9th December 2007
ONSLOW FC 12 STAINES LAMMAS 0
Another game in wet and windy conditions but we decided pre-match to play with the wind in the first half and try and hit Staines with everything early on in the match. It turned out to be one of the best performances I have seen the boys produce in my three and a half years Onslow. I expected us to get a good result against Farnham earlier this season and was disappointed at our level of effort in that match. Staines would be a harder team to beat and whilst I was expecting nothing less than a win, I did not expect such a consumate all-round perfect performance. There was a lot of action so I shall simply list it as follows:
1 min: superb ball through to Haytham who was able to justify his first time up front as an attacker with a well taken goal..1-0.
2 mins: Matthew's shot well saved.
4 mins: great cross from Connor to Matthew, his shot saved.
6 mins: Adam's shot hit the bar, came down and hit the post, and out to Matthew who scored..2-0.
8 mins: Ben's long shot is well saved by the keeper.
10 mins: Matthew finishes clinically..3-0.
15 mins: Connor's shot saved, keeper parries to Matthew but his shot goes just wide.
24 mins: Seb on, has shot which is deflected into their net (good shot so goal credited to Seb).
26th mins: corner ball to Ben and his first-time shot finds the back of the net..5-0.
28 mins: Adam lays on lovely ball to Seb who coolly rounds the keeper..6-0.
30 mins: Seb turns on a sixpence and shoots at the same time ! The back of the net takes the full force of the ball..7-0.
33 mins: Seb has space to take another fine shot..8-0.
36 mins: Jake Frost sees an opening, takes a shot which thunders into the side netting, so close.
37 mins: Adam lays the ball onto Jake but his shot goes just over the bar.
38 mins: Matthew sees his shot well saved by the Staines keeper.
40 mins: Adam runs into the right side of the Staines penalty box, beats two players and shoots from a tight angle almost on the line, the roof of the net billows..9-0.
NB: I put Tom up-front as Daniel kindly volunteers to don the keepers' gloves. The crowd is expectant and awaiting a goal from our brave custodian of the posts.
41 mins: there is a crowd surge as Tom heads at goal from a corner...so near...
43 mins: Tom crosses the ball to Matt who finishes well..10-0.
45 mins: Connor sees his shot go just wide.
47 mins: Tom wins the ball, turns and shoots...but the ball goes just wide of the post...this is getting unbearable...
48 mins: JC esnds a superb half-volley just over the bar.
54 mins: Seb controls the ball and shows Tom how to score..11-0.
58 mins: Tom controls the ball, turns and shoots brilliantly. As if in slow motion the crowd watches as the ball crosses the line just inside the far post...it's in the net..and in real time the crowd erupts and Tom salutes the euphoric fans with both arms raised to the heavens...and Tom showed Seb how to score..12-0.
What a great game, and for so many reasons. This was not a pushover side. We controlled midfield beautifully. We played a number of players out of normal positions to accomodate others. Alan,Aidan, Nathan and Aram, for example have not been mentioned but all played well. Ben combined on the left side with Connor brilliantly in the first half before I had to make some changes and I am sure this bodes well for the second half of the season. Mr utilty-man, Haytham, has shown us he has another string to his bow, as a striker, and he is a most useful asset to the squad. The Staines goalie had a good game, and all credit to Staines because they didn't give up but kept us on our toes until the final whistle.And of course Tom got his goal....
Man of the Match and 50/50: everyone deserved it, but to Ben and Alan respectively.
The Team:
Tom Giles (1 goal:58mins), Aidan Service, Oliver Cose, Daniel Wallis (capt), Ben Harding (1 goal:26mins), Aram Bahmaie, Jonathan Curtis, Adam Cooney (1 goal:40mins), Jake Frost, Alan Mcfadden, Connor Hill, Nathan Campbell, Matthew Coppinger (3 goals:2,10,43mins), Seb Pillinger (5 goals:24,28,30,33,54mins), Haytham Whitear (1 goal:1 min)
Thank you lads, it was a pleasure to manage this team today.
Chris Cooney.
