Starting team for Saturday's match vs Bideford Blues

Hi everyone, 

So, as I indicated in my last note we will be adjusting the team a bit to try and strengthen our defence. We are also missing Will A this week. 

Therefore the starting line-up will be: 

Goalkeeper: 

Sam R

Defence:

Oscar

Cameron 

Sam P

Midfield:

Joe

Will P

Dan

Julen

Striker:

Alfie W

Subs:

Alfie R

Teo

Ryan 

As before we will be making changes, but I aim to keep this team on until half-time, barring injuries. 

Any problems, please let me know, if not then I will see you at King George V at 10:00 for a warm up. Help with putting goals up etc as always much appreciated. 

Best wishes 

Mark 

Mark's Musings!!

A great match report from Saturday's game against CW Dynamoes, thank you to Jonathan, Micky and Lucy for your work on the blog with your words and pictures!

It was a great win, all players showing great commitment both in attack and defence. 

Our thoughts now turn on Saturday’s big ‘top of the table’ match with Bideford Blues.

I will be posting the starting team on Wednesday as before. 

Just wanted to say that we will be adjusting the team a bit to strengthen our defence which could come under sustained pressure against Bideford, they scored 11 goals in their last game! 

I hope that players and parents will enjoy the mid-week rest during half-term and will be fresh and ready for the match on Saturday. 

Just to say that it will be a busy morning at King George V on Saturday with several matches being played, so parking might be a problem.

I am not sure if you think the same, but I find the half an hour between 10am and 10.30am kick off goes very quickly! If you could be booted up and ready to go at 10am that would be great. 

 Any problems, as ever please just drop me a text, email or call me. 

Cheers 

Mark

Photos from matches now up!

Slideshows of previous matches (vs Central Utd, CS Leopards, Okehampton and CW Dynamoes) and this season's Squad Photo are now up on the blog! Just go to the Photos page to see them all.

Hope you all put your clocks back and enjoyed that extra hour in bed...

Late strikes spark victory at Dynamoes

A brace from Alfie W wrapped up a 4-2 win for City Central in a tight encounter at CW Dynamoes today. It was a match which proved one of the stiffest tests the team have faced this season and having seen a 2-0 lead whittled away, City had to win the game 'twice'.

The first-half saw Central City dominate overall possession and create a number of chances, most notably with Dan W heading just over from one of the many excellent corners delivered by Will P. Added to this, the home 'keeper was tested by shots from Alfie W and Dan W. However, it was by no means one-way traffic, with Dynamoes hitting the post from a corner and Cameron having to make several superbly-timed sliding tackles to keep the opposition at bay. 

The deadlock was finally broken 5 minutes before the break, Will P robbing a defender on the edge of the area before cooly firing a left-foot shot into the bottom corner to put City 1-0 up. Moments later, Will almost doubled his tally, a fierce shot from range bouncing back off the post and into the grateful arms of the 'keeper. And City were agonisingly close to extending their lead before half-time, Julen playing a delightful through ball to Alfie R whose powerful shot beat the goalie but unfortunately cleared the bar.

Dynamoes came close to an equaliser shortly after the re-start, a floated cross almost beating Sam R but he did well to clutch the ball on the line. City then went on the attack and following a half-cleared corner, Cameron rifled the ball into the net from the edge of the area to put City 2-0 up. With a comfortable lead, City continued to create chances, Alfie W hitting the side-netting. 

The game was turned on its head within 3 minutes, however, with Dynamoes netting two goals in quick succession to bring the match level at 2-2. The momentum certainly appeared to be with the home side but to City's enormous credit, they responded in positive fashion and Alfie W held off a number of challenges to beat the keeper in emphatic fashion from close range. 3-2 to City.

Alfie W fires City into a 3-2 lead

The match continued to remain evenly balanced, with City making inroads down the right wing through Ryan, whilst at the other end Sam R had to be brave to dive at the feet of opposing players. With the game becoming stretched, Joe had a fantastic chance to put clear daylight between the teams but opted to handle when well placed to head in. With full-time approaching, another through ball put Alfie W clear on goal and he kept a cool head to fire home and make the final scoreline 4-2 to Central City.

Man of the Match went to Cameron for marshalling the defence so effectively, making timely tackles when required and topping it off with a fantastic goal. Well done Cameron!

So, the unbeaten run continues with everyone in the squad contributing to today's win. Next up it's Bideford Blues at home and a chance to match ourselves against one of the top teams in the league. On our current form, we have nothing to fear and it should prove to be a fantastic game of football.

