Stapleford school

NST Strikers 3-3 Elsenham

Alex West, Charlie Lynch, Chloe Cavenagh

This was our last league game of the season and yet again 13 players made the trip into Cambridge to face NST Strikers.
The 1st half set the tone as both teams attacked each others goals. We scored 1st when Alex West drilled the ball into the corner of the net. NST equalised with a well taken shot of their own. Alex had another powerful shot that was well saved by their keeper, only for Charlie Lynch to follow up and score with his weeker right foot. A brilliant pass scooped over our defenders found NSTs striker who levelled the scores again just before half time.
All change at half time and NST started to gain the upper hand. they took the lead when Chloe Cavenagh sliced a ball into our own goal. We upped our game again as we searched for goals. There was chances at both ends, with Dan Keating making some great saves and player of the match Tom Nash fireing some powerful shots. Chloe now played up front and had some shots before she scored the final goal of the game with a well placed strike.
Another really exciting game with all 13 players contributing to a great performance. Well done!

Caister School

Bertie Alabaster

Day 2 starts with a tough looking match against Ipswich Valley rangers B. Dan Steer hasn't recovered and the ref is waiting to kick off but Beano is not here yet. He arrives just in time and we have our best game yet but still no goals 0-0.

We play John Warner next and loose a hard game.

A change of tactics only confuses the lads as we loose again to Riverveiw Utd.

Another change of tactics for our final match with Roneo Colts A as we desperately search for our 1st goal of 2 tours. Beano is put up front as a centre forward. Alex West to his left and Bertie Alabaster to his right. William Golden is centre back with Charlie Lynch to his left and James Yeadon on the right all with the instructions to attack. Dan Keating in goal and Dan Steer cheering us on from the sideline.
We get a break and Bertie steams down the right and then smashes the ball accross the keeper into the far side of the goal. At last we've done it, scored on tour. Not only that but we also hold the lead and win 1-0.

Well done team! After all you had been through and not getting a goal that you deserved, you showed great courage and determination to win the final game. Your manager and parents are all so proud of you.

Caister School

We started the tournament with a 9oclock kick off against Wendover Juniors b. Unfortunatley we was still asleep and lost 1-0.

Next we played Whetstone b, this time we played much better but couldnt score against their in form keeper 0-0.

A nightmare start saw us 3-0 down by half time against Parklands Tigers,a better 2nd half kept the score at 3-0.

Next up was eventual tournament winners Broxbourn A. We never got anywhere near them as they thrashed us 5-0.

Last game of the day was against Broxbourns C team. Dan Steer pulled his ligaments in the warm up so we are now down to the bare 7. Despite feeling down from previous results the lads picked themselves up and had most chances but again found a keeper in top form. Well played but still no goals 0-0.

home

Elsenham 3-3 Grampion Gunners

Harry Clarke, Alex West, Ben Clarke.

An exciting game is always what we get when the Gunners come to town.
Elsenham started brightly but fell behind from a penalty awarded for a foul after some sloppy defending. We equalised with a goal of the season contender. Harry Clarke struck the bouncing ball over everyone and in just under the crossbar from way outside the area. Even one of the Gunners players turned to his mate saying 'what a goal.' Grampion scored again with a well struck shot as the game went from end to end. We equalised for the 2nd time when William Beanland was given time to do a few keep ups and then send the ball high towards the goal, Alex West with the finishing touch.
Yet another week with 13 players meant a change of all outfield players at half time. We took the lead for the 1st time when William Golden fired a free kick towards goal, Ben Clark as always was in the right place at the right time to smash the ball high into the net. The Gunners had most of the play as they searched for the equaliser but player of the match Adam Fairweather along with his partner in defence William Golden held strong, but eventually they scored.
Today we changed the whole team at half time and still managed 2 good halves. With 11-a-side coming next season its good that you can ALL do your bit. Well done!

Balsham Rec

Balsham 8-1 Elsenham

Ben Clarke

A slow start allowed Balsham to race into a 2-0 lead.
However good defending from Chloe and Dan S along with some good saves by Dan K kept the scores down.
Charlie and Bertie worked well in the midfield as we clawed our way back into this game.
Twins Ben and Harry used their telepathetic thing and started to give Balsham some problems. Harry had several runs with the ball, and it was after one of these great runs he found his brother on the far post who made no mistake from short distance.
13 players turning up meant a change of all outfield players at half time.
Just like the first half we started slowly only this time we never did get going. Balsham carved us open time after time with some great moves and skills keeping us penned in our own half. A flurry of late goals pushed the score up to 8.

Elsenham Rec

Elsenham 3-4 Aztecs B

Bertie Alabaster, Harry Clarke 2.

