Christmas Friendly 17/12/11

Ho-ho-ho. Definitely not the weather to enjoy an end of term match or two! Many thanks to the teams from Hellesdon and Taverham who braved the elements and the HPR parents who came along for support, the sloe gin helped to keep the hypothermia away.


As the pitch we have had marked out is the smallest dimensions, we decided to play on the larger pitch and asked the teams if they wanted play seven-a-side. We were first up against a Taverham that we found out was a mix from their A and B teams. The big pitch made difference from the start and the Taverham side passed well and soon had a goal. There were tears throughout mainly from getting a ball smacked into cold legs, but the players soldiered on through both halves stopping any further goals but unable to equalise. So a 1 - 0 loss.


The players did their best to keep warm while the other two teams played and HPR were finally up against Hellesdon. The team came alive during this game and by half time HPR had kept any Hellesdon attempts out. In the second half an excellent bit of play saw HPR pop one in to wil 1 - 0. The team really worked well and by the end had got to grips with the increased amount of space on a bigger pitch which force them to make longer passes.


Player of the match was Luke by unanimous decision for some excellent footwork out on the left and some selfless passing. The Taverham manager did ask afterwards if number 24 was for sale!

Intent on getting some action shots, by the time the matches started my fingers were fairly numb so the there's just a few pre-match shots.

The next training will be on Friday 6 January with the first league match of the year on Saturday 7 January at home at St. Thomas More.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all from James. Tom and Michael and we'll see you all soon.

Lakeford Match Report 3/12/11

Another sunny morning but the temperature's dropping. This fixture was an oddity in the calendar as there were to be four teams attending, but only one match each. Our league match was against Lakeford, a club with a long history and adult, as well as youth teams. We had agreed that we would play one, possibly two friendlies with the other teams.

HPR players listening (eventually) to team orders

Lakeford game (final score HPR won 4 - 0)

For the Lakeford game we decided to go straight in with an attacking line up that had soon produced a two goal lead from Aidan and Archie R. Archie G covered the midfield admirably with some strong defence as usual from Frankie and Evie holding the Lakeford strikers at bay. Ted produced a spectacular save tipping the ball over the bar to end the firat half 2 - 0 up.

The team changed for the second half with Luke and Ted uo front and Aidan taking over in goal. Felix and Max kept the ball away from the Heigham Park goal area and the goalie started to look a bit cold due to lack of activity. Sol is proving an efficient midfielder with a quick turn of pace and use of both feet. Aidan almost scored from a drop kick which sailed all the way up the pitch only to be fumbled by the Lakeford goalie and tapped in by Luke. Ted added another with a quick strike from his left foot - quick thinking! Final score 4 - 0 to Heigham Park Rangers.

Norwich United game (final score 1 - 1 draw)

The team were relishing a friendly against Norwich Utd. as they had caught us napping in our first meeting and we had come a cropper as the team were used to playing an attacking game and not used to winning. This time we were ready for them and by half time, with the solid Evie/Sol defence plus Max in midfield combination, the score was 0 - 0.

In the second half Norwich Utd were soon able to pop one in, although Ted nearly equalised from an Archie R free kick. The team stuck to their positions well and blocked the big Norwich Utd. strikers coming forward . Lots of good passing play saw a cross from Archie R slipped home by Aidan past the keeper. Final score 1 - 1, a good result considering these are one of the stronger teams in the league.

Taverham game (final score Taverham won 2 - 1)

We decided to play a third game with Taverham who we beat a couple of weeks ago. The players were obviously tired by now, not that they would admit to it. The game was scrappy affair with lots of physical contact resulting in an early penalty and bloody nose for Ted. The Taverham goalie dived that right way and pushed it round the post. Taverham had a coupke of very close chances and soon had one in the net. Archie R soon equalised from an lovely through pass from Aidan. The second half became a bit of a battlefield with more tears and foot to the head for Sol. Taverham slipped one past the Heigham defence right at the end to win 2 - 1.

With hindsight, two games would have been enough.

Player of the match was Sol for midfield pace and tenacious defensive play.

There's plans for a couple of friendlies on Saturday 17 December as the next league match isn't until 7 January.

