My first view of the Reserve team for a few weeks, as mentioned before they are in a tough league and have had some heavy defeats. This week they had a cup game against Old Parks who are well placed in the league. We probably had our strongest team out and put up a great display of football showing great spirit and winning the game 3-1 It was good to see one of our returning veterans Reggie score two goals.
The 1st XI travelled to Old Manorians in the AFA Senior Cup, a small pitch and impossible wind were blamed for our 3-2 defeat. The 3rd XI had a good win 5-0 away to HSBC, yet again you know who claiming a Hat Trick. The 4th XI beat AP 6-1 in a closer game than the score suggests.They were 2-1 with 10 minutes to go, but finished well and forced AP into conceding 2 Own Goals. Yet again their talisman Shane Killick managed to score a brace. The 5th XI continued their rich vein of form with a 3-1 win against Old Lyonians to keep them top of their division. The 6th XI lost a hard fought battle 2-4 to Old Stationers 4s. The 7th XI had no game this week. A review of the season so far leaves us with three teams in first place and one team in second place in their respective leagues keep up the good work and we can make strides in our ambition to return all our sides to their top divisions. WTYBG
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Absent this Saturday with pressing engagement at Newbury Racecourse.
Our horse won, sorry if I did not tip you up. Meanwhile on the field of play the 1st XI returned to winning form with a 3-1 win at AFC Oldsmiths and more importantly, no bookings, it can be done can't it. We always knew it would be a tough season for the Res XI, they have lost most members of last seasons promotion winning team to the first team and some weeks are playing stronger teams than the 1st XI. They badly need help, so if anybody from last years 1's and Reserves are not playing at moment, this is the time to show your Norsemen spirit and make yourself available. This week they lost 7-2 to Old Owens. The 3rd XI had a good win 5-2 at Carshalton, with their talisman claiming another Hat Trick after being 2-0 down. A great effort lads. The 4th XI had a good 4-1 win over local rivals Winchmore Hill in what was a tough game. The 5th XI had a good 2-1 win in the AFA Cup against Aloysians, but sadly lost Andreas Pavlou to a badly broken elbow, which will put him on the sidelines for sometime. We wish him a speedy recovery. The 6th XI had a heavy 4-0 defeat at high flying Old Parks. The 7th XI lost narrowly to AP 4-3 in a game which had to be switched to Church St Rec due to 3 pitches being unplayable on the main ground. Not much to report on this week with Reserves, 3rd XI and 4th XIs having no game for various reasons.
The 1st XI had the classic banana skin match against Old Blues sitting at the bottom of the league. We had a strong team out with the talented Charnce Dash returning on the bench, we started slowly going behind early to a deflected goal and a penalty, we came back into the game and hit the post twice before conceding a soft third goal to go in 3-0 down. The second half we dominated and were only able to pull one goal back. This was a case of underestimating our opposition who will rapidly rise in the table. It must be said that the Ref Geoff Blackmore had an excellent game demonstrating that not every foul is worth a yellow. The inter club League fixture between the 5th XI & 6th XI was won 4-1 by the 5s. Both of these sides are well organised by their respective skippers and the 5s continue to keep their place at the top of the league. The 7th XI lost a hard fought battle 3--1 to Old Garchonians 5th XI. Another beautiful afternoon attracted our biggest crowd of the season, 5.
The first team travelled South to take on HSBC, that's Midland Bank to older readers, they drew 2-2 in an apparently ill tempered match I hear, rumours of a bad referee but, we cannot afford to get involved in these sort of situations. The Reserves played Old Wilsonians and lost 5-0, reinforcing what I said last.week about they being in a very strong league they tried hard but were beaten by a better side. The 4's had a good 7-3 win over AP. The 5's beat Lyonians 2-1 and the 7's drew 1-1 against Old Stationers. In all a mixed week we are still not as strong as we would like, both in playing strength and more importantly commitment, but we have a good committee who are working hard to resolve these problems. COYN After the excitement of the Reserves winning the Championship of the SAL Intermediate 2nd division last Tuesday evening, this last Saturday went out with a whimper with only two games played.
The 1st XI drawing 1-1 away to Ibis and the 3rd XI winning 3-0 away to Old Stationers. The 3rd XI lie in wait of other results, but look unlikely to gain promotion having led the league for most of the season. There is only one match left to be played, the 1st XI at home to Lloyds the third division champions at 6.00pm on the May Day Bank holiday. I think the club has the potential to be successful in the near future my ideal would be a 1st and Res XIs combined squad of say 30 players with two coaches involved to take training and watch the matches. I think we have the players to make this a strong combination maybe this last game would be an opportunity to blood some players who have not played in the 1st XI this season. We always need new players and unlike some clubs who have strong connections with Universities and schools we are reliant on the Internet and introductions from members. We have a great product to sell so let's see if we can each bring along one new player for next season. Next Friday is the Annual Dinner, we are one of the few clubs who still have one so it will be great to keep this old tradition alive, so I hope to see you all there |