Match Report - 30.3.14 - Bournemouth Electric 3 Greenfields 1

Bournemouth Electric U16's 3 Greenfields U16's 1

Sunday 30^th March, 2014

Venue: Bournemouth Electric Sports Ground, Bournemouth

It's like that phone call you never want to make; that job that needs doing, but that fills you with dread because it's more labour than love. That's how I felt about writing this report. Another game, another defeat, another write up.

The irony is that as the first half progressed, we played some lovely stuff, carving out chance after chance, but never quite managing the killer touch. Trouble is, by the time we started to play in this fashion, we were already 2 goals adrift. An annoyingly simple goal to defend - a through ball that we were out-muscled on, and which their striker finished easily - followed by a rebound off a defender that fell rather fortuitously into the same player's path and which left him with an easy finish - and we were left with a distinctly uphill task. During our purple patch, we pulled a goal back on 20 minutes when Sam neatly headed home Luke's corner, and proceeded to open them up on numerous occasions, particularly down their right flank, where Seb and Alex, ably supported by the impressive Charlie at left back, caused all sorts of problems. Although our shooting boots deserted us for the most part, we were also let down today by some decidedly dodgy decisions by the referee and linesman. None more so than just before the break, when our incessant pressure appeared to have paid off with an incisive finish by Seb for an equalizer, only for it to be ruled out by the assistant's flag who wrongly ruled the 'goal' offside. It clearly wasn't as Seb was at least a yard onside and it doesn't matter that Jeremy was, because he wasn't interfering with play. Thoughts of opticians appointments and creative ideas about where to put his flag abounded as the half came to an end with us feeling hard done by and still trailing 2-1.

It would be great to say that we just picked up where we left off at the beginning of the 2nd half, but although we huffed and puffed, our momentum had gone. Half time came too soon for us. The nearest we came to scoring was when Luke hit the side netting on 50 minutes, but its difficult to recall much else in the way of chances. Other 'notables' included a great save from Matt in goal, deputizing for the injured Jake, point blank from a header; an accomplished performance from Paul at the back, returning after injury and Matt, rushing out of his goal with great gusto and attempting to boot the ball as far away as he could to give him time to get back in his goal, only to see with horror the ball bounce back off the fence to one of their players waiting to take a quick throw on!

Finally, on 65 minutes, you knew it wasn't going to be our day when the referee wrongly gave a penalty when their striker fell over without much encouragement, and the resulting spot kick put paid to any thoughts of a comeback. Thanks Ref, nice one. As one of my fellow sufferers on the touchline remarked, when Tom upended their striker in the area later on and there was no reaction from the same official - the failure to award a penalty on this occasion, told you all you needed to know about the first decision. Whatever the quibbles though, we lost 3-1 with two bad decisions, an unlucky break, a poorly defended goal, and lots of wayward finishing.

However, I still believe we have good players and after 2 excellent performances against Moordown, and a superb half an hour today before the break, notwithstanding poor finishing, we certainly have the ability to perform against quality opposition. Every reason then to look forward to games against Branksome home and away!

Match Report - 16.3.14 - Greenfields 3 Moordown 2

Greenfields U16's 3 Moordown Under 16's 2
Date: Sunday 16^th March 2014
Venue: King George V Playing Fields, Ferndown

If last time out (the 6-1 defeat to Bournemouth Sports) was another indication of our highly fluctuating season, with it's incredible peaks and troughs, today's magnificent win and performance against champions Moordown (this time on our own turf; what is it about today's opponents that brings out the best in us?), I felt, laid down a new marker in our season; a moment where all the hard work, all the ups and downs, all the highs and lows, came together and sent out a message that proclaimed 'we are a team to be reckoned with'. As assistant coach Jamie said after the match, we've found our level and now we can't let it drop. I don’t think we will.

