Bradford Town Youth Football Club

Action from Saturday's game

At the half time interval between Warminster Highbury B and Bradford Town Rovers there was little indication that the goals would start flowing in the second half. The first half had been highly competitive and fairly even with the goalkeepers very much on top of their game and both sides had found it difficult to find that telling final ball.

Following the restart, the game followed the same pattern with both ‘keepers commanding their areas and making important saves. However, Warminster finally got their noses in front when Bradford conceded a corner and the resultant cross was brilliantly headed in by Chris Office – headed set pieces don’t come very often at Under 10 level!

However, the lead lasted for only three minutes before Finn Dewar advanced through midfield and hit a powerful shot that the Warminster ‘keeper could only parry into the net. Both sides now looked more dangerous in front of goal and it was not long before Warminster were back in front when Sam Rabczak took advantage of a rebound to turn the ball into the net from close range for what looked like the winning goal. But with the clock running down and a second away defeat in a week looming, there was just time for Bradford to summon up a second equaliser when Archie Sidwell drilled the ball home from a tight angle to make the final score 2-2.

More pictures from the game are available here…
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jMzJvT7F4TW7W_Mvz1hBnA?authkey=LmEkloorCEA

The FA has launched a campaign, sponsored by the world’s favourite fast food company, to offer 160 free places to mums to get a grass roots coaching qualification under their belts.

The application form is here:

http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/asp/promotion/mumontheball.html

We can never have enough qualified coaches in the club, even if you don’t end up running a team, your support and ability to deputise for your team’s manager will be a huge asset to the club. Please let the club (via your team’s manager) know if you are going ahead with an application.

Location: Bath City home ground at Monkton Combe School
Kick-off time: 10.30 am, Sunday 23rd November 2008
Weather: Overcast turning to Sunny by half time. Gentle breeze. Temp 9 degrees.

Result: Bath City U14s 3 – 4 Bradford Youth FC U14s

This friendly was arranged by Bath to allow a number of U14s they have coming to training to actually get a game, because their team competes in the U13s league and therefore their U14s are ineligible. At the point in the season the match took place, Bath City led the U13s league with a 100% record of 4 wins and 4 victories.

We looked forward to this match because our team is very similar to Bath’s, in that we have three U14 players coming to training (in a squad of 12), but rather than exclude them, we play up a league. At the time the match took place we were third in the U14s league (of only four teams), with 2 losses and 1 win. Consequently we felt that the two teams would be similar in composition and mix of ages, so we were very keen to play them. That said, we were a little intimidated by their record, although a closer look at the stats in their league demonstrated that they were vulnerable in defence and conceded goals.

Additionally, due to the numbers of girls available, we decided to play a 9-a-side game. This was a great idea by the Bath City coach and a completely novel experience for the girls, playing a 1-3-3-2 formation, compared with the 1-2-2-2 formation we play in 7-a-side. Needless to say we played on a bigger pitch, designed for 11-a-side boys football for the U11s.

The game turned out to be a very balanced affair, with the teams swapping goals from the outset. Bath took the lead early on, but we equalised soon after.  By half time the score was even at 2-2. The game progressed in the second half with Bath going ahead again, only for us to equalise again. Our winner came with about 15 minutes left to play, following which we put on a great defensive display to keep the score-line at 3-4. We could easily have made it 5 or 6 as tired legs and Bath pushing forward saw us create a number of opportunities on the break.

Goalscorers were Millie, who should have come home with the match ball, having scored a great hat-trick, and Sophie, who played in midfield for the second half, and supported well, the reward coming by being in the right place at the right time to sweep up a deflected ball from another shot by Millie.

The team for the day was

Kate (GK), Fran, Zoe R and Georgia, in defence, Laura, Zoe K and Sophie in midfield and Becky and Millie up front. Michelle started on the bench but came on for Becky up front.

Everyone played a superb match, really, everyone did, and I’m very proud of you all. I would like to make a small number of special mentions, though: Firstly, our defensive unit of Fran, Zoe R and Georgia, was fantastic, though-out, but Zoe R, time and again, was covering all the spaces and played the ball out of defence with composure, terrific work Zoe R. In addition, Georgia’s game was interrupted after about 10 minutes by the consequence of a brave block which caught her in the face. The nose bleed that followed was epic in proportions, but she soldiered on later on in the game (despite looking a bit pale through blood loss, only joking!) and made a terrific contribution. Sophie, had a superb game, with tireless running to support the game when in attack and always keen to recover when possession was lost, her defensive instincts taking over time and again. Finally, Millie chased down every opportunity for attack, took on their defenders time and again, and was really strong against their midfielders, who had wised up to her pace by the second half. A well deserved hat-trick was her reward.