Sunday 2 December 2007
Feltham Youth 0 – 5 Onslow FC
For once the weather forecast proved accurate as Onslow arrived for this match in the middle of a torrential downpour and a howling gale. This would be a day for short passing on a pitch that played pretty well despite the heavy rainfall. Several players were delayed but after a quick re-shuffle the game got underway, Onslow kicking with the wind but slightly up hill. Onslow adopted a diamond formation in midfield, with Alan at the base, Adam at the top, Haytham to the right and Connor on the left. The defence lined up (left to right) Ben, Michael, Ollie and Daniel, while Harry played just behind Matt up front and Tom kept goal. The pattern of play during the first half was dictated by the wind and Onslow’s better use of the ball, although Feltham did look quite dangerous on the break. Onslow had one or two half-chances but had nothing to show for their superiority until Alan hit a long-range effort that caught the wind and deceived the Feltham keeper, bouncing over his head and into the goal. As they say, they all count the same…
With the half time score at 1 – 0, Onslow reorganised to deal with what they thought would be a difficult second half facing into the wind, although thankfully the rain had now stopped. Daniel switched to left back for his pace against Feltham’s quickest forward, Ben moved into the middle to deal with any high balls and Aidan came on in his customary right back role. Further ahead, JC came on at right wing Feltham’s expected onslaught did not materialise and this was largely down to Onslow’s better ball retention, use of the wide areas and quick counter-attacking. Onslow created a number of good chances and the goals duly arrived from Adam, Harry, JC and Matt, all close-range strikes following some nice build-up play. Edward came on for Harry to give Alan some help in central midfield, Michael returned to the fray following an injury to Ollie and Haytham re-joined the action for a run on the left side of midfield, giving Connor a well-earned breather. Feltham only really threatened on three occasions but Tom punched away and Daniel headed off the line from a corner, while Onslow were a little fortunate to escape when Feltham’s best player danced through three tackles but sent the ball wide Overall, this was a real team effort in difficult conditions and everyone made a valuable contribution to a deserved win. Onslow were the stronger team in every department, with five different goal-scorers, a very welcome clean sheet and a dominant midfield. Chris, who was away over the weekend, would have been proud. The awards this week have been very difficult but Paul nominated Tom as Man of the Match for coming off his line to collect several through balls, kicking into the wind and of course the punched clearance (one for the cameras!). I saw a lot of good tackles throughout the team but nominate Michael for 50/50 on this occasion.
Steve Giles
18th November 2007
ONSLOW FC 3 CLAYGATE GRIFFINS 2
Football, they say, is a game of two halves and this was very much the case in this match, albeit that this was dictated by the weather. We had the privilege of playing on the University Strollers pitch at the Varsity, but in the first half we were playing into a gale and Claygate took advantage of the wind and after early pressure they came close to scoring in the 9th minute with a fine shot. In the 11th minute the Onslow defence cracked under the pressure and a Claygate shot found the back of the net, 0-1. In the 16th minute Connor found himself in space on the left side, just outside the box, and treated us to a trademark Connor goal... a turn and long shot that looped up high into the net,1-1. In the 19th minute Connor had a close range effort go somehow just wide of the post. One minute later Ben was unlucky with a header from a Jake Frost cross. In the 22nd minute Ben took a great shot from a corner but it was well saved by the keeper. In the 22nd minute a Seb shot was parried and Matthew was unlucky with the follow through. In the 29th minute Claygate again used the fast ball to break too quickly for us and despite all our hard work they went ahead just before half time, 1-2.
In the second half we had the wind with us and we continued to pile on the pressure. In the 45th minute Adam put a lovely ball through to Matthew who made no mistake and we were back on level terms at 2-2. In the 48 minute Matthew saw his effort from a corner go just over the bar. In the 50th minute we put Claygate under continued pressure, hitting the bar and then Connor shot against the post but somehow the ball would not go in. We had corner after corner but Claygate bravely defended and Nathan looked as if he had scored but his shot was cleared off the line. In the 54th minute Adam was too quick for a Claygate defender who then felled Adam to give a penalty away. Matthew scored from the spot-kick and we were justly in the lead at 3-2. JC also then had a shot hit the post. And so we won 3-2 but in truth it could have been 6 or 7-2 as we had the woodwork and some brave defending against us. This was another occasion when we went a goal down (twice) but I was pleased to see that the boys did not give up at any time, far from it..this was a great team performance in truly awful playing conditions. Well done to all.
Man of the match and also 50/50 winner was Alan who played one of his best games ever. We needed him at sweeper and he played the position well in the first half when we had the wind against us. In the second half, with the wind, he had more opportunity to play further up the pitch and he played magnificently.
Chris Cooney.
