So I haven’t really kept up to date with my match reports this season so I’ve decided to do a mini summary of the season so far.

A new adventure for the Under 11’s going into the newly created New Forrest 9 a-side league based at Brockenhurst College, but a wise decision which I’m sure will benefit the boys improvement as players over the next few years.

Over the summer the original squad was nearly halved in size and it was a slow process to build those numbers up but now I’m in the fortunate position to be able to turn people away with a bulging 14-man squad. The down side being the group clearly needed more time to gel by the time the first game of the season had come around.

First game up and we played Brockenhurst. The opposition were a well drilled and a cohesive unit and this told as we succumbed to a 1-4 defeat. Every player individually played exceptionally well but that lack of familiarity and teamwork shone through in our defending and general link play.

Come training we have concentrated on improving passing and moving, teamwork and communication on the pitch. All of this shone through in our second game against Hordle but only in our attacking. An impressive team on the attack but lacking any bite in defence a pulsating game was played out and eventually lost 4-5. Again individually no player let themselves down but as a team poor positioning and teamwork again was our downfall.

The next two games I was unfortunately unavailable to take the team due to work and illness, but my invaluable right-hand-man Paul was able to hold the fort. Fortunately for my place as head coach two heavy defeats to Hythe Wasps, 1-8, and Hythe Strikers, 2-5 followed. The same general theme from the first two games, creative direct attacking but a lack of bite in the tackle in defence. However there were beams of shining light with everyone recognising a gradual improvement in our approach play, and more tactical awareness in defence with some sublime individual defensive performances.

On a cold afternoon at the beginning of winter, on the day the clocks went back but no one turned up at the wrong time, saw us take on Lyimgton. Some players were put into positions they probably were not expecting to or practiced in playing in but they all exceled. For most we looked solid in defence and well organised, but did occasionally lack conviction in the tackle, a reoccurring theme and something we will have to address in training, possibly with some reverse anger management training! The midfield pushed forward and tracked back as a unit and played the ball across the park with some wonderful combinations of passing and moving and direct runs when needed. Upfront we terrorised their defence creating shooting chances almost on every attack. A well deserved 5-3 and first win of the season saw the boys go home ecstatic and a result our fluid passing and sharpness up top deserved. Two of the goals we conceded were due to individual magic from their best player but the last was somewhat disappointing as we had several chances to clear the ball and get our tackles in. However all in all a clear big step in the right direction and signs that the things we are practicing in training are starting to be brought to the matches.

All in all great improvement as individuals and as a team so far this season and if that continues I am confident more and more success will come our way.

Oli

Christchurch v Bransgore
Match Result: 3 – 9
Goal Scorers: George (2), Harry
TEAM: Luke W, Jaidon G, Charlie F, Connor R, George C, Harry H, Salah E, Cameron C, Adam L, Joseph B, Ryan O, Jack G
FIRST HALF
The match started off at quite a fast pace with Christchurch surging forward and winning a corner early on, there was a great cross in from Jaidon but unfortunately Bransgore then gained possession of the ball and pushed forward all the way up the pitch and scored the first goal of the match 0-1. Christchurch answered this as Charlie then had a shot but this was saved by the goalie. Bransgore then had a shot on goal which was saved by Connor with a great dive. Harry and Charlie then both had shots on goal and then a shot on target but the goalie then saved it from the rebound.
Jack then had a cracking shot on target but unfortunately the goalie saved it, but Christchurch then won another corner but were unlucky with the finish. Bransgore then scored 0-2 with a great goal. There was then a good surge forward from George who with some great passing from his team mates was then able to go on and score a great goal.
HALF-TIME SCORE 1-2
SECOND HALF
Christchurch came out on a positive note at the start of the second half, Jaidon had a cracking shot on goal but just fell wide of the goal mouth. After some great passing between the Christchurch players Jaidon then had another great shot but was unlucky with the finish. Bransgore then took advantage of the ball possession and went onto to score three goals in quick succession 1-5. Salah then went into goal for Christchurch and Bransgore advanced forward and were then able to score another two goals 1-7. In answer to this attack Christchurch then came back with some good passing and teamwork and George then went onto to score a great goal 2-7. Bransgore then scored once again, 2-8.
Charlie then had a great shot at goal which the goalie saved it, a corner was then won by Christchurch and Harry then went onto score 3-8 and then Bransgore finished the game off with another goal 3-9.

