Epsom Eagles vs Farnborough FC (under 15) - SYL Prem Elite

After a good win in the cup last week our next challenge in the league was away to Epsom Eagles - a venue that produced a thrilling cup game between us last season. After a delayed kick off Epsom settled more quickly and were unlucky not to find themselves a goal up early on. 

It was Farnborough that took the lead through Ryan McCartney when Matt Cook won the ball high up the pitch and played a great through ball to Ryan who shot low and hard across the GK into the far corner. A great finish against the run of play. 

Just before half-time Epsom equalised when we gave a free kick away on the edge of our own box only for the Epsom centre back to put the free kick high into the top corner with a great shot. 

Half time and 1-1, with Rutty, James, Tom Baines and Dan onto replace Rory, Okey, Callum and Adam. 

The second half started with Epsom having a couple of great chances to go ahead but not able to finish them before a great team goal put us ahead. Rutty won the ball deep and played it to Scott. Scott found Matt Cook who played a great ball through to Ollie. Ollie turned and threaded a delightful through ball to Thomas Blackburn who scored with a shot hard and low giving the GK no chance. 

2-1 soon became 3-1 when Ollie ran from inside his own half beating 2 players and taking the ball around the GK before cooly slotting it home. 

We were definitely living up to our fast breaking reputation and indeed this was no different with our fourth goal when Okey, who had just come back on for Mikey, ran down the left and played the ball inside to Ollie. Ollie beat a player and threaded Tom Blackburn through who once again finished well giving the GK no chance. 

In between these goals, Epsom were still creating some good chances but just didn't have the same outcome in front of goal as we did. Ollie then scored his second of the goal and our 5th goal when he was put through by Ryan and cooly finished it into the far corner. Our goal to chances ratio was certainly good today and some of our attacking we breathtaking. 

Epsom pulled back 2 late goals to make the final score 5-3 to us. In a way the scoreline flattered us a little as Epsom certainly created enough chances but as they didn't put those chances away, we came away with a good victory. Some of our forward play as mentioned earlier was breathtaking. We do need to take better care of the ball but that's something we can work on in training. A great second half today and some memorable goals. Well done all. 

Match report: Surrey County Cup (under 15s) - Ash Utd vs Farnborough FC

After a disappointing result result at Carshalton last week the boys had to focus on the competition that we probably stand our best chance of winning any silverware in; the Surrey County Cup. The draw saw us against Ash Utd, who were unbeaten in the league so far this season and second in the Surrey Primary League; so were always going to be strong opponents. 

On a fresh Sunday morning the game started at pace with neither team really settling in the early minutes. The first chance of the game fell to Dan Muyambi when Ryan broke down the right only to pull the ball back which Dan hit really well but straight at the GK - a yard either side and it would have been a great goal. 

Ten minutes later the same two players combined to produce the first goal of the game when Dan ran at the centre half and hit the goal line drilling the ball across the box for Ryan to be on the end hitting his shot low and hard from close range. A well deserved opening goal. 

This started to settle Farnborough and we started passing the ball more and keeping possession. Ryan made it 2-0 when a good run from Mikey down the left, saw his pass finding Ollie who squared a great through ball to Ryan who finished low and hard across the GK again giving him no chance. 

With half time approaching the team looked comfortable at 2-0 and were starting to boss the game. With no further goals to report half-time saw Adam, Tom Blackburn, Ben and Rory come on for Callum, Tom Baines, Okey and Ryan. 

The second half started with the same routine as the first with Farnborough controlling the possession and playing some lovely football. Playing the game in the opponents half is the way ahead, although the two Ash forwards were fairly tasty, so we always had to be aware of the long ball forward. Rutty and Ben seemed to have this under control and were the start point for a numbers of our attacks. 

The team were playing really well now and Rory with the help of Matt and Scott started to stamp our authority of the midfield. Indeed it was a great run from Scott down the wing which provided us with the important killer goal when his cross was flicked on by Tom Blackburn for Ollie to finish well on the half turn. 

Callum then came back on when James took a hefty blow to the shin and Ollie made way for Mikey. Rory then produced a great run to beat the Ash defence and score our fourth goal to put the game beyond Ash. A super run and a great finish. 

Ryan then came back on for Dan. With the last corner of the game Ash pulled a goal back when Adam saved well from a shot only for the second ball to drop to the Ash number 10, who looped his shot over Adam into the far corner. Not keeping a clean sheet was the only negative of the game and the boys seem to have that confidence back and to have belief in their ability, playing some great football. A good performance and bring on the next round!!!

