| Wymondley Park FC |
| May 25 The Under-11s played the last Royston Crow match of any age group taking on Fairlands in a championship playoff on neutral ground at Royston Heath. Fairlands went into the game on superior goal difference and knowing they had beaten Wymondley Park at the last meeting on April 27. Wymondley went into the match with instructions to enjoy themselves, knowing they would be promoted whatever the outcome. But as the rain sluiced down the boys showed this was to be no exhibition match. WPFC flew off the blocks and never looked back. No dodging tackles. No ball unchallenged. Sixty minutes of strength, determination and skill from every single player. Ellis was awesome in midfield throughout. Kyle kept the pressure on with determined tackles. Robert battled for everything and played some sweet interchanges with Tom who ran Fairlands into the ground on the right wing (and contributed his customary fine corners). Marley's skill down the left was this time combined with some crucial tracking back. River and Malik were tricky and fast at the front. Sean and Sam frustrated every Fairlands run down the wings of a wide pitch and kept intelligent through balls coming up the line. Jayden and Craig were rocks at the back. Leon got a big cheer when he came on to keep us honest as the others began to flag. Alex in goal - no nerves, no fear, great kicks and a clean sheet. The first goal came after 10 minutes when Marley completed his run down the wing and around assorted defenders with a ball into the box. As River and Malik closed in for the kill, a Fairlands defender tried a last ditch clearance but ended up putting the ball past his keeper. The pressure was relentless from then on with Wymondley winning a number of corners and attacking throws. Fairlands threatened on the break in the first half but posed few threats to Alex as the Wymondley defence held firm. Fairlands' defence was admirable, frustrating Wymondley in the box despite the constant pressure. In the second half Fairlands managed to push up more and Wymondley spent periods in their own half but their resilience won out, squeezing Fairlands back with long distance passes followed by pacey runs up the centre and both wings. In ever-deteriorating weather, the clincher came when River was tugged back in the penalty area as he ran through on goal. The referee needed no second thoughts and neither did Craig when he powered a low shot home. Fairlands fought on and fought well. Indeed some of their best attacking play came after they went two down. But Wymondley maintained discipline and concentration to last and go up champions after a convincing win. WPFC 2-0 Fairlands May 11 AVC Chiltern
League - Division 2 A fantastically hot day for the final game of the season saw a below par under-12s Firesharks lose to Aylesbury - a disappointing end and a tetchy match. No players in
particular stood out although Matt Hill tried his hardest as did the
excellent Courtney. Joe Miley also put in lots of effort. We were slightly
better second half and some semblance of formation appeared. A well taken goal
by Courtney first time in the box from a corner levelled it to 1-1, but a
typical Firesharks lapse some minutes later saw the ball go dead centre down
the field bypassing 3 midfielders, one sweeper and finally one full back for
Aylesbury to go 2-1 up. Not very
impressive , and in the end a costly defeat for us resulting in third
placing in Division 2. WPFC Firesharks
1 - 2 Aylesbury Athletic The Under-11s had secured second place in their division on Wednesday by beating Austen Arrowheads (see below) b ut their last scheduled match of the season brought them a resounding victory over bottom-placed Bishop's Stortford. Wymondley took time to get going against a team that held them to a draw a couple of months ago. But once the first goal went in, the floodgates opened while WPFC's defence stayed solid and kept the sheet clean. The goals, in order, were: * Malik - a smart run through the Stortford defence to fire home * Craig - knocked in from the scramble after a corner * Ellis - a lovely shot into the top corner of the net from the side of the box after he and Marley battled to take the ball down the wing and play it in from close to the corner. * Robert - a rifled shot from the edge of the box, giving him the goal he has been threatening for weeks. It followed clever passing across the box. * River - Ellis secured the ball from Stortford goal kick and passed to Malik who ran through but was stifled by the keeper. The ball trickled free and River knocked it home. * River - a good run by Jayden allowed the ball to be played in to River who put away his second. * Jayden - Moments after his assist, Jayden got the goal he deserved, tapping in from a cross. * Sam - his high shot into the top of the goal was unstoppable. * Robert - you wait all season and then two come along at once. A ball in from Tom clipped the post and Roberts secured a ninth for the team. The whole team was named Man of the Match and awaits a time and place for a play off for the champion's spot. WPFC 9 - 0 Bishop's Stortford May 7 The Under-11s, sitting in second place in their division, fought a tough tactical match against third place Austen Arrowheads on a balmy spring evening at Lucas Lane. The match was crucial to both teams as they battled to secure promotion places as the season draws to a close. The ball bounced high on a hard pitch and that, combined with nervousness in both camps, made it a war of position rather than movement. During the first half the two teams sized each other up with Wymondley Park ensuring the Arrowheads' danger man up front was too tightly marked to do damage. Nonetheless, Alex in the WPFC goal was forced into a couple of excellent reaction saves. At the other end Wyomondley persevered with trademark crosses into the box, searching for well-marked strikers. The first half ended goal-less but a few minutes into the second half River's trickiness in the box brought a dividend when a frustrated defender brought him down from behind. Craig converted his second penalty in four days. An oustanding performance from Wymondley's defensive line up limited Arrowheads to speculative lobs and the team went a second goal up when River passed a beautiful grasscutter across the face of the opposition goal for Malik to hammer into the net. Arrowheads redoubled their attacking effort, snatching a goal back, but solid defending up to the very last moment ensured a Wymondley win, meaning the team will finish the season in second place at least with the tantalising possibility of going up as champions if they beat Bishop's Stortford on Sunday and Arrowheads beat leaders Fairlands. Man of the Match was Alex. WPFC 2 - 1 Austen Arrowheads May 4 The Under-13s
lost 1-0 to Bishop Stortford in their last match of the season. They
needed to win to finish second in the league and gain promotion.