Norwich Corinthians Match Report 19/11/11

What a lovely morning to face what was expected to be the toughest game of the season for the Heigham Park Rangers U8s.

Pre match banter in new team jackets

This time, the team were ready for a tough match as we had been made aware, from the playground feedback, that Norwich Corinthians had assembled a team from exclusively PDC players, all except for one.

But first we had a game against Taverham who we had narrowly beaten in one of the tournaments earlier this year. Before that we had to actually get into the ground as the caretaker seems to have taken umbridge to the request for an earlier start and stayed in bed. Good job nobody needed to do number 2s!

We kicked off with Luke and Sol up front and Aidan in the middle. We were trying out a different formation today as we knew we would need a stronger defence for our second game, and decided to keep the team formation constant. We were soon pushing forward with Aiden naturally playing further forward and Sol dropping back and helping in defence. An easy goal was soon popped home by Aiden before half time.

Evie came on to join Felix for the second half and Ted replaced Aidan in midfield with Archie R joining Luke up front. Two more goals from Luke and Ted put the score at 3 - 0 where it stayed to the end thanks to excellent defence, notably from Max and spectacular saves from both Frankie and Sol.

Hand shake with Norwich Corinthians

We had a five minute break before the second game (the Corinthians management were keen to get to the Arsenal game) and then we were away win a 1 - 0 lead after seconds with the Archie R/Aidan partnership up front. This was always going to be tough, but all the players stepped up and gave their all. They were taken aback by the quick, short corners (something to practice for us) and they soon had a equaliser. The second from Corinthians came from the big number 5 and would have probably injured one of our players should it have hit them! They got another past us, but it was from a goal mouth scramble. 3 - 1 the final score. Not bad considering a couple of their players will probably end up in the NCFC Elite Squad next year.

Player of the Match - Max for fast, strong defence and positional play.

A tired, wet but happy HPR side.

Taverham came through to balance proceedings up for the final match with a spirited side winning 3 - 1 against the Corinthians (considering they had lost their first match to us), breaking the Corinthians 100% winning record.

So, winners (and losers) all round. And proof that all teams can be beaten - shame we didn't get to play the Corinthians second. There's always next time.

Mulbarton Match Report 5/11/11

A damp, but mild start for this game which was originally scheduled to be played at Blofield, but was changed, as Mulbarton were late additions to the league. Once everyone had found the ground we learned that Mulbarton have been winning most of their matches with an apparent 12-0 thrown in there.

Ted and Aiden arrived just in time for the first match which was Heigham Park Rangers against Mulbarton, who were fielding a rangey forward!.

We knew we would have our work cut out so had a chat with the team about positional play and passing and sent on a strong opening side. The play was fierce from the off with both sides fairly well matched with Sol and Felix out left and right. The first strike was to Mulbarton due to a brief lapse in concentration by Heigham Park. A good high shot produced a valiant effort from Ted in goal, trying to tip it over the bar with a characteristic, acrobatic display. Unfortunately it found the top left corner.

The team maintained some good passing play after the half time break with Ted up front and Luke taking over from Sol on the right. Frankie was able to wallop one in from the edge of the box to equalise. Max and Evie, as ever marshalled the defence to great effect during the match with customary, crunching tackles. A 1-1 draw at the end was a good result from a very exciting match, enlivened by Aiden's goalkeeping antics in the second half (use your hands Aiden, for the sake of the parent's heart rates!). Certainly the closest match of the season so far.

Next up, Hillside FC who we have beaten already this season 3-0. We were hoping this would be an easier match and it started that way with Archie R popping one in within the first minute. The formation was less disciplined but we soon had a second from Aiden as a result of a Hillside defensive blunder. Frankie did a nifty save in goal which was immediately knocked back to be denied by the woodwork. So we went into half time 2-0 up.

During the second half Heigham Park's performance can only be described as 'ragged' with players out of position leaving openings for Hillside, themselves fielding a rangey forward, who soon pulled one back. A second claimed for Aiden during a goal mouth scramble had HPR feeling the game was in the bag. But all credit to Hillside who fought back exploiting the HPR midfield confusion (which no amount of vocal encouragement from the management could turn around) to get two more goals. Another draw at 3-3, but the team felt they should have had the 3 points.