As I said, everyone played superbly and we should take it as a sign of our real capabilities and not be too downhearted when we get beaten by teams full of U14s, like Melksham Town. We played some really good football today and we came away with a well deserved win against a very good team. Congratulations all of you!

Steve.

Action from Saturday's game

As any football fan will tell you, there is nothing quite like the excitement of a local derby and players and supporters alike were full of anticipation for the first clash of the season between Bradford Town Athletic and Bradford Town Rovers.

First half bragging rights went to Rovers who passed the ball slickly, carved out the only goal from Finn Dewar and had a golden opportunity to double their lead when the ball came back off the inside of the post. However, they needed some fine saves from Tom Hughes to prevent Athletic equalising before Half Time.

Rovers’ plans to defend their lead in the second half were immediately turned on their head when Athletic equalised through Marco Bartolo straight after the re-start and then Ollie Coughlan fired in from the edge of a crowded box to give Athletic the lead. The momentum was now firmly with Athletic and it was Marco Bartolo again, who effectively put the result beyond doubt when he finished a superb solo run with a classy goal. Marco then went on to complete a deserved hat trick with a cool finish across the keeper, low into the left hand corner to make the final score 4 – 1 to Bradford Town Athletic.

More pictures from the game are available here…
http://picasaweb.google.com/rwbhughes/BTYFCRoversVsAthletic22Nov?authkey=5stucRDeilk#

Here’s your weekly helping of fasctinating facts and total trivia..

• Did he really say that – “I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel.” (Stuart Pearce)
• An angry Newcastle United fan put Kieron Dyer up for sale on eBay
• Wayne Rooney’s habit of kicking balls into the crowd cost Everton more than £3,000
• Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has a beer named after him in his native Ivory Coast

Football Trivia Quiz

1. Which English football club was originally known as Newton Heath?
2. Out of all the 92 English league football teams official names, which would come first alphabetically?
3. Who was the first £1million Scottish player?
4. What does a star/s on a national team’s shirt signify?
5. Who were Manchester United playing when Eric Cantona performed his infamous kung-fu kick on a fan?

Answers: [1- Manchester United; 2- AFC Bournemouth; 3- Andy Gray was transferred to Wolves from Aston Villa for a then British record fee of £1,469,000 on September 8th 1979; 4- World Cup wins; 5- Crystal Palace]

The Wiltshire Times has published our cup triumph last weekend, see it here….
http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/sport/midwiltsyouthleague/u10divsion/green

The FA has updated its Mini-Soccer Laws, please visit the FA web site by clicking on the image below or on the following link: http://www.thefa.com/GrassrootsNew/Player/Postings/2008/05/MiniSoccerLaws.htm

Hat-trick hero Alex Holmes volleys a shot

While the rest of Wiltshire were thinking about their firework displays for later in the evening, the Bradford Town Rovers were igniting their own fireworks up at the Winsley ground, sending 7 unanswered rockets past the Corsham Cougars in the second round of the Cup.

The game started as a cagey affair with attacks at both ends, requiring some solid defence from both teams. Rovers keeper, Tom Hughes was well protected by Sam Dowse and Dominic Hewson. But the first goal wasn’t long in coming after a promising attack led to a tap in by Archie Sidwell from a rebound. Bradford began to exert their dominance with some fluid movement and good passing up both flanks. The Rovers lead was doubled shortly before half-time when Joe Groves fired in a shot from inside the Corsham penalty area.

The crowd were left wondering what coach Peter Bates had said to his team during the interval as the Rovers went into overdrive during the second half. Good usage of the substitutes available left the visitors wondering what was happening! Wave after wave of attacks led to some long range shots and spectacular goals. Next on the scoresheet was Archie Sidwell’s second, followed by a pair from Alex Holmes, the latter a long range free kick that curled into the net. The Rovers midfield continued to control the game with huge contributions from Isaac Reid and Hannah Rokkas, while in attack Patrick Bates was always menacing. The pressure finally told with Henry Buckley scoring his first goal of the season with a long range effort that beat the Corsham keeper for pace. Just before the end, Alex Holmes finished off his well deserved hat-trick to make the final score 7-0.

More pictures from the game are available here….

http://picasaweb.google.com/rwbhughes/BTYFCRoversVsAFCCorshamCougars?authkey=VVJ6PFJWIAU#