Training notes and team selection for Saturday's match!

Another well attended and positive training session this evening boys, well done for working so hard and focusing on improving our passing and moving techniques. 

We worked on three important aspects of passing:

1. Moving into space – this might mean trying to lose a defender, rolling off them or using good vision to think about a good place to receive the ball. 

2. Gesturing with your hands to let the player passing the ball know that you want it. 

3. Calling that you want the ball. It might be calling someone by name, or “down the line”, “yes to my feet”……anything as long as it is clear and loud enough to hear. 

These three techniques are really important. What I can see increasingly happening is that players have great instinct with each other and can predict what and where another player will be. Good examples of this are the passing play between Will P & Cameron. 

The match on Saturday is away at CW Dynamoes. There is a link to the pitch on the fixtures list of this blog, but they play at 100 Club, Wear Barton Road, EX2 7EH. 

As normal it will be a 10:00am warm up ready for a 10:30am kick-off. 

The starting line up for Central City will be: 

Goalkeeper: Sam P 

Defence: Sam R, Cameron & Will A

Midfield: Will P, Dan, Alfie R & Julen

Striker: Alfie W 

Starting Subs: Teo, Joe, Ryan & Oscar

The captain's arm band, worn extremely well by Dan for the last three matches, has now been passed to Sam P.  Sam has shown great effort in both matches and at training, well done Sam. 

I do think CW Dynamoes will pose us quite a challenge, they are mid table and have drawn a number of their recent games. 

We will continue with our 3-4-1 formation which is working well for us so far. 

 *** Just to remind everyone that there is no mid-week training next week, and that the following week we host Bideford Blues who are top of the table with an equally impressive record as ourselves!! ***

Wednesday's training focus - Passing & Moving II

Hello everyone, 

Just a quick note to say that training on Wednesday this week will be focusing on passing and moving in open play!!

No, you're not getting confused, we did this last week as well!! John and I feel it's really important to continue to develop and build on the skills that you all have and so want to focus on this throughout the mid-week training session. 

Callam will be starting the warm up at 6pm prompt so look forward to seeing you all tomorrow. 

Regards

Mark 

When a match or training is called off due to bad weather!

This inclement weather has made me think that we should formalise the procedure for communicating with each other in the event of either the mid-week training session or the match being cancelled. 

In the event of either being cancelled, I will use SMS Text as the primary method to inform all parents as soon as a decision has been made. 

I will ask for a reply to confirm you have got the message. I might follow this up with a quick call if I haven’t heard back from you. 

In the event of not having contact from each player's parent, then I will always attend either the training ground or venue, just to make sure that no Central City players are still waiting! 

Essentially, training and matches will go ahead unless the pitches are waterlogged or the weather poses a risk to players or spectators, as a few weeks ago with the risk of lightning. 

Hope that’s all okay 

Mark

Seven-up City too hot for Lympstone

A dominant display from start to finish saw Central City run out 7-0 winners against 8-man Lympstone Lympets at KGV this morning.

On the back of the excellent away win at Okehampton the previous weekend, the team retained the 3-4-1 formation which had proved so successful. And it took just 2 minutes for City to break the deadlock, Dan Wilding firing in the opener following a half-cleared corner.

It was to set the tone for the match. With Alfie W going close and Dan glancing a header wide from a corner, City made the pressure pay on 8 minutes when Will Pye fired in from the edge of the area. City continued to dominate, with excellent work from Ryan on the right-wing providing a particularly useful outlet. Shortly before half-time, City went further ahead through a Dan W chip from the edge of the area (see clip below!). Despite Alfie W going close a few moments later, the home team went into the break with a 3-0 lead.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with plenty of City pressure and the lead was extended just 5 minutes later, Joe D capitalizing on a break-away and beating a couple of defenders for a fine individual goal. At 4-0 up, it was perhaps inevitable that City took the foot of the gas and Lympstone suddenly created a flurry of chances. However, a mixture of last-ditch tackles and some excellent goalkeeping from Sam Richeson, with one particularly noteworthy save, kept the opponents at bay. City were soon on the front foot again and a flicked Sam P effort into the bottom corner made it 5-0. Indeed, Sam was proving a handful for the opposition defence with his bursting runs on the left and almost doubled his tally with a shot which stung the goalie's hands, Julen narrowly failing to convert the follow up.