Sunday 11th November 2007
BADSHOT LEA COMETS 3 ONSLOW FC 3
I am glad we have now put our visits to Badshot Lea behind as both of the last two matches have been tough physical encounters. The Comet's pitch was large which would suit our style of play, but the weather was attrocious with a strong wind and we had to play into near horizontal driving rain in the first half. Connor tipped us off about their number 7 and it soon became apparent we were playing in effect 10 lads and an adult. I don't know what they put in his porridge but can we have some please ? We started off brightly and Jake Frost came close to scoring in the 3rd minute. Unfortunately all the early pressure came to nothing when their no.7 took a long run with the ball and rifled it into the net in the 5th minute. We continued to apply pressure and Adam got clean through and had a long run at goal but their keeper saved bravely in the 7th minute. In the 9th minute Matthew came close and the game became more even with chances few and far between until Connor's shot was well saved in the 20th minute. In the 23rd minute the Comets looked as if they were to score but Adam cleared the ball off the line. Badshot now had the upper edge and scored their second goal on the break in the 24th minute. For the second time in two weeks we were 2-0 down. Within one minute we had pulled a goal back when Matthew pressurised the keeper into a mistake, stole the ball and finished well, and it was 2-1. In the 29th minute Seb almost equalised when his effort went close. We had turned the play around now and the Comets were on the back-foot as we had corner after corner in the closing minutes of the first half. Seb nearly scored again and the ball was cleared off the line twice as Comets held on. I was confident we could get back on level terms as we had the wind with us in the second half and I told our boys to continue to play in the same way and with the same effort. In the 33rd minute Adam put Connor through and he made no mistake with one of his long range shots. Now it was 2-2. Haytham had a shot well saved in the 37th minute as we went all out to take the lead. In the 39th minute there was a mini-disaster as our good play was interrupted by that no.7 again who, with another solo effort, made it 3-2 to the Comets. I was really pleased by the attitude our boys showed in not giving up in this match. In fact from the 39th minute until the final whistle we really dominated the game as we had corner after corner but somehow the ball just would not go into the net. On at least 3 occasions their no.7 kept them in the game by saving on the line when it looked like we were certain to score. Finally Adam found a way through with a high shot into the roof of the net in the 50th minute and it was, quite justly, 3-3. In the 55th and 59th minutes Harry had two shots saved as did Matthew. We continued to apply the pressure until the final whistle but we could not find a way through. So the game ended 3-3, but this was clearly a point well won and we deserved all 3 points without a shadow of a doubt. I was pleased with our performance in difficult circumstances. I think everyone played very well. Aidan,Michael,Ollie,Ben and Daniel all were sound at the back with the centre backs making some good clearances. In midfield Alan worked his socks off as always, and Seb continues to show maturity in the middle.Jake Frost played well on the right wing and put in some good crosses. Haytham played well both in left midfield and on the left wing, as did Connor who was unlucky not to score more than once. Up front Matthew terrorised the Comets defence always looking to poach a goal and was well rewarded for his efforts. When we changed to 4-4-2 Harry put in another strong performance. Tom had a run upfield for a change and I'm sorry it was not for longer. I'll try and make amends Tom as soon as possible.
Man of the Match goes to Adam who had a very good game in midfield and also got himself into some good scoring positions whilst at the other end of the pitch he made some necessary clearances to help out in defence.
The 50/50 goes to Daniel who had a fine captain's game, making some excellant tackles and clearances, and showing great organisation and leadership at the back.
I have no doubt who won M of the M for the Comets, but he probably wins it every week, not that I'm saying they were a one man team or anything... Well done everyone, a hard match but we are still unbeaten this season. Let's get back to winning ways next week !!
The Team:
Michael Anderson, Aidan Service, Oliver Falkner, Daniel Wallis (capt), Ben Harding, Alan McFadden, Jake Frost, Adam Cooney (1 goal:50 mins), Haytham Whitear, Seb Pillinger, Connor Hill (1 goal:33 mins), Tom Giles, Harry Trussler, Matthew Coppinger (1 goal:25 mins)
P.S. Thank yotu to Michael and Jake for bravely volunteering to don the goalie gloves again !
Chris Cooney.
Sunday 4th November 2007
BADSHOT LEA SHARKS 3 ONSLOW FC 3
We started this game with the wrong mind-set and in the first half we didn't really fire up and play any of the decent football we have shown we are able to play. It may have been a combination of the pitch which was heavy and bumpy, and not having our regular keeper, but for whatever reason we just did not get going and we found ourselves on the backfoot for most of the first half. Seb made a good chance in the 7th minute but unfortunately his shot went just wide.
Jake Frost volunteered to play between the posts in the first half and in the 10th minute he produced a superb save to keep us in the match. In the 17th minute we were caught out on the break and the Sharks went one-nil up.