Surrey County Cup (under 15s): Ash Utd 1 - 4 Farnborough FC

After a couple of disappointing performances, it was good to see normal service resumed. The under 15s squad at Farnborough FC is stuffed full of players with huge potential and the coaching challenge is all about getting the best out of those players, so that they realise that potential.

Sometimes, results will go against us, but our coaching job is not to look at the league table, but to focus on the players, train hard and well and measure progress each week on the pitch. Today, versus a strong Ash Utd side, Farnborough FC showed just how good they are. Ash Utd are second in Surrey Primary Premier Division with one game in hand having won 4, drawn 1 and lost none - scored 11 goals, conceded 4. Today, our players doubled their "goals conceded" and played some lovely football, with sweeping moves across the pitch and through the thirds.

We made a slight adjustment to the system of play today - not because of results - but because in the last game we did not create as much as I would like to see from a team that likes to play attacking football and score more than the opposition (...as opposed to conceding less). If the players understand what we want to do better by switching to what they perceive as 4-3-3, then so be it. My view is that 11 players who are better than the opposition 11 players, should win. Kenny and I are certainly in agreement that the boys have developed sufficiently to start to solve technical challenges themselves - during a match if necessary. All seem more comfortable with this system of play though.

From a "goals conceded" perspective, out of the 6 conceded in the last 3 matches, 4 have been from corners/crosses and 2 from individual slips in the last third. We will continue to work on defending corners in training, but my long-term view is that football is a game of mistakes and every team will make individual errors at some point. Just as referees will make mistakes too (...some more than others, of course!)

To solve this, our mantra is "let's get better at what we do" and then an individual error will not matter, as we'll be 2 or 3 goals ahead. If we play the match in the opponents' half, then errors matter less, but 80 minutes of constant pressure is not very realistic and as Herbert Chapman once said: "You can attack for too long!"

So, marching on, we'll continue the work about when to press/when to drop as a unit (defending); counter attacking and the variety of attacking play. Kenny will develop the latter two themes in training tomorrow evening, while I attend the Licensed Coaches Conference at St. George's.

Let's continue our good representation at training with as few texts in the afternoon to me about absence as possible and I'm sure we'll achieve our objectives ;-)

21st October: Farnborough FC vs Epsom Eagles - SYL Premier Elite (under 15)

After two defeats in a row it was important that we bounced back with a good result today against last years Surrey Premier Elite Champions, Epsom Eagles. 

With the bad news that Josh O'Reilly may be out for a couple of months (egg chasing), the boys were chuffed when he turned up and it spurred them on to a quick start when Dan Myuambi closed down the GK after only 3 minutes. The GK's clearance hit Dan's charge down and looped up and into the net. Great work Dan. 

Epsom seemed to settle a bit after this and scored a great equaliser within minutes when their centre midfielder was given too much time and lofted his shot over Tom Baines from distance giving him no chance. 

Epsom then scored again when a great through ball found their quick centre forward who pushed it around Tom and followed up with a cool finish despite Rutty's last gasp challenge. Once Farnborough actually settled they started playing some good football and soon equalised when a long free kick from Ryan M was spilled by the Epsom GK for Dan M to slot home the fumble to equalise on about 30 minutes. 

Dan was then subbed for Scott as he tweaked his ankle scoring the second goal. Scott was straight in the thick of it when he played a good ball to Ryan down the right hand side. Ryan beat two players on the run and played a great ball to the far post which was met by a great Ollie header to give us the lead as half time approached. With no more chances the half-time score remained 3-2 to Farnborough. 

The half time team talk was all about working better as small units within the team and closing the ball down in pairs. Half time saw Adam, Okey and Tom Blackburn come on for Ryan, Callum and Tom Baines. 

Both teams created a couple of chances early in the second half but Epsom nearly equalised when a shot from long range looked like it was going in the top corner only for Adam to pull off a fantastic save at full length to push it round the post. 

As Epsom then pushed forward again Rory popped in to intercept a pass. He then ran from our 18 yard box, beat one player, dropped his shoulder to beat the next. As he crossed the half way line he popped the ball around the final defender running on to the ball at full pace he slotted it neatly past the GK from the edge of the box for a great individual goal. A fantastic solo effort. 

Dan then came back on for Ed who had worked tirelessly throughout the 65 minutes he was on and covered a lot of ground. Mikey then nearly scored his first goal for Farnborough as the ball arrived to him at the edge of the box but he couldn't control his shot pushing it wide of the post. This was Mikey's last part in what was a solid performance, when he was replaced by Ryan who came on for the last 10 minutes of the game. 

The final substitution of the game saw Callum come back on for Rory who had run himself into the ground with a great performance, although he has probably cost his Dad a £10 with an over zealous challenge in which he was booked for. 

