Festive feeding!!!

Hello everyone, 

Seasons greetings to you all and hope that you have had a good few days relaxing and enjoying the festivities!! 

Just wanted to say a massive thank you for the kind hamper that Paula brought around just before Christmas it was a real shock, and I am so touched thanks. 

 As you can imagie I am working hard to get through it all before I break into my new years training :-) 

 Enjoy the break and see you on the 4th January. 

 Thanks again 

Mark

Festive Greetings to all!

All of us at Central City U11s wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We hope that you have a fun Xmas wherever you are and whoever you are with and that Santa brings you all the presents you hoped for...

Challenges and Changes!!!

Hi everyone, 

Hope that you are all enjoying your final week at school before you break up for a few weeks of festiveness! I am soooooo glad that we cancelled the training session last night, it poured with rain didn’t it and would not have made for a very enjoyable training session. 

You will see that I have entitled this message ‘Challenges and Changes’ and I suspect that we will have a few of both in the next few weeks!! Firstly I bring sad news that Dan has broken his wrist and as such will be out of action for at least 3 weeks, certainly for the games against Colyton Redsocks (21/12) and CS Leopards (04/01). I am sure we all wish Dan a speedy recovery and hope that we will see him back in a Central shirt in the New Year!! We are also missing Sam P for this Saturday’s match at Colyton Redsocks, so we will be missing two big match players and will need to shuffle things around a bit. 

Julen has been handed the captain's armband for the next couple of matches. He has shown great commitment and attitude towards training and I am sure you will agree is having a great season. Well done Julen, it is a well earned reward for your commitment towards the team. So the starting team for Saturday will be: 

Goalkeeper – Sam R 
Defence – Will A, Cameron and Alfie R 
Midfield – Joe, Will P, Alfie W and Julen 
Striker – Ryan 
Starting Sub – Oscar 

So, as you will see, John and I think that it is best to bring Alfie W into a midfield position to try and offer a more solid defence formation for this game, whilst encouraging all midfield players to push up when we are in an attacking phase of play. Colyton Redsocks will be a tough test for us, they are having a good season and are just one position above us in the league table. All players will need to be alert and ready for a tough defensive game but to be alert to the counterattack and opportunities to break forward and score. Training this week was going to focus on attacking corners. In the last game against Kentisbeare, Will P delivered again and again perfectly weighted and floated corners which we were unable to convert into goals. It was a shame that training was cancelled but we might look at this if we can briefly before the match on Saturday. If we can meet at 10:00am then for a warm up and match preparation. As we are missing two players we will only have one substitute so really important that you have a big breakfast and fuel up for a tough 60minute work out :-)

 ** Dates for your Diaries ** Whilst I know we are all committed to our training I just wanted to confirm that there will be NO training on Wednesday 25th December or Wednesday 1st January. The next midweek training session will be Wednesday 8th January at 6pm at St Luke's.

Tomorrow's Weather

Hi everyone, 

Just to alert you that the weather for tomorrow evening is looking really awful with heavy rain and gale force winds!! (http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2649808?day=1) 

 I will wait until tomorrow morning before making a call but just wanted to forewarn that training might be cancelled. 

 regards 

Mark

Slick City Slot Six Past Colts

Manchester was not the only place to see City score 6 today, as Central City U11s bounced back from the disappointment of the previous week to comfortably beat Kentisbeare Colts 6-1 at a blustery King George V.

City welcomed Sam P back from injury and his delightful through ball in the first minute very nearly led to Alfie W opening the scoring but his shot went just the wrong side of the far post. City continued to create excellent chances in the opening stages of the match, despite playing with the wind against them. Ryan was unlucky to see an effort hit the bar, Dan's near post flick from a corner went agonisingly wide and from a Sam P cross, Alfie volleyed just over. Six minutes into the game, City did break the deadlock as Alfie W converted a Will P corner. A minute later, City doubled their lead as yet another fine delivery from the left by Sam left the keeper stranded and Ryan was on hand to prod in from close distance. Having established a good lead, a defensive lapse then allowed Kentisbeare back into the game with a very good finish making the score 2-1.

The remainder for the first half was a story of sustained City pressure, with the keeper doing well to keep out 2 great shots from Ryan, the latter following a superb pass from Will P. Shortly afterwards, a fantastic cross-field pass from Cameron released Ryan and his cross caused panic in the opposition defence and was handled by a Colts defender for a clear penalty which Alfie W dispatched with aplomb. Moments before half-time, Alfie claimed a first-half hat-trick with arguably his best goal of the game, setting himself up to fire powerfully into the net and make it 4-1.