Boscombe Albion v Christchurch
Match Result: 6 – 2
Goal Scorer: Jaidon, Charlie
TEAM: Charlie F, Jack G, Luke W, Jaidon G, Adam L, Cameron C, George C, Harry H, Joseph B, Ryan O
FIRST HALF
At the start of the match Christchurch pushed forward on a positive note and there was some great teamwork that took place between all of the players and then they unfortunately lost possession of the ball and Boscombe Albion then took full advanatge of this and went onto to score the opening goal for Boscombe. 1-0. Christchurch then came back with some excellent support from their defence and they kept on battling and Boscombe Albion then had another shot on goal which was expertly saved by Luke and great dive to save the ball hitting the back of the net. Christchurch then won two corners but were unfortunately not able to take advanatge of this play and score a goal. Jaidon had a great shot on target but was unfortunate with the finish as the goalie got a hand to it. Boscombe broke through the defence and then went onto to score a nother 2 goals in quick succession making it 3-0.
HALF-TIME SCORE 3-0
SECOND HALF
Christchurch started the second half a little despondant and Boscombe despite Christchurch battling with Ryan and Adam holding off in defence went onto to score 2 goals in quick succession 5-0. Christchurch then seemed to take this as their cue and then with some great passing of the ball from the defence all the way through to upfront and Harry had a great shot that was saved by the goalie. Jaidon then kicked the ball from just off of the halfway line and this resulted in a great goal 5-1. Boscombe Albion then went onto to score again 6-1. Christchurch then went on the final attack and there was some great football to watch which ended with Charlie scoring 6-2.
Well done boys, it was a great game to watch and you all seem to be gelling as a team, keep it up.

Christchurch v Bournemouth Sports
Match Result: 7 – 14
TEAM: Connor R, Charlie F, Luke W, Jaidon G, Cameron C, Adam L, Harry H, George C, Salah E, Joseph B, Ryan O
FIRST HALF
Christchurch started the game on the attack and surged forward with George having a great shot on goal but the keeper saved it, the keeper then kicked the ball up the pitch which Harry managed to claim possession of and Harry then headed the ball but it went over the bar. In answer to this Bournemouth Sports pushed forward and after a couple of great saves from Connor they were then able to push through a score 2 goals in quick succession. 2-0, with some great passing from Christchurch Harry was then able to score 2-1 and after such a great attack, Christchurch then monopolised this and were then able to score another goal 2-2. The game was quite evenly matched and Bournemouth Sports then went onto score again 2-3, Charlie from Christchurch then scored a cracking goal bringing the score to 3-3. Christchurch as a team worked hard, But Bournemouth Sports surged froward but the goal was saved by Connor, Harry then went onto score for Christchurch 4-3, Bournemouth Sports answered this evening up the scoreline with another goal 4-4. Christchurch then seemed to lose possession of the ball with some great passing from Bournemouth Sports and they were then able to go into the second half with a 2 goal lead, making the scoreline 4-6.
HALF-TIME SCORE 4-6
SECOND HALF
Connor was then taken out of the goal and put onto the pitch and Luke then went into the goal, there was then an own goal by Bournemouth Sports making it 5-6. Bournemouth Sports then battled their way through Christchurch's defence and were able to score another two goals in quick succession 5-7 and with an own goal by Christchurch the scoreline was 5-8, Bournemouth Sports then surged forward again 5-9. Connor then went back into the goal and Luke was put back out onto the pitch and this seemed to lift Christchurch who then went onto score with a great goal from Harry 6-9, quickly taken by Bourneouth Sports who answered with another goal 6-10. There was some great teamwork by all of the Christchurch team and after a cracking boot down the pitch by Jaidon, George was then able to pick this up and score a goal 7-10. Once again the scoreline was reflected as Bournemouth Sports grabbed possession of the ball and quickly went onto score goal after goal and Christchurch's defence seem to lose their enthusiasm making the scoreline 7-14.
Christchurch had a great start at the beginning of the match but they did then seem to lose their concentration and unfortunatley this was reflected in the scoreline.
Better luck next week boys!

Christchurch v Corfe Mullen
Match Result: 1 – 16
Goal Scorer: Charlie F
TEAM: Connor R, Charlie F, Jaidon G, Cameron C, George C, Joseph B, Salah E, Adam L, Ryan O
FIRST HALF
Corfe Mullen started the game upon the attack and pushed forward towards the goal and scored after 1 minute 1-0. Corfe Mullen then played positively and were able to gain a throw in which resulted in them scoring a secong goal 2-0. Christchurch then answered this attack with some great teamwork which resulted in George having a shot on goal, but this was saved by their goalie. Corfe Mulen then seemed to have the majority of the ball possession throughout the first half as it took Christchurch a while to settle down into the game.
Corfe Mullen then pushed through Christchurch's defence and went onto to score again 3-0, then shortly afterwards making it 4-0, they were then successful in winning a further 2 corners which both resulted in goals being scored making the score line going into half-time 5-0.
HALF-TIME SCORE 5-0
Connor was then put out onto the pitch and Salah was put into goal, Corfe Mullen were keen to gain possession and surged forward at the start of the 2nd half and scored staright away from the blow of the whistle 6-0. Christchurch then answered this attack with some great passng from the goalie through defence through midfield and up front to George who had a great shot at goal but was unlucky with the finish. Meanwhile Corfe Mullen then went onto score another 7-0. There was some great teamwork between the players of Christchurch and Charlie scored for Christchurch 7-1. Corfe Mullen then went onto score another 3 goals 10-1 in quick succession, at this stage Christchurch did seem to lose their flow and Corfe Mullen were taking advantage of this and their lead is then added to making the scoreline 13-1. Christchurch then started to battle on and there were some good moments of quality football and Christchurch were just unlucky with the finishes as there were some great shots on target from Connor, George and Charlie and even though the scoreline did not reflect this the defence played a good game, but Corfe Mullen then went on to score another three goals.
FULL-TIME SCORE 16-1

