View from the dugout 14 October: Villacourt

Game 1:

Athenlay            (1) 2            (Seth, Miles)

Villacourt Rovers            (1) 2

Att: mixed

The sky was clear, the sun was bright as Athenlay gathered at the Turney Road ground: everything was in place for a classic. If only the café would open…

So, who were our opposition? Good question. Coach Kevin was heard to mistakenly call them ‘Villancourt Rovers’; a Freudian slip if ever there was one. Of which, more later. Once Guiseppe, fashionably late as ever – must be his Italian roots – had joined us, and we’d squeezed into orange bibs (Rovers seemed to be wearing last season’s Athenlay strip), we were off.

Raff donned the gloves for the first half in a match that seemed full of promise: Coach Dave was blowing the whistle as our usual ref, Lloyd had twisted an ankle in a vets’ match the day before (tut, Lloyd: get your priorities right!). As the game got underway, it was clear that Rovers were not a team to be trifled with. Bowie marshalled the defence with Lucian while Seth did what comes naturally to him and spearheaded the attack. If it hadn’t been for an excellent display by Rovers’ keeper AFC would have been three to the good by half time. Mind you, Raff was kept pretty busy at the other end too. Unfortunately, it was a goalkeeping error that saw Rovers take the lead: for once the understanding between Raff and Bowie broke down as the keeper rolled the ball to Bowie, but forgot to tell him. Rovers stormed in, stole the ball and a stranded Raff stood no chance. 1-0 Rovers. The lesson to be learned: talk to each other, boys. On a positive note, there were no recriminations and AFC responded in the only way they know how: by piling on the pressure. The reward came when another error gifted Seth a tap in from a Miles shot that was spilled by the Rovers ‘keeper. Half –time: 1-1.

Raff pulled off the keeper’s jersey and passed it to Seth who kindly swapped and gave Raff his treasured No9 jersey when Coach Kev fessed up to having left Raff’s No10 shirt at home. D’oh! The second half picked up where the first left off: niggling fouls, goalmouth scrambles (including a claim for a goal that may well have been given if only Sepp Blatter would pull his finger out and sanction the use of goal-line technology: to the list of Frank Lampard and Geoff Hurst we must now add the name of Oli Godbee after his ‘ghost’ goal was denied) and moments of comedy (who can forget Charlie heading the ball to himself). In the end the deadlock was broken when Miles lofted a ball into the area that went on to sail over the keeper and in. 2-1 AFC. With our noses in front for the first time in what was proving to be a tough (in all senses) match the final whistle couldn’t come soon enough. No, it really couldn’t come soon enough. When Rover sent a speculative ball into the area, Giuseppe, betraying a goalkeeper’s instincts despite himself, reached out a hand. From the resulting free kick, Rovers powered home. 2-2. Both sides nearly stole victory in the dying moments but in both cases stout defensive work proved decisive – notably from Theo whose clearance in the dying seconds saved the draw– and meant the teams had to be happy with ‘a point’.

And so, to the break and the thorny issue of refuelling. With so much in the press about ‘recovery’ techniques it was refreshing to see our boys resort to old-school techniques: a slice of orange. Washed down with a high-tech, isotonic energy drink, natch.

Game 2:

Athenlay            (0) 1

Villacourt Rovers            (1) 1

With Vilecourt, sorry Villacourt, only mustering a squad of 7 players, AFC anticipated the opposition would tire. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t, but their game certainly became more physical. The game was most notable for the freakiness of the goals: one unstoppable by any U7 in such large goals, the other… well. We’ve seen Xavi Alonso do it for Liverpool, we’ve seen Suarez do it for Liverpool too, we’ve even seen Becks do it for Man U. Now the lucky members of this crowd saw young Seth Robinson do it for Athenlay…

A niggly first half saw the Villains pushing and shoving their way through scramble after scramble as AFC struggled to find time on the ball. In the end their physical game paid off as a speculative high ball bounced in front of our keeper Jacky and over his head. A cruel way to lose the lead. Raff came close, but yet again didn’t trouble the scorers. Giuseppe too, using his strength, bustled through, only to be denied. Oli also, after a remarkable through ball from Raff, came close to putting the scores level but the half was to end with AFC behind by one.

