WAGS 2 Denton Town 10 - 14's (Cup) 27/10/07

I'd just like to say girls a big thank you to you all for making me and especially Chloe smile today. Its been a very sad few days for her so when I told her the score and how you all played she was so pleased. I told her you was all asking about her and she says thank you all for the card and choccies, although I will get my hands on some of those lol.

We were 20 mins into yesterday's game when Chloe awoke from her surgery and got her mum to ring me. When Chloe spoke to me in her very quiet croaky voice (not the usual load mouthy one) the first thing she said was "what is the score how they doing", that's how much she thinks of you lot and our team, as we all do, play for each other as one.
I told her you all played brill yesterday, the passing and movement was fantastic, one-twos, give and goes, laying the ball off to runners going by, we had the lot - the best we have played this season by far. WAGS again played there part and though the score was 10-2 Wythenshawe still carried on battling, but they were just unlucky today that they caught us as we are starting to get into top gear playing like we were last season at our best. If we just maintain that tempo girls we will have a great season and certainly be challenging in the league and cup, but don't forget, we cant afford to relax and get complacent because, nobody is going to let us win, we have to give our all every game. There are a lot of teams whom will be challenging and if we aren't on our game, are capable of beating us. Some teams have improved as well from last season and recruited some decent new players so, remember that plz.
I'm enjoying the season so far and today's game showed we are going forward as a T E A M , not as I have heard similar comments before that we are a one or two player team lol. If any one watched today's game and has that opinion then I suggest they go play tiddlywinks or chess because I could have picked the girl of the match from anywhere on the pitch. So once again girls, thank you from me and Chloe because as usual you all managed to make us smile xxx

ALAN

p.s. Chloe says dont get too comfortable because shes already on the road to recovery and and wants her place back lol
___________________________________________________________________
Now for my bit. Absolutely world class today girls, and the Yoyo/Megan partnership is really taking off, and as Alan stated above, the good performance was right throughout the team today. Another pen vs. WAGS - thats a pen every game bar one vs them, and of course Kayleigh converted once again. Amazing how these patterns emerge.

I like how Alan says WAGS were unlucky as they got us on a really good day. Funny, I was thinking the same thing about Chelsea - Man. City. Work's going to be really enjoyable tomorrow - NOT.
WAGS have some really talented players, and it's only a matter of time before they get their act together and become a force again. I thought they caused us some problems late on when they brought Dionne out of nets, both her and Beth are excellent outfield players.

Still, despite City getting slaughtered, I can console myself after watching your stunning performance, bolstered by the fact that I also enjoyed a really good morning with the Soccer School Girls assisted by Chloe W, Nic and Georgia. Here are the stats - I know, bit boring, but they contribute to the end of season profile like I did last season (and I bet Alan/Tim stay up all hours studying them but just won't admit it - LMHO).

10 mins 1-0 Yoyo
13 mins 2-0 Megan
19 mins 3-0 Megan
22 mins 4-0 Yoyo
29 mins 5-0 Yoyo
33 mins 6-0 Megan
Half time
41 mins 7-0 Megan
43 mins 7-1
52 mins 8-1 Yoyo
63 mins 8-2
68 mins 9-2 Kayleigh Pen
70 mins 10-2 Lauren

Our player of the match was Megan, and Alan chose Gemma (No.2) for WAGS. Wasn't sure whether to give ref Andy Cloake 7 or 8, but in the end, thought he did ok and opted for 8.

Special thanks to Mark and Billy for coming down to support from the ladies team.

NIGEL.

p.s. Check out WAGS view of the match at http://www.wag-fc.co.uk/report.htm

Chloe W, Georgia and Nicole - Young Coaches

Georgia - Great in Midfield - ball sticks to her feet like glue.

Nicole - Captain and TOP Defender.

CHLOE W - Manchester's No. 1 Keeper.

Today - TREMENDOUS. I was absolutely bowled over by your mature attitude and total dedication to the task in hand. Forget your victory vs. WAGS afterwards, your performance as coaches and referees really made my day.

Right from the start you took the lead, with little instruction from myself.

You did the warm-up, passing drills etc., with Chloe sharing some of her goalkeeping experience with the girls.

For the most part you picked the teams/positions, and you were on the line shouting instructions and encouragement. And don' t the girls just love you!

Today was a great success, and you played a BIG part in that.

What else can I say except you were BRILL, FAB, ACE, A*, 10/10 etc.

Well done also to Dionne from WAGS.

Thanks, Girls.

Nigel.

Wythenshawe Ams Mini Tournament - Girls Soccer School

Firstly, a big thank you to Ian of Wythenshawe (WAGS), for arranging this event, and Mark of Oswald Rd., for bring a team to complete the trio.

