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Maidwell 0 Witham Hall 7
On the 15th of January the boys headed off to Witham Hall for their first game of the season. After the long journey the boys were bubbling with anticipation for their first game, this excitement continued into the game with the boys putting in a strong effort throughout. Strong winds and a change of surfaces proved to be disastrous for the boys and the game ended with a 7 - 0 loss. A positive was that strong leadership was shown by all.
Maidwell 0 Spratton 12
Today the boys headed off to a fixture with rivals Spratton Hall. From the start the attitude was wrong and the boys were out-matched by a larger, more skilled opposition. Our structure and skills were lacking and the opposition took advantage of every opportunity. Lots of hard work in the following weeks is going to be needed to improve these aspects of the game. The final score was far from favourable.
Maidwell 0 Beachborough 4
The boys headed off to Beachborough hoping to get their first win of the season. From the kick-off there was a marked improvement by all players, highlighted by an immense increase in effort. Improvement was shown by all, particularly Guthrie Shields who came close to getting his - and the team's - first goal of the season. Unfortunately the boys were not able to take advantage of the opportunities which arose, whereas the opposition were.
Maidwell 1 Wellingborough 3
The Under 9 B's left Maidwell hoping to put their first win of the season on the board, unfortunately this didn't occur. However they were able to put a score on the board for the very first time when Guthrie Shields slotted a beautiful goal from the edge of the box. The improvement by all players is remarkable, they are almost a transformed team from the start of the season. Once again they were unable to take advantage of their opportunities and went down 3 - 1 to the home side.
Maidwell 0 Stoneygate 10
After a confident last game the boys headed out on to the home pitch with confidence, however this confidence was pummelled under the formidable attack of the opposition. Despite them being only marginally better then our boys they were able to stack on a torrent of goals, this was due to the total lack of teamsmanship shown by the boys on the pitch. We shall work strongly on this in the following weeks before our next game as it is a highly worrying issue. Strong performance was shown by Humphrey Wakeham-Dawson in goalkeeper in the second half, however it was too little too late.
Maidwell 0 Spratton Hall 2
The local rivalry was played out for the second time this season, this time in front of a home crowd. This game was a clear demonstration and indicator of the improvement the boys have undergone this season. In our first match against Spratton Hall the game ended with a dreadful scoreline of 12 - 0, and whilst the scoreline doesn't represent a win the score difference between the 2 matches most definitely does. The boys played with immense spirit and effort and were well rewarded. We are still plagued by a lack of goals, however we came close to scoring on a couple of occasions, Ralph Phillips was a role model to all with his efforts at the other end of the field in goal. I hope this improvement continues for our remaining games this season.
Maidwell 0 Swanbourne House 2
The U9Bs battled well against a confident Swanbourne team but for a large part of the match managed to hold their own. Owens battled well in midfield, in the second half particularly and Harvey-Perkins and Seddon impressed with much more determined displays. However, they did struggle to get out of their own half against a reasonably agile opposition and amidst some goal mouth scrambles and some terrific work by Phillips, Swanbourne twice managed to find the net. The final score probably reflected the dominance of the opposition but a much improved performance overall
Maidwell 0 The Grove 8
This was a very lacklustre performance by the U9's, they lapsed into all their bad habits from the beginning of the season with poor concentration and low energy levels. The long bus drive on the way there may have been a contributor to this, however the boys just didn't play to their ability. This was highly disappointing since they have showed immense improvement lately, hopefully they can rectify this performance in our last couple of games. Despite the scoreline Ralph Phillips was once again inspirational in goal and Guthrie Shields played impressingly in midfield.
Maidwell Hall 3 Akeley Wood 1
Today was a big day with the official opening of the new playing fields and numerous matches being played, as a result there was an immense home crowd to play in front of. The boys responded positively to this added pressure and played to their full potential. Every single boy put in 100% from beginning to the end; even after Akeley got the first goal the boys refused to drop their heads, and the boys were able to strike back bringing the scores level just before half-time.
The second half was thrilling with both teams having many an opportunity to score. The difference in the end came from the precise boot of Guthrie Shields who ended up scoring a hattrick, however each and every one of the boys deserves to have their name put beside each goal as they were all the result of brilliant team efforts. Hopefully we can continue this form into our last match of the season next Saturday.
Maidwell Hall 2 Bedford Prep 3
This was the boys' last football match of the season and they had demonstrated how much they wished to win it through their hard efforts in training throughout the week. They began the game very, very slowly much to the frustration of myself and the sideline, Oscar Emmot's efforts, however, were commendable. With the score at 3 – 0 at the end of the half it wasn’t looking promising but the second half saw a different team return to the pitch. Each and every player began to put in their best effort and they were soon duly rewarded with a magnificent goal from halfway by our leading goal scorer Guthrie Shields. With the boys' spirits even further rejuvenated by this they began to attack relentlessly and this led to Oliver Seddon connecting with a pass from Freddie Simpson and the ball ending in the back of the net. They then proceeded to pound the Bedford defence which, to be fair, performed excellently and denied our boys from scoring another. This was a great, nail-biting end to the season. I would like to thank the boys for their commitment and congratulate them on their progress throughout the season and also a big 'thank you' to all the parents for their support. |