In the 28th minute Harry went through on goal and was brought down from behind for what looked like a certain penalty but the ref didn't give it. In the second half we were again under pressure and in the 38th minute we failed to mark properly for a corner and were punished with another goal for the Sharks. In the 42nd minute Jake Frost went on a good run and sent in a cross which Connor was unlucky to convert into the net. In the 49th minute we were on the counter-attack and Connor fired in a great shot from the left hand side to make it 2-1.
Two minutes later Matthew collected the ball from a Jake free kick and it was 2-2 and we were back in the game.
In the 52nd minute we had the Sharks worried when Connor fired a shot across the goal but it went just wide.
In the 53rd minute we were again caught out on the counter-attack and Sharks went ahead again, 3-2. I was pleased at the spirit shown by Onslow and we did not give up. We subjected the Sharks to a period of sustained pressure and Adam beat two players before firing a shot which the keeper was only able to parry back out to him. Adam's persistence paid off with a second shot which the keeper parried in the direction of Matthew who made no mistake and buried the ball into the back of the net, 3-3.
For the remainder of the match it looked as if we might get the winner but the game finished with honours even. We didn't play our best in this match and in the first half we did not communicate enough on the pitch.We have worked on this during training this week. We failed to gel in midfield despite lots of huffing and puffing in the second half, but our spirit in getting back into the match was pleasing to see. On balance I would say this was a point picked up rather than two lost, but we should learn from this match and hopefully beat the Badshot Comets this Sunday. The Comets seem to be as good as the Sharks in the League.
Man of the Match goes to Ben Harding for his many valuable tackles and clearances, and Honoury Man of the Match awards are to Jake and Michael for bravely volunteering to play in goal in the absence of Tom.
The 50/50 goes to Harry for his persistence against a physical defence, and when Harry came on his approach helped us to turn the game around.
The Team:
Jake Frost, Michael Anderson, Aidan Service, Oliver Falkner, Ben Harding, Daniel Wallis (capt), Alan Mcfadden, Jonathan Curtis, Adam Cooney, Haytham Whitear, Connor Hill (1 goal:50 mins), Matthew Coppinger (2 goals:51,55 mins), Sebastian Pillinger, Harry Trussler.
Well done everyone, you are still second in the league and Yateley lost too. we now have to keep the pressure on Horsley.
Chris Cooney.
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Sunday 14th October 2007
FARNHAM 3 ONSLOW FC 11
They say a week is a long time in politics and Gordon Brown and David Cameron certainly seem to know this. It seems a week is also a long time in football too. I can't believe that one week ago I was waxing lyrical about the magnificent way our Onslow team was playing the beautiful game. You know...one two's, the passing game,overlaps, and basic stuff like calling for the ball...oh yes and commitment, effort and most importantly, playing as a team.
Forget the scoreline in this match for none of the above was on display at Farnham on Sunday. I take into account that it was a heavy pitch and a small pitch and that our best performances are on the green baize expanses of the Varsity, but I also take into account that Farnham are currently the whipping boys in our division (no disrespect intended) and they only had TEN men. In fact all credit to Farnham, if our boys had shown as much effort as they did then we would have won 25-0.
I went to Farnham hoping for a hefty win to help us overhaul Yateley and to keep ahead of Horsley on goal difference. I would rather have come away with a two or three nil win and 100% commitment instead of the display we produced.
Instead of playing good hard worked football we were trying to imitate (badly) Premier League touches, doing fairy passes, ballwatching instead of ballwinning, and worse than this , actually walking around the pitch like a Sunday stroll !!
To give credit where it is due two or three players actually worked quite hard. For the rest there were simply too many primadonnas and egos out on the pitch and basic instructions that I had given were not followed, in fact they were simply disobeyed. When I have a full squad back for the next match there may have to be some changes as I want people on the pitch who want to play in the shirt.
We gave away three ridiculous goals. The first two were absolute clangers and the third was quite unbelievable... the whole of the team just walking as Farnham ran up the middle, said thank you very much and scored.
Those three goals have just stopped us from being top of the table today and could cost us dear at the end of the season.
I'm not going to give my full match report this week as the team treated this as a training match and did not give Farnham the respect they deserved. Man of the Match is shared equally between the three volunteers who donned the gloves, Jake, Matt and Daniel. There is no 50/50 winner.
The Team:
Daniel Wallis (capt), Oliver Cose, Michael Anderson, Ben Harding (1 goal:37 mins), Aram Bahmaie, Jonathan Curtis, Adam Cooney, Jake Frost (1 goal:42 mins), Seb Pillinger (4 goals:13,20,40,45 mins), Connor Hill (1 goal:12 mins), Matthew Coppinger (3 goals:8,10,50 mins), Harry Trussler (1 goal:3 mins)
There is no training next weekend as it's half term and next training will be at the rec on Saturday 27th October with a home match on Sunday 28th (squad list to follow).
