Clifton Controversy !!

If the Clifton Tournament was a newspaper, it'd be called "The Clifton Controversial" !
Despite dubious decisions and painful penalties, the foxes battled their way to the Semi Finals !

Our team: Edward, Ned, Kaylen, Harry, Max, Conrad, Neerij, Kione, Lawrence, George.

Game 1 against the Shire Colts, our last meetings ending in 8 losses in a row. Squeaky bum time ?
'Fraid not !
The boys stepped up, confident and full of energy. Strong at the back, stern in midfield and stinging in attack , we looked like we believed we could do it ! Closer and closer we came until FINALLY ! A breakthrough, Max made it through the defence and nutmegged the keeper for our winning goal !! 
The rest of the team stood firm and battled to keep that lead until the final whistle.

Phew, game 1 over, we were on the way.

Next, Clifton Gladiators, ARE YOU READY ?? Foxes, ARE YOU READY ??
We could never have been ready for what happened next ...

Holding our own, some close calls, some near misses, until PEEEEEEPPPP !! The whistle blows in our area  ! The crowd look surprised, stunned. What's going on ?

Penalty.

Penalty ??? Since when do the tournaments with 9 year olds have penalties ??
Kay was deemed to have brought down someone in the box. Nonsense. And obviously not on purpose, and with no chance of scoring. Terrible decision. But it wouldn't be the last one today.
The penalty was so superbly hit, Max (in goal) didn't stand a chance.

And that was the only goal of the game ... !
1-0 Clifton.

Still, heads up, let's get ready for the next one ! Ashley Down.

Now we've beaten the Downers a few times, so this one should be our easiest game. But you know, football's a strange game.
0-0.
A strong battle, a tough game, and a point for both teams.

Our final match in the group stages was the Golden Hill Sonics. All decked in yellow, it was like The Attack of the Giant Canaries. But we plucked them up good and proper.
By this time, Max had passed out and decided to go throw up in the bushes instead of play this one. 2 late nights in a row had taken their toll on the wee man, and he was out for the count.

The team rallied round, patted him on the back as he chucked up, rolled up their sleeves and good old Harry took up the mantle and charged for goal ... several times ... until Boooooom !! It was in !
Okay, don't get cocky. Stay cool and hold on boys ... 

7 points in the bag. Second in the group stages, WE'RE THROUGH TO THE SEMIS !!


Now, this is where it gets ugly..

The Semi Final.
Against the Shire Colt Blacks. Their A-Team.
I pity the fools that play their A-Team, I pity the fools !

But my giddy aunt, we were strong ! We attacked, we defended, we saved ! In fact, Ed saved 2 certain goals so spectacularly that even the Shire supporters were cheering us.

Full time. 0-0. 

Extra time. 4 minutes, only one way. 

We won the toss ! 
We could play DOWNHILL ! 
This was our moment !

.. and then it all went sour.

A ball blasted into the air, our defenders standing strong, no chance of a goal, but heading for George ! He puts his hands up to protect his face. Boom ! It ricochets off them.

Peeeeep !! Penalty !

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT !!??  The 12 year old referee looked flummoxed as 47,000 parents from both sides and other clubs screamed "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!"

From Fifa's own rules "

Not Awardable

A handball should not be awarded if a player is ruled to have handled the ball accidentally. This refers to a player either attempting to protect himself from injury, for example by placing the hands in front of the face and then being hit by the ball, or a player being hit on the arm by the ball without moving towards the ball and without being able to move out of the way."

Simple.

But the penalty still stood. 
And nobody cheered when it went in. 
Even Ed couldn't stop it. He's a super goalie, not Superman.

With the Foxes distraught and George devastated ( even though he'd done absolutely nothing wrong) there was nothing they could do to stop another goal going in.

Game and Tournament over.

A terrible decision, and a terrible shame, but hey, we found out we were 3rd place overall, out of ten teams that included Rockleaze, Clifton, the Shire Colts, and Bristol Rovers ! Now that is a phenomenal achievement !

And, as a footnote, in a final reminder about the perils of penalties, the poor Shire Colts lost out to Bristol Rovers in the Final due to a retaken penalty. The referee thought the Shire goalkeeper was off his line so made the boy retake his penalty that he just screamed over the bar. His second one went in. 
That's a harsh, big decision against a 9 year old goalie jiggling on his line ...

