Headstone Manor YFC

Weymouth Tour - 1st and 2nd May 2004

Thanks to David Prendeville for his report of the Under 10s first tour to Weymouth over the Bank Holiday weekend ...

Day One

Match 1: Headstone Manor 0 Charville Athletic 0

Headstone Manor travelled to Weymouth on their first tour and were suprised to meet Charville Athletic from the Hayes and District League in their first match. Headstone started slowly and for the first couple of minutes there was nothing between the teams. The pairing of Carl Power and James Lane in the defence was impressive and they kept the Charville forwards quiet.This allowed the midfield of James Brophy, Ryan Hayes, Sammy Hawes to develop the game and by the second half Headstone were dominating, Michael Prendeville and Ryan Hayes came close to breaking the deadlock. When the final whistle went Headstone left the pitch feeling that they should have taken all three points. The game was played in a very friendly manor.

Match 2: Headstone Manor 1 Testwood 1

Headstone's second game was agaisnt Testwood who play in a local league in Southampton. Testwood's manager before the game had been very confident since his team had dominated their League. Headstone started slowly again, but started to press Testwood back into their own half . Rory Carolyn in Headstone's goal had very little to do. Michael Prendeville broke the deadlock with a well taken goal following an excellent passing move between Ryan and James. Headstone continued to press for the second goal and Sammy was unlucky when he hit the bar. Testwood equalised after a defensive mix up that left Rory exposed. Headstone responded well but could not get the goal they deserved even with the fresh legs of Conor, George, and Joe. The final score was 1-1 with the boys feeling that they had dropped 2 points.

Match 3: Headstone Manor 1 Little Thurrock A 0

Headstone got straight into their game and following a flowing move starting from Rory in goal to Joe Cowan who found George in midfield and finally to Michael up front who finished with great style, Headstone were ahead after 2 mins. Little Thurrock A came back strongly and were by far the strongest team we had played so far. Ryan Hayes was outstanding in his captain role encouraging the boys whilst making some outstanding tackles. Carl and James in defence continued their fine form whilst Rory in goal pulled off some outstanding saves. The final whistle went with Headstone winning 1-0 and the boys leaving the pitch knowing that they had been in a tight match.

Match 4: Headstone Manor 1 Upminster 2

The last match of the day was against Upminster, the winners would be top of the league after day one. Headstone started slowly and for the first 2 mins looked the weaker of the two sides Headstone reacted well and following a defence splitting pass from Conor, James Brophy scored an excellent goal. Headstone took control in the second half with Rory looking in control between the posts. Carl and James were strong in the tackle and Michael, Ryan, Sammy or James could have made it two. With two minutes to go 3 substitutions were made and this was a costly decision. The balance of the team was lost and Upminster scored two quick goals.The boys left the pitch distraught felling that they had let it the result slip.

Day Two

Day two started with the boys knowing that if they won both their games they would make it to the final.

Match 5: Headstone Manor 2 Little Thurrock B 1

Headstone came out all fired up and pushed Little Thurrock B back into their own half. Within 2 mins James lane found James Brophy out wide and Headstone were 1-0 up. Headstone were playing their best football. The passing moves were finding space and Michael, Ryan or Carl could have made it two. On the rare occassion that Little Thurrock got into the half they were quickly dealt with by the defence. Following a silly corner Headstone conceded a silly penalty to make it 1-1. The boys knew that a draw would not be good enough so they pressed Thurrock back into their half. Time and time again opportunities were missed and it looked as if it was all over. Sammy Hawes with a minute to go took the ball around two players and calmly slotted the ball into the corner, the team went mad, the crowd went mad, the manager went mad, 2-1. At the final whistle the referee applauded the boys as did the manager of Little Thurrock.

Match 6: Headstone Manor 1 Bovingdon 0

Bovingdon from the Watford league were the draw specialists and with some extremley large boys they were physically the biggest. Headstone attacked from the kick off. Michael and James were causing their defence major problems. Ryan was outstanding against far bigger boys with the help of James Lane and Carl the physical battle was won. Headstone's passing game was too fast for Bovingdon and Rory in goal did not see the ball in the first half. The score was still 0-0, we had hit the post, the cross bar and missed two easy tap ins. Bovingdons fans stated they could not believe they were still in the game. Two minutes remained, one point would not be good enough, the boys could not believe they had not been able to score. To the boys credit they did not lose focus and this was rewarded with a James Brophy goal, everyone went made. At the finally whistle the Bovingdon manager expressed his pleasure at the way and manor the boys had played.

The Final: Headstone Manor 0 Upminster 0 aet
Upminster win 3-2 on penalties

The boys felt confident that they could turn the result around from the previous day. The boys were asked to assist in the selection and they all showed great team spirit and maturity in selecting the starting line up. Upminster came out flying and pushed Headstone back. Rory was again outstanding in goal with his defence of Carl and James working hard. The midfield were forced to defend deep with Ryan again taking on the captain's role leading from the front. Sammy and James responded, Michael was forced back into the midfield looking for the ball. The boys were glad to hear the half time whistle.

At half time all the boys discussed the first half, they knew they could play better. The second half was the complete opposite. The midfield of Ryan, James and Sammy were first to every ball, Carl and James Lane in the defence were keeping the forwards under control and Michael's runs upfront were causing endless trouble. The second half belonged totally to Headstone. At the final whistle honours were shared. Extra time of 3 minutes was to follow.

The kick off saw Michael take the ball straight at Upminster and go around four of their players, Michael passed the ball square and George was unlucky not to beat the goalkeeper with his shot. Headstone were unable to convert their chances and the penalty shoot out was to follow. The boys looked very nervous, three boys would need to take the penalties. It was clear that some did not want to.

James Lane, Ryan and Michael stepped forward. Upminster went first with an outstanding penalty. James walked up looking very nervous but this did not stop him taking an excellent penalty. By the second penalty there was over 200 people watching. Rory managed to get a hand to it but it went in 2-1. Ryan took the next and calmly slotted the ball into the top corner 2-2. Upminster scored the third penalty and that left Michael to take the third. Michael walked up and as their keeper saved his shot Michael fell to his knees.

At this point it might have seemed over but what happened next made the management team extremely proud. Firstly the Upminster manager stopped his boys celebrating in front of the boys since he knew how close it was and how upset the boys were. Secondly all our boys without prompting went over to Michael and consoled him, at no point did any of them blame him, they were all just concerned how upset he was. The Upminster Manager then arranged for both teams to mix together for one photo.

As part of the management team I would firstly like to extend our thanks to the Upminster Team for their sportsmanship, and I would like to thank all the boys for the support and effort that they put in over the weekend. The parents should feel proud of the way that they behaved they are a credit to the Club and their parents.