Arlesey V Hormead Hares 6^th March 2010

Laurence & Joe (G), Brett, Adam, Ben, Sam, Luke, Liam, Nathan

Men of the Match, Luke & Adam

Only one game was played today due to both sides having limited players.

Shortly after the first half kicked off Hormead Hares scored putting Arlesey 1-0 down, but the boys didn’t let this bother them. Arlesey were awarded a free kick which Brett took, managing to get the ball into the area and Ben got the shot and scored. In the aftermath of the equaliser both teams played well and Arlesey put in some excellent tackles and passed the ball very well. We some shots on the Hormead goal but due to their goalkeeper being very good most of these were saved.

Arlesey got their second after Ben took a shot and Luke managed to get a toe to it to flick it into the back of the net. Nathan and Brett did well in defence keeping Hormead at bay and Laurence and Joe did equally well in goal. Arlesey’s third goal came from a pass through to Luke who subsequently slotted it passed the goalkeeper. The boys seemed to have most of the possession throughout the game and looked like scoring on several occasions but the Hormead defence and goalkeeper stood firm.

Goal number four came directly from the second half kick off. Luke received the ball and put it straight into the goal. During the second half Adam saw plenty of ball and made some superb passes and got round several players. Sam had some good chances with a couple of runs with the ball and a shot on goal only to be saved by the keeper, this was also the case for Liam. Nearing the end of the second half, Arlesey were awarded a free kick just outside the area, which Brett came up to take. Brian told him to go for goal which he duly obliged. The ball lifted into the air and seemed to float towards the goal, going in at the far top corner, their keeper as good as he was didn’t stand a chance of getting it.

The final goal of the game went to Liam who having had the ball passed to him ran for goal. He took the shot and scored.

Two man of the match were given out as only the one game was played and these were awarded to Luke having scored 3 goals and to Adam for having a brilliant game. Well done you two and well deserved.

I’m sure I can speak for all who were there, that the boys all played extremely well and thoroughly deserve the win this week.

Arlesey v Hatfield Sat 20^th Feb 2010

1^st Game

Ben, Liam, Jayke, Luke, Brett, Nathan, Laurence (G)

Liam sub’d for Sam

Goal scorer - Ben

Man of the match – Laurence

The two teams were quite evenly matched but Ben scored for Arlesey in the second half. Laurence was outstanding in goal, keeping a clean sheet and so securing the win for Arlesey. The boys battled trying to score goals and never gave up, although the ball was probably in our half of the pitch more than theirs. Hatfield’s goalie had a great game denying us a few goals. Great result though, boys, didn’t need a game to warm up today!!

2^nd Game

Joe (G), Brett, Nathan, Luke, Jayke, Sam, Liam

Nathan sub’d for Ben

Goal scorers – Liam 3, Ben 1, Luke 1

Man of the match- Sam

All the boys played so well in this game too. Both games were fantastic to watch. Sam had a really great game showing some excellent ball control skills. He put in some great tackles, battled for the ball and had at least one shot at goal. Liam had a great game too scoring his first hat-trick of the season. Ben and Luke also scored a goal each. All three of them played really well up front and played a part in defending too. Brett, Nathan, and Jayke worked really hard together in defence. Again all three of them tackled hard and had runs up the pitch. They cleared the ball well and fed the ball to the midfield and forwards with some great passing. The defence made Joe’s job easier for him, although he still had to make some excellent saves, fearless as always. The forwards kept pressure on the Hatfield goalie with some great shots. The boys really played well as a team again today; communicating with each other, doing some excellent, intelligent passes, watching the ball and reading the game. All the boys played so well in both games it was very hard to choose the man of the match. Each boy contributed to the wins today and should be very proud. 4 wins in a row: that’s a record for us! Keep going, and very well done.