"We didn't quite make it, but it was a great effort from our
boys", said Gordon Vincent, manager.
The team finished fourth in the league which was a great
achievement considering they played the majority of the season with a squad
of only 12 players.
Well done: Lewis, Dan, Jamie A, Josh, James,
Luke, Khush, Tash, Phil, Connor, Oakley & Ben.
WPFC 0 - 1 Bishop's StortfordThe Under-11s took the lead against Baldock within 10 minutes when Craig rose to meet Tom's corner kick with a powerful header into the net. Another 10 minutes of consistent pressure brought the second with a neat through ball freeing River for a trademark dash through the defence, swerve round the keeper and angled shot. Wymondley's crossing from both wings continued to play havoc with Baldock's defence and when Tom passed low across the goal, the ball was knocked into the air and tipped in for an own goal as two Wymondley players swooped. In the second half, Wymondley's concentration slipped a little and Baldock was allowed more of the ball but when Marley was brought down in the area, Craig converted the resulting penalty. Baldock clawed one back in open play and another from a penalty but they were consolations only and Wymondley always looked like the winning team. Only brilliant goal line clearance from Baldock stopped River from snatching another goal and a looping shot from distance from Jayden was close enough to draw gasps from supporters. Sam won Man of the Match for his fine defending and intelligent distribution. Ellis and Robert were strong in midfield and Sean's defending was fast and skillful. A good result for Wymondley against a good Baldock team that has been climbing the table. WPFC 4 - 2 Baldock April 27 AVC Chiltern league - Div 2 - U 12 An inspired second half performance from
Firesharks today turned round a losing 3-1 scoreline into a whacking 6-3 win
with Hat Trick hero Courtney Man of the Match, Second half saw a grittier Firesharks take the field -and the inspirational Courtney plucked from full back to return to his old role as striker- paid immediate dividends. A supreme individual goal by him to make it 3-3 saw the Rovers goalie and two of their defenders sprawled in the back of the net as Courts sent in an acutely angled shot after chasing down what seemed a lost ball. Matt thumped in a fourth goal and celebrated it for his nan who had been brought to watch on the sideline in her wheelchair - where once she had used to stand and watch our games - so that was fitting and the combination of effort and never-say-die attitude by these two club captains started to lift everyone else. Confident Firesharks were now in control and Courtney put away two more to make it a hat trick in about 20 minutes and set the score as 6-3. Great display by the boys after an awful start - but a hard game in poor weather conditions saw a very good result for the lads. Bushmead Rovers 3 - 6 WPFC Firesharks Dismal weather saw the Under-11s suffer only their second league defeat of the season when division leaders, Fairlands, extracted revenge for the loss they suffered at Lucas Lane two weeks ago. WPFC dominated the first fifteen minutes of the game only to go down to a wonder strike from a Fairlands forward, lofted over Alex's head from perhaps 20 yards out. A moment's lapse in concentration five minutes later and Wymondley were two down. The team fought gamely with strong challenges, robust tackles and some good tracking back. Robert worked his socks off. Marley made a number of excellent runs down the left wing and he and River could have evened the score had it not been for goal line clearances by Fairlands. Craig had a good game in defence and Kyle and Leon slotted in well as subs. Jayden - also brought on as a sub in midfield - put Fairlands on the back foot in the last minutes of the game. The Under-11s are still firmly in the promotion battle with three matches remaining. Fairlands 2 - 0 WPFC |