Not a bad record though, 8 matches - 5 wins, 2 draws and one loss. That would give us, were we to be taking the league seriously (!?!), 17 out of a possible 24 points.

The team have had it easy with some of the previous games, now they are getting up against some stronger sides, they are adapting their play. The loss against Norwich Utd. was a wake up call - there are teams out there that will beat us if we let them. More positional play in training and keep up the passing play that saw us through the first match today will give us more wins in the future.

Player of the match today was Frankie for and excellent equaliser and a great save in the second game.

Norwich United Match Report 22/10/11

What a beautiful sunny morning... Why not play football?

This away fixture was at one of the big clubs in our league. They have their own adult pitch with floodlights and stands (£3 for adults!).

The likes of little minnows HPR who are used to playing matches on the corner of a school playing field have hit the big time here. This would be a big match!

First up were Firside, whom we had beaten handsomely last time. We quickly found out that they seemed to have really strengthened their team as both teams were soon racing back and forth end to end with little to choose between them. Archie R took the team ahead but Firside pulled one back. Archie R's second was an excellent poach of the defensive line. Ted had a good strike on the ball and took us 3 up. No goals for us in the second half. Much closer than we expected! Both Ted and Archie G did a fine job in goal.

Final score 3-2 WIN!

Up next were the big club, Norwich Utd. Sol did a good job in the first half in goal with some excellent diving saves. Our game rapidly became defensive and despite the efforts of Felix and Evie, we couldn't keep Norwich Utd back.

From the sidelines it was obvious the team were used to an attacking game and the forwards were often way up the pitch when they needed to help out at the back, consequently the defence was often outnumbered by Norwich Utd coming forward. Half time saw a slightly dejected team come off 2-0 down.

The second half saw Norwich Utd have the upper hand again but we noticed how our players were a bit stronger with their tackles. Aiden and Felix did an admirable job at the back but couldn't stop the next shot on goal which unfortunately sailed over the top of Frankie's head and into the back of the net.

Norwich Utd kept pushing for more goals but we managed to keep them at bay.

Final score 0-3 LOSS!

Norwich Utd deservedly won the game, they had an excellent passing and positional game and took advantage of the fact we were playing too far forward.

As we watched Norwich Utd beat Firside, several children noted how well the players passed the ball around. They also marked up well. Take note team! That's how we'll beat them next time!

Man of the Match: Felix - for his impressive form in defence.

Hellesdon Match Report 8/10/11

Another fine performance from the team!

How the weather can change in a week! No frequent water breaks due to the heat more like
hot tea and thermals.

Hellesdon very kindly hosted this match. Natalie, their manager has been very helpful to us. Due to a fixture change, the divisional secretary did want HPR to host it again but as our pitch at Thomas More (our official home ground) is still not marked up for U8s, Hellesdon came to our rescue. I am working on getting our pitch marked up. Trust me!

The first game featured the two away teams play: Surlingham and Hellesdon. Surlingham looked strong and were several inches taller than Hellesdon and a lot of our players. In fact, I recognised several boys from the beginning of last season when we played them and it was soon evident that they had been playing together for some time, had good positional sense and team spirit. Final score was 5-2 to Surlingham.

The management team briefed the players on our new code of conduct before the first game and it is nice to see the team listening better and taking things more seriously.

The first game was evenly matched and by the first half we had not made a break through. Ted did some excellent acrobatics in goal and without his efforts Surlingham would probably have been ahead. Second half, with the wind behind us and downhill allowed Aiden to muscle in on goal twice. Felix also broke through the defence as well. These 3 goals came in the last few minutes. Some fine defending from Evie and Max prevented a lot of the breakthroughs from Surlingham getting on the scoreline and the score would have been a lot closer without their presence.

Final score HPR 3 Surlingham 0

Hellesdon were up next and were wanting to get a win after their 2-1 defeat by us last time. Archie was in good form and soon got a strike on goal however after a little muddle in defence Hellesdon not only equalised but went 2-1 up by half-time. We were starting to clump together and moving out of position allowing their blond haired, skillful forward to break through several times.

No doubt, as the season progresses we'll keep better tabs on their star player!