Sunday 7th October 2007
ONSLOW FC 4 AFC YATELEY 4
This was our first big test of the season, against a team that was top of the table and had scored 19 goals in two matches. I therefore decided to play four defenders at the back including two as wing-backs, Daniel as sweeper in front of them, four midfielders and at the expense of only one striker. I thought we could get away with this as we now have an extremely attacking set of midfielders in our squad.
It worked extremely well. Within the first minute Matthew was put through and went close to scoring. In the 4th minute Connor laid a lovely ball through to Matthew but his shot went wide. We maintained a constant pressure on Yateley and Connor followed through to stick the ball in the net only to be ruled (somewhat harshly in my opinion) offside by the linesman.
Adam and JC were operating extremely well together down the right hand side,continually passing the ball to each other with a pace that Yateley simply could not keep up with. Adam was also running the long way around the outside of the Yateley players and one such JC/Adam move set Matthew up and he made no mistake with his finish. One-nil in the 11th minute.
In the 15th minute Yateley attacked on the break but Tom saved well. Then it was more pressure from Onslow and Matt,who looked dangerous throughout, was up-ended and a penalty was given. A Jake Frost powerblaster would have put the goalie in the back of the net had he got in the way. It was 2-0 with 18 minutes on the clock.
In the 20th minute Adam saw his shot go high and wide, and after Tom again saved well in the 22nd minute, Jake had a fine shot well saved by the keeper.
Just before half time Matt was again clear through but his shot was dragged just wide, a real let off for Yateley.
In the second half I asked the boys for more of the same, and Harry came on up front with Matthew moving into midfield.
We immediately applied the pressure from the re-start and in the 31st minute Connor was clear through but his shot went over the bar. One minute later Adam took the ball down the right wing, beat three players before shooting the ball into the net from the tightest of angles. A great goal and 3-0.
Further pressure from Onslow and Harry was quick to a loose ball but his power shot hit the post and bounced away.
In the 38th minute we had a corner and as the ball came out of the box it fell to Ben Harding who sent his shot rifling into the net for another classic Ben H goal. 4-0 to the Onslow against the league leaders.
With twenty minutes to go the unbelievable then happened. We stopped giving 100% and cruised at 95%. We might have got away with this with most teams but not Yateley. We failed to clear the ball out of defence on two occasions and we were punished for it with two goals. Unfortunately we were not destined to win 4-2 as Yateley also scored two completely freak goals when on both occasions the ball was volleyed back at the keeper in rugby style "kick and hope" from way out and both long range efforts sailed into the top of the net. There was nothing Tom could do about either of them and I think from the reactions of the Yateley players they were equally surprised to see the balls go in.
In the 56th minute Tom pulled off a brave save to spare our blushes and injured himself in the process but he continued in goal to the end of the match. Well done Tom !
In the 58th minute we were denied a just winner when Daniel put in a tremendous shot which thumped against the crossbar.
So the game finished 4-4. Was I annoyed at throwing away a four goal lead? Yes, for about ten seconds, and then I realised just what a good team we have developed into. Again the boys will learn something constructive from this match and I am sure we won't let Yateley off the hook in the re-match.
I know I've said it before but the first 40 minutes of this match was an absolute joy to watch and I don't think I've seen such a good all round performance from our boys. We were sound at the back with Aidan and Ben H tackling well and setting up some fine wing play. Michael had a fine game at left centre-back and was partnered by Ollie F who continues to be a revelation in this position, putting in some great tackles and excellent clearances.
Daniel played the sweeper role very well, often breaking up the Yateley attacks before they became dangerous.
The midfield were truly majestic. JC and Adam were a continual high speed danger to Yateley, Jake Frost played well in the centre and Haytham had a good game at inside left and then for a while on the left wing. Connor plays with ever increasing maturity in every game and constantly was a handful for the right side of Yateley to such an extent that a Yateley midfielder was yellow carded in frustration.
Both Matthew and Harry were dangerous up front. Matthew continued his scoring run and Harry was unlucky to be beaten by the woodwork.
Man of the match goes to Adam for causing havoc to Yateley's left side, and the 50/50 goes to his partner in crime JC who not only ran at 90 mph but also got stuck in to start up the attacks.
It was a great match enjoyed by all who came to see it. Thank you for your support and thanks also to the newly formed cheerleaders. Do you want me to get you some sponsored pom poms? You made more noise than the good Middlesex ladies of Ashford!