We played 4 games, and the girls just got better match after match. It was really encouraging to see girls of this age 'asking for the ball', and trying to work for each other, in what was for most, their first ever competitive match.

The tournament was all about having fun and introducing the girls to competitive football, and I think we succeeded on both counts.

At the end of the event, Ian was very kind in giving out medals and certificates to every player, and Georgia, Nicole and Chloe W from the 14's contributed a bag of chocolates also, to send the girls home with happy memories of the day. Read more about the 14's in the next post.

So, well done to Rebecca, Abbie, Holly, Megan, Deana, Analise and Bailey for putting in a great performance and keeping us all entertained. Also, thanks to the parents for the fantastic support you showed on the touchline. Next time we do it (poss Jan 08), any volunteers to make up some banners etc?

Enjoy the pics., though not the best I've taken - if anyone has any better, please get them to me on CD or a Flash Drive that I can borrow to download, and I will post on this blogger. Also, I've posted the video on YouTube (link right hand side of blogger). Again, quality is poor, so any contributions greatly received.

Nigel.

Chloe is a bit Crook!

We seem to be getting our fair share of bad injuries over the last twelve months, first Nicole with her arm, then Georgia with her ankle and then her wrist, and now Chloe.

Chloe was playing football at school last Thursday when she went over on her ankle. She has broken 3 bones and damaged the growth plate. Today (Saturday), she was due to have an operation, but it is clear she will be out of action for a while. On top of that, on Friday she was due to go to Italy with school, which she has been looking forward to for weeks.

We have sent her the customary box of chocs (sorry Chloe, couldn't get you banana chips), and a card, and everyone at the club would like to wish her a speedy recovery. We will miss you Chloe, and you're certainly a big loss to the team.

Denton Town 2 Heyside Clarets 7 (U12's)

You know girls, one thing I've learnt coaching the 5-8 yr. olds, is that they don't communicate at that age, and often tackle their own players - guess what some of you were doing today?

It's a shame, because if we had been more of a team, we could of got something out of today's game, and Heyside are one of the favourites in this league. If you take into account the 3 or 4 soft goals we gave away, and the two well worked chances that we missed, we definitely could of gone home with a least a point. Even Heyside's manager said that they didn't deserve to beat us by 5 goals.

Before the game I pulled Teah to one side and said, now that you're in midfield, if you see an opportunity, shoot. She did, and hey presto a goal! I keep saying it, the more shots you take the better you become at it, and the more goals you will score - its a very small pitch, and the ball runs quickly, so GO 4 IT!

There were moments in the match where you did get it together, and you put Heyside under some pressure with good passing, good movement, and knowing your positions. Trick is, to get you to do it for the whole 40 mins. Well taken goals by Teah and Kendall, who was unlucky not to bag another couple. The signs are there girls, YOU CAN DO IT! So you lost today to one of the best teams in the league - get over it, learn from it, and put everything into Amy's training sessions - she is level 2 now, and as learnt a lot from some highly qualified coaches, one being Nigel Gleghorn who used to play for Manchester City a few years back.

Player of the match was Kay again, who ran her heart out, and week in week out causes all sorts of problems for our opponents. Best player for them as voted for by you, was the no. 9. The ref, Kattrina King didn't have a great game, so I gave her 7. Some parents thought she was biased, but I honestly think she is just learning her trade at the moment, and tried to make honest decisions, even though quite a few were wrong. The goals were scored: -

12 mins 0-1
13 mins 0-2
16 mins 1-2 Teah
17 mins 1-3
half time
22 mins 1-4
26 mins 2-4 Kendall
31 mins 2-5
37 mins 2-6
38 mins 2-7

Conceding 3 goals in the last nine minutes tells me either you let your heads go down, or you need to up your fitness - I think it is the fitness, because you all tried your hardest right until full-time. So I know what Amy will be concentrating on.

One last thing, I've uploaded the mini videos I took onto Youtube - just follow the link on the blogger. Not the best quality, but I blame that on Youtube as the vids., looked ok on my pc before I uploaded them. See if you can spot yourself.

Nigel.

Denton Town 3 Deans 0 (u14's 13/10/07)

Sorry for the report being a bit late, I've been waiting for a certain coach (who shall remain nameless - lmho), to send in his comments.

Credit first of all to Deans for putting in a determined effort, despite only having 10 players.

I don't think we were at our best, but did enough to win the game. Fitness seemed better, and great penalty save by Chloe W on 40 mins, who did well to stop the ball slipping thru' her legs. Hat-trick again for Yolanda -there's no stopping this girl. I'll leave the rest to Alan, meanwhile here's when the goals went in.

6 mins 1-0 Yoyo

17 mins 2-0 Yoyo

half-time

40 mins - fine penalty save by Chloe W

44 mins 3-0 Yoyo.