Dan W finally got the hat-trick that his all-round play deserved to make it six. As the game entered its final stages, a trademark Cameron free-kick was deflected agonizingly wide of the post, before Sam P added to his tally with a left-foot shot to make the final scoreline 7-0 to City.

City on the attack against Lympstone Lympets

All in all, a comprehensive victory, with the hard work on the training pitch clearly paying dividends and some excellent short passing and team moves. With solid performances across the pitch, there were a number of candidates for Man of the Match, not least Dan W for his hat-trick and Sam P for his double. However, the award went to Will Pye for his all-round contribution, slick passing and vocal support of his team-mates. A thoroughly deserved award which capped another excellent team performance. Well done, Will.

So, it’s 4 out of 4 wins in the league and with a packed fixture list from now until Xmas, it was particularly good to see positive contributions from the whole squad. Next up it’s CW Dynamoes away when we hope to welcome Mark back from his trip to the roundabouts of Milton Keynes.

Starting line up for match on Saturday against Lympstone

Another sharp and focused training session this evening boys, thank you all for the effort that you are putting in and the way that you approach the mid week session. 

It was another full squad training session which is impressive and also helps John and myself think about how we should approach the game on Saturday. 

As you know we are playing Lympstone Lympets on Saturday at King George V Playing fields.

Can we meet at 10.00am please for a warm up and match preparation, kick off will be at 10:30am. 

We will continue to play in the 3-4-1 formation, this seems to work very well and gives us both the width and attacking options as well as a strong defensive shape. 

As always we will be aiming to ensure that all boys play their part in the match. If you are named as a substitute please do not worry or think that in any way you have been ‘dropped’! It is simply about ensuring that we have fairness and are able to try different players in different positions. 

The starting line up for Saturdays match will be: 

Goal Keeper: 

Sam P 

Defence: 

Oscar Cameron Sam R 

Midfield: 

Dan (captain) Alfie R,Will P, Ryan. 

Striker: 

Alfie W 

Substitues: Julen, Joe, Will A, Teo 

Thanks to Jon Plumer for agreeing to referee. 

I have noticed in the last couple of weeks that all the boys are building on their fitness, this is great to see, we are really working well as a close knit squad. 

Training is going really well and I am really grateful, as ever, for John and Callad for helping out with the coaching. 

Gutted to be missing this match but will be thinking of you all and can’t wait to read the match report. 

Good luck boys 

Mark

Wednesdays Training Focus - Passing in open play

Well I am not sure about you all but I am still buzzing after the great game at Okehampton on Saturday! 

What an excellent result and I was really proud of all 12 boys that played their part in the match. 

Thoughts now turn to training on Wednesday (6pm – 7pm) and on the match on Saturday, which is at home against Lymstone Lympets! 

Some of you may remember playing a friendly against this team in the summer. Looking at the table it does not look like they are have had a strong start to the season, however we will need to be on our toes and approach this game, as with Okehampton, with a positive attitude, stay focused on our shape and doing the basic things well. 

The focus of training this week will be on basic passing in open play. 

You might have noticed last week that at times players are bunching up a bit too much, we need to focus on passing and then running into space, on calling and gesturing for the ball and trying to avoid bunching up! 

On Wednesday we will try and offer some coaching to improve these skills.

Also just to let you know that I will be working away at the weekend and as such not able to manage the team against Lympstone! In my absence John Braddick and John Plumer have agreed to manage the team and also referee. Thank you to both Johns. 

The starting team will be announced via this blog on Thursday ahead of the game. We will continue to rotate players to ensure that we have a fair approach to the squad and that all boys play a part in each game. 

Many thanks as ever for reading these messages, hope you find them helpful! 

Regards 

Mark

Quiz time!!!!

Jonathan is doing a great job at keeping the blog updated. 

We played CS Leopards on the 7th September and beat them 5-2, but who scored for Central City??

Answers on a postcard or more preferably as a reply to this message below ;-)

Thanks 

Mark 

Important announcement re: NO half-term midweek training

Many of you will have seen the hectic schedule of matches that the boys have between now and Christmas.  We have competitve games most Saturdays back-to-back! 

So to give everyone a break, and to give you and the boys opportunity to do something away from football, there will be NO midweek training on Wednesday 30th October during the half- term week. 

Will drop everyone a reminder again nearer the time but thought you might appreciate the early notice!! 