Another entertaining game against our friends from Linton.
The 1st half saw Elsenham start the brighter and we was unlucky not to have scored one or more of our chances with Alex West, Ben Clarke and Tom Nash combining in some nice flowing moves. Alex West twice striking shots against the crossbar before Aztecs took advantage of some poor defending with some good moves of thier own, and somehow went in at half time 3-0 up.
The whole team was changed at the break as we yet again had 14 players turn up for todays game.
A more aggressive and determined effort was what we got from the 2nd half side and Bertie Alabaster soon pulled a goal back for us slotting in Harry Clarkes pass. Harry Clarke then showed good skills to scored himself. Solid performances from defenders Adam Fairweather and player of the match Chloe Cavenagh allowed the hard working midfield of William Beanland and James Yeadon to keep creating chances as we kept attacking Aztecs goal. Harry Clarke then struck a well deserved equaliser. However a hurried goal kick from William Beanland went straight to an Aztec player who shot into the bottom corner of the Elsenham net.

Linton Village College

Aztecs A 1-3 Elsenham

Harry Clarke, Ben Clarke, William Beanland.

14 players turned up for todays game so it was decided to change the whole team at half time.

The 1st half side of Dan K in goal Adam and Chloe playing very well in defence Tom and Charlie passing well in midfield and Alex and James creating lots of chances in attack. However Aztecs scored the opening goal when thier player skipped through several challenges and shot , Dan made a good save but only for thier forward to put in the rebound. Chloe made a great saving tackle late in the half to keep the score at 1-0 at the break.

The 2nd half was to be a different story with Elsenham dominating. William G in goal didn't touch the ball all game. Dan S in defence showed his good passing skills and Josh had another game where nothing would get past him. It was Josh that won the ball far up the pitch and threaded it through to Harry who slotted it into the net for our equaliser. Josh again set up the next goal this time his shot was met on the volley by Ben giving the keeper no chance. Bertie hit the post after some good play down the left before William B finished the scoring by fireing a corner into the danger area and thier goalie kicked it into his own goal.

Well done to the whole team specialy the 2nd half side and extra specialy Josh player of the match for the 2nd game in a row.

Elsenham Rec

Elsenham 0-1 West Wratting B

A nice sunny morning and a good even game of football saw the boys from Wratting take this match 1-0. A well struck shot in the 1st half winning it for them. Neither team really took controll as both sides battled hard for possesion of the ball. Having a squad of 14 players will be very useful next season when we go 11 a side but it is hard to get everyone a decent game now and constant changes are not benifiting our play. Even when just 12 turn up as they did today it is still too many for 7 a side. Lets hope everyone getting a game benifits us for next season. Lots of good performances all over the pitch today but thier big defender dealt well with our small forwards just like our player of the match BIG JOSH SELL dealt with Wrattings clever little players.

Elsenham Rec

Elsenham 2-5 Saffron Walden Town A

William Beanland, Harry Clarke.

Is Beano better than Ronaldo? On this evidance yes he is. First he can smash a free kick into the top corner of a mini soccer goal with a wall only 3 yards away, that opened the scoring. Then he goes about his normal buisness of tackling every player of the opposition and that is what makes him better. Apart from that the rest of the team that started the 1st half all played very well, Dan Steer cleared any dangers from defence, Josh and charlie played well inthe midfield whilst Ben and Harry gave Waldens defence many problems. We went 2-0 up when Ben Clarke raced onto a through ball and clashed with thier keeper, as the ball bounced out the goalie must have thought he was seeing double as Harry Clarke pounced onto the loose ball and slot it into the net. Walden then started to play much better and scored 2 goals just before half time. With 13 players the whole outfield team was changed at the break and we started the 2nd half very poorly conceding a goal early and then never getting to the levels of the 1st half team. William Beanland, Josh Sell and player of the match Dan Steer came back on later but was unable to change the match.

Catons Lane

Saffron Walden B 9-1 Elsenham

Ben Clarke

Not our best performance, and this very good team from Saffron Walden punished any mistakes we made. Some good saves from Dan Keating, some good tackles from William Golden, Bertie Alabaster and Josh Sell, some good passing from Harry Clarke and Chloe Cavenagh, Good skills from Alex west and Tom Nash, another goal for Ben Clarke and a player of the match performace from William Beanland was still not enough to get us anywhere near to the play of Saffron Walden today.

Elsenham Rec

Elsenham 11-0 Balsham (friendly)

Ben Clarke 4, Harry Clarke 2, Tom Nash 2, Charlie Lynch, Bertie Alabaster, Josh Sell.

