An entertaining game full of goals and credit to players from both teams for playing through the elements. This match summary will probably be missing a few incidents due to a combination of factors: my pen stopping working in the rain, my piece of paper getting wet and becoming unreadable and the battery dying on my phone so I couldn’t jot things down on it either.

The match saw Callum kindly volunteer to play in goal in the first half and Tom in the 2nd becoming the latest of the 9 players in the squad to have taken a turn in goal this season. The first half was characterised by a blistering 5 goal personal haul for Jack whose finishing was superb and gave the goalkeeper virtually no chance with any efforts. He was supported with some good link up play from Ben and Dylan behind him whilst Ozan and Ronan were solid in defence.

After a flurry of substitution further goals followed with Joshua and James getting on the score sheet and Tom being very unlucky with 2 decent efforts which deserved better reward. The goal conceded was well taken by the opposition and gave Callum no chance in goal. It was 7-1 at half time.

The second half saw a flurry of more substitutions as we changed personnel and positions. The opposition started the 2nd half with more attacking intent and Tom made 3 excellent saves my personal favourite being a diving save towards the far post. Whilst we conceded 4 goals in total this was certainly not a reflection on his performance as it would have been more without his efforts.

In attack Joshua was on the hunt for a hat trick and some good passing between Joshua, Jack and Dylan allowed him to score the 2 goals and his first hat trick for cubs. The introduction of James in the latter stages saw both Jack and Ben go close but some decisive finishing from James himself saw him score 4 goals in the final 8 minutes of the match.

An excellent passing move between Ronan, James and Ozan saw Ozan run powerfully into the penalty area and score with a thunderous shot which his performances all season fully deserve.

The final whistle was greeted with cheers and lots of muddy kit !

MOM as usual was tricky. A special mention to Jack whose potency in front of goal set us on the right path and both James and Joshua for their goals too. The defence was a solid as it could be in the weather. However MOM went to Tom whose bravery, commitment and athleticism in goal was fantastic to watch!

A short trip to Cottonmill Lane was the venue for the match vs 4th St Albans and 1st Impeesa returned with a victory to ensure they remained in a strong position in the Cub football league. Despite a depleted team the boys produced an excellent all round team performance. This season we have now had 7 different players who have taken a turn in goal with Charlie and Joshua the latest to pick up the gloves. It certainly says a lot about the team ethos we have that they have all been happy to do this for the team.

The early stages were fairly close with both teams struggling  a little with the muddy and bumpy pitch. However, Joshua was unlucky with a volley from Jack’s cross and Jack himself saw an excellent shot rebound off the crossbar. A highlight for me of the first half was one particular moment where Tom took a high ball under control with great precision and with the 2nd touch played through Joshua which is a very difficult action to master but he did it superbly.

The opening goal was scored from Ben inside the area and soon after the lead was doubled as Jack’s long shot found the corner of the goal. The defensive trio of Callum, James & Ronan were excellent in their tackling and restricting the 4th to a few half chances. Charlie was composed in goal and was rarely troubled after the initial few minutes.

A very buoyant team took to the pitch in the 2nd half and continued to exert huge pressure on the 4th defence and goal. Jack hit the post twice (I think) and had a shot blocked on the goal line before eventually scoring his 2nd and the final 5th goal of the game before the whistle.

Before that goal Ronan scored from a corner after Jack’s effort was saved and James capped an accomplished defensive performance with a long range strike for the 4th.

The team continued to play some good football with the link up play between Tom, Ben and Jack looking threatening on many occasions. Other notable chances included an effort from Tom which went narrowly wide and Charlie whose goal bound shot was blocked by 2 defenders. Again the defensive trio worked incredibly hard to ensure that the 4th were restricted to few chances. Like Charlie in the first half Joshua looked composed in goal and was rarely troubled apart from a couple of free kicks.

After handshakes all round the boys were very happy and excited to know that they were now top of the league……the hard part will be to ensure that they can  remain there……

As usual MOM was a very difficult choice and sometimes it seems unfair to award as all 8 contributed to the victory. However on balance it went to Callum who never missed a tackle all match and whose distribution of the ball from defence to his team mates was excellent.