Regards

Mark 

Match Report - Okehampton 1 - 4 Central City

It is rare that I am lost for words boys……but the team's performance this morning away at Okehampton was SENSATIONAL and you should all be really proud of the way that you played and supported our team! 

As we said at training, this was our toughest test of the season so far, but even from the warm up I could tell that all 12 of the boys were fired up and ready to put it on the line! 

We were missing Julen who was poorly so hope you feel better soon Julen! 

The team fitted back into a 9-a-side formation really easily, the 3-4-1 shape worked well and suited the play of a number of Central players. 

 As before we had a solid defensive game, with great play from Sam R, Will A, Oscar, Cameron and Teo enabling us to feel confident that even when Okehampton pressed we held a strong defensive line. It was also great to see some of the close ‘touch tight’ marking that we focused on at training. 

We had strong goalkeeping performances from the two Sam’s!! Sam P in the first half and then Sam R in the second. 

Further up the field our 4-wide midfield were simply outstanding. Great performances from Dan, Will P, Joe, Ryan in the first half and then from Alfie R and Sam P in the second half. Alfie W had a good game up front showing good strength holding the ball up. 

We were unlucky to go a goal down in the first half, but boys you showed so much positive energy and didn’t let your heads drop. We were assisted by the wind in the second half and scored four great goals, Dan, Sam P and Alfie W (2). 

Thanks to Shane for picking the ‘Man of the Match’. He had a tough decision to make as there were many good performances, but his pick of Sam P was a great call! Shane picked Sam P for his performance in goal in the first half and then on the left of midfield in the second half, scoring a goal and generally having a strong all-round game. Well done Sam P. 

The team had good leadership from Dan again as captain and we all showed good spirit and sportsmanship. 

Thanks as always to John Braddick for his skill and guidance and to all the parents for making the trip. 

The league table has already been updated and shows that we are slowly moving up the table, crucially we now join Bideford Blues as the only undefeated team of the season. 

As well as playing really well, it is great to see us enjoying our football so much, playing with a smile and working so well as a team. 

See you all at training at St Luke's starting at 6pm on Wednesday. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 

Mark 

PS – Good luck to Micky who is running the Great West Run tomorrow!! Go Micky!!

Match day reporter sought!!!!

Calling all budding journalists!! 

Would anyone be interested in doing a few reports this season on Central City’s matches which we could try and get published in the Express and Echo?

Perhaps an older brother or sister of a player with an interest in writing might be interested?? A parent, or alternatively I would be happy to work with one of the players to try and write a report if they would be interested? 

Wouldn’t be a regular thing, maybe two or three times during the season, along with a couple of photos would be good to raise the profile of the club and also great for the boys to see their names and picture in print! 

Let me know if you or anyone you know might be interested in taking this on.

Cheers 

Mark

Team Selection for Okehampton match

Hello everyone, 

Really positive training session last night boys thank you so much for your hard work and commitment. It was really good to see the whole squad at our midweek training, so nice work lads (and parents!!)

I also wanted to thank Callad for joining our coaching team, Callad has played for Central since he was in the under 11’s team and so will bring experience (and youth!) to the training sessions. Callad will mainly be with us on Wednesday nights as he has other commitments on a Saturday. 

 As we discussed in training, Okehampton are going to be a tough team to play against and we will need to be organised, disciplined in defence and be prepared to play with energy (on the front foot!) for the whole hour. 

 We will need to approach all games as a whole squad. We will utilise all the players each game. Therefore if you are named as a substitute you will need to remain focused on the game and keep warm, and also help to support the boys that are playing. If you are called off during a game, it is important to remember that we need to rotate the team, so don’t worry or think that you haven’t played well. 

We will be playing a 3-4-1 formation on Saturday. This will give us width in the midfield and also ensure a strong defensive structure. 

The starting team will be: 

Goalkeeper: 

Sam P 

Defense:

Sam R, Cameron and Oscar 

Midfield:

Joe, Will P, Dan (captain) and Julen 

Striker:

Alfie W 

Starting substitues:

Will A, Ryan, Teo & Alfie R. 

As I have said it is great to see boys training hard and pushing for their places in the team. 

All boys will play a part in this game; having fresh legs is going to be really important in this 60 minute match! 

Okehampton play at Simmons Park, Mill Road, Okehampton EX20 1PR. It is not far off the A30 but can be a bit tricky to find the playing field! Plenty of parking and it backs onto a leisure centre which offer nice coffee and snacks! 

We will start our warm up and match preparations at 10.00am ahead of a 10.30am kick off. 

