Grassroots football's well and truly back and so is the Wood's blog!
U12 Boys are vying for the title and promotion from the Yellow division and faced a massive double header today against Hinton & Finchley Stars, themselves going all out for the same rewards. If our place had any rafters, they would have been packed such was the anticipation after months of waiting patiently.
The first match was cagey as both teams sized each other up and it took some excellent defending from Captain Ifeacho to secure the back, while in attack, the team were beginning to get the ball out to the wings and start some promising attacks. Second half saw the introduction of Montgomery and Malcolm and the former picked out the latter with an excellent pass, before Malcolm curled a wonderful first time cross off the despairing head of the Hinton defender and into the goal. Two minutes later, Malcolm, Crucefix & Song combined wonderfully to feed Makamian and he sealed the game with a composed low strike that cannoned of the post and into the goal. After recovering from a recent high speed bike malfunction, young Makamian showed tenacity throughout and also secured MoM for himself.
With three points bagged, the second match started with greater energy from the Wood as they poured it on in search of another win. McGuinness and Pop were cranking up the pressure in midfield with Hobbs and Montgomery marshalling the rear-guard tightly. Despite this, it seemed all was lost as Hinton charged through on goal before MoM Marshall morphed remarkably into a human flea and leapt to keep out one and then two point blank shots. After springing on to the loose ball too, he fired it up field for George, galloping forward like yesterday's Grand National winner, to pull the trigger expertly and send the legions in attendance crazy, or in some cases, crazier than usual!
A complete performance from the boys in their first 'big' test with all 14 squad members contributing greatly and six valuable points bagged.
Meanwhile, just up the field, our rapidly improving U10 Boys were obviously inspired by their older peers as they produced vintage football against a game Harrow Stars team.
Talented and willing players play anywhere and both Aiden & Shreyank had great performances in goal and outfield, with the latter even managing to save a penalty that helped secure MoM!
Audley, Bailey and Luis were passing the ball really well and it was Bailey who burst through on the away goal, forcing a good save with a snap shot that was gobbled up by the onrushing Klaudjo, who finished in style. In defence, Matei & Yue enjoyed outstanding games, with numerous perfectly timed tackles and super distribution.
A great day's football from the boys who just can't wait for next week's match to begin.
In a late, late kick off, our U11 Boys played GFA Enfield Salamis and started back exactly where they left off with a devastating attacking display that saw an incredible 15 goal return! Joel helped himself to five in a sparkling MoM performance, Zain bagged three, Hayden, Julian & Jack settled for two a piece while Leon crashed in a beauty to round of the scoring.
An outstanding return to football for the boys and if this form carries on, the club will need to invest in a very large abacus. Super stuff!
___
Our U18 Girls took on Garston Jags in their revised mini-league and made a fine start with great energy across the board & spirited runs from midfield; the impressive Joseph showing particularly in this respect. Our forwards pressed well too and this tactic saw Swain seize control of the ball and send it hurtling into the top bag for an early lead.
As they understandably regain sharpness and fitness, the team lost a little concentration & intensity for a spell afterwards and conceded three avoidable goals. However, they fought back strongly with Swain bagging her second of the day with an expertly taken finish. Unfortunately for the Wood, the next goal went to Garston making a final score of 2-4. Still, after all this time out, everyone was a winner and PoM went to Kennedy-Millar who defended with great determination throughout and enjoyed an outstanding match.
U10 Girls roared back into action with an excellent display against Garston Tigers. The whole squad defended and attacked with gusto and star striker Lois was very unlucky not to score after a great team move ended up with her crashing the ball off the post.