Another friendly match and a good opportunity for all 13 players that turned up today to show what they can do. All 13 played very well, the tackling was good, the passing was very good and the shooting was excellent. Most pleasing of all was the way we played as a team with players setting each other up to score. Well done to the whole team, lets keep it up.
Player of the match Ben Clarke.

Home

Elsenham 0-8 Saffron Walden B

A very disapointing start to the new year gave Saffron Walden a well deserved 8-0 win. We knew from the start that this would be a difficult game for us, but instead of making it tough for them we made it easy. Every time they had possetion of the ball our tackles were week at best or non existant. When we had the ball we panicked and gave it away, instead of showing that we can play a bit aswell. Player of the match today was Ben Clarke for a good 2nd half, showing some skill. Well done to Saffron Walden for showing some great play today and scoring some super goals, I hope we all learn from it.

Home

Elsenham 3-3 NST Strikers

Ben Clarke 2, Alex West.

Another draw for Elsenham against another very good team. We started brightly and did not have to wait long before Alex West provided the pass for Ben Clarke to run on to and open the scoring. We soon had NST under pressure again and after shots by Alex and Bertie the ball fell to Ben who calmly finshed for his and our 2nd. NST then got their passing going and after some good moves had the match level in the 2nd half. William Beanland with his new menacing looking haircut bossed the midfield and started many of our attacks on their goal. Adam Fairweather was also having a great game in defence. Alex West scored our 3rd with a cross shot that was too hot for the keeper to handle. NST levelled again before Alex had a one on one to win it which he put just wide of the post.
Like many teams in this league NST showed great passing abilitys but when we want to battle and win the ball we can then show our own skills as we did today.
Player of the match Beano.

Haverhill

Grampian Gunners 4-1 Elsenham

Alex West.

A bright and lively start from Elsenham had Grampion under pressure from the start. William Beanland and Josh Sell was hitting the tackles hard but fair. Bertie Alabaster and Alex West created lots of chances and player of the match Chloe Cavenagh was playing very well up and down the right side of the pitch. We took the lead when William Beanlands free kick came back off the post for Alex West to finsh off. Some changes of players upset the balance of the team a little bit and the Gunners started to take control equalizing before half time with a well worked goal. We never got going in the 2nd half like we had in the 1st and Grampion scored 3 more times with some good passing moves. After the match we was invited back into their club house to share the birthday cake of one of their players, very nice.

Elsenham rec

Elsenham 5-0 Haverhill

Tom Nash, Charlie Lynch 2, Ben Clarke, Chloe Cavenagh.

Another friendly so I will just say well played to you all especialy Dan Steer and Adam Fairweather for some great play in defence. Also 2 great goals from player of the match Charlie Lynch.

Linton Village college

Aztecs B 3-3 Elsenham

Ben Clarke 2, Josh Sell.

A really exciting match that went from end to end. Aztecs played some nice passing football while Elsenham battled for everything. Ben Clarke scored 2 good goals and Josh Sell smashed in his 1st for the club. Player of the match went to Harry Clarke who created many chances for the whole team, including some of the goals.

Elsenham rec

Elsenham 3-2 Whittlesford Warriors

Ben Clarke, Harry Clarke, Charlie Lynch

Just a friendly match today but a good run out for the whole squad.

Elsenham rec

Elsenham 0-4 Balsham Colts

I know we have often started slow but today was ridiculous. Balsham kicked off and thier forward ran with the ball past half our team who were still asleep and slotted into the net. We did improve slightly but not enough to stop them scoring twice more in the first half. By the end of the match we had got better but still not as good as we can play. When we play a good football team like we did today we must be ready or we will be beaten by 4 or even more.
Well done Adam Fairweather player of the match today.

Home

Elsenham 2-0 Aztecs A

James Yeadon, Bertie Alabaster

With both teams having large squads we could have played 2 matches at the same time. The first half was very even with chances at both ends. Charlie Lynch making tackles Dan Steer clearing anything that got past him.Chloe Cavenagh and Josh Sell working hard as usual in midfield. Ben and Harry Clarke setting each other up but not quite being able to score,so the first half ended goalless. Only Dan Keating in goal played all game,every other player was changed at half time. The 2nd half team looked just as good with a little bit more creativity and good passing. William Beanland won lots of tackles in defence with Adam Fairweather getting any he missed. Player of the match James Yeadon opened the scoring slamming the ball into the net after a cross from Bertie Alabaster. Alex West and William Golden worked very well down the right side passing, moving and constantly giving the Aztecs defence problems. Aztecs still managed to create some chances but couldn't find a way past Dan Keating in the Elsenham goal. Bertie Alabaster scored our second after racing from the halfway line past defenders his left footed shot found the corner of the net.
Well done to all 13 players, everyone played a part in getting our 1st win of the season. I'm sure there will be more to come!