The Team:
Tom Giles, Aidan Service, Oliver Falkner, Michael Anderson, Ben Harding (1 goal:38 mins), Daniel Wallis (capt), Jonathan Curtis, Adam Cooney (1 goal:32 mins), Jake Frost (1 goal,pen:18 mins), Haytham Whitear, Connor Hill, Matthew Coppinger (1 goal:9 mins), Harry Trussler.
Well done everyone, Farnham this Sunday and no slip ups please. See you at training at the rec on Saturday.
Chris Cooney.
Sunday 30th September 2007
Knaphill Hurricanes 0 Onslow FC 4
This Sunday we visited our old friends in the delightful settings of Knaphill. We had a full squad of 15 players with a view to rotating some players in different positions.
We started brightly and the ball remained in the Knaphill half for the first ten minutes. Adam came close to scoring with a shot in the 2nd minute and then had a run at the goal and shot saved in the 4th minute. In the 5th minute Ben Harding came up for a corner and shot a fine ball into the net. 1-0.
We continued to pile the pressure on Knaphill and Matthew received a great ball from Haytham to score in the 9th minute. 2-0.
In the 12th minute Haytham saw his shot go just wide and Michael then had a shot well saved by the keeper.
In the 17th minute Haytham sent through a lovely pass to Harry who well placed his shot to put us 3-0 up.
In the 19th,22nd and 23rd minutes Adam,Aidan and Jake Frost were all unlucky not to score with their keeper saving well.
At the other end Tom did not have much to do but then had to perform two fine saves in the 21st and 24th minutes during rare Knaphill counter attacks.
As we were in complete control of the match we had an opportunity to experiment with some player changes on the pitch. Ollie Falkner came on initially as a sweeper and then as a centre back and played extremely well putting in some brave challenges and making some good clearances. Alan moved back into his more usual midfield position. I also sacrificed one striker at this time as we were playing with an attacking midfield.
In the 36th minute Aidan put Matthew through and Matthew finished brilliantly to get his second goal of the game and put us 4-0 up.
We continued to apply constant pressure on Knaphill and only a series of saves,rebounds or deflections off the defenders somehow kept the ball out of the Knaphill net. Adam, Haytham and Connor were all particularly unlucky in the 50th,52nd and 58th minutes respectively. I lost count of the number of corners we forced from Knaphill.
So 4-0 was the final score and there were a lot of positives to take from this match. We had worked hard in training the previous day to rectify the defensive play which had leaked goals in our first match. By this I included our midfield. Against Knaphill everyone responded magnificently and it was pleasing to see everyone running back to ensure we covered all positions and stopped the Knaphill attacks before they started.
When Knaphill did threaten, all our defenders did well and there were no rash tackles. Michael Anderson made his league debut for us and was outstanding at left centre back and wins Man of the Match. Ollie Falkner "swept" his way to winning the 50/50 challenge.
Nathan Campbell also made his debut and had a good run up front whilst Matthew was again magnificent and I have no doubt would probably have got another hat-trick had I not changed things around, sorry Matthew.
Adam got stuck into every conceivable tackle in midfield, put in some good headers and ran well at the goal. Alan,Aidan,Haytham and Harry relentlessly challenged and won every ball and Connor, JC and Jake all had good games on the wing.
The two Bens were solid as always and Tom was never troubled at the back making two fine saves in the first half.
The Team:
Tom Giles, Aidan Service, Alan Mcfadden (capt), Ben Smith, Michael Anderson, Ben Harding (1 goal:5 mins), Oliver Falkner, Jonathan Curtism, Adam Cooney, Haytham Whitear, Connor Hill, Matthew Coppinger (2 goals:9,36 mins), Harry Trussler (1 goal:17mins), Jake Frost, Nathan Campbell.
I have invested quite heavily in new training equipment for the team and we put this to good use on Saturday. I hope you enjoyed the fun side of the training session as well as the hard work everyone put in on the defensive play. It was great to see us keep a clean sheet and to play so well as a team on Sunday. Well done everyone !
Chris Cooney.
Sunday 23rd September 2007
ONSLOW FC 6 ASHFORD ROVERS 5
We started our 2007/08 Season off with one of the most exciting games I have ever seen Onslow play. We started brightly with Haytham playing upfront and having a shot well saved by Ashford's keeper in the 4th minute. Our early pressure came to nothing as Ashford showed they meant business by taking advantage of two defensive mistakes to punish us with two goals in the 8th and 10th minutes.
I was pleased that we showed a fighting spirit as we mounted attack after attack and Haytham had two more shots well saved by the keeper in the 14th and 17th minutes before Daniel headed in Aidan's header to pull us a goal back in the 19th minute.