As early as the 5th minute, we stamped our authority on the match and never let go of the reigns from there. Jeremy, whose physical presence and tireless running (up to the point where his hamstring could bear no more!) was a huge thorn in Moordown's side all afternoon, powered on to a through ball, brushed aside two challenges, and bore down on goal, emphatically finishing low into the net. 1-0, and all of us on the sidelines thought 'it's just a case of how many'......er......ok, not quite, more a case of 'how long to go?!' But we of little faith! This is the new Greenfields model; and to show that the opening goal was no flash in the pan, on 10 minutes, Sam was sent clear, only to see his shot saved, but gleefully ramming home the rebound to send us in to a 2-0 lead, and very much into uncharted waters. But we didn't look out of place.

Yes, Moordown rallied. Why wouldn't they? They are not champions for nothing. Jake made two fine and notable saves in this period, the first on 15 minutes, low to his right from close range, and the second on 20 minutes from a long range effort. When our defence was finally breached on 25 minutes - a long cross from the left eluding Charlie's leap and falling to their striker who struck a sweet half volley into the bottom left hand corner - we treated the impostor of disaster just the same. No, we were not about to lose our heads.

2-1 at the break then, and more of the same please boys. They didn't disappoint. On 50 minutes, we were awarded a free kick just outside the area. Seb and Macca had a word with each other and had obviously cooked up something. Seb duly produced a deft chip over the wall for Macca to run on to, and he was duly upended by the panicked defender. The sight of the referee pointing to the spot, was a joy to behold; and Blessings never looked like missing it. 3-1, and this was dreamland!

We defended as though our lives depended on it. Just ask Charlie who was on the receiving end of a punch from keeper Jake (next time the ball, please Jake!) and was out for the count for 5 minutes. We did concede a second when Tom P upended Greenfields old boy Harry in the area (the penalty duly dispatched with ease), but again we didn't let it bother us.


Everyone deserves a mention, aside from those already included above; substitute Michael, who hasn't had a huge amount of playing time, came on with 15 minutes to go and ran his heart out, tackled and tracked back, and made some important passes; Tom M at right back, normally a right winger, was excellent in his new role; Blessings protected the back 4 with utter determination; Seb's vision and pace, as well as unrelenting hard work, was superb; Matt completely commanding at the centre of defence, and skillfully assisted by Tom P with his pace and guile; Charlie was coolness personified, even if nearly decapitated!; Alex drove the team on from midfield; Pa Madou made an utter nuisance of himself as a late sub; Luke ran and ran for the team, also as a second half sub; and spare a thought for Paul, ruled out with a hamstring injury and a real stalwart for the team in recent months, but who still wanted to support from the sidelines. Finally, a word for manager Mick too. He set up the team superbly and used the subs well.

No doubt about it, a team performance that will live long in the memory, and a great result to boot. Bring it on!

Match Report - 9.3.14 - Bournemouth Sports 6 Greenfields 1

Bournemouth Sports U16's 6 Greenfields U16's 1
Date: Sunday 9th March
Venue: Chapel Gate

So, the Greenfields roller coaster rattles on relentlessly. Not satisfied in producing a Jekyll and Hyde showing across two games - something that has been a feature of our season (regardless of the results) - today we even did it in the duration of 90 minutes!

If ever there was a first 25 minutes to forget, it was today. I'll be brief with the gory details; 5-0 down, with 2 goals resulting from 2 huge drop kicks from their keeper, which we never came close to defending like we can; 3 other goals where we were opened up too easily. Maybe it was the weather; perhaps we were lulled into thinking it was a pre-season friendly, such was the effect of the sun beating down in mid-summer like fashion. Don't get me wrong - Bournemouth Sports are a good side, but we didn't make it very hard for them to look good.

Then, just as we were wondering if we would run out of fingers to count how many goals Sports would get by the end of the match, we found some semblance of inner strength to respond in the manner we did last week. It started when we conceded a penalty after Matt's mistimed tackle brought their striker crashing down. Jake duly kept out the resulting spot kick, which in truth, wasn't well placed. For the remaining 10 minutes of the half, we rediscovered some fight and were rewarded with a consolation goal on 39 minutes. Seb did well with an improvised cross with his right foot, which fell to Sam, whose initial effort crashed against the post, only to rebound straight back to him to finish comfortably the second time around.

