BLUE

Friendly Fixture

Edwalton Cavaliers (3) versus Priory Celtic (3)

So it wasn’t a flash in the pan! I do believe we are finally getting the hang of this game. After last week I will admit I was worried that it would be back to the old ways of lacklustre and daydreaming but thank fully I was wrong.

Again from the first whistle everyone got straight into the game, and with Connor missing this week Max again came in to start the game on the right. Priory Celtic are a good passing team who work hard together, but unlike our attitude against Lowdham we worked harder this week, made it hard for priory to pass, and in return we got the lion share of the game in their half. Cam at the back, again stood out for his awareness of the game and sweeping up at the back, and Harvey alongside him put in some crunching tackles, making it hard for Priory to really challenge the goal. 2-0 up at half time adeservadly so.

Half time saw two changes, Ethan and Ryan missing from last week given the chance to continue Edwalton’s good performance. Management error making two changes at the same time seemed to unsettle the team and for five minutes we looked very shakey and Priory clawed back the 2 goal deficit. We stuck with it and the team settled again, but alas a third went in for Priory leaving us chasing the game to the end. To the credit of the whole team heads didn’t drop, attitudes didn’t diminish and the battle continued. In the dying minutes after many an attack Oscar finally provided the equaliser. It was an epic battle, a fair result at the end but I must admit failing a poor managerial decision we could have easily won.

Man of the match: Oscar. Yet another hatrick. But the award is not for scoring three goals, it is for 120% work rate, excellent passing, and good awareness of the game. Helping out all his team mates for the common end.

WHITE

Friendly Fixture

  Trent Rangers (0) versus Edwalton Cavaliers (3)

This week Edwalton Whites played Trent Rangers. The starting team lined up with Jack G in goal, Joel as Right Back, Jordan as Left Back, Raul in Defensive Midfield, Ollie & Joe in Midfield and AJ up front as Striker. Substitutes were Tom and Joao

FIRST HALF

On a really freezing morning, Edwalton put in an excellent performance against Trent Rangers. Jack G braved the cold and played in goal, which meant that Jordan had the opportunity to play in defence and midfield. From the word go Edwalton got stuck in, and for most of the first half the majority of the play was in Trent’s half.  Within the first couple of minutes Joe was testing out the opposition’s defence, taking the ball forward and shooting just wide of the goal. Ollie also worked hard, taking the ball off the opposition several times and passing the ball to AJ and Joe who put in some good support.

Jordan seemed to enjoy his change of position, putting in some fearless tackles that helped Edwalton gain control of the ball for a good part of the first half. Edwalton showed some good passing in the first half that almost led to another early goal – Raul passing to Ollie who then passed to AJ – AJ then passed to Joe who in turn passed back to Ollie – the goal keeper just managed to clear the ball in what would have been a well deserved first goal.

Tom came on to replace Ollie just before half time when Ollie’s shoelaces started to misbehave, and Joao also came on to replace Raul. Joao set about taking every opportunity to tackle the opposition, and more than once this was rewarded with him taking control of the ball. The ball started to creep further into Edwalton’s half and Joel once again worked very hard in defence, clearing the ball and giving Jack G some excellent support. First half ends 0-0 a really exciting first half.

SECOND HALF

Not long into the second half, Tom cleared the ball when it got a little to close to Edwalton’s goal, it was picked up by AJ, who ran like the ball was stuck to his foot – scoring a brilliant first goal for Edwalton (the crowd went wild!!). A few minutes later Edwalton were involved in a mad scramble in the opposition’s goal mouth – with Joe taking the last touch before the opposition scored an own goal.  The opposition fought on and Jack G made sure he protected the goal from some good attempts by the Trent Ranger strikers. The defence continued to clear the ball and Ollie put in a tremendous run taking the ball right up to the other end of the pitch – passing it superbly to AJ who scored his second goal of the match. Trent carried on putting on the pressure and both Raul and Joao set about making sure the ball didn’t stay in their possession for too long. With the final whistle fast approaching, Joe put in some great shots at goal – with one dramatic shot from the half-way line so nearly ending in a goal worthy of a man three times his age!

 The game ended 3-0, a great performance from everyone in pretty chilly conditions – great work boys!!

Man of the match

Once again several of the boys deserved MOTM this week. Jordan for his excellent tackling, Jack G for keeping focussed despite his knees knocking in the freezing conditions, Joe for some impressive shots at the goal and Ollie for keeping the pressure on throughout the match. However, this week for scoring two great goals and for giving some great support, AJ gets MOTM. Great work AJ!