Report: U13OM vs. Grove 12-Oct-2008

The 1st round of the OML cup saw the lads travel up to Grove. Having left the Newbury area in fog, the morning turned out to be a hot one with the lads needing lots of water. Although Grove were relegated to the C Division last year this season they were top of their division and had scored 40 goals and only conceded 1 . Ben and Harry were both missing and this week Jordan was in goal as the search for a permanent replacement to Ben Grey continues.

In the 3rd minute Fraser controlled the ball nicely and got clear of the defenders, but as the keeper came out one of the defenders got back to deflect the ball wide.

In the 12th minute Jordan was force to rush out of his area only for his clearance to rebound off the closing down forward. Fortunately this rebound went wide of the goal and Aiden was able to clear. Following some interplay in midfield, Wickham attacked through the middle. The defender and keeper just got there before Fraser but the clearance went straight out to Max wide on the right some 40 yards out. With the goal vacant he hit the ball towards it and there was just enough pace on the ball for it to go into the net before the keeper could recover.

Stephen was then replaced by Joe and Luke swapped positions with Jordie.  In the 25th minute a free kick, some 30 yards out, was struck by Ollie which the keeper fumbled but gathered in just before Fraser arrived. In the 28th minute Joe won a corner which Luke hit into the near post. Fraser flicked it on but unfortunately AO dragged his shot wide of the near post. Wickham were creating chances but either getting in each others way or not hitting the shots with any conviction. Finally in the 30th minute Fraser and AO both chased a ball down, despite the defender getting there first his back pass was too weak and AO was able to knock the ball into the net.

The half time talk was all about hitting both the passes and shots, making the headers and hitting the shots across the keeper and not to the near post.  Wickham won the ball almost immediately from the centre with Fraser making it into the box but Grove were eventually able to clear the ball. However moments later Fraser was again put through, this time right of centre. He cut into the box, and then ignoring the half time team talk drilled the ball INSIDE THE NEAR POST….so what do the coaches know. The scoring of this goal seemed to make the lads relax too much as Grove now came back into the game. There seemed to be constant pressure but no real clear cut chances were made. Jordan was quick off his line when necessary and his catching was superb as he did not drop a thing.

In the 17th minute Aiden went on a run playing a couple of 1-2’s with Jordie before setting Joe free. As the keeper came out he chipped the ball over the top of him but it just drifted wide of the far post.

Wickham deserved to score their forth in the 29th minute. A Grove corner was picked up by Aiden at the back of the 18 yard box. He then went off on one of his jinking runs going the full length of the pitch; getting past three players before cutting into the box. As he got ready to shoot, the ball took a bobble and he sliced his shot wide. Finally in the 33rd minute a goal kick from Aiden was nicely dummied by Tom to create himself some space. He sent a diagonal ball for Fraser and AO to run onto. Fraser got the shot away which was saved but AO following in and tucked it away nicely to make it 4.

Josh came on for the final 20 minutes in place of a tired Max and held the right wing until the final whistle.

With the heat and the effort most of the lads looked exhausted at the end off the game however it was a good win against the C Division leaders. Parent player of the day went to AO who made some fantastic runs down the left, which is not his favoured wing and he scored two of the goals. The Managers player went to Jack who completely nullified the main attacking threat from Grove, with some excellent marking and good recovery work.

Jordan Shaw

Aiden Weeks, Jack Wild, Jordie Rowlands, Tom Farman

Max Nicholls, Luke Evans, Stephen Enever, Ollie Norman, Alex Olford

Fraser Roberts

Subs:- Josh Willcocks, Joe Withers.

Report: U13NW vs. Highworth Town Juniors T 12-Oct-2008

Off to Highworth this week for a cup game against Highworth Town Juniors T. The lads played them at the same stage of the U11’s cup, running out 15-0 winner but this year with Highworth being stronger would it be a similar story.

Wickham kicked off and were immediately on the attack. In the 2^nd minute Duncan went down the left but was bundled over. Albie hit the free kick into the box for Bert to power a header into the goal. In the 4^th minute a throw deep in the Wickham half was again worked up the left before being played in side to Charlie. He went past two defenders before cutting across the goal and slotting the ball into the far corner. In the 6^th minute a second corner from Albie went to the back post and was knocked back into the middle for William to hit home & in the 9th minute Albie hit a shot against the bar which landed in the roof of the net. The Highworth big forward was causing problems with his height when the ball was knocked forward but Bert or William usually tided things up. In the 14^th minute Karl conceded a silly free kick out on the Highworth right which was knocked into the box. The big lad got a header in, forcing James to parry the ball, which did reach the edge of the box, but the ball was then powered into the back of the net for 3-1. Wickham went back on the attack and in the 16^th minute the keeper made a good save from Albie. Albie then duly hit the corner into the box where Marcus headed in at the near post. In the 19^th minute the ball was worked down the right for Albie’s cross to be flicked on by Charlie for Karl to head home. A minute later and exactly the same move saw Karl score again. Highworth unluckily conceded a penalty in the 27th minute as Duncan’s driven cross hit a defenders hand. Karl slotted the penalty away at the 3^rd attempt having has his 1^st one disallowed for Wickham players encroaching and then the 2^nd for a defender encroaching?? Highworth went on the attack from the centre but the ball was cleared to Charlie on the right. He got past two players before centring for Jesse who played the ball on for Karl to score again.