Our player of the match was Keeley, and Alan gave a special mention to Kayleigh. Their no.2 was best for them, and Pete Luty the ref (dad of Jacob), had a good game overall, so gave him 8.

Congratulations Amy

Coach of our under 12's girls and at the soccer school, Amy Mather (pictured on the left of the back row with our 14's from a few seasons ago), has just qualified as a Level 2 Coach at the first attempt.

Amy has been awarded several awards over the last few years, and is now seeking a full-time position with Tameside.

I'm sure you will all join me in wishing Amy, the best of luck with her application.

Nigel.

Droylsden 4 Denton Town 4 (u12's Sat 13th Oct)

Disappointing to come away with just 1 point after taking the lead three times, but full marks to both teams for giving it all until the final whistle.

Defending corners:- I was pleased to see players take up good positions on the front and back post, with the goalie just off her line, and it looks as though we have that problem sorted. However, some of the other marking was poor, with players not knowing who was marking who - how do we solve this problem? - easy T A L K ! Tell your team mates which player you are marking, and direct them to the next one. Also, get the ball out of your penatly area as soon as possible - don't just keep tapping it, give it some wellie. We will work on it in training.

Attacking corners: - Going forward, you look good, and with Kay taking the corners, Kylie & Kendal in the box, with Teah making a run in as the ball was played; worked quite well, with Teah nearly scoring at the first attempt.

Goal Kicks: - Emily has got the power to deliver, but still, many of the kicks are down the middle. We need the ball down the wings, and if it misses everyone and goes for a throw-in, so what; isn't that better than the ball going straight down the middle to an opponent, who then has a goal scoring opportunity, putting us under immediate pressure?

Kick-offs: - We shouldn't be losing possession immediately after we take a kick off. Sometimes the pass is too weak to reach the next player, and the opponents are rushing in and winning the ball. Simple pass between the two people in the middle e.g. Kay and Kylie, and then a good strong (but not too strong) pass back to Teah or Kendal in the middle, giving her enough time to look around before deciding whether she will pass, run or even shoot (small pitch - don't be scared of having a go from the half-way line).

All in all, plenty of effort from you all, including Hannah, Lachen and Kelsie. Fitness may be an issue, and you all need to really put it in at training if you want to do well this season.

Here's how the goals went: -

1 min 1-0 Kay

6 mins 2-0 Kay

15 mins 2-1

half time

22 mins 2-2

27 mins 3-2 Kay

30 mins 3-3

32 mins 4-3 Kay

36 mins 4-4.

Not surprising, four goal hero Kay got player of the match. Their goalie was excellent 1st half, and kept them in it. The ref Christa Harding was ok, so 8/10.

Soccer School for Girls

Well, I'm gutted, no football at all for any of our girls' teams this weekend, and none of it down to the weather or pitch; I'll have to console myself with a few miles on the bike instead, especially as the weather forecast is good.

Still, gives me the chance to mention the girls soccer school again. Last night was the first official session for the school, and it went really well. We had six girls there, Rebecca, Shelby and Abbie, who also attend our soccer school on Sundays, plus new girls Holly, Megan and Deana. Unfortunately, another girl from the Sunday school, Chelsea, couldn't make it, but I'm sure she'll be there next week. That makes 7 - enough for a team - not bad at all for the first night. Just as well, because we have a little friendly competition arranged with Wythenshawe Amateurs, and possibly a couple of other teams, on Sat 27th Oct - more details nearer the time.

The girls all enjoyed themselves, and looked totally exhausted after the session, but they were all smiling. Just want to say well done to all the girls on the night, you worked really hard, and it was a pleasure to coach you.

However, we need more girls! Kylie's grandad (U12's) has kindly distributed some leaflets around the local schools, you probably will have seen our article in the Advertiser, and this weekend, I'm hoping Tameside Radio will promote our club further. But please, keep a look out, and pass on my details if you find anyone interested. We're still looking for coaches as well - young, old, new or experienced - if you've got the time and commitment, I'd love to hear from you.

Nigel.

Soccer School for Girls (5-8yrs old)

Girls football in Tameside has dropped off over the last few seasons, and at the moment there are only 3-4 clubs in the borough offering the sport. Myself, Amy Mather, Allen Harvey and Matt Johnson from Tameside Girls Football Development Group, are working hard to get more girls playing footie again, including some of us using our holidays to go into schools trying to promote the sport.

We have now set-up a Soccer School for Girls aged 5-8 yrs old, which will run every Thursday 7-8pm at Egerton Park Arts College. Cost is only £1.

If you know of any young girls who want to get into footie, or for that matter, young adults that would like to get involved in coaching, please give them my number or email address.

Thanks,

Nigel.