FC Chippenham Youth Tournament 2007

(Stanley Park, Calne – Registration 10:30)

We had arranged to meet up by 10:15 and with everybody turning up early it was already a great start. We had a good team chat and warm up session  and with good response from all player’s I couldn’t help but think this could be our day.

       ….and so with a strong team available it was time to get our first tournament of 2007 underway.

GAME 1  -  Salisbury  V  Frys (Pitch 2)

(Group stage Game 1)

Although we had seemed as prepared as we could be at the start of the day it didn’t seem to be going that way on the pitch as we started off in an edgy style. It was like no one really wanted the ball with all looking to each other for an answer and not really committing ourselves at the same time. The lucky thing for us was that Salisbury were playing it exactly the same so it was no surprise that the first half finished at 0-0 with no real chances for both sides.

I changed Ashley over with Ryan at HT and changed the formation slightly which gave us a more direct approach.

With a couple of chances wasted it was left to a harsh penalty awarded against Salisbury for there GK kicking a drop ball instead of a throw out as per the rules. However I did read the tournament rules and had spent 15-20 mins practicing with our GK to stop this happening, however we weren't about to pass up our chance and Lewis Ellington stepped up to put us in control. It was a little with relief that Charlie Beard scored his 1^st of 4 today just before the end to give us the perfect start.  FT2-0 Frys

GAME 2  -  Frys  V  FC Chippenham Youth  “D” (Pitch 2)

(Group stage Game 2)

We talked a little more about why it had started off the wrong way in the previous game and about the importance of teamwork. This time it was clear the boys had received the message loud and clear as right from the KO we pressed them in their own half.

With good 1 & 2 touch football we moved the ball around well and with Matt Notton making one of his bursting runs forward he found the ball and laced it in from the middle of the goal area.

Our domination of the game was shown once more when Lewis Ellington slipped through to score his 2^nd of the day to make the score 2-0 to Frys. We had a couple more chances to increase our lead but has of yet we hadn’t found our scoring boots but we were more than happy to concede no chances while playing good football.  FT2-0 Frys

GAME 3  -  Shaw  V  Frys  (Pitch 2)

(Group stage Game 3)

We had watched Shaw kick off this group and were sufficiently worried to start in a defensive manner as they had won their first game 5-0. Fair enough you may say but this is only 8 mins of football per match!

As we had predicted this was a tough match and there were few chances falling to either side as we had both opted for 2 at the back which left little space. The best chance of the first half however was totally unexpected and at the same time unfortunate as it didn’t go in. A ball had broken lose in midfield and wasrunning back towards our goal. Ryan in defence had plenty of time to get himself right to play a high ball back up field to keep us on the front foot. He couldn’t have expected to hit it in such away that it looped quite high and came down looking like it was heading to creep inside the top right hand corner! With everybody going blue from holding their breath, as it had seemed destined to go in, the keeper somehow managed to get a hand to it and concede the corner instead. Unlucky Ryan!

The 2^nd half was much the same as the 1^st with few chances falling to either side. There was no real attacking impetus coming from Shaw so we pushed harder for the break through and were nearly rewarded for our efforts with Aaron Hodgson hitting the post and Ashley Siddall forcing a corner from one of his better long range efforts. The best of the other chances came from a high ball sent over by Louis Heitzman  which was bought down well in the box by Ashley but  he was unable to turn and shoot before being smothered by the keeper. Shaw had a chance to snatch it towards the end when a looping ball found their striker with an open net but lucky enough for us he it blazed it over.  FT0-0

GAME 4  -  Chippenham Town “B”  V  Frys (Pitch 2)

(Group stage Game 4)

With this being our final group game and our qualification already in the bag I told the players to now go out and show their real selves. We still wanted to finish top so a victory was a must to guarantee it.

It was obvious right from the start that they were hungery for goals as even though Chippenham had taken the KO we found ourselves 1-0 up in the first 15 seconds! Ashley quickly disposing the attacker of the ball from their centre, played it out to Aaron on the right who played a 1^st time ball to Charlie who then flicked it past the keeper to give us the lead.  Again from their KO Ashley took control and broke forward to win us a corner from which we went 2-0 up with a Matt Notton Strike. Matt went on to have another before a brace from Ashley and another from Charlie completed a great display to leave us group winners.  FT6-0 Frys

Knockout Stage last 16  Chippenham Town “A”  V  Frys (Pitch 10)

We had at least completed our mission for the day by qualifying to the knockout stages and so everything else from here on in was a bonus game and so made the tournament worth while. I just asked the boys to give it their best shot from here on in and told them that if they did the best they could then they could give no more.