Christchurch v Dexter Sports
Match Result: 3 – 10
TEAM: Jack G, Jaidon G, Charlie F, Luke W, Connor R, George C, Harry H, Cameron C, Salah E
FIRST HALF
Dexters started the match on a positive note and came staright out and surged forward scoring an early goal 0-1, then after a scuffle inside the box Dexters then won a penalty and scored another goal 0-2. Christchurch then had some good game play and there was some great defending from Jaidon, Adam, Cameron and Ryand and George then scored a great goal 1-2, Dexters then answered this with another goal 1-3 and were then able to break through the defence again making the scoreline 1-4. Christchurch then surged forward and there were some great shots on target from George and Charlie and one from Jack but they were all unlucky with their finishes. Christchurch then won a corner and Charlie then chipped it in 2-4. There was some good defending with Luke, Salah and Jaidon but Dexters were then able to go on the attack and were then able to go on and score another three goals in quick succession making the scoreline 2-7 and the Adam had a cracking shot on target making it 3-7.
HALF-TIME SCORE 3-7
SECOND HALF
Christchurch started the second half on the back foot and Dexters came out to win and scored 2 goals again in quick succession 3-9. Christchurch then came back with a counter attack and there was some great passing on the pitch between Jack, Charlie and Harry and George and Connor then made some great saves when Dexters broke through the defence and they were then successful and went onto score another goal 3-10.
Christchurch did try in the first and the second half of the match, they all tried really hard to work together and as a team they are now starting to gel together, well played boys, better luck next week!

Bransgore v Christchurch
Match Result: 8 – 4
Goal Scorers: George C (2), Adam L, Harry H
TEAM: Jack G, Charlie F, Salah E, Adam L, Jaidon G, Luke W, George C, Harry H, Cameron C, Connor R, Ryan O
1st Half
Christchurch started the game at quite a slow pace and thus quickly found themselves on the losing end of the scoreline with Bransgore taking full adavantage and Christchurch being 2-0 down. Christchurch then started to wake up and all pushed forward with some great passes in defence from Adam, Salah up to midfield with Jaidon passing to Jack who passed to Charlie and onto George who then took the ball all the way and scored 2-1.
Christchurch then won two corners in quick succession but were unable to put the ball in the back of the net. Jaidon was then passed the ball by Cameron and Harry and had a cracking shot on goal but this was saved by the goalie. Bransgore then won a corner and scored making the scoreline 3-1. George then had another near miss, that ended up just wide of the goal mouth. Bransgore took advanatage of this miss and took the ball to the other end of the pitch and then scored 4-1, Charlie had a shot on target that just went wide this took the match to half time.
Half-Time Score 4-1
2nd Half
Christchurch started the second half well with Jaidon having another shot on goal that was saved by the goalie, the goalie then booted it up the pitch and the ball went to Bransgore's strikers who had a shot on goal but this was saved by Connor. Bransgore then kept up the pressure and scored twice making the scoreline 6-1. Christchurch then answered this attack with some great passing from Ryan and Adam to George who then went onto score his second goal of the match 6-2, then in quick succession Adam then scored a cracking goal 6-3.
Bransgore then scored a goal, which the linesman had the flag up but the referee overuled him and the goal was allowed 7-3.
In answer to this Christchurch surged forward and Jack and Jaidon then passed staright through to Charlie and he scored but this goal was disallowed for being offside.
Bransgore then went onto score again 8-3 and Christchurch then scored the last goal with Harry making the scoreline 8-4.