Just as it looked like we were back in the game we gave away another silly goal straight from the restart and it was 3-1 !
In the 22nd minute more Onslow pressure forced a corner and Jake Frost's kick found Matthew who controlled brilliantly before firing the ball into the net. It was now 3-2.
Unbelievably we then decided to make more hard work for ourselves by allowing Ashford to break through unchallenged and score in the 24th minute.
The boys kept their heads up however and a great ball from Alan was headed by Matthew into the net to bring the score at half time to 4-3 and we felt that if we could tighten up the back we were in with a real chance of overhauling Ashford whose real strength seemed to be in breaking quickly from midfield.
Unfortunately just 4 minutes into the second half Connor was unlucky to concede a penalty which was well converted and the score was now 5-3 to Ashford. Standing in my customary spot on the half-way line my right ear had become terminally deaf as the women of Ashford screamed their delight and they thought Onslow were dead and buried. Not so with my team...we never give up.
Just as in last week's friendly we now dominated midfield as JC, Adam, Jake Frost, Haytham and Connor set up attack after attack. In the 37th minute Adam sent through a lovely ball which Matthew again headed into the net. It was 5-4 and a great hat-trick for Matthew (which I had predicted on Saturday after training) including two headers !
Connor was untiring on the left wing and made amends for the penalty (which was a harsh decision) with a superb shot on the turn which went high into the net. It was now 5-5 at 44 minutes.
Ashford did not know what had hit them and we played the game at a frenetic pace eager to find the winning goal. It came with another piece of brilliance from Connor who sent another fine shot high into the net to score his second goal on his league debut for us, and to put us 6-5 into the lead with 12 minutes to go.
The good ladies of Ashford were silenced....
Ben Smith was brought back on to strengthen the defence (Alan was already helping out at the back) and Ashford had no reply.
What a great game. Having said this we can take a lot from this match:
1. Kevin Keegan style football gives me grey hairs. We must stop making silly mistakes in defence as we get punished for it.
2.Too many players were playing out of position at the back and were unready for the counter attacks that Ashford so swiftly mounted. Too many times Tom was facing 5 Ashford players running full tilt and only Alan, Oliver Cose and Adam were at the back (and two of those are midfielders). If we want to play attacking football then great, but we must get back into position asap.
3. We were committing to tackles when we were never going to win the ball, instead of slowing down and stopping the opponant. We shall work on this on Saturday, one on one.
But there were positives too..
Some great midfield play, we made and took chances, scored goals,played with confidence and above all never gave up.
I have never seen such an exhausted team when the final whistle blew. Well done guys !!
Man of the Match: Matthew, superb energy, finishing and attitude.
50/50 Winner: Connor, lots of good tackles and made the left side his own.
The Team:
Tom Giles, Aidan Service, Oliver Cose, Ben Smith, Daniel Wallis (capt) (1 goal:19 mins), Alan Macfadden, Jonathan Curtis, Adam Cooney, Haytham Whitear, Jake Frost, Connor Hill (2 goals:44,48 mins), Matthew Coppinger, (3 goals:27,34,37 mins), Harry Trussler.
Well done everyone, now we need to beat our old friends at Knaphill next week !!
Chris Cooney.
Sunday 16th September 2007
ONSLOW FC 1 KNAPHILL HURRICANES VIPERS 2
On Sunday we entertained our old friends Knaphill at The Varsity, except that I discovered just before kick-off that this was not the Knaphill of old. The team we were about to play was a hybrid of 1/3rd of the best of the old team, and 2/3rds of the best of the Spitfires team which I believe had been promoted to Division 2 before being disbanded. Suddenly we were in for a tough match and for much of the first half Knaphill dominated the play and we found ourselves a goal down at the break.
Having said this,we did play some good passing football and JC made a spectacular run and was unlucky when his shot went somehow just past the post. Alan also was unlucky after following my advice and taking a couple of speculative long shots that weren't far off the mark.
In the second half we rallied and were unlucky to go a second goal down after we failed to clear the ball properly and Knaphill's striker seized the chance and scored. I was pleased that we still showed plenty of fight and after the second goal we turned the game around. For the last quarter of the game our midfield controlled the game and we forced corner after corner. Adam had a header go just wide and Knaphill's goalkeeper was under all sorts of pressure. They conceded a penalty which Seb cooly converted to pull us a goal back.
Against another team this sort of pressure might have yealded more goals but it is testimony to the new strength of Knaphill that although they were on the backfoot they were very quick in defence and simply did not give us enough time to convert our chances properly.