Arlesey v Knebworth (A) Sat 13^th Feb 2010

Game 1

Laurence (G), Ben, Nathan, Luke, Liam, Jayke, Adam

Adam sub’d for Brett, Liam sub’d for Adam

Goal scorers- Liam 1, Ben 1, Luke 3

Man of the match- Nathan

Well what can I say? The boys played superbly. Every aspect of the game was great. Nathan deserved man of the match with some fantastic clearances and tackles. Laurence didn’t have much to do in goal, but made sure whenever the ball came near he kept it out of the net. Ben, Liam and Luke all had great runs and made great passes and all managed to score goals. Luke got his first hat-trick. Jayke and Nathan were fantastic in defence and Adam and Brett played well in midfield. A great game to watch

Game 2

Joe (G), Jayke, Liam, Nathan, Luke, Brett, Ben

Liam sub’d for Adam

Goal scorer Ben

Man of the match- Jayke

The boys rose to the challenge and stepped up their game against Knebworth’s A team and thoroughly deserved to win. Jayke was brilliant in defence and nearly scored in both games from great clearances. He deserved the man of the match. His solid defending with Adam and Nathan and Joe’s excellent, fearless goalkeeping meant we kept a clean sheet in both games today. Ben, Luke, Liam and Brett all played well in midfield and up front and Ben scored another great goal. The boys played intelligently today, passing well and putting in tackles. They all had a shot at goal at some stage during both games. This was the first time we have won both games and we thoroughly deserved to win with our best football of the season so far. Let’s hope we keep it going. Well done boys, you should be proud of yourselves!

Arlesey V Bedwell 23/01/10

Game 1

oe (G), Jayke, Brett, Adam, Liam, Luke, Ben.

Subs were intermittent throughout the game.

Man of the Match , Joe

Due to the Christmas break and the bad weather this was the teams first outing in 6 weeks. Bedwell managed to score a goal in the first couple of minutes of play. The boys kept their heads up and tried very hard to come back but Bedwell were a much more organised team with some good control of the ball and accurate passing.

We did manage to get a goal back when Jayke crossed the ball in and Ben flicked it to the back post, Liam managed to get his left foot to it and poked it into the goal.

Joe received Man of the match for his superb efforts in goal and making some very brave saves.

Game 2

Laurence (G), Adam,  Nathan, Brett, Jayke, Ben, Sam.

Subs, various throughout game.

Man of the Match, Brett.

Again Bedwell were the stronger team and the boys did their best against them. Laurence was put under some pressure at times when the defence was a bit lacking but in the grand scheme of things he did his best. Luke scored a goal for us after a sprint up field and shot, the keeper couldn’t quite keep the ball in his hands. The boys did manage to put in some good tackles and Brett received Man of the Match for his work in the game.

Arlesey V Austin Arrows 12/12/2009

Laurence & Joe (G), Brett, Jayke, Nathan, Ben, Sam, Luke, Adam,

Substitutes were varied throughout the game as only 1 match was played.

2 Man of the Match awards went to Luke and Joe.

Only one game was played today as Austin Arrows were only able to bring one team. Both teams were quite evenly matched and scoring opportunities for both sides came throughout the game. It was petty much end to end stuff but after some good passing and a run from Luke up the field gave him the opportunity for a shot which he took scoring the first goal. Austin Arrows had a few chances at our goal but hanks to some good defending and goalkeeping the ball stayed out, although it was a bit of a scrap at times to get rid of it.

Ben had a great run and shot at goal but the goalkeeper managed to save it and then Ben hit the rebound but it was saved again, all credit to the Austin Arrows goalkeeper who made some good saves throughout the game.

The second half was a mirror of the first with both teams having shots at goal. Luke scored his second of the game taking us to 2-0. Austin Arrows then came back with a shot from a stray ball that was trying to be cleared from our area. Later on they were attacking but Joe came out narrowing the shot angle and they hit the post.

Luke and Joe received Man of the match, Luke for his hard work and two gaols and Joe for some excellent saves and determination in goal. Well done to both of you and to the boys for their 7^{th win of the season.}

Arlesey V Baldock 05/12/2009

1^st Game

Joe (G), Jayke, Nathan, Brett, Luke, Adam, Ben

Subs, Ben for Brett, Sam for Luke, Liam for Ben

Man of the Match, Jayke.