Bournemouth League Cup
Sway v Christchurch
Match Result: 12 – 0
TEAM: Jack G, Charlie F, Luke W, Jaidon G, Adam L, Salah E, Ryan O, George C, Cameron C, Connor R, Harry H
Full-Time Score 12-0
1st Half
Christchurch came out on a good note and started well and were able to have an early shot at the goal but it was just hit wide. Christchurch were definately the more positive team and surged forward, with Charlie, Jack and George and Harry, this attack was then intercepted by Sway who then went on to start the scoreline 1-0. Christchurch despite then battling on in defence were unable to fend Sway off and they then scored another goal in quick succession 2-0.
Adam and Ryan and Jaidon, Luke and Cameron battled on in defence and Sway were then able to win a corner from which they then scored from 3-0. Christchurch then went to attack but gave away a penalty and Sway then scored once again and again making the scoreline 5-0.
Half-Time Score – 5-0
2nd Half
At the start of the 2nd half Christchurch then changed their goalkeeper and Salah was then bought out on the pitch and Connor went into goal. As Sway had the adavantage they carried on with their success scoring a couple of cracking goals,7-0 which showed the difference between the 2 teams as they are in the upper league from us. Christchurch still carried on battling but this was in vain as Swaythen went onto another 5 goals making it 12-0.
Even though all of the boys battled on, they were unlucky with today's match, better luck next time boys!

Christchurch v Boscombe Albion
Match Result: 6 – 6
Team: Charlie F, Jack G, Luke W, Jaidon G, Adam L, Salah E, Ryan O, George C, Cameron C, Connor R, Harry H
Goal Scorers – Charlie – 2, Jack, Harry, George, Salah
1st Half
Welcome to the new players, who all had fantastic debuts, Luke played great in goal, whilst George, Harry and Ryan were fantastic on the pitch. As soon as the whistle was blown, Christchurch were on the defence from Boscombe Albion that surged forward on the attack and had a couple of shots on goal but they were both hit wide. Christchurch answered this by a great pass from Charlie to Jack, who had a sliding shot at goal that went just wide of the goal mouth.
Boscombe Albion were then successful and broke through the defence of Christchurch to start the scoreline 0-1. Connor then had a great chip towards the goal but the goalie saved it, whilst Jaidon and Adam were a force to be reckoned with in defence for Christchurch. Salah then passed to Charlie and Christchurch evened up the score 1-1, Christchurch then carried on pushing forward on the attack and Harry then scored for Christchurch 2-1. Boscombe Albion then scored from a corner kick making the score 2-2.
Half-Time Score 2-2
2nd Half
Christchurch pushed forward with a near miss from George, Jack then passed to George who then shot on target at the goal and scored 3-2. There was then some great passing between the Christchurch team from Jaidon, Salah, Adam, George, Cameron, but Boscombe caught them out on the break and went on to score from yet another corner 3-3. Boscombe then went onto score another goal 4-3. Christchurch then pushed forward in answer to this scoreline and Salah made a great run and this resulted in a goal from Salah 4-4. Christchurch then stayed on the positive and after a great pass from Charlie to Jack he then scored a great goal 5-4, Boscombe then equalised from a corner 5-5. Christchurch answered this with another great run, after some great passing Charlie then shot an amazing goal 6-5, Boscombe then equalised making it 6-6
Full-Time Score 6-6

Christchurch Youth v Kings Park Dynamos
TEAM: Charlie F, Jack G, Connor R, Jaidon G, Adam L, Cameron C, Salah E
FULL-TIME SCORE 5 – 6
1st Half
Christchurch started the match on a positive note and after the whistle was blown, surged forward towards the Dynamos goal but were unlucky with the finish. Despite the fact that Christchurch only played with 7 players they continued to battle on, but Dynamos caught them out on the break and had a shot on target but it went just wide. Christchurch answered this attack with a shot on goal from Charlie, just wide of the goal mouth. Kings Park Dynamos then gained a free kick and started the scoreline with an excellent lobby into the top corner of the net 0-1. Despite Christchurch trying their best, Dynamos then managed to break down the defence and scored another 2 goals, making the scoreline 0-3. This then seemed to spur the boys on and Charlie and Jack were on par with each other working really well with Adam in midfield and Charlie then had a great shot at goal and scored a great goal, taking the scoreline at half-time to 1-3.
Half-time score – 1-3
2nd Half
Dynamos came out battling at the start of this half of the match and were able to get a couple of shots on target, but were not successful in their finishing. Christchurch then pushed forward with a great kick up the pitch from Connor and some great passing from all of the players and then Jack had a cracking shot on goal and scored 2-3. Kings Park Dynamos then answered this by scoring a further 2 goals, bringing the scoreline 2-5. Connor was great in goal and made some tremendous saves, whilst Salah, Cameron and Jaidon were excellent in defence and with some great teamwork from Adam, Jack and Charlie who then had a terrific shot at goal making the scoreline 3-5, Dynamos then scored another goal 3-6. Christchurch then seemed full of energy and surged forward with Charlie and Jack making some great passes to each other and this resulted in another great goal from Jack 4-6. Then just before the final whistle was blown Christchurch took advantage once more and Charlie had a fantastic shot on goal and scored once again 5-6.
Well done to both teams a very exciting and thrilling match to watch, Christchurch you all battled well and should be proud of yourselves.