But, as always, on our part, a great team effort, and a great day !

Very, very proud of all the foxes today, everyone played their best and tried their absolute hardest.

A very special shout out goes to Ed for volunteering several times to stay as goalkeeper. He saved the day literally for us numerous times.

Impenetrable defending from Ned, Kaylen (who was eeeeverywhere today) and Lawrence (or "the big lads at the back" as we like to call them)

And we had a tight, controlled, fast, penetrating midfield of Harry, Max, Neerij, Kione, Conrad and George as they mounted charge after charge, with some great passing, and some lovely moves.

Well done everybody, you fully deserved your 3rd place !!!

Now , here's a few pics I managed to take when I wasn't so excited that I forgot I had my camera ...

Gurmit warming the Foxes up before kick off by using the Hokey Cokey.

Getting closer ...

It's in ! Time to celebrate !

 Battling !!!!!!

and finally ... if you wondered how Terry got into the tournament for free ... he disguised himself as a bin man.

14 GOOOOAAAALLLS !!!

Foxes v Sefton Park Scorpions 27 April 2013

Still a bit lost for words, so more maybe later, but for now: wow!

The mighty Reds won their games 5-1 and 5-0 thanks to peerless goalkeeping by Ed (and Aran); solid defence from Bens L and S and Aran; total midfield domination by our very own midfield general Raymond; and inventive, incisive and generous attacking play from Neeraj and Harry.  Champagne football.


Playing alongside, The Battling Blues didn't do too badly either ! 

Kaylen, Ned, Gabe, Danny, Connie, Archie, Maxi

The first game was a harder fought one than the scoreline would have you think. But Ned smashed the first goal in around the 7 minute mark. 

1-0

Then just as his dad arrived, Archie scored his first goal for the Foxes and couldn't believe his eyes !
"Happy" just didn't cover it !

2-0

Then in the second half, Maxi decided a two goal buffer just wasn't enough and scampered through a couple of defenders to pop in another.

3-0

Lovely stuff. The passing wasn't as classy as the Mighty Reds, we had more of an "individual effort" thing going on. But, you know, it's all about the winning taking part and having fun.

Big shout out again to our conscription goalkeepers, Ned, Kaylen and Max. All of them took turns in goal even though they didn't really want to. So a round of applause to them ! ( Especially Kaylen, who double timed ! )
And a pat on the head for me for taking all the abuse ...

For the second Blues game, the Scorpios mixed it up a little and stuck a tougher team in against us, which caused us some troubles at first. But Max managed to score another goal just after half time. We thought he'd lost it, but a drag back and a left foot scorcher did the trick.

1-0 

... buuuuuut before we'd even finished celebrating, the Seftonites had popped in the equalizer !!

1-1

So we battled on, Gabe's massive throw ins and a scorching volley (that was unfortunately saved) added to the excitement. Danny was being bashed on all sides by their attackers, but stood firm, and Connie, having played like a whirling dervish in midfield, was finally rewarded for all his constant efforts when he popped in the winner !!!

2-1 

Awesome !! Well done Foxlets, drink in the victory !!!

[ One final note from me before I show you the pics, but well done to Harry in the Reds game, he always puts 100% into every game he plays and was justly rewarded with masses of goals in his games. Good on ya cobber, maybe now I'll stop calling you "Haaaaaarold" ... ]

Here's some action :

Defenders of the Realm !

Nobody's chipping Kaylen !

 Nearly there !

 You can just taste victory !

 The winner coming up !

 It's all mine !

I can't believe we're winning !

You're not having it !

 We are !

 Back of the net ...

Foxes vs the Easter Bunnies

It was freezing cold. 

The middle of Easter. 

A hardy bunch of Foxes turned up to devour the Easter Bunnies.

Everyone got a creme egg. 

The score was 12-12.

It was Amani's birthday.

Everyone got a goal.

But it had the strangest ending of any Foxes game ... have a look.

Woaaaah woah, the cliftonites !

... The Downs was muddy ... 

... the Westbury Parkers were scared ... 

... They had visions of their shiny people carriers plastered in filth at the end of the match ...

... but ...

... The game was off ...

But then, woooah, oh, the Cliftonites came up trumps and invited us round theirs for Astro turf heaven !

. Ned . Kaye . Arthur . George . Kione . Harry . Lawrence . Aran . Maxi . 