Dan brings the ball out of a crowded midfield

With the wind behind them in the 2nd half, City continued to dominate, with Sam R largely a by-stander. 2 half-chances fell to Julen early on and City then had a string of corners all of which were delivered with accuracy and power by Will P. Unfortunately for City, they were unable to get a decisive touch on any of them. Alfie thought he had added to his tally when  his shot was parried by the keeper and appeared to have crossed the line, but the goal was not given. Jo made one excellent run on the left, beating a number of defenders and drawing a fine save from the keeper, before Alfie W notched his fourth, and City's 5th, with a hard shot into the bottom corner. He very nearly made it a 5-star performance when seeing a goal-bound header tipped over, before Sam P rounded off the day with a scrambled effort from a corner. There was still time for Julen to very nearly get on the end of a high ball but he couldn't quite connect and so it finished 6-1.

This was a very solid team performance from front to back in difficult windy conditions on a narrow pitch. Man of the Match went to Oscar for his improvement and defensive display. Well done Oscar!

It was great to get back to winning ways and made the post-match pizza at our joint City / United Xmas Social all the more enjoyable. It was to be City's day, in more ways than one.

Saturday's Match and a few other bits!!

Hi everyone, Such a positive training session last night, I hope that you are all enjoying the midweek sessions and feel that you are benefiting from them. 

 It was great to see Sam P back training with us, Will A was unwell but hopes to be fit for the match on Saturday (and the pizza afterwards :-)) 

 The match on Saturday against Kentisbeare Colts should be a game that we are very competitive in, and barring disastrous managerial decisions (ha), we should go into the match with confidence of coming away with three points! 

 The starting team for Saturday will be: 

Goalkeeper – Sam R 

 Defence – Will A (cap), Cameron & Oscar 

 Midfield – Sam P, Dan, Will P & Ryan 

Striker – Alfie W 

 Starting subs – Alfie R, Joe & Julen 

 The match will kick off at 10:30am so if we can arrive for a 10:00am warm up that will be great.

 It will be a busy day again at KGV with most pitches being used so you might wish to give yourself extra time to park. 

After the game we are then heading down to the Waterfront for a festive feed up!! 

 We have a great turn out with nearly 60 people coming from both City and United so it should be a great celebration of the Under 11’s teams. 

 Whilst I am here I just wanted to confirm that we will be training next Wednesday 18th December 6pm – 7 pm, this is ahead of our final match of the year against Colyton Redsocks on Saturday 21st December.

 It has been a long couple of months with back to back matches on Saturdays but I am, as ever, so grateful for all your support and commitment to the team (both players and parents). 

 See you on Saturday, 

 Mark

Wednesdays Night Training Focus

Hello everyone,

Firstly many thanks for everyone that supported the bag packing on Sunday at Tesco. This raised £670 for the club which is a great effort. Thank you. 

Training tomorrow night as normal, the weather looks fair so we should have a good session. 

The training focus will be in positional play in match situations. To do this we will be playing an extended match and looking at training tips as the game progresses. 

Although Sam P will not be at training he will be back playing for us on Saturday which is great news. 

Looking forward to seeing everyone else at 6pm. 

Mark 

PS – Did anyone pick up by accident a red under top and maroon/grey hoodie from the Sidmouth match at Newton Poppleford? Cameron left them behind and we can find them anywhere!

All for one and one for all!!!!

Hi, 

Fabulous match report as always Jonathan thank you and it offers a well balanced reflection on this mornings game. 

I just wanted to be honest with you and hold my hands up that I think it was a poor call on my part to bring Cameron off when I did. As well as Cameron having a strong game it also changed the shape and dynamics of the team, it contributed to allowing brixington to get their tails up and allowed them back in the match!!

Some times these things work, sometimes, like this morning, they don't!! Was just wanting to ensure we rotate players and give everyone fair match time. 

I'm glad that I didn't have to give a post match press conference like Premiership managers do!! 

You all played so well today and I imagine like me you feel a bit gutted to have not come away with three points. 

See as many of you tomorrow for bag packing at tesco, if not then on Wednesday when we hope to welcome back Sam P. 