What can I say? This week our boys returned to the players we knew they were and put in a good performance against a team we knew could be quite handy. Although they lost the game they all put in a lot of effort and Jayke deserved to get Man of the Match for his hard work in defence alongside Nathan who also made some good clearances. If it wasn’t for his determination the score line may have been higher.

The passing was much better and had the lads been able to put a little more pressure on the Baldock keeper I think it would’ve been a lot closer.

Arlesey V Baldock 05/12/2009

2^nd Game

Laurence (G), Jayke, Brett, Ben, Adam Liam,Sam

Subs, Nathan for Jayke, Luke for Sam

Man of the Match, Adam

After the 1^{st game the boys appeared to have warmed up and really gelled together and looked like a team that wanted to win. They were making some good passes and looking for players around them and finding space. There were some excellent runs down the field and some good opportunties to score which didn’t quite come off. Adam received Man of the Match for the second week running as again he played his heart out. After scoring his first goal last week he clearly wanted another and didn’t disappoint us or himself as he scored his second this week. Ben took his goal tally to 7 for the season so far as he scored our second goal in the first half.}

In the second half Baldock came back at us and had a few near misses, one of which hit the crossbar and came down directly in front of the goal line, Brett managed to get a boot to it and volleyed it out of the area much to the delight of the well stressed supporters.

All the boys played exceptionally well in this game and showed that they were thinking more about what they were doing and what they wanted to achieve. Keep it up and some more of the same in the next game please.

Arlesey V Stotfold 28/11/2009

1^st Game

Laurence (G), Nathan, Brett, Ben, Jayke, Liam, Luke.

Subs, Joe for Laurence, Adam for Jayke.

Man of the Match, Brett.

Brett was unanimously voted Man of the Match by the supporters as he made some excellent tackles and clearances and was sometimes left at the back on his own to defend against 2 or 3 attacking players. This, on several occasions left Laurence or Joe with little chance of being able to keep the ball out of the net. The boys seemed to be out of sorts in the first game, whether this was down to it being extremely windy and cold or the fact that they haven’t had a game for a couple of weeks remains to be seen. Stotfold were a far more gelled team putting in good passing and good positioning.

Arlesey  V Stotfold 28/11/2009

2^nd Game

Laurence (G), Jayke, Adam, Brett, Liam, Ben, Luke.

Subs, Joe for Laurence, Nathan for Brett and Brett back on for Liam

Man of the Match, Adam

Again a unanimous vote from the supporters gave Adam a well deserved Man of the Match. Again the boys didn’t play as well as we know they can but after much toil Ben took a short corner to Brett who then crossed it into the box. A scramble for the ball by both teams ensued and Adam finally managed to get his foot to the ball scoring his first goal the team. Well done Adam. During the second half the team did start to come together a bit but by then it was too late. Adam made some good runs down the field with the ball and made some great tackles as well. Joe made some superb saves and on one occasion saved the ball twice in quick succession as Stotfold put on the pressure in our goal area.

Arlesey v Welwyn Garden City 7/11/09

1^st Game

Laurence (G), Brett, Adam, Jayke, Luke, Ben, Liam

Joe (G), Luke, Sam sub’d for Laurence, Adam, Luke

Man of the match- Brett

Brett put in some really good clearances in defence.

2^nd Game

Laurence (G), Brett, Adam, Liam, Ben, Jayke, Luke

Joe(G), Ben, Sam sub’d for Laurence, Adam and Ben

Goal scorer- Liam

Man of the match- Liam

Liam scored his second goal of the season and was close to scoring more.

The boys just didn’t gel this week, seemed sluggish and didn’t play to their recent standard. The 2^nd game was better than the first but still below par than their usual. I don’t think the later kick-off at lunch-time helped, but even so the other team were in the same position. Hopefully the next game they play will be a vast improvement!

Arlesey v Hormead Hares 24^th October 2009

1^st Game

Joe (G), Laurence, Jayke, Brett, Liam, Adam, Luke

Man of the match- Brett

Brett had an excellent game. He endeavoured with tackles, not giving up until he got the ball to pass up field. The teams were very evenly matched. Luke, Laurence and Liam all had good shots at goal, but the Hormead Hares’ goalie was amazing, she made some spectacular saves. Joe made some excellent saves too, showing no fear when going for the ball. Adam defended really well, putting in some great tackles. Jayke was solid in midfield, keeping the ball flowing. We were unlucky to lose this game. The boys all played really well, but we just couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net!

