Note from the President 04/06/20

When I wrote my note on the 2nd January reflecting on the first half of the season and wishing you all a happy new year I could not have envisaged that we would be unable to complete the season and not be able to celebrate it at our dinner and presentation evening.
Football apart my first consideration is that all members have managed to keep well, avoided infection and that members and their families are coping during these most difficult of times.
As most of you will be aware as a consequence of the pandemic the FA (our football governing body) announced at the end of March that all leagues below national level would end with immediate effect. The Southern Amateur League had no choice but to follow this directive and member clubs voted to completely null and void this seasons (19/20) competition. The decision with regard the Southern Amateur League and Amateur Football Alliance Cups has still to be made but as we have an interest in the AFA Senior Cup for the first time in 29 years one sincerely hopes that we will have the opportunity to play this match. Unfortunately both the 5th and 6th teams were probably denied the honour of winning their respective divisions as a result of the abandonment of the league competition, This leads me on to a brief resume of the season. The situation of the Club's teams at the closure was as follows:

 Team     P     W     D    L    GF     GA    GD     Position.
 
1st         11    2      2     7     15     20    -5         10th of 11
Res       12    6      1     5     36     35     1           3rd of 8
4th         10    7     1     2     39     19    20          3rd of 10
5th         13  10     0     3     58     31    27          1st of 8 
6th         15  10     1     4     47     27    20          1st of 8
7th         13    6     1     6     32     31      1          4th of 8

The 1st XI who returned to the top division of the SAL following their magnificent 18/19 season in the second division found things somewhat more difficult at the higher level and as is borne out by their goal difference unfortunately lost games by the odd goal. However they did have games in hand and were confident of consolidating their senior division status. They were to a certain extent victims of their own success in getting behind with their league fixtures having reached the final of the AFA Senior Cup beating Old Meadonians  3-1 in the semi final on the last day of play on March 14th. This has been a terrific performance to secure our first appearance in this prestigious competition since we were the winners in 1990/1. Our opponents will be either Polytechnic or Nottsborough. To compliment this they  have also reached the final of the Middlesex FA  Intermediate Cup where they are due to play Hilltop FC. It is hoped that both these finals will be played, conditions allowing, at the beginning of next season. In the AFA Middx/Essex Cup they lost to Old Garchonians and in the SAL Senior Cup were beaten in the third round by Bank of England, Club Captain, Jack Robery, our very consistent keeper is making a speciality of making vital saves in penalty shoot outs. Jake Lawrence led the side by example and great energy and the boys played well.
Also many thanks and congratulations to our coaches Gary Hallowell and Gary Casey for their time and dedication.
The Reserves coached by Charlie Casey, part of the Casey dynasty, including brother George and captained by Jake Grant were always a good watch. Although they were not as successful in the second half of the season they may well have attained promotion which they seemed eager to push for. After starting the season as the 3's and taking on the challenge of becoming our reserves, an accomplishment to step up, should be admired. Charlie was keen to get the side promoted and wanted his side in the top intermediate division.
In the cups they were beaten by Old Parks in the second round of the SAL Intermediate Cup, NUFC Oilers in the third round of the AFA Intermediate Cup and Old Manorians in the Middx/Essex Intermediate Cup. 

The 4th XI skippered by the versatile and long standing member Dan Cutting had a good competitive season and with eight league games remaining were also in with a shout of promotion having only been beaten twice in the league. They also did very well in their cups being knocked out of the SAL Minor Cup 3-1 by Old Parks in the quarter final and are to be congratulated on reaching the final of the AFA Minor Cup where in a very close game they were beaten 3-2  by Shene Old Grammarians 3's in extra time.  
The 5th X1 captained by Bobby Lopez were riding high and with one game to play in their division were likely champions having scored 74 goals in their league and cup matches. In their SAL Cup they lost in the quarter final to Old Lyonians 6-4 and in their AFA Cup lost to Old Meadonians. A special mention and congratulations should go to young Marco Koaba who netted a phenomenal 49 goals during the season, which may be a Club record.
The 6th XI led by seasoned campaigner Paul Michael were also enjoying an excellent season and with 6 games remaining were top of their division. In their cups they did not meet with the same success being eliminated in the first rounds by HSBC ((SAL) 4-2 and Old Meadonians (AFA) 3-2.
The 7th XI skippered by the ever enthusiastic Darren Roberts enjoyed another competitive and sociable season in what is quite a strong division. Although a number of the squad are not as fast as they once were they show great spirit and would have finished mid table. In their SAL Cup they failed to reach the knock out stage by one point.
The Youth section once again thrived with the U 11's reaching their League Cup Final and the U 16's, U13's and U 12 Blues all had very competitive seasons and all stood a great chance of winning their relevant leagues. A very big thank you goes to Chairman Ben Collier, to all of the Coaches and Parents who work hard to provide this wonderful facility. Also a special thank you to George Fletcher who stepped in to take on the U 8's when their coach left in October. George recruited and guided the team to being extremely competitive. Also worth mentioning is that former Norsemen Youth player Malachi Fagan-Walcott made his first team debut for Spurs as a late substitute in the Champions League away match at RB Leipzig. Malachi played for Norsemen for four seasons until U 14's when his coach Nick Cornish took him over to Spurs. He is a regular player in the U 23 side and has also represented England at Youth level.
Last and by no means least my thanks go to our Committee Members, Chairmen Ronnie Robinson and Danny Green, Barry Ayers, Treasurer Chris Beveridge, Match Secretary Errol Ibrahim and Referee Secretary Matt Rogers for their time and commitment in making things work. Thanks to Steph for supplying the beer and to our kind Sponsors for their continued support.
Until we all are able to meet again my best wishes.

Mike Pearl