Under 10's Match Reports
January 2011
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Saturday 8th January 2011 versus Castle JFC at home
With no matches since November due to the holiday period and the inclement weather, it was a joy to be able to get the fixtured match against Casle JFC played.

I sometimes wonder whether we U'10s parents (and grandparents) fully appreciate how much time and effort is put in by Mark to get the pitch playable for matches. This week for instance Mark was at the High School pitch on Friday pm to check the pitch only to find a fresh fall of light snow had covered it. Undeterred, he brushed away the covering of snow only to find the pitch markings had all but disappeared and proceeded to re mark the pitch. A phone call was made to the referee to report the pitch as playable (if conditions stayed the same) and thank goodness no more snow or freezing temperatures overnight meant Mark could inform us that the match was on.

PSFC U'10s can start a little sluggish after a long lay off, but a good training session in the week certainly got us off to a better start this time. The usual bitter wind was prevailing and sweeping across the High School pitch and gloves, snoods and ear muffs were the order of the day and I also noticed one or two players appeared to have an extra layer of clothing under their shirts - but I don't think Gary noticed!

Castle were proving to be a hard nut to crack this time and attack after attack was being repelled by the Castle defence as Mark and Gary rang the changes to try and find the combination that would prise open the determined Castle defence. By half time the score remained at 0 - 0. The second half was only a few minutes old when Jack found Lewis with a ball into the area and Lewis slotted home for the first goal. Whew! what a relief as Castle were proving they too could push forward and Tom and Cory had to be at their best to repel one or two surges forward by the Castle attackers. Cory continues to get better and better with each game and revels in having a little (not too much!) goalkeeping to do just to keep his hand(s) in. Tom also appears to enjoy the challenge when under a bit of pressure. Tommy, Travis, Harvey, Danny and Oliver were all doing their jobs well and it wasn't long before another determined run by Danny, finished off by a right foot volley into the Castle net to put the score at 2 - 0.

When the final whistle sounded we supporters all agreed that we had enjoyed a very good football match and were very nearly warmed, despite the freezing wind, by the performance of these U'10s Swifts. Tom turned in a captain's performance and was deservedly voted Man of the Match. We had heard that many Tamworth pitches were deemed unplayable and after this result of our game in hand, we may well have drawn level with Boley again for second place.

Saturday 15th January 2011 versus Stonydelph at home
An unscheduled trip to Devon meant I was unable to watch any football on Saturday so this report it based on an after match interview with the PSFC u'10s Manager.

Mark reports "There is surely a no more unforgiving venue on a cold,windy, Saturday morning than the Polesworth High School football field when a biting cold wind is sweeping across the unsheltered expanse of open countryside. The pitch however was in excellent condition so the pre-match talk was all about keeping the ball on the floor and finding each other with simple passes.

Stoneydelph won the toss and surprisingly chose to play with the wind enabling us to play against the wind for the first half just as captain Tom would have chosen had he won the toss.
The Swifts produced as good a half of football as we have done so far this season and we reached the half time break with a 3 goals to 0 lead. The Swifts appeared to benefit having played last week with no signs of the "rustiness" that was evident against Castle JFC and perhaps it was Stoneydelph who were rusty through not having played since November.

With the hard work done playing against the wind the Swifts were unable to reproduce their first half excellence after the break but still played well enough to score 3 more goals without reply.
Stoneydelph were restricted to only two chances and they were from free kicks that did not threaten our goal. The game was being well refereed by Josh Culfe who allowed the play to flow with very few stoppages and every Swifts player gave a great performance and although Cory wasn't called upon too often, his handling and kicking in the windy conditions was first class and he managed to keep his eighth clean sheet in 10 league matches.

Both Jack and Danny scored hat-tricks with Jack getting the reward for his usual tremendous work rate up front combined with his natural predatory instinct. Danny's first two goals were the result of clever positioning and he completed his hat-trick when he showed quick feet in a crowded penalty box to coolly slot home and earn himself the Man of the Match award.

Team captain Tom also deserves a mention for another determined performance in mid-field winning plenty of ball and then using it wisely to set up chances and almost capping off his display with a goal after a very good 30m run. Tom's move into mid-field has been greatly assisted by knowing he has a good defender behind him and both Travis and Tommy shared that duty today. Well played lads and keep it up in the next game against Wood End next Saturday at home.

Unfortunately I'm in Devon again and will miss another game but with the forecasted return of the icy conditions I will offer my thoughts for the players and especially the spectators whilst they are watching the game (let's hope there is very little wind!). Mark has promised to let me interview him after next weeks game so that you may keep upto date with the team's performance as they prepare to meet Boley Park on Saturday 29th Jan when I plan to be there.


Saturday 22nd January 2011 versus Wood End Tigers at Home
This match was postponed due to the frozen High School pitch.
 
This was great news for me as it would have been the second match running that I would have missed as I was down South in Devon (it was freezing hard down there also on Saturday) so now at least I get to see this fixtured game later in the season.
 
Next Saturday 29th January 2011 is another home game, this time Boley Park who are presently vying with us for 2nd spot in the league, are the visitors and, if past games are anything to go by, this promises to be another evenly matched game.

Hopefully we will have a full squad and Mark & Richard will have put them through a tough, hard but motivational training session on the astroturf in order that they are "first out of the blocks" against Boley. I intend to be there to see what I'm sure will be a great game and one that we will "get something from".

Check out the Major Cup draw (Tam Junior League web site) to see that we have a bye into the next round and then meet Cottage Farm Rangers in the second round from the South Division and then could meet the winner of Coton Green Cougars and Cottage Farm Rangers in the quarter final. Could this be the year we put some silverware in the Trophy Cabinet up Birchmoor Club or have I just jinxed it?
 
UNDER 10s MAJOR CUP
Second Round
13. Polesworth Swifts v Cottage Farm Rangers
14. Coton Green Cougars v Cottage Farm FC

Quarter Final
Winner Match 13 v Winner Match 14

Semi-Final
To be drawn when quarter finals are completed

Saturday 29th January 2011 versus Boley Park at home
This match was postponed due to the High School pitch being unplayable due to icy conditions.
 
Next game is therefore against Deer Park (a) at Moorgate School. Deer Park have had some good results lately and are in 4th place in the league so we can expect a competitive game this coming week end. We all hope that conditions improve such that we can get back to playing and watching football.


Granddad

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