2^nd Game

Laurence (G), Joe, Jayke, Brett, Liam, Adam, Luke

Man of the match- Adam

Adam had a fantastic game. He defended valiantly, putting his all into the game. Again the teams were evenly matched. Laurence kept us out of trouble on more than one occasion, in goal. Luke had numerous attempts at goal and finally managed to score the one and only and winning goal. Joe and Liam both had a few shots that were either saved or just went wide. Jayke, again, was great in midfield and did quite a few amazing headers. Brett had some runs up the pitch, and nearly scored on one occasion. The boys thoroughly deserved to win this game. They defended well, their passing was flowing at times, and thought out, rather than just hit and hope. They played well as a team and they would have scored quite a few more goals had it not been for Hormead’s excellent goalies. We only had seven boys so they all played both games, and coped really well. (Fitness training is obviously paying off!!) They did themselves and us proud, well done.

Arlesey V Hatfield 10^th October 2009

1^st Game

Lawrence (G), Brett, Nathan, Jayke, Luke, Liam, Ben.

Subs :- Sam on for Liam, Joe on for Lawrence

Man of the Match :- Nathan

Nathan played extremely well in defence earning him this weeks Man of the Match. He made some excellent tackles and good clearances and as difficult as it was to choose a man of the match he thoroughly deserves it.

All the boys played their hearts out in this game and it was real end to end stuff, with both teams having shots at goal. Lawrence made some superb saves in the 1^st half as did Joe in the second. Both teams were well matched on the pitch and you could feel the excitement and tension amongst the supporters on the touchline.

2^nd Game

Joe (G), Adam, Brett, Jayke, Sam, Luke, Ben.

Subs :- Lawrence for Joe,  Liam for Luke, Nathan for Brett. Part way through the second half Brett, Luke and Jayke came back on.

Man of the Match :- Lawrence.

Lawrence had another superb game in goal making some fantastic saves and keeping a clean sheet. One again it was a hard decision for the Man of the Match but Lawrence put his all in to his goalkeeping and as with Nathan in the 1^st game thoroughly deserves Man of the Match.

Again the boys played with determination and put Hatfield under some considerable pressure making numerous shots at goal only to be denied by the Hatfield keeper who deserves some recognition for his efforts as he too made some fantastic saves. It was only a matter of time before one of the teams scored. Luke had a cracking shot at goal, it was saved by the keeper but he allowed the ball to drop to floor and Ben saw the opportunity and followed it up putting it into the back of the net. Shortly after Hatfield had restarted they managed to get the equalizer, but our boys tried even harder and this became the most tense match to watch to date. Both teams were hounding each others goals and both sets of keepers did extremely well making some fine saves. Eventually, Ben scored a second goal. It was all very tense right up to the final whistle with Hatfield trying their best to equalise again. Well done to all the boys for some fantastic football and good results.

Arlesey V Knebworth 3^rd October 2009

1^st Game

Joe (G), Nathan, Brett, Adam, Jayke, Ben10, Luke

Subs:- Lawrence on for Joe and Liam on for Adam

Man of the Match:- Brett

All the boys played really well in this game and were unlucky to lose. Their heads didn’t go down after the goal was scored and tried so hard to equalise without success. Lawrence made some excellent saves as did Joe. Brett and Nathan combined well in defence making some good clearances, allowing Ben, Luke and Liam to have some good attacks at the Knebworth goal. In fairness the Knebworth goalkeeper made some excellent saves too. Jayke had a good game in midfield assisting with attacks on goal and in defence, putting in some good tackles and clearances.

Knebworth came close to scoring a second goal hitting the post and rolling across the front of the goal before being cleared.