So the final league game for 2017 saw the 1st travel across town to leafy Highfield park to play Sandridge Cubs in a game which turned out to be a real test of character and resilience. At half time the boys found themselves 2-1 behind but showed a real desire in the 2nd half to turn the game completely around running out 6-2 winners and keeping their unbeaten league record intact.

The early exchanges were fairly even with Joshua, Ben and Jack linking up well in attack but none of them could find a clear shot on goal easy to come by. In defence Ronan and Callum were proving difficult to beat and between them and Ozan in goal they had restricted Sandridge to a few half chances. After 10 minutes a counter attack by Sandridge caught the 1st by surprise and Ozan was given little chance with a good shot. However the 1st rallied and a deep cross from Ben to the far post was superbly volleyed home by Joshua for 1-1. Excitement soon turned to disappointment as straight from the kick off Sandridge played a long ball which confused the 1st defence and within seconds Sandridge had regained the lead for 2-1.

At half time the boys were still buoyant and confident that with some more clinical finishing the game could still be won. Sammy kindly agreed to play half a game in goal and after a few more substitution and positional changes the boys took the field. The attacking intent was soon evident as James’ solo run on the right allowed him to score from a narrow angle to level 2-2. A succession of corners followed and James’ header and Joshua shot both deserved better reward. A good passing move soon after saw both Jack and James hit the post in quick succession with the goalkeeper beaten on both occasions. However the vital 3rd goal soon came as James scored again into the same corner for a 3-2 lead.

From that moment onwards the 1st dominated the game completely and both Jack (twice) and Joshua scored good goals to complete the 6-2 win. Joshua was unlucky not to complete his hat trick with a shot which hit the goalkeeper as was Jack whose shot met the same response. Ben saw two left footed efforts just miss the post and Ozan had a long range effort fly wide whilst Charlie had 2 decent efforts in the penalty area blocked by opposing defenders.

The final whistle was a sense of happiness and relief with the overall victory. MOM was again a difficult choice but eventually went to James whose introduction as sub changed the game not only with the goals but good vision with passing to set up teammates.

All the 12 boys who have played in these 4 games so far deserve a lot of credit for their commitment & teamwork which have contributed hugely to the unbeaten run so far

Having been buoyed by watching Impala win beforehand 1st Impeesa took to the pitch in positive and high spirits to play the 17th St Albans. James began to dominate the midfield area and had an early shot fly inches wide and Impeesa started to put the 17th defence under lots of pressure. Tom was a constant threat throughout the 1st half and he opened the scoring following a good pass from Ben. Tom soon doubled his goal tally following a cross from James and within a few minute James unselfishly played in Ben who fired into the top corner for the 3rd goal.

The 17th rallied and forced a few corners which a combination of defenders led by Ozan dealt with comfortably. Eventually they managed to score following some good play in the penalty area. Both Ronan and Callum on either side of the pitch provided great support to the forwards and won more than their fair share of tackles against much older and bigger players. Before half time Sammy was unlucky with a shot which was bravely blocked by a defender.

The second half saw a number of positional changes most noticeably Ozan kindly volunteering to play in goal and he subsequently kept a clean sheet. The 1st scored 2 more goals in the 2nd half both from Dylan who turned from a goalkeeper into a potent striker. The half was dominated by a number of good chances and some solid defending from the 17th. Tom had 2 excellent chances to complete his hat trick but he found a wall of defenders. Ben’s corner to the far post was volleyed by James into a crowded penalty area but the ball would not drop kindly to a player in a white shirt. Both Ben and Dylan had further chances which were well saved. Both Callum and Ronan were excellent when playing in more advanced positions and Sammy never missed a tackle when playing in a more defensive role. At the final whistle it was another solid performance (5-1 the final score) and 3 more points towards an unbeaten league tally to date.

MOM was a difficult choice. A special mention to Tom who was excellent in his forward role and Dylan who scored his quickfire double. However whilst goals will win games the MOM went to Ronan for an excellent defensive display and for his commitment in the tackle all afternoon.

