Kidlington

Posted by robin on April 27, 2008, 5:53 pm

Oxford City Colts U11 Match Report
27th April 2008

Kidlington 4 - Oxford City Colts 5

Colts will wonder how they scored only five goals whilst conceding four in this thrilling end of season match against old rivals Kidlington. The answers lie in another fantastic display by the Kidlington keeper and some careless defensive errors which made this a most entertaining and sometimes infuriating game for the Colts’ fans. With the Easter holidays over Coach Roger Cherry had nearly a full strength squad to pick from against a Kidlington side who have struggled to find consistency throughout the season despite having some very quick and talented young players.

Playing up the slope on the Evans Lane pitch in the first half, Colts started with three at the back with Mitchell White sitting just in front of the defensive line. Colts started slowly and after just three minutes Kidlington capitalised on the visitors’ failure to clear a cross from the left wing as one of their strikers calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net. This, however, did not provide the necessary wake up call for the Colts as five minutes later some more poor defending allowed Kidlington to double their lead with a well struck shot hit from just inside the penalty area.

Having gifted Kidlington a two-goal lead Colts started to play the passing football that has served them well throughout the season. Their first effort on goal came after ten minutes when Bradley Rowbotham chipped the keeper; his shot unfortunately just clearing the bar. On fourteen minutes, however, Colts were back in the match when Grady Cherry chased down a long throw from Tyler Walker, taking the ball into the area he beat the keeper at the near post with well directed shot. Colts then started to dominate with the rest of the half played mostly in and around the Kidlington area. Once again Colts looked dangerous at set pieces. From a half-cleared corner Wayne Beechers shot fiercely from 25 yards but saw his effort clear the bar. However, it was not long before Colts were back on level terms. Grady flicked the ball into box where the Kidlington defender handled and Tyler buried the spot kick in the top right hand corner. Tyler scored again a few minutes later finishing well from another excellent corner and just before the break Bradley made it 4-2 to the Colts with a firm strike from the right edge of the box.

Having dominated the latter part of the first period and now playing with the slope it was easy to imagine that Colts would run away with the match in the second half. This though, was far from what happened. Colts started strongly and were a constant threat in attack. However they were denied by an outstanding display from the Kidlngton keeper who stopped everything as Colts tried to extend their lead. Two excellent saves from Bradley’s wicked corners kept the home team in the game. Charlie Wood nearly sealed it for the Colts with a little over ten minutes to go; his sweetly timed header from another well delivered corner just clearing the bar.

With the final whistle approaching and Colts in control the match suddenly took a very different direction. Colts lost concentration allowing Kidlington to seize the initiative. On fifty minutes the home side’s pacey strikers broke through Colts’ defensive line and reduced the lead to just one goal. Sensing that they might be able to get something out of the match, Kidlington pushed forward in numbers and with five minutes to go they forced a corner. A high ball resulted in some head tennis which ended with the ball in the back of the Colts’ goal. So despite having dominated large periods of the match Colts found themselves level with just a few minutes remaining. However, on their next attack Colts were awarded a free kick just outside the Kidlington box. As he has done on several occasions this season, up stepped Bradley to strike the ball cleanly into the top corner of the net giving Colts the victory in the dying seconds (eat your heart out Cristiano Ronaldo!).

So another win for the Colts but they made heavy weather of a match they looked liked winning easily. Greater concentration throughout the game should help avoid too many more exciting finishes like this. Credit, though, must go to the hard working Kidlington team especially their keeper who had another exceptional game. Many thanks to Clive for running the line (again).


Team: R Horwood, A Martin, H Comely, W Beechers, M White, G Cherry, L Williams, T Walker, D Dennis, B Rowbotham, subs J Russell, J Roberson, B Muinami, C Wood

Man of the Match: 1st half T Walker 2nd half B Rowbotham

Horspath

Oxford City Colts U11 Match Report
20th April 2008

Horspath 2 - Oxford City Colts 8

The first of three rearranged fixtures caused by the atrocious weather earlier in the season saw Colts travel the short distance to Horspath on a misty Sunday morning. With an unseasonably low temperature for late April, Coach Roger Cherry made sure the boys arrived early to warm up and prevent another slow start. With only 12 boys available some reshuffling was required which saw Joe Roberson and Curtis Adams start in defence with Liam Williams and Brian Muinami moving up into midfield.

Following Stuart’s warm up, Colts started the game at high speed catching Horspath cold after just two minutes. Grady Cherry arrived late in the penalty area to volley home a well-delivered corner from Tyler Walker. Horspath struggled to find their feet as Colts continued to dominate the early proceedings. Tyler was unlucky not to score with a sweetly timed strike flying just over the bar. However, Colts soon doubled their lead as Bradley Rowbotham ran strongly through the inside left position before slotting the ball into the corner of the net.

Most of the rest of the first period was played in the Horspath half with Colts creating a number of scoring chances. They looked particularly dangerous from set pieces with both Tyler and Curtis delivering dangerous balls into the penalty area. The Horspath keeper was constantly busy and did well to prevent Colts from adding to their lead. Brian Muinami was unlucky not to score; his well-timed shot striking the bar. But just before the break Colts scored again. A poor clearance from the Horspath defence allowed Bradley the opportunity to strike the ball high into the net from a narrow angle.

