Zak attack! Set piece masters thump league leaders away from home

East Lodge B 1-4 Chandlers Ford Youth

Mid Solent Under 15 B – 18^th October 2008

Line up: Kane Kellaway, Jake Beattie, David Kilcoyne, Josh Harrigan ©, Michael Sawbridge, David Bromhead, Zak Pickett, Ahmed Sfagsi, David Smith, Michael Wall, Jozef Montigue.

Subs: Kelvin Bagot, Ryan Chinn, Miles Hodge, Liam Godfrey, James Parsonage

With Daryl Winter and Alex Evens out with injuries and Tom Ashton unavailable, David Smith and Jake Beattie were welcomed back into the squad and indeed into the starting line up. Jake coming in at right back and David slotting into an unfamiliar position for him at centre midfield in Tom's place.

Right from the start CFY showed they were up for this game by winning early tackles and getting forward at every opportunity. They nearly went in front early on when David Smith, breaking from midfield, fired just over the bar.

CFY continued to press and were keeping East Lodge in their half.

Smith came close again this time powering a shot against the cross bar, however straight from this effort, East Lodge took the lead. A long drop kick from the keeper flew over the CFY back four who had pushed up and the East Lodge centre forward got there first and lobbed a first time shot over Kane's head and into the net.

Chandlers Ford did not hang back and feel sorry for themselves, instead they just carried on being first to the ball and looking to attack the East Lodge goal.

The equaliser came when Josh Harrigan took one of his trademark long throws and through a crowded area, David Smith fired in with a header getting his just reward for all his hard work.

This spurred Ford on even more and they continued to be good all over the park with everyone playing their part.

CFY took the lead as Michael Sawbridge delivered a pinpoint free kick from the left, which Zak Pickett met with a fine glancing header to beat the East Lodge keeper. This was a fine reward for Zak who was having his best game for the club.

Although playing wide left of midfield he was often found upfront on the left and also at left back covering for David Kilcoyne if he had surged forward, as well as doing his midfield duties.

Michael Wall and Jozef were chasing everything up front and working well together, indeed Jozef had a good volley saved early on when put through by 'Waller'.

Liam Godfrey came on for David Smith just before half time as he had picked up a knock.

HALF TIME: East Lodge B 1-2 CFY

Half time changes saw Joe and Waller have a five minute rest each as Miles played up front for ten minutes each. Ryan Chinn and James Parsonage played wide right for ten minutes each to allow David Bromhead a rest thus keeping constant pressure on East Lodge with fresh legs.

Kelvin came on in goal to replace Kane, neither keeper put a foot wrong today and must be praised for the way they are sharing the keeper duties.

David Smith came back on for Liam in midfield and later slotted in to centre back when Jake came off injured.

Liam was soon back on the pitch when Ahmed picked up a head injury. Despite a bump on his head, Ahmed was still soon back into the fray.

For CFY's third goal, Jozef found the back of the net from close range following a long throw from Josh, and Zak causing trouble in the area.

From this point it looked like CFY would close the game out at 3-1, however it was not finished.

Joe played the ball through from his midfield position, after Ryan had come back on up front for the last five minutes. Michael Wall latched on to the ball and sealed a 4-1 victory with a good finish.

The whole of the CFY team had played their part, those that started and those that were subs. Both goalkeepers were assured, the back four was solid all day, right across the midfield they ran, tackled and played balls through, covered defenders and two of them scored!

Up front Jozef and Waller continued their rich vein of form with now 16 goals between them in the last 7 games.

All played for each other as a team and fully deserved their 4-1 victory against the team that were the top of the table.

Fine performances from all players especially David Smith in midfield and Michael Sawbridge in defence were edged out by Zak Pickett for the Man of the Match award.

Well done all!

FULL TIME: East Lodge B 1-4 CFY

Man of the match: Zak Pickett

Photos by Miles Hodge

Comeback Kings! Wall bags four in terrific cup turnaround

Ensinger 4-4 Chandlers Ford Youth, (CFY win 6-4 AET)

Hampshire Cup 2^nd Round – 11^th October 2008

Line up: Kane Kellaway, Liam Godfrey, David Kilcoyne, Josh Harrigan ©, Michael Sawbridge, David Bromhead, Zak Pickett, Ahmed Sfagsi, Tom Ashton, Michael Wall, Jozef Montigue.