We began the second half as we ended the first - not exactly pinning them back with unrelenting pressure, but more than holding our own. It was even something of a surprise when Sports netted their 6th on 65 minutes, after we were opened up down the left. The only chance I can recall us creating in the second half was 10 minutes from time, Matt's shot not really troubling the keeper. But we certainly toiled hard and the fact that we only lost the 2nd half 1-0, tells its own story of the stark contrast in each 45 minutes performance - 'its a game of two halves', it has been said.

The nature of this game is to accept winning and losing as a team, so I have refrained from naming two many individuals (beyond some basic facts) in what was overall, a disappointing display. But we have good players and we can produce good team performances. No better opportunity to show this again than in our next game - Moordown at home. Let's keep positive.

Match Report 2.3.14 - Moordown 2 Greenfields 2

Moordown U16's 2 Greenfields U16's 2
Sunday 2^nd March 2014
Venue: Pelhams Park

'Winston Churchill, Maggie Thatcher, Martin Peters, Bobby Charlton........your boys took one hell of a beating!!' Alright, to get some perspective, it was only Moordown away, in the BYFL, and a 2-2 draw (not a victory), but the imagery that is conjured up in the midst of such a gutsy and spirited performance, gets the imagination running wild! Quite simply, we were superb to a man....but lets not get ahead of ourselves.....We have to bear in mind that Moordown are the reigning league champions; that we haven't earned a legitimate point since the second game of the season; that when we have played well before we have still come off second best in terms of the result; everything today pointed to a home banker. Ok, the scene is set...

In quite atrocious conditions with driving rain and a swirling wind against us in the first half, we started brightly. We pushed them back in that first 10 minutes or so, and found each other with crisp passes; they had to be crisp as the mud bath formed nicely as the half progressed. Moordown had their moments and Jake made a couple of fine saves to keep the scores level. But just when we seemed to have weathered the storm (no pun intended), we went a goal down in annoying circumstances. A corner from the right was taken short and a cross came over to the far post, was nodded back to the edge of the 6 yard box, and their striker couldn't miss. Although Moordown had built up some pressure, they hadn't created any clear cut chances up to that point, so the goal was out of character with the match; it was the one and only time that our superb defending deserted us.

But today's Greenfields model was built of sturdy stuff, and not for the final time in this match, we responded magnificently. On 32 minutes, after persistent work by Sam, Jeremy was sent clear through the inside right channel, and as the keeper came out, he drilled his shot low and hard into the far corner. 1-1 and we finished the half the stronger of the two sides.

We were clearly 'up for it', so all the more galling that we found ourselves 2-1 down within literally seconds of the restart. Their right winger rather fortuitously found the ball in his path after a ricochet and as he bore down on goal, he got his shot away, only to see it hit the base of Jake's right hand post. Unfortunately for us, it rebounded straight to their striker, who finished easily into the empty net. A cruel blow, but still we came out fighting. We found it hard to create any clear openings, but the effort levels went through the roof. In midfield, Alex was superbly industrious; Blessings was a dogged man mountain alongside him, whilst at the back, Charlie, Matt, Paul and Tom P were magnificent. Seb was a constant threat, Jeremy ran himself into the ground, Sam worked his socks off and with our subs Tom, Luke, Pa Madou, Michael and Jake playing an able supporting role, the performance was a joy to behold. But if forced to choose one player who completely personified our performance today, it was Macca. 'Never say die' wasn’t the half of it!

And now to the best bit.....despite completely outplaying Moordown at times, and defending like a team of Terry Butchers at other times, with a minute left, we still trailed 2-1. Enter Macca from stage right. Michael laid the ball off nicely into Macca's path, but at 30 yards out, the odds were stacked against him - not a bit of it. Pouncing on the ball and with sheer force of will taking him past two players, he unleashed an absolute screamer which, from where I was standing, you just knew had their keeper in trouble. As the ball fairly flew into the top right of the goal, the sense of justice and fist pumping excitement just transcended everything. As every player mobbed Macca in the centre of the mud (Matt getting a bloody nose in the process!), the silence from Moordown and their players was delicious.


There was barely time for the restart and as the referee blew the final whistle, you knew we had fully deserved a highly creditable draw. Brilliant - utterly brilliant. 

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