The final moment of the game saw the Epsom centre half mis-time a header which fell to Thomas Blackburn who carried the ball into the box and slotted his shot past the GK to complete a great 5-2 victory and more importantly put us back on winning ways. 

This was a great performance by all and once again it's good to see the players concentrate on their football and not get involved in poor behaviour from opposition coaches and players. Well done fellas. A great performance and a good 3 points. 

We now have a rest next Sunday, so let's make the most of it and come back raring to go in our County Cup match versus Mitcham the following Sunday.

SYL Prem Elite versus Sandgate

Another very good contest today, against a confident Sandgate team, who knocked Leatherhead out of the League Cup last week.

The wind and slope on the pitch made it a tricky first half for the defence and goalkeeper, but at 1-0 we were very much still in it. Throughout the first half, we created some good chances and 1-0 would have been fair, however a well taken second goal made the task for the second half difficult. 

More movement and a harder work rate got us back into the game and on the whole we deserved to win and were much the better team. We didn't win, because we conceded two very good goals and didn't take those chances in the first half. Still, it's all part of the learning curve and we're learning fast.

We play the same team in the cup next week and I know the players will be right up for that one and will want to prove a point.

Sunday 23rd September 2012: home match vs Carshalton Athletic

Although it was great to put 8 goals passed Hawley last week, our performance vs Carshalton Athletic today was full of character and resilience in dreadful conditions. In the end our belief, desire and ability to pull together as a team, gave us the extra 2 goals we needed to win the match.

It was an important win in many respects, but mainly because it builds on the result last week and forms the basis of the consistent run that we need. Training and improving week-to-week is the key to our individual and collective development and results will follow.

Carshalton did start more quickly than us and we did ride our luck in the first 20 minutes. That said, we looked good on the break and inevitably that's where the first goal came from. The new system is enabling us to attack with at least 4 forwards every time and it's still exhilarating watching our attacking play.

Of course, effective forward play is only possible if we have midfield and defensive solidity when we do not have the ball and we are improving all the time in this respect, although high balls into the box remain a slight area for improvement (...we dealt with this quite well considering the conditions).

A key moment in the match was Adam's save when the score was 2-1. I'm not sure I've ever used the word "incredible" in this context, but not only did I think it was a goal all the way (as did the Carshalton forward and their entire bench), I didn't think he'd get anywhere near it, let alone turn it around the post! It was a key moment as at 3-1 down we would have struggled to come back.

So "marching on." Sandgate (away) next up in the league on Sunday, so let's train well (playing through the midfield is the topic this week) and build on this performance. We are still "work in progress" but we seem to be improving consistently. Let's keep it going in training. 

"The most important game is always the next one" as they say!

Farnborough FC (under 15s) vs Hawley Raiders

What a difference a week makes! After the disappointment of last week, a steady performance this week saw us come up against out local rivals Hawley. 

Bragging rights were certainly at stake and with the game starting quickly it was Farnborough who opened the scoring on 6 minutes. Rutty won the ball deep and carried it out playing a good ball to Dan Myuambi. Dan turned well and played a great through ball to Ryan who controlled it well and shot across the Hawley GK to put us 1-0 to the good. 

One soon became two when Scott B drilled in a great free kick which Rutty headed on only for Ollie to jump highest and score with a great headed finish. Yes Rutty and Ollie headed the ball. A great start and some good football being played. 

Before the watch said 10 minutes, we added a third when Ollie ran on to a good through ball to finish with a good left-footed shot giving the GK no chance. The next 10 minutes saw some great possession football being played by Farnborough with Ryan nearly adding a fourth by turning and hitting the cross bar with a great shot. 

Hawley being Hawley started to get back in the game and 2 goals in 10 minutes from their left winger brought them back into the match when we were caught in possession on both occassions. The good thing was that we didn't panic and we kept the ball well moving it quickly causing Hawley to do a lot of running and chasing. 

Half time 3-2. 

Changes at half time saw Tom replace Adam, Ben replace Rutty, Josh O'Relly replace Matt, Ed replace Dan, and Tom replace Callum. Within 2 minutes of the second half starting Tom B scored the important goal of the game when he turned about 20 yards out, took a touch and drilled a great shot into the far corner with the GK getting his hand to the ball but failing to keep it out. 

The next goal was goal of the game and contender for goal of the season when Ryan picked the ball up about 30 yards out at an angle to the goal. He hit a shot that went like an arrow straight into the top far corner with the GK not even moving his feet. An excellent strike to seal another good performance for Ryan. 