So to the second half and a truly revolutionary formation with Miles in goal and Seth taking a turn at the back. And it worked! Seth Robinson, lurking in defence, as he was tasked with doing, latched on to a loose clearance and sent it back with interest from within his own half. The Rovers keeper didn’t see it coming and before he knew what was going on he was picking the ball out of the back of the net. The crowd went wild, Sally lost her voice and Coach Kevin cried out, “Well done Seth. But next time, take a touch!” 1-1. An early contender for goal of the season, without a doubt. And so the game was to end, but not before the less attractive side of the beautiful game reared its head with the ‘Villains’ letting themselves down with some petulant shoving and silliness.

On the whole a draw was probably a fair result in these games. Both sides had players who caught the eye and, while AFC never quite settled into their on-form best, there is no doubt they were evenly matched on the day. But this reporter is pleased to say that the gulf in the spirit in which the game was played by the teams was huge. Yes, our boys could do with being a little more determined in the tackle, but that should never be confused with bending the rules or resorting to downright violent conduct.

Played     Won    Drawn    Lost        For      Against    Goal diff

Athenlay            9            5            3            1            29            12            +17

 

View from the dugout 7 October: Phoenix

Game 1:

Athenlay            (3) 8            (Seth 2, Miles 2, Oli 2, Bowie, Charlie)

Phoenix            (0) 0

Att: not so many as last week but way more vocal

So it was off to Phoenix in darkest… well I’ve no idea frankly because Coach Dave was driving and even he was a slave to his Sat Nav. Suffice to say it was deepest Kent and all that that brings with it…

The morning – a slightly hazy, sunny morning of the sort one can only imagine was what the elders of this great game had in mind when they decided this was a winter sport – got of to a poor start with bad news for Athenlay’s team selection. Jacky, who is rapidly becoming a main-stay of our defensive line, called in sick. One can’t help wondering what might have felled the young man on a Sunday morning: perhaps a Saturday night of George Best indulgence had taken its toll. One champagne fountain too many?

Anyway, after some hasty redrawing of the team sheets (still no progress with a new pack of envelopes), the first match kicked off. Raff and Theo sat this one out while Oli guarded the net and Seth took up his familiar role at the front of our tried and tested 2-3-1 formation. For a moment it looked as if our luck may finally have broken when Seth uncharacteristically pulled his first shot wide of the upright. Those fears were soon put to rest when AFC stamped their authority on what would prove to be possibly their finest team performance to date. Seth was at the heart of the first-half action latching on to a through ball from Bowie to notch his first before creating and converting the next chance all on his own (a picky coach might shout ‘pass the ball, Seth!’ but hey…). 2-0 to Seth Athenlay. The half would end with Charlie getting on the score sheet as he profited from a rebound from Phoenix’s keeper following a shot from… Can you guess? Seth Robinson. 3-0 and spirits high.

Second half and a change of personnel in pursuit of the coaches’ policy of giving all young players a chance in the first team (Brendan Rogers, eat your heart out) saw Raff and Theo take charge of the back line in front of Lucian in goal, with Bowie assuming striking duties as Seth and Giuseppe kept the subs’ bench warm. The result was a flood of chances for AFC and a half of real dominance that saw Phoenix’s players’ heads drop and their coaches/supporters become increasingly… well it didn’t bring out their best side. Raff was heard to be accused of diving and then later in the half one of their ‘fans’ urged Phoenix to ‘knock him down’. It was just like being transported back to the 70s. No matter, because AFC were simply too strong for them as they netted another five times: Miles top right after a slide–rule pass from Oli; Oli a poacher’s goal after goalmouth chaos; Miles calmly side-footing beneath oncoming keeper; Bowie finishing a passing move started by Raff and Oli; and the final, a short corner routine straight from Lloyd’s back garden featuring Miles and Bowie with Oli hammering the ball into the roof of the net. It ended 8-0 after some truly magnificent passing, yes PASSING moves, a credit to the boys who ALL played their part in a top team performance.

