were in for a difficult game as we got straight into attack mode. JF was not going to let the fact that he was our left back stop him from getting into the final third of the pitch. He was on hand to crack the ball home from 15 yards out to put Kestrels 1-0 up as early as the 3rd minute. Despite our early lead, United responded in the way we expected as our defence weathered the storm. The ever dependable JM and OG at the heart of our defence dealt with whatever was thrown at them in the first half. While JS battled like a lion and caused plenty of problems down the right flank. He did not let the leg injury from a dog bite, incurred earlier in the week, hamper his game. Unfortunately, we were not winning the midfield battle and despite having the wind in our favour we did not capitalise on our early advantage until the ball broke to AS in the 21st minute. Once again, we took our chances from the edge of the United penalty area as AS hit a shot that somehow slipped through the keepers legs to bring the score to 2-0 to Kestrels.
HALF TIME - Kestrels 2 United MK 0
For the 2nd half Kestrels would be playing uphill against the wind and 2-0 was not a comfortable lead to be sitting on in the conditions. Naturally, United would get more and more into the game. With 12 minutes of the 2nd half played LS had to tip a dipping shot over the bar to keep the score at 2-0. Shortly after this we decided to give JS and JF a rest as United reduced the deficit to 2-1. We began to lose our shape and United took their chances with a series of long range shots . With 21 minutes of the 2nd half played United got a fantastic goal to level the scores at 2-2 and you sensed that United could smell victory. We struggled to get into the game and despite a series of substitutions in an attempt to arrest the flow, the winning goal from United came with 5 minutes left to play. At 3-2 playing uphill against the wind, the odds of getting an equaliser were really against us. Sadly, after 2 weeks eager anticipation we ended up on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline - but no complaints. We were beaten by a more committed team today and must learn a lesson from it.
FULL TIME - Kestrels 2 United MK 3 |
Saturday 26th September 2009 Citizen Cup Round 1
Kestrels 0 Moretonville Juniors Rovers 8
As a division 6 side, it was always going to be a tough job pitting our wits against an improving division 1 side (Moretonville Jnr Rovers). Despite the gulf in league positions we went into this cup tie wanting an upset. In our pre match team talk, we asked the boys to show no respect and take the game to Moretonville in the early stages. The boys knew that this would be a difficult match to get on top of and as well as a good performance; we were looking for stong characters today. The boys were being judged on their ability to bounce back and keep their heads up even when the going got tough. Despite the final score, the majority showed good character and soldiered on. As for the match itself ... the first goal went in after 5 minutes, and was very much against the run of play. JR, JF and LF saw plenty of the ball in the early stages (even after going 1-0 down) their silky skills were giving the Moretonville defence plenty of problems. Unfortunately, Moretonville got the boost they needed as they went 2-0 up 2 minutes later and our goalscoring opportunities dwindled as Moretonville took control. Any thoughts of a fightback were laid to rest as Moretonville added a penalty on 15 mins and then made it 4-0 just before half time.
HALF-TIME Kestrels 0 Moretonville Juniors Rovers 4
Despite the half time score of 4-0, Kestrels did not fold. We continued to defend gamefully with some good first half performances from OG, JB and CK. In addition, the ever improving LS showed good hands. Before the match, we decided that if the game seemed beyond our reach at half time then LS would be given a run outfield for part of the second half and KE taking over in goal. Unfortunately for Kestrels, Moretonville showed no sign of letting up in the second half. They added to their 4-0 half time lead with further goals on 36 mins, 42 mins, 50 mins and 54 mins to bring the final score to 8-0. The highlights of the second half were (i) what a good job JF can do as a wing back and (ii) what a fantastic addition to the team LT has been. LT put in a MoM performance in the second half that saw him fighting to win the ball back on several occasions and he was no stranger to breaking from defence with the ball to try to set up an attack. Naturally, the boys were disappointed to be on the wrong end of 8-0 and must now pick themselves up for a difficult encounter with United MK next week. Today we had a lesson in football. FULL-TIME Kestrels 0 Moretonville Juniors Rovers 8 |
Saturday 19th September 2009
Woburn Hurricanes 0 Kestrels 6
Woburn Lions Hurricanes was a potential 'banana skin' for our boys. Having been beaten convincingly last week, we expected Woburn to set up a defensive formation to avoid a repeat of the previous week. However, we told the boys to go for all out attack for the first 10 mins to try and force Woburn to chase the game. The ploy paid off as we won an early penalty - and JM stepped up to give the back of the net the biggest test it will have this season. On 10 mins JF tapped the ball home to give us a 2-0 lead and from then on it was one way traffic again. JF then added to his tally with a cracker from the edge of the penalty area to make it 3-0 with 15 minutes gone. AS had a fairly quiet game this week and was being hampered by problems with his boots and was subbed early on for LT. LT had a good debut at right back last week. However, with JS having a fantastic game at right back with his relentless energy and effort, we decided to see how LT coped in midfield. LT soon showed he has an eye for goal as he found himself in an advanced position on 18 mins for a fairly easy tap in from some excellent team play in the build up to the goal. At 4 - 0 we were now coasting and just before half time we made it 5-0 with the goal of the game as LF smashed the ball home from 20 yards.