Ted came to our rescue after the break with a shot on goal, rather than dribbling over the line. Well done Ted for listening to the coaches! Would this be the final score? No, a great pass from the wing (Aiden?) ended up as a fabulous 1 - 2 as Luke connected with the ball in the goal mouth. Great looking football!

Final score HPR 3 Hellesdon 2

Man of the match: Luke for starting to keep in position and proving that when you do goals go in!

A rather dejected Hellesdon left the pitch, surely waiting to get back on level terms soon!

Still unbeaten!

James

Heigham Park Rangers Match Report 24/9/11

Saturday saw our first home match of the season and what a way to start it!

Having 8 players available to play meant that we could have 2 players substituted each half and then everyone would get an equal go. Although we should play 5 a side according to the league it seems that most sides want to play 6 a side and more players have a go.

We kicked off against Hillside, who looked a handy team with some very nimble attackers plus a good goalie. We started off with a superb 1 - 2 from Aiden on the wing who knocked it in the box for Archie to put away, very professional! The second came after a strong attacking run of play, with Frankie and Luke working their sides well. The result was an own goal with Archie getting in on the act and forcing the defensive mistake.

Half time saw Ted out of goal and take over up front. Again Felix and Luke worked their sides well, Aiden also having many good shots at goal. We did get a bit muddled at times and out of position. Ted eventually worked the ball over the line. 3-0, the final score.

We then watched as Blofield took on Hellesdon, this was a very even match, which Blofield won 2-1.

Blofield were up next, but had a suitable rest before we started! Again Archie took a lovely long shot and got us on the scoreboard, Luke followed, taking advantage of the goalie fumbling the ball. Evie then scored after several excellent attempts, Archie followed. Frankie also contributed to a lot of goalfront action. Ted, Felix and Aiden followed to make it a final score of 7-0.

The final match saw Hellesdon lose to Hillside in a bit of a one-sided match. One had the feeling that the Hellesdon team were a bit dispirited.

These 2 games highlighted the fact we are a strong team and have really developed positional awareness and passing abilities. Evie and Max were outstanding in defence and it is very noticeable that the coaches don't need to remind them what to do as they were doing it instinctively.

Well done to all the volunteers in goal, without a player ready to take on this role we need everyone to have a go in this position. The new goalie shirt is also an incentive, thanks Michael.

Man of the match: Archie for brilliant ball skills, unselfish play, 3 goals and well, he's the birthday boy!

James

Friendly Match Report 17/9/11

Pre season friendly at Hellesdon.

What a superb start to the season!

The game started with the squad watching Firside and Hellesdon play. It was a very entertaining game to watch with a couple of players obviously very talented and the boys took notes on what they saw especially how easy a big shot at goal from distance could be worth a go! I ref'd and nearly missed the flurry of goals at the end. Final score: Firside 5 Hellesdon 4

We had a squad of 9 players and quickly found out who wanted to play in goal, making sure any goalies also had the opportunity to play out field as well each game, partly as a reward for stepping up to the plate!

We decided to let all players play one half for each game which would ensure everyone played equal time.

We played Hellesdon first who took an early lead despite Ted's acrobats in goal. We did seem to be a bit muddled to start with and needed a better passing game. The second half Aiden and Ted came to our rescue with 2 fine goals. Result: Hellesdon 1 HPR 2

Firside followed and Aiden seemed to sniff the possibility of easy goals. He was quickly to the fore and made a hatrick in the first half. Felix, in goal, let one through but also made a fine save. Half time 3-1.

The second half saw Archie up to his old tricks up front with a well timed shot and goal. Ted followed and then in a supreme act of teamwork (when he could have scored himself) Archie passed to Ted, who scored after the goalie dramatically fumbled the ball and it went over the line! Result: HPR 6 Firside 1

The shape of play was one up front, 1 defender and 2 midfield. It was nice to see, as the match progressed, midfielders starting to play on the LEFT and RIGHT. (That's with a little encouragement from adults).

Well done Luke and Frankie who are starting to keep their positions and show really plucky tackles! Frankie also went close at times in scoring. Max and Evie are to be congratulated for their excellent defensive presence and timing.

Evie was the unanimous stand out player from the managing team and PLAYER OF THE MATCH! Thanks for the good turn out from parents and support.