The second match saw a markedly more tired performance from AFC. Note to all: snacks, a definite must between matches.

Game 2:

Athenlay            (1) 2 (Bowie pen, OG)

Phoenix            (0) 1

So, would Phoenix rise from the ashes of the first game? One suspected that hard words were spoken in the team talk, possibly spurred on by the feeling that they’d been hustled by Coach Dave who, channelling his inner-Wenger, led them to believe that we were going into these matches after a so-so run of results after their coach admitted his boys were downhearted after a series a 1-0 losses. A master stoke worthy of a pro.

Miles and Oli took a well-earned break for this one as Theo made his debut between the sticks. And what a performance as he dived repeatedly to deny Phoenix their first goal. The match was a much more tense affair that saw AFC keep up the pressure but struggle to score. The deadlock was finally broken when, following a Rafferty corner, Bowie’s goal-bound short was saved, but not by the keeper. Penalty! Never one to succumb to nerves, Bowie stepped up and calmly powered his spot kick straight down the middle past a keeper who did well to get out of the way. 1-0 AFC half time.

The tension increased immediately in the second half as Phoenix levelled the score following a defensive mix-up: a goal gifted to an opposition which without such generosity never looked likely to score. Phoenix’s spirits soared as they sensed an opportunity. But they had reckoned without Athenlay’s superior team spirit as the lads in yellow dug deep and pressed for the victory they knew they deserved.

Raff in the centre of midfield would prove particularly unlucky for the second week running as not one but two determined runs ended with goalmouth scrambles that saw the keeper come out on top. Hard luck Raff, but like Fernando, your luck will change. More bad luck followed as Miles, having been brought down on the edge of the box, hit the post with a pile-driver. The pressure finally told when, following a corner, Seth shot from outside the box; the Phoenix defence crumbled and put the ball into their own net. 2-1 Athenlay. And so the score remained.

So, another two victories and masses of credit to all. Special mention goes to birthday boy Giuspeppe and to Lucian who both put in solid, strong performances at the heart of the team: they may not have taken glamour roles but they did everything they were asked to do for the team, and that’s what gets results.

                      Played     Won    Drawn   Lost         For     Against     Goal diff

Athenlay            7            5            1            1            26            9            +17

View from the dugout 30 September: Langley Park

Athenlay FC v Langley Park
(Turney Road. Att: at least, what, 30?)
Game 1:
AFC (2) 4                      Langley (0) 2
Seth 2, Oli, Miles.

With the weather smiling down on us – a relief after the downpour of last week – the mood on the touch line could only be described as buoyant. With the boys resplendent in their brand new track suits (not sure who took the measurements but they certainly over estimated the leg length) it fell to coaches Dave and Kevin to sort out the line-up to face the young CIA charges (Ed: different Langley). Fortunately Dave, who we suspect had been preparing through the night as he nursed his sick wife – the man is a saint – had scribbled the whole plan on the back of an envelope in the manner of Steve McLaren.

Miles pulled on the gloves while Theo, Jacky and Lucian took their shift on the subs’ bench. From the off it was clear that AFC were ready for this. Langley were 2 down before they knew what had hit them as Seth tore holes in their defence to trouser a first-half brace. Miles kept an impressive clean sheet behind a firm defensive line bossed by Giuseppe who caught the eye with his strength and willingness to stand firm in a tackle and clear his lines.
After what we can only assume was a bit of a hairdrier from Langley’s coach, his charges improved in the second half. With Bowie charged with protecting our clean sheet (despite his protestations that he “wasn’t very good in goal”) behind a defensive line of Jacky and Lucian, AFC kept up the pressure. Finally Miles forced an opening with one of his trademark long shots from the left that beat the defense and was goalbound, before Oli stepped in in the manner of Dirk Kuyt at his poacher’s best “to make sure”. 3-0 AFC. Bowie proved his lack of self-confidence was utterly unjustified with a series excellently stopped with his feet – well why get your hands dirty? – but in the end Langley’s pressure told and they scored twice to make it 3-2.
Was the game slipping away after all that hard work in the first half? Thankfully our boys proved they were made of stern stuff. With Charlie, for who this was something of a grudge match against one of his classmates, a whirl of activity, they came again and Miles, who’d been Man of the Match in many of the observers’ books, finally got his name on the scoresheet to see the game end 4-2.