Wickham now switched to a 3-4-3 formation for the second half with Ben joining Bert and William at the back and Callum and Iggy up front with Charlie. It took a little while to settle into this formation but in the 8^th minute a great through ball saw Charlie turn his defender and knock the ball past him. Both Albie and Charlie were through on goal and it was Albie who applied the finishing touch. Two minutes later another Albie corner was this time knocked into the net by Duncan at the near post. The next corner in the 13^th minute was swung into the box by Olly. William’s header was saved by the keeper on the line but Marcus was there to put the rebound away. The back three did have some work to do but all of the lads did their jobs and were confident enough to pass the ball around between themselves and even back to James if necessary. Karl dropped back into that threesome, as first Bert and then William were substituted. In the 15th minute a corner came out to Iggy on the edge of the box in loads of space which he duly thumped into the back of the net. There was little rest bite for the home side as more Wickham players attempted to get onto the score sheet In the 21^st minute another corner found its way back to Ben. His powerful shot was saved, with the rebound falling to Jack, who saw his own shot cleared off the line by a defender but a goal kick awarded. In the 22^nd minute a mazy dribble from Albie saw the keeper make a great save, seemly conceding a corner, but Iggy chased it down, got his cross in for Jesse to head home. Next there was a disallowed goal, as the keeper tried to take the ball over the top of Iggy and Albie, dropping it, for Iggy to score but a foul on the keeper was given. In the 28^th minute a quick throw towards the middle was controlled by Albie who took a couple of touches before drilling the ball through a crowd of players for 14-1.

This was a solid performance from the lads with them staying in their positions, passing the ball around and covering for each other where necessary. This is exactly what will be required over the next five games as all the top North Wilts League sides are played plus Didcot in the Berks & Bucks cup. The Player of the day Award, for probably his best performance of the season, went to Karl.

James Davis

Jack Bolton, William Herrington, Bert Cherrill, Olly Sopp.

Albie Oakman, Jesse Bowers, Karl Admans, Marcus Guest, Duncan Lorrain.

Charlie de Fraine.

Subs:- Ben Finch, Iggy Ilott, Callum Johnson.

Report: U13NW vs. Highworth Town Juniors J 5-Oct-2008

The first of consecutive games against Highworth teams saw the “J” team, ex Coleshill, come to The Triangle. Rain all morning had made the pitch slippery on top which meant the ball would travel well over the surface. Ben Finch would make his debut but started on the bench with Charlie and Duncan

Again Wickham started in a 4-4-2 formation, in the hope that the lads would spread the play out. Within 30 seconds the first chance was created as a shot came in which was blocked & then Marcus fired wide. In the 3^rd minute Wickham attacked down the left getting Olly in behind the defence, however his shot crashed off the angle of the cross bar and post. It was not until the 7^th minute that Wickham won their first corner which produced a great save by the keeper with Marcus’ follow up being easily dealt with. Despite Wickham’s dominance the final passes were not finding their man and running through to the keeper. With 18 minute gone Callum and Iggy came off being replaced by Charlie and Duncan and almost immediately Wickham found themselves defending two Highworth corners. The second of these was cleared up the right wing and then crossed into Charlie for the keeper to make another save conceding a corner. A second corner followed and was clear to Bert on the edge of the box but his left footed shot drifted wide of the far post. In the 26^th minute the deadlock was finally broken as Charlie was set free on the right cutting into the box before drilling the ball into the net. In the 29^th minute Highworth seemed to have ended an attack down the left but Karl won the ball back and as he drifted across the pitch launched a high ball over the keeper and into the net for a half time lead of 2-0.

Two chances in the 1^st minute saw Callum have a shot saved and then the resulting corner saw William put his header wide. Any nerves still remaining were finally settled in the 3^rd minute as Bert won the header from a goal kick finding Jesse. He turned, playing the ball up to Callum who then slipped Charlie through to tuck the ball inside the far post. The lads now started to play some good football but the Highworth keeper was in great form making some fantastic saves. In the 15^th minute a goal kick was headed back from the midfield area by Karl. Charlie controlled it then feed it inside for Callum to run onto and nicely slot the ball past the keeper into the far corner. When ever Highworth knocked the ball forwards William seemed to be there to head clear and if they did get though James was making the saves. In the 22^nd minute a prolonged passing sequence eventually saw the ball come back to Bert on the edge of the centre circle but his rasping drive was brilliantly turned round the post by the keeper. However, the corner came right off the training ground as Albie and Duncan created space for Albie to fire the ball into the top right hand corner for 5-0. Charlie won the ball back from the centre and cut through the defence. He played a 1-2 with Callum only to see his shot come crashing back off the bar. In the 25^th minute Albie hit a corner into the box which fell to Ben. His shot was blocked but William smashed the ball home from 12 yards out. Albie was now playing at right back linking well with Iggy on the right flack with Wickham constantly finding space down here. However in the 32^nd minute a rare attack down the left hand side saw a defender handle the ball near the corner. Albie came across and swung the cross to the back post where William headed the ball powerfully into the goal.