Dan M then came back on for Rory, who was struggling with blisters to make an impression straight away. Good play by Scott saw him pass a through ball to the feet of Tom B who played a first time ball through to Dan who saw his first shot saved by the GK only to finish the rebound. 

Matt Cook came back on for the injured Okey with Ollie coming off and then going back on for Ryan.

The last 10 minutes saw a goal for both teams when Dan M cooly slotted home his second and Hawley scored the final goal of the game with a good header from a great cross. 

At the final whistle the boys, although tired, were happy with a fantastic performance to gain their first points of the new season. Both Paul and I thought the boys were fantastic today and deserved to win by such a margin. Well done all and Happy Birthday to James, Scott and Ryan. 

Farnborough FC (under 15s) vs Hawley Raiders FC

Going into the season with a new squad, playing in one of the most competitive divisions in the country and only a couple of friendlies and training sessions together, I expected at least a month to adjust and develop a system and a way of playing that suited our new team. However, in our first friendly versus Oxford City I saw enough to encourage me that we might develop more quickly than first anticipated.

Two defeats followed, but there were some positives to take from both games and apart from a knock in confidence, I there wasn't much to worry about.

In our second league match today, we took apart our boggie team - Hawley Raiders - scoring EIGHT goals in the process. Some of those goals were superb and with players in our squad who have that level of ability, it makes the rest of the matches we have ahead of us very exciting indeed.

That said, we are still very much "work in progress." I'd like to eliminate all break away/counter attacking goals completely. We like possession and our game relies on it, but if we do lose the ball we must work very hard to win it back and certainly delay the forward momentum of the opposition until our defence is back "in balance."

This is the "beginning of the beginning," so we still have a lot to get through in training. Matches and results are only the result of hard work in training. That's where we will really make the difference. 

We'll finish our defending topics this week and move into transition and playing through the midfield. After that, we can move onto wide play and forward topics.

I'm pleased to say that Ben Bartlett (FA Regional Dveelopment Manager) will be taking a session with our squad on Monday. In my opinion, Ben is one of the best coaches in the country and it's great that he supports our squad with the these sessions.

So, marching on. We have Carshalton next Sunday and if we can use today's win as the basis to work from, we can get a run going and build some momentum, for the challenges ahead.

Pre-season vs Oxford City

A very pleasing start to the season with a 1-0 win over a technically competent Oxford City side who play against most of the academies on a regular basis.

We were bedding in a new system of play (4-4-2 when not in possession) in order to give us more of a compact shape defensively and asking the players to play in a variety of positions, which is great for their development and essential if we are to use the squad to it's full effect.

After just one training session, I was pleased to see the players applying what we said in the match and looking organised. As we develop this system further, it will make us hard to beat. With so many attacking players in the squad, I feel confident going forward that we will create good chances. I still want our philosophy to be to out-score the opposition, rather than concede less and this system will give us the balance we need.

The area where we did look a bit "pre-season," was where we tended to rush our final ball through to the forwards and the quality tended to suffer - especially from midfield. This was similar in terms of our end product, as we created the best chances and could have won 3-0 if we had taken our one-on-ones.

However, that will come and all in all a very useful exercise. Next up: Staines on Wednesday.

Pre-season

After a very successful first season with this team at Farnborough FC, playing in Surrey Youth League, the team will now play in the highest division (Premier Elite) in probably one of the toughest leagues in the country.

Many of the players who represented Farnborough FC so well at under 14 last season came through a robust trials process and have been joined by 4 new players, who excelled in the trials. We welcome Tom, Ben, Mikey and Rory to our squad.

Pre-season will start with weekly sessions to get players used to playing together again, develop a system of play that will suit us for the challenges ahead and develop a team spirit that will give us an edge. As players return from holiday at the end of August, we will increase the training sessions to 2 per week and introduce friendlies before our first league match on 9th September 2012.

The emphasis for this squad will be developing players into the best they can be. The regular twice weekly sessions run by qualified UEFA coaches will be supplemented by outside coaches to give a slightly different perspective and variety. Specialist goalkeeping sessions will run as we did last season. A ratio of 2 training sessions to one match is consistent with FA recommendations.

Players will supplement this with school matches and in some cases district matches. Farnborough FC must be prioritised ahead of all other football activity and we will judge the players on how well they've developed at the end of the season when we select for under 16.

We've always had great support from parents and they are an important part of the set-up. System of play, player position and selection are at the discretion of the coaches.

Season 2012/13 promises a lot and some things are already guaranteed: it will be great fun and the players will improve enormously. As long as that happens, everything else should fall into place and winning football matches should be a consequence. However, there are some good sides and we will have to get to a very high standard and produce that form consistently to beat them.

Let's see, but the next part of our journey starts next week. Good luck!