Any problems as ever just get in touch (0787 601 8577) 

Thanks everyone 

Mark

Wednesdays Training Focus - Defending

Hi everyone, 

 After our great result on Saturday we now need to focus on preparations for the game this Saturday. I think Okehampton will provide us with our toughest test yet this season. 

What do we know about Okehampton? 

Well they are joint top of the league, have played four and won four. We should note two things from their performances so far. Firstly they have scored 7 goals in one game and 9 in another. This tells us that they have a strong attack but also that they keep going until the final whistle. The second thing to note is that whilst they did beat CS Leopards it was a tight game (2-1) where as we were able to put 5 goals away against them. 

 This should give us confidence boys and be clear that if we keep our shape and do the basic things well we standa good chance of beating Okehampton. It is games like this that we will need to take if we hope to get promotion.

Training will be tomorrow (Wednesday) at St Lukes. We will be starting at 6.00pm. 

The focus of training will be defending. 

Ensuring we have a strong defence is  going to be so important against a strong strike team such as Okehampton. 

 We will be looking at defending in open play and also from set piece plays such as corners and free kicks. 

 As ever any questions or problems please get in touch with me as soon as possible. 

 See you Wednesday 

 Mark

Match Report: Central City 6 - 1 Central United

Wow!!!! Well what a great day we had on Saturday and how well everyone played. 

This was our first competitive match for many weeks and only our second of the season, so it was always going to be a test for us. Added to this, we were playing our friends from Central United. It was a great game played in a spirit of friendship, we played hard but we played fair and you should all be very proud of this. 

We had to play in a slightly different formation to accommodate the reduced numbers. It was also my first game as manager so I cannot thank you enough for the way that you all played and supported the team. 

Special mention goes to Joe for his fantastic sporting gesture, many thanks Joe! 

Everyone played their part in this stunning 6-1 win. Playing a 3-2-1 formation worked really well. This was a game in which everyone played really well. It was good to see some of the work that we have been doing in training, such as throw-ins, being used in the match . A solid defensive game from Sam R, Will A, Cameron, Teo and Oscar gave us all confidence, and enabled great play in the midfield from Julen, Dan, Ryan. Alfie was on great form and scored two great goals, including an unstoppable shot from distance. Dan also had a storming game and scored twice. Julen and Ryan also got on the scoresheet, to make it 6 strong goals and give us a good goal difference.  

We saw great passing, players creating time on the ball and not panicking, trusting each other in the passing game, short and simple passes. 

Thank you to Micky for choosing his ‘Man of the Match’. Dan had an outstanding game, his first as captain, led by example, great running and passion as ever.....and a couple of goals to round it all off!! Well done Dan.

It was great to join our friends from United after the game and share a pizza so thanks for all that came along.
Mark

Goalmouth action from Saturday's City vs Utd match.

Saturday 5th October - Derby game against Central United

Hi everyone,

As discussed at training on Wednesday, we have agreed to play a 7-a-side match against Central United with a reduced pitch size. This seemed the best solution after the league made it difficult to postpone the game! We will be missing three players for this match (Will P, Alfie R and Sam P). This will mean that we have to make a few changes to the shape of the team, which might mean you (or your son) playing in an unfamilar position. However, as far as possible we will try and keep it the same as before. We will have a number of subs and I will make sure that everyone plays a good portion of the game. 

Normally, I would like to announce the starting line up via this blog on Thursday after training. However, just for this week (and because I am still finding my feet), we will do this on Saturday morning during the warm up. Dan Wilding has been handed the captain's armband, having shown great commitment to training and a great attitude. We will rotate the captains' responsibilities throughout the season. 

To keep things simple, we will be working on the basis that your son is available for each match UNLESS you tell us otherwise. Please could you tell me by the Wednesday before the next match if your son cannot make it. I realise that there may be some occasions when a late withdrawal is unavoidable and in these cases, please text or email me directly. 

Thanks again for all your help and I hope you're finding these messages easy to access and read! 
Cheers,

Mark

And it's hello from Mark as well!!

Hi everyone I am really pleased that this site is up and running and a big thank you to Jonathan and to Jon Gray for helping us. We hope to use this blog to: - be a primary point of information relating to the team - be the place that we will make team announcements. - Provide matach reports and statistics. - Review training sessions - And I am sure much much more!! I hope that you will also be an active part of this online community, the more the merrier! Best wishes and enjoy the site! Mark