Subs: Kelvin Bagot, Ryan Chinn, Alex Evens, Miles Hodge

Chandlers Ford came back from two behind, and even then nearly went out of this Hampshire Cup match, but an inspired performance in front of goal from Michael Wall saw the striker rescue the tie once more with a late goal to force extra time. The whole team did themselves proud and gave their all to ensure victory would be theirs and finally Ford took the lead before finding themselves two goals to the good. With the score at 6-4 at the end of the first half in extra time, Ensinger had forfeited playing the second half and it was Ford who sailed through in the end with a wonderful, battling display.

The game started off badly for CFY as Ensinger went ahead early on. Kane Kellaway came a long way out of goal to try and clear the ball on the left hand side towards the corner flag, but the ball ended up right at the feet of an opponent who clipped the ball towards the empty goal and into the net.

It wasn't long however before Ford had a goal of their own to celebrate. The ball came back out to Tom Ashton from a corner kick, and in true style the midfielder scored with a wonderful strike that flew in off the under side of the cross bar.

Midway through the half, Ensinger went ahead as a cross from the right came in and Ford had allowed a striker a free header in front of goal that left Kane no chance.

CFY had chances of their own with Michael Wall coming closest as Jozef Montigue rolled the ball across for him to clip towards goal, the ball bouncing off of the post so unluckily and rolling away to safety.

HALF TIME: Ensinger 2-1 CFY

At the break Richard rung the changes bringing Miles Hodge and Ryan Chinn in as the centre forwards to replace both Montigue and Wall, in the hope that the pair would stop their bickering and come back stronger when brought back on.

Alex Evens also came on for David Bromhead down the right, and the final substitution saw Kane make way for Kelvin in goal.

The hosts helped themselves to a third goal on the counter attack, as the Ensinger forward broke the offside trap peeling off the shoulder of Liam Godfrey where he then ran through to the helpless Kelvin and lifted the ball over his head and into the goal.

Realising the need to change things around, Ford went to a highly attacking formation leaving just three at the back – Josh, David and Alex, and pushing further men forward including Michael Sawbridge who moved up front.

Both teams were reduced to ten men in an incident similar to that of the Warsash game a few weeks back, which saw David Smith sent off for retaliation. Today, it was Michael Sawbridge who was provoked by a head butt, which led to an instinctive reaction as both players tussled before being given their marching orders.

Adjusting better to the unforeseen circumstances, Ford began to play the better football and camp inside the Ensinger half for large periods of play.

A togetherness, along with a determination to get back into the game shone through from the visitors who gave their all for the cause and this is what sparked the come back.

Michael Wall continued his rich vein of form and took every chance that came his way showing clinical finishing.

After his first two goals had incredibly brought the scores level at 3-3, Ford were caught short at the back as they pressed for the winner in normal time.

A foul at one end of the field was not picked up on by the referee, which allowed play to continue as Ensinger worked the ball forward at great pace. Kelvin was left unprotected as the attack came his way and Ensinger were now 4-3 up.

It looked as though this goal would have killed off any chance surely, of Ford saving the game and that all their hard work would come undone.

Thankfully, this was not the case and Michael Wall came to the rescue once more with his hat trick goal. A great effort from the forward who had turned the game around with three goals in a blistering ten minutes. The last being the most important of all in the nick of time to keep the tie alive for CFY and force extra time.

FULL TIME: Ensinger 4-4 CFY

From here on there was only going to be one winner.

Ford now wanted it so much more than their opponents and went all out attack in search of the win, playing some excellent football.

Tom Ashton, as usual dominated the midfield and came ever so close to his second goal of the game with a fantastic run from deep that took him past a number of defenders in the process before thumping a brilliant effort so unfortunately against the wood work.

The defence, since switching to three at the back were faultless with Josh, David Kilcoyne and Alex Evens in particular who shone playing out of position with a terrific display.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Sfagsi the unsung hero continued to play out of his skin winning everything in the middle of the park and breaking up the play to win back possession whenever needed.

The team spirit was high and the mental attitude was right as everyone put in a shift for the team.

This paid off with Jozef Montigue getting the goal that put Ford ahead for the first time in the game. Putting pressure on the back line, Joe shrugged off a defender before sliding in ahead of the keeper and putting the ball through his legs. The willingness to get to the ball first, ahead of the goalkeeper was crucial and worked to great effect.

There was no stopping the Blues when CFY began to pull away with Michael Wall bagging an incredible fourth goal. Combining well with his strike partner, Joe won the ball on the right before feeding it through for the incredibly cool finisher, Michael to bring the ball into the area and blast past the keeper with great power, to cap a fantastic half.

At the break, Ensinger's manager decided enough was enough and forfeited the second half and it was Chandlers Ford who deservedly went through.