HALF TIME - Woburn Hurricanes 0 Kestrels 5
With the game effectively won, the instruction at half time was preserve the clean sheet. We also used the 2nd half to experiment with players in different positions as we continue on our quest to play players in at least 2 different positions. We had a taste of our own medicine in the 2nd half as Woburn brought the game to Kestrels from the kick off. LS was called upon to make two fine saves in the first 10 mins of the half as we struggled to get into the game but our clean sheet remained intact. With players playing out of position and (to be honest) our shape had gone, Woburn made more of a fight of things in 2nd half. Whilst we continued to threaten the Woburn goal, the only goal of the half came on 45 minutes as LT joined another attack to collect another tap in for his 2nd goal to seal the game up at 6-0. |
Saturday 12th September 2009
Kestrels 6 Preston Gawcott Tigers 3
On a hot and sunny September morning, Kestrels produced flowing football to match the weather. It's a good job it wasn't wet and windy! First game of the season puts us up against newly promoted, Preston Gawcott Tigers. These lads were involved in some high scoring games last season and we will need to be strong at the back today. Much was said on the Preston Gawcott web site about their star player Christian. We set up with 4 players at the back and JF playing as the lone striker. Despite the defensive set up, it was very much one way traffic in the first half as we piled forward in search of an early goal. The first goal came against the run of play as Preston found themselves 1-0 up after 10 minutes. This setback did not dent the confidence of Kestrels as they continued to pepper the Preston goal with shot after shot. It was a fantastic debut for LT who nullified the threat of the Preston star player. In addition, OG and JM looked a solid centre back pairing. LS was also causing problems for Preston with his long range clearances. JR was given a new role, as an attacking full back. He grew into the role as the game progressed. AS and CK showed good awareness to take up a slightly deeper midfield role when JR went for a run down the wing.
HALF TIME - Kestrels 0 Preston Gawcott 1
JS came on at half time and slotted in to right back. Kestrels continued with their attacking play and got their reward 2 minutes into second half when JR surged forward again to equalise. JR looked a natural in his new position. This boosted Kestrels confidence as they threw everything at Preston in search of a second goal. Kestrels did not have to wait long as LF opened his account for the season on 37 Minutes. It seemed that this was the signal for floodgates to open as JF made it 3-1 on 39 minutes. However, it seemed to work against us as Preston got more into the game as they fed a series of balls out to their star player (Christian) on the wing . He was being superbly marshalled by JS and whenever the ball was pushed out to Christian, JS would simply race in front of him to intercept the pass or hit him with a telling tackle. On the rare occasion that JS was beaten, SB was at hand to tidy things up. We continued to press for a 4th goal as JR and LF joined in to set up every attack possible. Whenever they surged forward, we had the comfort of knowing CK or CO were at hand to plug any gaps in midfield. With 10 minutes to go LF scored his 2nd goal to bring the score to 4-1 (and if you thought that we would just spend the last 10 minutes coasting to the victory .... then think again). Whilst it was still one way traffic, Preston had not given up and with 7 minutes to go they made things uncomfortable for us by reducing the lead to 4-2. Kestrels did not sit back to defend the lead, and LF rounded off a superb performance in midfield by finishing off his hat-trick to bring the score to 5-2. In the final 3 minutes JF added another to make it 6-2 before Preston added a late consolation goal for 6-3. |
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