Game 2:
AFC (1) 1.                      Langley (0) 1
Miles

After a short break – a slug of water and a quick injection of sugar in the form of a Random – the sides took to the field again as the coaches even now scribbled formations on the other side of the envelope (note to coaches: buy more envelopes). With Theo playing a great role in defense following the withdrawal of Giuseppe due to illness, Seth took his turn between the sticks despite protestations that that may not be the best use of one of our more potent goal threats. However, the coaches stuck to their stated policy of ensuring that the boys share the dubious honour of playing in goal.
This match proved to be one of the finest ever witnessed by the assembled crowd: there is no doubt in this reporter’s mind that we will all be talking about out this match for years, YEARS, to come. When we walk into pubs across south-east London, the cry will go up, ” Tell us again how AFC were robbed of three points back in 2012″.
Raff took the captain’s armband for this one and one crowd member was heard to claim that she actually saw him physically grow in stature. I can’t verify that but I do know he took all the corners and free kicks and was unlucky not to trouble the scorekeepers (for future reference, his surname has 2 ‘c’s and 2 ‘e’s) thanks to an impressive goalkeeping display from the Langley ‘keeper.
It seemed the breakthrough was never going to come as both keepers were kept busy, but Miles it was again who unlocked the Langley defence with one of his mazy runs ( Ed: can a run be ‘mazy’?) topped off with a searing shot that the keeper simply couldn’t hold. 1-0 AFC.
The second half saw more of the same and it seemed to all that the match would end one nil, but a questionable referring decision in the dying seconds saw AFC robbed of a second win. As the ball went off the assembled crowd helpfully told the ref it was a yellow throw, but he clearly misheard and gave it to the whites. A quick throw and a speculative shot saw Jacky in goal taken by surprise. 1-1 and final whistle. Hey, at least we didn’t lose, and who knows, maybe the next ‘dodgy ‘ decision will go our way. Fortunately, it’s only a game…

View from the dugout 23 September: All Stars

After last week’s double victory, how would Athenley U8’s fare against the much-fancied AFC All-Stars?

It was clear from the start that their reputation was well deserved and bearing out our worst fears, the goals fell in quick succession to AFC All Stars. An early corner set piece took them 1-0 up, and it was soon 2-0. An early professional tackle left Bowie hobbling but the ref played on.

Raff, reprising his first half role as keeper, seemed isolated at the back. Although he committed early, alone he didn’t stand a chance against the striker bearing down on him. 3-0. Without some great defensive tackles from Guiseppe and, later, Jacky in the central midfield, and Charlie’s hard work down the wing, it could have been worse.

The early scoreline perhaps belies the fact that there was plenty of end-to-end action for the crowd to savour. Seth, keen to make an impression after missing the first fixture of the season due to family commitments, was fast and exciting on his chances upfront from the off. With Oli unleashed from the subs bench in exchange for Lucian, the two were quickly able to work together to put the pressure on. Seth finally capitalised on a goal mouth fumble shortly before the ref blew for the first half. 3-1.

A brief huddle under Lloyd’s golfing umbrella, as decent a towel down as could be managed given that everything was soaking, a pep talk and new tactics from Dave and the team were ready to turn things around in the second half. They started off lively and kept it up throughout, despite the rain redoubling in force.

Charlie, as solid a figure in goal as he had been on the wing, made a great save against another corner. However, prematch doubts about Rafferty’s fitness due to a heavy cold proved justified. While he was able to make a couple of fast runs and tackles in his traditional midfield position, there were also times when he cast a dejected figure somewhat apart from the action.

Athenley have many positives to take from this match. They played with spirit when the odds were against them and created a clutch of second half chances. Shots from Oli and Miles drifted tantalisingly across an open goal and their keeper proved outstanding during a busy period dealing with several shots on target. Surely AFC would get one in? Finally Miles did, 3-2. It could so easily have gone with the run of play to 3-3 but celebrations proved short lived when a fast break from All Stars sealed it, 4-2.