For the 2nd home match in succession 1st Impeesa emerged with the victory and another 3 points to add to their overall league tally. Despite the wet condition the 1st played some good football and had significantly more possession and attempts on goal than the opposition throughout the match.

The match was effectively won in the first half as the 1st scored 5 goals without conceding. The first was scored by Tom who struck from close range following Jack’s in-swinging corner and the 2nd soon followed as Ben scored after his initial shot had rebounded off the post. The 1st looked dangerous with every attacking move and so it proved as both Jack, Ben and Joshua all had shots blocked en route to goal.

Another corner this time taken by Ben was headed home from the back of his head by Jack. Another decent strike from Tom was well saved allowing Joshua to follow up to score the 4th. The final goal of the first half saw Tom double his personally tally as his shot found the far corner.

Apart from the goals we saw some good link up play on the left from James, Charlie and Jack and Ozan was as reliable as ever in front of Dylan in goal. Chances for the opposition were few and far between but Dylan blocked one shot and the defence cleared a dangerous corner just before the break.

The 2nd half was slightly less one sided partly as we played with 7 players but many due to the multiple positional changes we made to give the boys chance to play in different positions. Dylan (now out of goal) showed his attacking intent on both wings with some great play and crosses into the box. His personal efforts were rewarded when he connected a the far post with Jack’s cross to increase the lead to 6-0. Before the final whistle Joshua had grabbed his second and was also unlucky not to score a hat trick as a certain goal was blocked on the line by a combination of goalkeeper and defender. Other notable chances include Charlies shot which was deflected for a corner and Ozan’s mazy run from which Dylan was only inches away from scoring again.

A satisfying victory all round and great sportsmanship was showed by both sides at the final whistle despite the margin of victory. A special mention to James and Dylan for playing a half each in goal and for Tom, Jack and Joshua for playing in defence for various parts of the 2nd half to allow others to play in more attacking position. However MOM went to Joshua not just for his goals but for being a real team players and taking up a defensive position and supporting his teammates throughout.

Match Summary: Sat Nov 11^th – Impeesa 2-1 Impala

1st Impeesa returned to football action a month after winning the Cubs 6-a-side tournament and looking forward to the local derby vs 1st Impala. With friends and classmates on both teams it was always going to be an interesting game however it was all played in good spirits and was a good advert for Cub football.

1st Impeesa had 3 more boys making their Cubs debut Charlie, Jack & Sammy to add to the 5 older players from last season and 4 who made their debut in the tournament. The first 10 minutes was a close contest with both sides having chances to score and having to defend in equal measure. Both Joshua and Ben had forced the goalkeeper into making decent saves whilst in defence Callum, Ozan & Sammy were all pressed into making tackles. When the defence was breeched Dylan proved to be in fine form making one excellent save and also rushing off his line to clear the ball with his feet to prevent another opportunity.

The quadruple substitutions did not change the flow of the game and James’ powerful run down the wing was finished in clinical style by Jack to score on debut. 1st Impala responded positively and were level within minutes as the defence was eventually breeched and Dylan had little chance with a good shot. However 1st Impeesa were not disheartened and before the half time break had regained the lead. Jacques pass to James allowed him to powerful run into the box and his shot went into the back of the net with Jack waiting to pounce on any block or rebound.

The 2nd half followed a similar competitive battle with both teams creating chances and relying on good goalkeeping. Ben, Joshua & Charlie all had decent chances to increase the lead. Jacques powerful shot flew just over the crossbar and Tom’s shot was blocked when en route to goal. In defence we saw a last gasp tackle from Ronan and strong tackling from James & Ozan to limit chances on goal. 1st Impala continued to press until the end but could not find the equaliser to deny Impeesa the victory.

At the final whistle there was a sense of relief and friends re-united with handshakes all round from all the players. Man of the Match could have gone to a number of players. A special mention to Dylan who was excellent in goal and also Callum & Ronan for their tenacious defensive display. However on balance it was awarded to Jack for his clinical finish and being a constant threat in front of goal all afternoon.