Overall I was pleased with this display,as was,I think,the spectating crowd. We did not ball-watch as much as last week although we still need to sharpen up on this and to find the kind of speed and will to win the ball that Knaphill showed us they have. I was pleased with the attitude of all of the squad and also with the training session on Saturday. JC, Daniel and Haytham all did a lot of running but Man of the Match goes to Adam this week for getting stuck in to everything that came his way,for running at the opposition and setting up some good moves and passes for our attackers (the bicycle kick was entertaining too).
Matthew also deserves a special mention. He was asked to play in a number of positions but was a real handful for the Knaphill defenders.
The 50/50 goes to Oliver F who offered to play in defence in training, did very well and repeated this the next day in the match.
Well done to all of you on a good display...we play Knaphill at their place for our second match of the season so I hope you will be all ready for revenge. Well done Nathan on your debut.
The Team:
Tom Giles, Aidan Service, Ben Smith, Oliver Falkner, Ben Harding, Daniel Wallace (capt), Jonathan Curtis, Adam Cooney, Alan Macfadden, Haytham Whitear, Matthew Coppinger, Harry Trussler, Seb Pillinger (1 goal,55mins), Nathan Campbell.
See you on Saturday at the Varsity between 8.30-10.00am. Squad list for this Sunday 23rd Sept to follow.
Chris Cooney.
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Sunday 9th September 2007
COBHAM FC 3 ONSLOW FC 0
We had a really useful training session on Saturday morning when we welcomed Connor Hill to the team and also Michael Anderson and Nathan Campbell, and I hope both will join Connor as close-season signings. Nathan scored two goals in the training match and Matt was in sparkling form scoring four.
We arrived at Cobham to find the scene set for a good match with sunshine, floodlights,a stand,fencing and even dugouts and a technical area. I was not expecting us to score too many goals as I had been forewarned that this was a very big pitch and I therefore favoured 5 midfielders at the expense of a sole striker. Daniel was asked to stay back as sweeper just in front of our two central defenders Ben S and Alex. An attacking midfield comprised Matt, Adam, Alan and on the left wing,Connor. Oliver F started up front, with Seb and Harry both also coming on (Seb in midfield too).
Edward started at left-back before moving to the sweeper role and Michael had a fine game during his time at left-back,later replaced by Aram. Before the match started Haytham seemed astounded that he was chosen to play at right-back and whilst I don't think I need to justify my choice of position to the players I will explain now that in the absence of Aidan I needed a tough and hard working tackler, and Haytham you didn't let me down,you put in plenty of effort and had a good game.
Tom played throughout in goal and was well deserving of the Man of the Match award showing great confidence and making some fine saves. Ryan H finally arrived (with 3 minutes to go) and immediately came on to the left wing.
Cobham were an unknown quantity to us and this is why the SPL wanted us to play this seeding match. They were too good for us although on another day we might have achieved a result, perhaps on a smaller pitch at home. We endured their pressure for the first 35 minutes and it was 0-0 at half time. Their first goal came 5 minutes into the second half when our boys had been unsettled at their protests following an offside decision, and their second came when they caught us on the counter attack. We forced a number of good saves from their keeper and had one shot cleared off the line by a defender.
I think that Cobham are probably Division 2 or 3 material, and they play a Division 1 team next week which will be interesting.
Overall the match was a useful exercise for us. It served us with a pre-season kick up the backside that we cannot fall back on old bad habits of standing off the ball and ballwatching. We shall work on this next Saturday. Better it happened on Sunday than when the League kicks off in two weeks!!
We also allowed ourselves to get stretched in the middle, a gap kept appearing between our defence and midfield,despite the best efforts of Daniel and later Edward,and this was exploited by Cobham.
Having said this,it was only a friendly and with players trying different positions to normal. I saw a lot of positives and I was very pleased with the effort and running of Alan, Adam, Daniel, Michael to mention a few. Connor had a great game on the left wing. There was not enough 50/50 and I want more next week. The 50/50 this week goes to Haytham for his tireless running and brave tackles (and don't ever question my positioning again).
The Team:
Tom Giles, Haytham Whitear, Ben Smith, Alex Booth, Edward Babbington, Daniel Wallace (capt), Matthew Coppinger, Adam Cooney, Alan Macfadden, Connor Hill, Oliver Falkner, Harry Trussler, Seb Pillinger, Michael Anderson, Ryan Harding, Aram Bahmaie.
Well done to everyone. Although it's only a friendly I do expect us to win this Sunday against Knaphill.....
(team selection to follow this evening).
Thank you,
Chris Cooney.
Last Season (2006-2007) Match Reports
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