A big improvement in the second half as the boys started to get their passing football game going. The Player of the Day Award was, in a way, an unusual choice. Having made a key save in the first half and three more good saves in the second, to ensure another clean sheet, he was clearly noticed by over half the parents. The award was deservedly won by James, who was also noticed by the opposition coach; a great day for the goal keepers then.

James Davis

Jack Bolton, William Herrington, Bert Cherrill, Olly Sopp

Albie Oakman, Jesse Bowers, Karl Admans, Marcus Guest

Callum Johnson, Iggy Ilott

Subs:- Ben Finch, Duncan Lorrain, Charlie de Fraine.

Report: U13NW vs. Shaw 28-Sep-2008

Away at Shaw saw the home side back to their traditional Yellow and Black kit. Charlie was a bit off colour so started on the bench but the lads were already complaining about small size of the pitch and goal. This would be a very compact game.

The 4-4-2 formation was an attempt to get more space to play in, but initially Wickham could not keep things stretched. In the 3^rd minute Shaw attacked down the right with the forward cutting into the box but James narrowed the angle and the shot went wide of the post. Bert hit the goal kick out to Jesse wide on the right who turned and sent Albie away. He outpaced the defender and despite the keeper getting a hand to it the ball was driven into the back of the net. In the 8^th minute Wickham had a free kick about 28 yards out (the wall was on the 18 yard line). Albie drove the ball in which the keeper to parried but Bert was following in to knock the ball home. In the 12^th minute a Shaw throw in on the right was knocked into the box. This was cleared out but a hopefully lob from 30 yards out just dipped over James and into the back of the net. The lads now just seemed to switch off and blame the pitch size for everything. Bang on half time the ref gave a free kick outside the Wickham box and gave Karl, Marcus and Bert a talking to. As they were getting back into position the free kick came in. It was never cleared and the Shaw forward forced the ball home.

The half time talk was all about concentration, keeping the ball on the floor and working for each other.

In the 2^nd minute Shaw cleared the ball out of the box to William in the centre circle. He drilled the ball goal bound, which the keeper saved, but the ball came out to Duncan to smash home. In the 4^th minute a Shaw throw was won by Bert who took the ball down the line. His cross was headed onto the bar by Albie but Iggy was following in and put the ball into the back of the net. Shaw almost walked the ball in from the centre but only won a corner which was headed over the bar. In the 11^th minute a Shaw free kick was hit out to the left where James came charging out to block. Jack tidied up sending the ball up field for Charlie to race through. His shot was blocked by the keeper but the ball hit Iggy and went flying into the net for 5-2. In the 16^th minute a lovely ball into Albie was taken on his chest and he raced through to put the ball in the back of the net but the ref, from behind Albie, decided he had handled the ball (without any assistance from the linesman) and disallowed the goal. From the free kick, deep in Shaw’s half, the ball was hit over the defence with the forward clear on the right. A couple of shots were blocked, a clearance was missed and the ball was then driven in from the edge of the box. A minute later a Shaw throw in cleared by William up to Karl. His early ball sent Charlie free and he duly tucked the ball inside the post. Wickham continued to create chances but just could not finish any more off. With 5 minutes left Shaw attacked down the left and as the forward slightly lost control James dived at his feet gathering the ball in but also taking the striker out. Fortunately, a penalty was not given. With 3 minutes left Jack was getting his shirt pulled in the centre circle but somehow conceded a free kick. Bert made a comment and the ref turned round and booked Marcus for dissent, with the ref not listening to the players telling him he had the wrong player. Wickham turned off for the free kick with no one attacking the ball and despite James making the initial save Shaw scored from the rebound.

Another frustrating game, with the boys turning off too many times during the game plus there was a sour taste left by Marcus’ yellow card. Few players had a good game but one who certainly did was Charlie who was awarded The Player of the Day Trophy.

James Davis

Jack Bolton, William Herrington, Bert Cherrill, Olly Sopp.

Jesse Bowers, Karl Admans, Marcus Guest, Duncan Lorrain.

Callum Johnson, Albie Oakman

Subs:- Fraser Roberts, Iggy Ilott, Charlie de Fraine.