... Game on ...

Our 9 versus their 25 ... it could be tricky. So we lined up for battle, got into formation, then waited 5 minutes for them to finish their team talk. We kicked off at about 11, which was a shame for Marcus as he'd been there since dawn, being the victim of a cruel coach's 10am kick off hoax devised purely to get the latecomers there on time.

The orange dervishes started their attack, and our candy striped rebels looked clumsy and out of practice. Too many snow days and rainstorms !

BOOM ! One nil down ! 

Things were looking bleak.

Until ... the plan came together , passes were being threaded through, the boys had woken up and remembered what they came here to do.

A shot on goal ! Then another. We were getting closer. 

Suddenly, a break ! The ball broke free in the area, Arthur shuffled his bottom faster than a speeding train and slammed that pigskin into the back of the net !

1-1 !

With a renewed vigour, the boys continued on, until again, a break ! The midfield swept the ball to Max, he took 3 steps to the right, the defenders were closing in, he struck .... and the ball floated into the top left corner !

2-1 !

Now, as tactics go, we at the foxes have a simple strategy. Just keep playing in exactly the same way, whatever the score.

Unfortunately, not pulling everyone back into the now famous defensive "Lamont Line" of at least 6 defenders, meant the Cliftonites slipped through. A fumbled ball, time stood still, a foot away from the goal line, could we clear it in time ???

No ! 

2-2 !

The whistle blew. A good game. A fair result. 

But now the pressure was really on. Our team of 9 now went down to 8, as Aran had to leave due to other commitments and the fact that the opposition were dragging out the morning, probably because it was lovely and sunny.
The Cliftonites were very accommodating though and fielded a team of 8 themselves. But this was a new 8, straight off the bench, with fresh legs and more energy than the duracell bunny.

Would it be too much for our boys ? Would they feel the pace during this game ? 
Tension mounted, and we were off.

Tiredness was not an issue it seemed. The boys were on fire. The previous game had got them battle ready, their fresh 8 were struggling and on the back foot !

We peppered their goal with several shots. Their defence was strong though, until suddenly, a break ! The ball broke free in the area, Arthur shuffled his bottom faster than a speeding train and slammed that pigskin into the back of the net ! 

Right place. Right time !

1-0.

Could this be the start of something wonderful ? Our defence was strong, our keepers were doing a fine job, our midfielders were chasing every ball down, and our lone striker, well, he was just popping them in.

Suddenly, a break ! The ball broke free in the area, Arthur shuffled his bottom faster than a speeding train and slammed that pigskin into the back of the net ! 

Right place. Right time !

2-0 !

Should we change tactics ? Restructure ? Fire up the 'Lamont Line' ?!

Naaaaah !

... So they scored . Bottom corner. Even a valiant dive from Maxi, looking like Joe Hart in a head and shoulders commercial, couldn't quite get to it.

2-1. Half time. 

And then we started to feel it. The legs getting slower, the tackles getting sloppier. Until finally, the inevitable happened and the United front of Clifton popped in an equalizer a minute from time.

2-2.

But, you know what, it was okay. We'd done ourselves proud. In a previous game against Clifton, we'd lost 7-1, so two draws was a-okay !

Well done Foxes, you were all brilliant. Thanks to each and every one of you.

A special shout goes out to our volunteer(ed) goalkeepers, Ned, Lawrence, Max and Kione, for stepping up without complaint to stick the gloves on.

Onwards and upwards folks !

New term, new conditions

Having perfected our sub-aqua/mud-lark footballing ability, the weather's got something new to throw at us.  Severe weather warning for sleet & snow tomorrow, so PLEASE ensure your little treasures are dressed accordingly.

Also those of you paying termly, please note subs are due for terms 3&4.  £10 please.  Thanks.

After this week, we have three fixtures on the bounce running up to half term - please sign up for those for which your son is available so we can get on with selection planning - cheers.

See you tomorrow.  "I'm walking in the air....."

Elton - "I'm dreaming of a brown Christmas !"

Mud, Mud, glorious mud ! Nothing quite like it for cooling the Chrimbo blood !

Elton was back for a Foxes rendezvous on the Downs , just like the good old days.

Cold , wet, windy and muddy. PERFECT !

(Raymonde, Lawrence, Elton, Kione, Max, Armani, Messi, brom and Ian)

And makes a change for Elton, Ian, Ceti and Thomas, where the football is in SNOW at the moment !