There was quite a bit of confidence amongst the team as they had just beaten this teams B squad 6-0 in the previous game. I made a quick mention to them that it really means nothing but I wasn’t too keen to douse their confidence and just made a gentle reminder to concede no chances and we would be fine.

We started off again in good form with some good neat football being played to work out the opposition. Chippenham in truth found it difficult to keep up with the swift movement but to their credit filled the gaps very well. They broke up nearly everything we put forward to keep the game evenly poised at 0-0 at HT

I replaced Lewis Ellington at HT with Charlie and this was to be a game changing move as Charlie wasted no time in putting us into a 1-0 lead. We then had a couple of further chances to increase our lead before Aaron was clipped in the box and our 2^nd penalty of the day was awarded. Unfortunately the keeper was equal to Matt’s strike but the chance missed wasn’t to prove costly as we held out in relative comfort to win the game and progress to the quarter finals FT1-0 Frys

Quarter Final  -  FC Chippenham Youth “B”  V  Frys (Pitch 10)

Again the boys were pretty confident of our opts because we’d beat their other team earlier on in the tournament but again I was quick to stress the importance of giving away no chances. We had shown signs of being bored with defending as we had been pretty much on top all through the day. We hadn’t conceded a goal yet and I was keen to keep that trend going and so sent out a defensive plea to all players. 

The game started and it was obvious they had listened as we started deeper and only moved forward when clear. However it was apparent it was going to prove another frustrating game for us as Chippenham won a corner but left 2 players on the edge of their own box and one on the centre line while taking it! 

The game had looked doomed to be going in to extra time due to the fact that Chippenham refused to attack us while seeming content to play out time with 4 players sat back but Ashley had other plans! Ashley had moved out right to cover a hole in the midfield and the ball was cleared out in his direction where he was stood just a few yards inside their half. As the ball bounced it sat up nicely for Ashley to hit a looping cross towards the back post where Charlie had broken clear. However with a bit of luck the ball didn’t loop out right but back in left and smashed straight into the top left hand corner with the keeper diving across in vain.  Yes it was a bit of fortune but it was much deserved due to the way we played our socks off and gone on in a positive manner. FT1-0 Frys

Semi - Final  -  Eldene “A”  V  Frys (Pitch 11)

Again this was to be another game where the opts where intent to play out the game sat back in the hope they can progress with penalties. However in fairness to Eldene that was to be a canny move as we began to get frustrated with an overly defensive opposition.

Every time we thought we had broken through the Eldene defence they would get a last foot in and lace it up field as far away from goal as could be and the game fizzled through to fulltime at 0-0 and then in to the sudden death golden goal scenario for 2 minutes each way.  As the game went into extra time we again went on the attack only to be met with more resistance and the same outcome – ball cleared! And just when it all seemed that it would be going to penalties another cleared ball from Eldene found an un-marked player who just took up what seemed like a run to nowhere as we had 3 players quite close. Surprisingly though we all stood around and watched him move forward in almost a stunned look of disbelief that they were making a break and this was to prove costly. The Eldene player moved forward and took a shot that eluded Louis in defence and slipped under Oliver’s dive to give Eldene victory and progression to the final. FT 1-0 Eldene

Player of the tournament – CHARLIE BEARD

Managers overall view

It was a day of mixed emotion for me as I was very pleased with getting to the semi-finals but disappointed in the way we didn’t respond in time to the attack that led to us being knocked out. In conclusion its not hard to see why we didn’t respond because of the defensive styles adopted to stifle us. I suppose we should take it as a compliment that teams felt a need to play 3 sitting players against us but again its hard to feel positive about such a negative style of football at junior level.

It also doesn’t seem right that a team scores 12 goals and concedes only 1 then gets knocked out! – It’s a strange old game eh?

In the end we all know we could have won it but we didn’t and that’s football I suppose :-/  The positive facts are that we had a great tournament even if we may be disappointed with the outcome. 30 teams entered and we should consider ourselves in the shoes (Or boots) of the ones that went home after the group stages. I’m sure they would have changed places with us even if they knew the outcome would have been the same. You should all give yourselves a pat on the back and take great credit from what we actually achieved rather than what we may not have, YOU DONE GUD!  Trust me ;-)

Fry Club Under 9's would like to thank FC Chippenham for their efforts in making this a very enjoyable tournament. Good weather, good football & lots of space made for a fantastic day out and we very much look forward to 2008's event!