On the day, All Stars were better able to convert their fewer chances and were far tighter in defence, employing the ‘all bodies back’ tactic to great success. Passing still remains a far from natural choice for AFC. That said, it isn’t difficult to imagine another day bringing a different result. However, in the circumstances and the torrential rain, the decision to postpone the second fixture proved a popular one.

The view from the dugout 16 September 2012: Orpington/Welling

So, after a golden summer of sport – or was that a summer of golden sport – our inspired young charges gathered at the Marathon Ground Blackheath for the first fixtures of their debut season.

Matters got off to a tense start: Athenley FC were first up against Orpington but as the seconds ticked down, AFC only had 6 players. A quick juggle of the fixtures bought us some time while reinforcements made their way down Shooters Hill and soon the assembled crowd roared with relief to see Charlie and Lucien jogging to join us pitchside.

Finally able to field a full side, we ran through our new 2-3-1 formation and we were off. First up, Orpington. With Raff assuming duties between the sticks and Bowie taking the captain’s armband the 2012/13 season was off. The AFC U7s are clearly fast learners: despite only being introduced to the basics of the formation just minutes before, they all held their shape and as a result tore through an Orpington side clearly suffering from playing back-to-back matches. A stout defence built around Jacky and new summer signing Theo were rarely tested as Miles and Bowie pulled the strings in midfield with Charlie, in an eye-catching role down the right side of midfield, giving sharp-shooter Oli the support he needed to complete an astonishing first-half hat-trick.

The second half saw Oli unselfishly pull on the keeper’s gloves and Raff adopt his familiar position at the heart of the midfield. Despite the shuffling of the pack by Coach Dave, Athenlay’s dominance of the match continued, with the added boost of Lucien and his fresh legs. Fine passing moves saw some new names added to the scoresheet as first Bowie, then Miles and finally Raff found the back of the net. The ref’s whistle put an end to Orpington’s suffering and sealed Athenlay’s first win of the season, 6-0, a victory for passing, organisation and fresh legs.

A quick refuel with pick n mix courtesy of Raff’s sister Maddie and we were off to face the rested and refreshed team in red, Welling. The reds had several bright young players and promised to offer a more testing challenge. So, sticking with the now tried-and-tested 2-3-1 formation AFC took to the field with Charlie now in the keeper’s jersey, a back line of Oli and Miles with Theo playing the striker’s role. As predicted by the touchline spectators, Welling did not roll over and the match quickly took on the mantle of a ‘classic’ with the first half ending nil-nil as the two sides matched each other in all areas of the pitch. Coach Dave, showing tactical wisdom way beyond his experience, but perhaps proving the value of an FA coaching badge, mixed things up a bit: Lucien took his turn in goal, Oli returned to his spiritual home as striker and Raff and Jacky proved the solid foundation at the back leaving debutant Theo to take a well-earned rest to reflect on his exciting debut from the touchline. As things clicked into place Oli poached an early goal to put Athenlay’s nose just in front. Fine interplay, notably a calm one-two between Miles and Bowie, saw Athenlay carve further chances and get their just reward as Oli bagged his brace. 2-0. However, Welling would not roll over and a breakdown in communication at the back saw AFC gift them a goal to raise their spirits. With the clock ticking down Welling mounted a spirited challenge that saw AFC pegged back in their own box. But the boys in yellow-and-blue would not be beaten and the closing minutes saw a shot from Raff strike the post before, who else, Oli confirmed the victory with his second hat-trick of the afternoon. 3-1 Athenley.

Lessons learnt? Well obviously we couldn’t have done without Oli’s six goals, but these 6 year olds proved that football really is a team game as every single one of them made significant contributions, all held their shape, were ready to pass the ball and played with a truly Olympic spirit. Well done to all.

Orpington 0 Athenley 6         (Oli x3, Bowie, Miles, Raff)

Athenlay 3 Welling 1                  (Oli x3)