They may well have gone on to win by many more because they were playing so well, but in the end Ford were more than happy to settle for the 6-4 victory and can all be very proud of their achievements once again.

After Extra Time: Ensinger 4-6 CFY

Man of the match: Ahmed Sfagsi

Wall's last minute winner

Chandlers Ford Youth 3-2 Crofton Saints B

Mid Solent Under-15 B Division – 4^th October 2008

Lineup: Kane Kellaway, Jake Beattie, Michael Sawbridge, Josh Harrigan ©, David Kilcoyne, Michael Wall, Tom Ashton, Ahmed Sfagsi, Alex Evens, Zak Pickett, Jozef Montigue

Subs: James Parsonage, Kelvin Bagot, Miles Hodge, Ryan Chinn, Liam Godfrey

CFY moved up to fifth place in the table with games in hand, as Ford fought their way back from a goal down to go on to secure the three points with a dramatic, last minute winner.

In the first half Chandlers Ford amounted a good deal of pressure on the Crofton goal, captain Josh Harrigan coming close from a corner early on, as well as David Kilcoyne bursting forward into the box and having a left-footed shot saved.

The one way traffic continued as the Blues dominated the opening twenty five minutes, in particular in the midfield area and a tight back line that were pushed up to the half way line to ensure even more pressure on the visitors, who were camped inside their own half.

Michael Wall played a great ball through to Zak Pickett down the right hand side. Though Pickett had timed his run extremely well, he shot across the goalkeeper from the edge of the area and fired wide of the post.

Zak also came close a while later with a lobbed effort that was not all that far away.

Finally the breakthrough came with five minutes of the half to play. Quick thinking from Wall, who had done well to win the corner in the first place, saw him play the set piece short to Michael Sawbridge who had come looking for the ball to the right of goal. The centre half cut in and got the ball on to his favoured left foot where he unleashed an unstoppable strike into the top corner. A cracking effort from Michael and a well deserved lead after a good half of football.

HALF TIME: CFY 1-0 Crofton Saints B

Crofton, who had very rarely troubled Kane up to this point and had been mere spectators at times, came out of the blocks extremely quickly and were very fired up.

Ford conceded the equaliser just a minute in, as the Saints striker was given time and space to pull the trigger in the area and despite Kane's best efforts to keep it out there was too much power on it and the ball flew into the back of the net.

Richard and Neil's side had immediately responded negatively to this set back and let in another just two minutes later. Crofton broke quickly down the left and when the cross came in the ball was turned in at the near post.

When Kelvin came on to replace Kane, he made one absolutely brilliant stop to prevent the visitors from going further ahead. When Crofton had got in behind the CFY defence, Kelvin came to the rescue with a powerful header rushing out of his area to make a vital interception.

Now a goal behind, Ford had to raise their game to try and find their rhythm once more.

It looked as though they had started well in their response when a succession of corner kicks led to a number of attempts on goal, one in particular that saw Jozef Montigue slam the ball towards goal which sparked some debate as to whether it crossed the line.

The referee could not be 100% sure and so the 'goal' did not stand – where's the goal line technology?! Play continued, as the Crofton defender quickly scrambled it away only for Joe to follow up and hit straight into the side netting.

With this decision going against them, Ford seemed to have that greater desire to do themselves justice and played with a lot more urgency, beginning to restore some of that confidence that was shown in the first half.

It paid off as substitute Liam Godfrey whipped in a good cross for Montigue to bring down, who was then pushed in the chest with both hands leaving the referee, who was two yards away from the incident, little choice but to award the penalty kick.

Keeping a very cool head, Jake Beattie stepped up and made no mistake from 12 yards firing to the keeper's right and scoring the all important equalising goal.

Just when it was looking as though the game would end in a draw, Michael Wall popped up with the winning goal as he ran through before lobbing the ball neatly over the keeper's head to wrap up a man of the match winning performance for the second week in a row and a win for the team against one of the stronger sides in this division.

FULL TIME: CFY 3-2 Crofton Saints

Man of the match: Michael Wall

Defensive errors cost CFY dear in narrow defeat

Warsash Wasps 5-4 Chandlers Ford Youth

Mid Solent Under-15 B Division – 20^th September 2008

Lineup: Kane Kellaway, James Parsonage, David Kilcoyne, Jake Beattie (c), David Smith, Ahmed Sfagsi, Michael Wall, Zak Pickett, Tom Ashton, David Bromhead, Jozef Montigue

Subs: Miles Hodge, Alex Evens, Ryan Chinn

In Chandlers Ford's first league game of the season, Richard's side went down by just a single goal in the end but really should have won the game.