Home (cup)

Elsenham 2-3 Chatteris Town

Alex West, William Beanland

Our first ever cup game proved to be a really exciting encounter. Chatteris had made the long journey south and looked very impressive passing the ball around. They opened the scoring with one of these swift passing moves and a cool finish. When we came in for half time 1-0 down we believed there was a big chance we could win, being as we have been 2-0 down in our first 2 matches. From the kick off the ball was played back to William Beanland who sent it straight towards goal, Alex West hassled the defender and keeper to give himself a tap in. Chatteris scored again but still we refused to be beaten. Josh sells strength and determination to win the ball was a major factor and anyone that tried to stop him usually ended up laying on the pitch. William Golden, Chloe and Alex never stopped running and it was no suprise when we equalized for the second time. This goal was a cracker of a shot from distance into the top corner by William Beanland. The game then swung from end to end. Charlie Lynch defending and Dan Keating in goal making some super saves at one end and chances being created at the other end. Chloe just failing to connect to Alex's cross being the best of them. Chatteris finally got the winner so go through to the next round, we wish them good luck. Dan Keating was player of the match although this was a good all round team perfomance.

West Wratting Rec

West Wratting B 2-2 Elsenham

Bertie Alabaster, William Golden

A great 2nd half comeback was needed after going 2-0 down for the 2nd game running. 2 well taken goals from the Wratting attack where the difference between the teams in the 1st half. In a match where we had struggled to find our shape it was hard to see a way back for the greens. As the 2nd half went on it was clear this team had no intention of giving up easily . Josh, Chloe and Bertie battled for every ball and won most of them. William Beanland was having his own personal battle with a big lad from the Wratting side. A well taken corner by Willam Beanland found William Golden whose header crashed against the bar, as the ball bounced down onto the line Bertie prodded it home. The next goal was a touch of class. Chloe passed to William Golden who had found himself some space, he controlled the ball onto his right then unleashed a powerful shot into the top left corner of the goal. Well done to the whole team for not giving up. Player of the match Chloe.

Catons Lane

Saffron Walden A 2-1 Elsenham

Bertie Alabaster

A good second half performance was not quite enough to give us a draw in this game. Our first match of the season away to Saffron Walden A looked to be as hard a start as possible, but as the game began we realised it was going to be much closer than first thought. Kicking up the slope in the first half we were defending more than attacking. Some slow thinking of who we should be marking put together with turning away from tackles gave Walden the upper hand. They took advantage and scored two good goals. A quick lesson on tackling was needed at half time and we came out much stronger in the second half. Chloe and Bertie who had both tackled well continued to win lots of ball in the midfield. Ben now playing in defence also won lots of ball. Will G and Harry gave Walden's defence plenty of problems. When Bertie smashed the ball into the into the net from a Walden player's clearance it looked like we might get a draw. The game went from end to end as both teams attacked each others' goal. Amazingly, no more goals where scored, partly thanks to Dan K making some fantastic saves in the Elsenham goal which earned him the man of the match award.

Linton Village college

Ben Clarke, Alex West, Bertie Alabaster, Harry Clarke, William Beanland.

A slow start in our first match against Plantation finished 0-0.
In our next match we knew it had to be better, and it was. The passing was improving and we where now getting the hang of playing on a bigger pitch. A 1-0 win against Aztecs B.
A 2-0 win against Aztecs A in our next game put us through to the semi's with one game to go. Good football from the whole team, Dan Steer now in defence was playing particulary well.
West Wratting B where next, with the winners topping the group. We lost 1-0 and so had to play the fast improving Plantation in the semi final.
Two bad mistakes from players who had played so well all day gave us a lot to do in the second half. We piled the pressure on them but thier keeper seemed to be saving everything. Eventually we scrambled in a goal, and when William Beanland's free kick levelled the scores at 2-2 it was well deserved. Extra time followed but we couldn't find the winner. Then like so many Elsenham sides in the past we went out on penaltys.
At the end of the day it has been a great way to warm up for what is sure to be a very exciting season.

Cherry Hinton, Cambridge

Charlie Lynch

Played 4 lost 4. 1-0 3 times and a 2-1. Some good defensive performances against the better teams but not positive enough against not so good teams. Came up against Tournament winners for the 2nd week in a row. Well done Charlie on scoring your 1st ever goal for us.

Coldhams common, Cambridge

Bertie Alabaster

Played 4, lost 3 drew 1. Only played well in 1 match out of 4 , must improve.