2^nd Game

Lawrence (G), Adam, Nathan, Sam, Liam, Brett, Ben10

Subs:- Joe for Lawrence, Jayke for Nathan and Luke for Brett

Man of the Match:- Ben10

Again all the boys played well in this game. Their fitness and stamina was ever present and their determination was evident. Liam scored the first goal after a lovely pass through and it was just him against the goalkeeper, he kept his nerve and put the ball into the net. Ben 10 scored two goals one of which was a fantastic shot from a very narrow angle over the goalkeeper. Luke added to his score tally with the final goal of the game. Adam made some excellent tackles, preventing Knebworth from scoring opportunities. Brett took some good corners and he and Ben took a quick short corner and Brett crossed the ball in.

Both games were a pleasure to watch and played with confidence and good sportsmanship. Keep up the good work.

Arlesey v Fairlands Youth 19^th Sept 2009

1^st Game

Luke (C), Brett, Nathan, Jayke, Adam, Ben, Laurence (G)

Laurence and Adam sub’d for Joe (G) and Liam

Man of the match- Brett

Brett took some great corners and goal kicks. The boys were very slow to get going in this match but didn’t play as badly as the score line suggests.

2^nd Game

Luke, Adam, Ben, Brett, Nathan, Liam, Jayke, and Joe and Laurence shared the goalkeeping.

Goal scorer: Luke (2)

Man of the match- Nathan

Nathan did some great defending and even had a shot at goal that just went wide, despite getting injured at least twice, bless him. The boys were like a different team this game. Joe and Laurence both made some really great saves. Luke scored two fabulous goals and had more shots that either hit the post or went wide. Adam was solid in defence and played well in midfield (which is a new position for him). Jayke covered a large amount of the pitch in midfield and helped defend too, very successfully. Brett had a shot that hit the post and took more good corners and free kicks. Liam and Ben both had shots at goal that just went wide. The boys all passed more fluidly and communicated with each other much better in this game. The game was much faster and we had several goal scoring opportunities. They were all exhausted at full time having put so much into the game. (Fitness work at training is obviously paying dividends.) It was great to watch and fantastic to see our boys get their second win of the season that they so deserved. Well done boys!!

Arlesey V Melbourn Dynamos 12^th September 2009

1^st Game

Luke, Jayke, Sam, Nathan, Brett, Ben 10, Laurence and Joe (Laurence and Joe shared the goalkeeping and also played on pitch)

Goal scorer- Luke (2)

Man of the match- Luke

Luke scored his first two goals for the club today in a very competitive game. He played some exciting football and his determination to score a goal was rewarded.

2^nd Game

Luke, Jayke, Sam Nathan, Brett, Ben 10, Laurence and Joe ( again Laurence and Joe shared the goal keeping and also played on pitch)

Goal scorers- Luke, Sam and Ben 10

Man of the match- Brett

Brett had a great game in a new position for him in defence. He did some great clearances up the pitch to the strikers, and the corners he took were excellent. This game was really exciting. All the boys gave their all in a very evenly matched game. We had numerous shots on goal and the score-line could have been much higher. Sam scored his first goal of the season and Ben 10 and Luke added to their tallies. Jayke was great in various positions, and Laurence and Joe were both focused in goal and on the pitch.  Man of the match was very close especially between Brett and Nathan (who was very brave to come back onto the pitch after a nasty injury in the first game). We were all pleased to get our first win of the season and hopefully it will give the boys confidence to continue playing well. Well done boys, keep it up.

Arlesey v  Bedwell Rangers Sept 5^th 2009

1^st game

Liam, Brett, Sam, Jayke, Adam, Nathan, Joe (G)

2^nd half, Liam and Sam sub’d for Luke and Ben 10

Man of the Match- Joe

Joe deserved the Man of the Match in his first game as goalie, with some brilliant saves.

2^nd game

Liam, Adam, Luke, Joe (G), Ben 10, Sam, Jayke.

2^nd half, Adam and Jayke sub’d for Nathan and Brett

Goal scorer- Ben 10

Man of the Match- Ben 10

Ben’s great play and first goal of the season earned him Man of the Match today.

The boys all played well in both games, but really seemed to come alive in the second game. The games were a pleasure to watch and the refereeing was excellent – totally fair and impartial (thank you Mr Referee).