Have a good weekend 

Mark 

Brixington comeback gives City the Blues

In the early morning kick off today, Central City fell to a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Brixington Blues in an match which Central played some delightful football and thoroughly dominated for the first 40 minutes. Having established a seemingly comfortable 3-0 lead in the second half, Central City were ultimately left to rue some defensive lapses as Brixington produced a spirited fightback to claim an unlikely win.

The first half saw a dominant performance from Central City and, as against Sidmouth the previous week, they almost raced into the lead straight from kick off. A lovely through ball from Dan put Alfie W in on goal, but this time the local keeper made the save. It was the first of several outstanding saves from the home 'keeper who kept City at bay on numerous occasions. City did, however, take the lead on 17 minutes as Will Pye beat a defender on the byeline and fired in from a tight angle to make it 0-1. Prior to that, City had fashioned a number of chances, notably when Ryan forced the 'keeper to tip over a lovely chip and Julen almost getting on the end of a fierce Cameron shot which the keeper did well to parry. Further chances came and went, Alfie W doing wonderfully well to spin away from his marker on a breakaway and fire just over the bar and then seeing a goal bound shot blocked by the keeper from a corner. Shortly before half-time, however, Sam R was forced into making a fantastic double save to prevent the teams from going into the break level. It turned out to be a warning sign of what Brixington were capable of producing.

Early in the second half City continued to create chances. Dan swerved past 3 defenders and his effort rebounded to Alfie W who couldn't get enough purchase on his shot to trouble the keeper. Moments later, City doubled their lead and again it was the result of some excellent play by Dan who burst into the opposition box, cutting the ball back for Alfie W to put City 2-0 up. No long afterwards, Alfie W doubled his personal tally with some excellent individual play. Winning a header in midfield, he raced on to the ball and showed great strength and composure to slot the ball between the keeper's legs and make it 3-0.

At this stage of the match, there seemed to be only one winner. What followed was certainly unexpected from a City perspective and demonstrated the importance of maintaining concentration and shape. A defensive mix-up allowed Brixington to pull a goal back and at 1-3 and 15 minutes still remaining, the home team suddenly had the wind in their sails. With City lacking their usual defensive shape and composure, two more goals followed in relatively quick succession to bring the teams level and gave the home team the impetus to push forward for the winner. It duly came with just minutes left on the clock and meant that Brixington had completed a remarkable turnaround. All credit to the home team for their perseverance and never-say-die spirit, but this is a match City will feel they let slip and should have won.

Man of the Match went to Sam R for making some excellent saves, particularly late in the first half. There is nothing he could have done about the Brixington goals and his overall display of shot-stopping and clearances was excellent. Well done Sam R!

Saturday's Match Away at Brixington

Hello everyone, Okay so sorry for the delay in putting the information about Saturdays match on the blog. 

Basically Brixington FC have problems with too many teams using too few pitches. 

So they have asked us to start the match at 09:30am. 

Thank you to everyone for your cooperation in agreeing to this request, appreciate it is an early start on a Saturday!! 

So if we can meet at 09:00 for a warm up at their pitches at Withycombe Raleigh Common, Exmouth. EX8 5EE please. 

Any problems on the day just give me a call. 

We will be without Sam Plumer again for a second week as he recovers from a knee injury but we hope to see him back at training next week. 

Will A was handed the captains arm band for the next two matches, Will has shown great commitment to training and in all matches this season, and has a great attitude. Well done Will. 

The starting team will be: 

Goalkeeper: Sam R 

Defence: Will A, Cameron & Alfie R

Midfield: Julen, Dan, Will P & Ryan

Striker: Alfie W 

Starting Subs: Joe & Oscar 

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow and lets try and keep up our wining ways!! 

Cheers Mark

Wednesdays training focus - Receiving and controlling the ball at pace!!

Great to get back to winning ways on Saturday boys and you should all be so proud, not just because of the win, but it was the way that we won which was so impressive.

 All 12 members of the squad played really well, it is clear to see that we are all learning and working together in training to improve our performances in match situations. 

 We missed Sam P and his attacking play and hope that you will be back with us soon Sam. 

 Training tomorrow as normal from 6pm to 7pm at St Lukes. 

 The focus of the coached session will be receiving, controlling and then distributing the ball at speed. 

 This is a tricky skill and John has a good set of drills to practice this.

 ** If you cannot make the bag packing on Sunday 8th December would you be kind enough to let me know at training so we have a rough idea of numbers. Thanks ** 

 ** Don’t forget to see Jonathan if you haven’t already got (or paid) for tickets for the social on the 14th December **