A few passing and shooting drills, a penalty shoot out against the South's best old Northern goalkeeper and then a massive, muddy, mega, mini match that ended up 9-7 with Elton scoring the winner !!! It's like it was meant to be !

Hot chocolate and cookies at half time kept spirits high and, as the final whistle blew, all that remained was to pack up all the drenched goals and bibs, and stuff them in a bag to be dropped off at "Lamont's Laundry" later !

Thanks to everyone who turned up today, I'm pretty sure Elton appreciated it, and it was great to see the Finnish superstar again!

Elton, we're playing Clifton United on the 19th Jan, I'm sure the Foxes will pay for your flights !

Rock(hard)leaze - 15 December ...

Have you ever seen the film '300' ? 

It's about 300 Spartans fighting the might of a million Persians with ingenuity, bravery and incredible skill.

Well, that was like the Foxes against the mighty Rockleaze on the 15th December.

Now, I can only talk for the Blue Foxes, for that is all I saw, but it was a couple of matches strewn with incident and excitement !

RED :	Ned, Raymond, Harry, Ben L,Aran, Conrad, Neerij, Arthur
BLUE:	Ed, Lawrence, Seb, Kaylen, Max, Kione, Danny, Gabriel

We had players telling us they weren't turning up  ( 5 minutes after kick off was supposed to have started ) , we had a player taken home by his agent before the games had finished (so when a crucial substitution was needed, he was nowhere to be found), we had a Tevez style refusal to play half way through a match, and we had a player declare that he was going to play for Rockleaze instead next year.

All very exciting, and very unexpected in Year 4 footie !

So, the Blues kicked off and started a rough and ready game. Lots of pushing and shoving on both sides until BOOOOM ! BOOOM ! 

The Rockers were 2 nil up by half time.

Seb's dad, Chris, saw Max stomp off and kick a few goalposts and strolled over to have a word in his ear while I rallied the rest of the troops for the second half. "Don't worry," I said, "these guys are very good, so just treat this as training. A bit of practice."

No chance. Second half the boys were on fire !! And whatever Chris De Carlo said to Max worked wonders . BOOM BOOM !! 2 goals from the skinny fella.
( chris later told me he'd told Max to score 3 goals in the second half, so I hope he wasn't disappointed ...)

2-2 ...

Then, DISASTER STRUCK ! A gentle nudge from one of the foxes, sent a Rocker spilling to the floor.

"REFEREEEEEE !" The Rockleaze coach screamed, "HE PUSHED HIM OVER !!!"

"Okay," I said meekly, looking slightly surprised, "If you like ?!" ... and blew my whistle for a free kick.
( Wearing my Santa hat as ref obviously hadn't purveyed the friendly nature I was hoping for the game )

So Rockleaze tee-ed up ... and WALLOP ! The free kick was in the back of our net.

3-2 Rockleaze ...

"Oh poo" I whispered under my breath. 

The game then entered what will now be affectionately known as 'brommy time'.

And in the 'final second' of Brommy Time, Kione ran the whole length of the field and scored an equalizer that, if anyone was unsure before, would be fully convinced now that the ref wasn't entirely impartial ...
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSS !!"

3-3

"PEEEEEEP !! " The whistle blew, "Game over everyone , Happy Christmas !!"



... and that was just the first game ...


The second game was a little tougher. Our sub had been taken home by his agent for an important photo shoot for the school magazine (maybe), and we had one little fox who got so upset, he just didn't want to play anymore.  Bless his dad, who managed to bribe/cajole/promise the earth to get him back on, meant we had a little fight back to get the score back to 5-3 after a proper footie battle. Seb and Kaylen were tireless in their pursuit of the ball, Lawrence's big clearances saved us on numerous occasions, Ed, as always, was dominating, skilful and fearless in goal, and Gabe , our lone striker, piled on the pressure every chance he got.

Max and Kione repeated their scoring partnership from the first match, but a big pat on the back goes out to the whole team, Rockleaze are fearsome opponents and we battled like warriors who thought they could defeat a million Persians.

Well done boys. These guys are the Empire, and altogether we scored 7 goals against them. 


We should rename ourselves "The Westbury Park Ewoks" ...

(That's a nerdy Star Wars joke, your kids will get it ...)