There was little for Roger to say at half time other than tell the boys to continue playing as they had done and not to become complacent; and for most of the second half this is exactly what they did. After just five minutes Colts scored again. Under pressure from the Colts’ attack following another excellent corner, Horspath failed to clear the ball which finally found its way into the net with the help of Grady. The visitors continued to dominate and Harvey Comely, now playing up front, was denied a goal when his shot hit the post. With such constant pressure another goal was inevitable and Colts went five up when Tyler struck the ball into the corner of the net. An unfortunate incident saw Colts’ next goal when a misunderstanding from a back pass saw Curtis chip the ball over the advancing keeper.

With a six-goal lead it was not surprising that Colts started to loose concentration. With the midfield pushing up to support the attack, Horspath found more space in the middle of the park and an accurate through ball allowed their centre forward to run through the middle of the Colts’ defence and slot the ball into the corner of the net. This set back made the Colts lift their game again and Brian was unlucky not to score when his well-struck shot forced an excellent full length diving save from the Horspath keeper. Harvey restored the six goal advantage forcing the ball past the unlucky keeper who failed to hold a difficult high ball into the box from Brian. To their credit Horspath continued to battle and scored a second goal in the last five minutes when Colts took far too long to clear ball from their own penalty area. Colts’ final goal came moments later when Bradley struck the ball home firmly following a blocked shot from the lively Daniel Dennis. In dying seconds Bradley was unlucky not to get yet another when his fierce shot struck the bar.

This was a comfortable victory for the boys, who started the game playing at a high tempo which they maintained for the majority of the match. Having struggled after slow starts in a number of previous matches, this performance is another encouraging sign that things are progressing well. Many thanks to Andy Bone for refereeing, to Clive for running the line and Sue for providing hot drinks on a cold morning.

Team: R Horwood, A Martin, H Comely, J Roberson, C Adams, B Muinami, G Cherry, L Williams, T Walker, D Dennis, B Rowbotham, subs J Russell

Man of the Match: 1st half H Comely 2nd half T Walker

Hillingdon

Oxford City Colts U11 Match Report
1st April 2008

Oxford City Colts U11 Invitation XI 0 – Hillingdon Borough U12 0

What an excellent match this proved to be on the main pitch at Court Place Farm. With the boys enjoying a good run in the league, a fixture against Hillingdon Borough Under 12s could have been a step too far but this was not the case in a very even game played a warm April evening.

To avoid further damage to the already worn pitch, the game was played with small goals positioned at the edge of each penalty area. Coach Roger Cherry invited three older boys to strengthen the home team. Colts, in their familiar 4-4-2 formation, started somewhat hesitantly obviously slightly nervous about playing a team with a year’s more experience of 11-a-side football. With Bradley Rowbotham joining Harvey Comely in the heart of the defence, the boys looked sold at the back, denying Hillingdon any early shooting opportunities. As the game settled down, Colts started to play with more authority and looked the more dangerous of the two sides with both Tom Weir and Liam Palfreeman worrying the opposition with their pace. In midfield Rhys Davies and Grady Cherry won a lot of ball but were unable to find the pass that would open up the Hillingdon defence. As the half drew to a close, Colts enjoyed greater possession and both Grady Cherry and Tyler Walker were unlucky not to score, each having good chances well saved by the Hillingdon keeper who was no doubt grateful to only be protecting the smaller goal. But it was Hillingdon who nearly took the lead on the stroke of half time. A neat cross from the right wing was flicked on by one of the strikers but fortunately for the Colts it drifted just wide of the far post.

The half time team talk was straight forward for Roger who told the boys to carry on playing as they had done and hopefully the goals would come. A slight change in formation saw Mitchell White introduced just in front of a back three to strength the defensive midfield. But as the second half started Hillingdon looked the more dangerous, although they were still unable to find a clear shot on goal. Colts, though, were not to be outdone and the boys fought their way back into the game and, as in the first half, they grew in confidence to look just as likely as the visitors to open the scoring in what was becoming an end-to-end battle. With all the Colts side working hard and playing with great determination it was inevitable that they started to tire as the half wore on. The age advantage started to be significant in the closing minutes with Hillingdon looking the stronger. But despite their fatigue Colts held on to claim a well-earned draw against the more experienced team, a result much to their credit.

This was an excellent fixture for the boys who have hopefully learned a great deal by playing football against older opposition. Many thanks to Tony for faultless job as referee and to the club for providing refreshments. After the game some of the older lads went out for kick about against Hillingdon and won 2-0, the highlight being the half time penalty shoot-out for the Under 11s which the Colts probably won although there so many penalties it was difficult for the reporter to keep the score.

Team: J Russell, A Martin, H Comely, L Williams, B Rowbotham, C Wood, G Cherry, T Walker, R Davies, L Palfreeman, T Weir. subs L Holt, J Roberson, M White