The first half saw CFY dominate proceedings especially the midfield battle where Tom Ashton ran the show as usual.

In attack Jozef Montigue and Michael Wall were always looking lively and creating chances, whilst David Kilcoyne had an extremely good game at left back where he not only performed his defensive duties to a high standard but also bombed forward when the opportunity allowed him to, to add another dimension to Ford's attacking play.

Despite the positives, the defence were a little shaky in particular down the right hand side, were on a couple of occasions the ball should have been cleared. Instead the Wasps capitalised on one such mistake and punished their opponents with a goal.

Montigue put his side back on level terms after a good ball through from David Bromhead, staying on side and calmly stroking the ball past the keeper with a neat finish.

A freak goal from the Wasps followed as Kane was beaten by a high ball forward that bounced over his head and into the net as the hosts restored their lead.

Ford came back strong and were the better side for the remainder of the half, creating several chances and unfortunate not to be ahead going into the break.

Zak Pickett scored his first league goal for the club finding the net with his left foot to make it 2-2.

Ford won a couple of free kicks in quick succession and came so close, with Michael Wall seeing his 25-yard effort come back off the cross bar and Ashton also forcing a good save out of the goalkeeper.

David Bromhead can feel a little hard done by as he had a goal ruled out for a dubious offside decision towards the end of the half.

HALF TIME: Warsash Wasps 2-2 CFY

Into the second half, Ford completely lost their way, their shape and the upper hand in the game.

The Wasps immediately had the ball in the back of the net with a great header from a deep free kick, however the Blues defence stepped up well to ensure the 'goal' did not stand.

It wasn't long though before Ford found themselves a goal behind for the third time in the game when Zak, playing out of position at left back, failed to clear the ball into touch and instead turned inside and gave the ball away in a dangerous position in front of goal and was made to pay as there was no stopping the effort that followed.

Pickett's morning didn't get much better, despite his first half goal, as he let a weak ball from the left through his legs and into the box for the man at the far post to take full advantage and slam home the gift presented for him.

Now 4-2 down, Ford began to lose their heads even more as David Smith found himself in a scrap with an opponent that saw both players dismissed from the action and the remaining twenty minutes of football to be played out with ten versus ten.

Michael Wall gave CFY some hope that there might be a chance of getting back into the game after all, with another of his wonder strikes. Pulling the trigger from distance, the ball flew over the keeper's head and went in off the wood work. A great goal.

Another slip in concentration allowed Warsash to pull away again just as Ford were starting to get back into it, this time a powerful header whistled into the net, though the marking was poor to say the least.

With five minutes remaining Joe was brought back on, having been replaced by Miles midway through the half, and though it turned out to be too little too late, Montigue bagged his second of the game with another well taken goal striking across the keeper from the edge of the area and picking out the bottom corner.

A lesson to be learnt in defending from the costly mistakes that we made. That said the attacking football was a joy to watch at times and we will always create chances and score goals should we continue to play in this manner.

FULL TIME: Warsash Wasps 5-4 CFY

Man of the match: Michael Wall

CFY hit peak in extra time to seal cup win

Chandlers Ford Youth 2-2 Lee Rangers (CFY win 5-2 AET)

Hampshire Cup 1^st Round – 13^th September 2008

Lineup: Kelvin Bagot, James Parsonage, David Kilcoyne, Jake Beattie, Michael Sawbridge, Michael Wall, Zak Pickett, Tom Ashton, Alex Evens, Jozef Montigue, Ryan Chinn

Subs: Kane Kellaway, Miles Hodge

After a gruelling 110 minutes of football in the heat, Chandlers Ford eventually got the goals to see them through to the next round of the Hampshire Cup in this exciting cup tie.

Michael Sawbridge gave Chandlers Ford the lead firing home from the right flank, the power on the shot taking the ball past the Rangers goalkeeper.

Both teams were playing some impressive football and cancelling each other out for the most part.

Chandlers Ford were probably the better side, creating slightly more chances whilst the visitors were always looking dangerous on the break.

Sure enough, Lee Rangers' equalising goal came from one of their quick counter-attacking moves with the pace of their left winger just too quick to keep up with, who lobbed the ball over Kelvin to bring the scores level and that is the way it stayed at the break.

HALF TIME: CFY 1-1 Lee Rangers

The game continued in it's competitive nature with both teams going all out for victory and having a number of chances in this end-to-end encounter.

Ford eventually took the lead that their play merited and it was arguably the best goal of the game. Joe took the ball forward shrugging off his marker with good strength before bearing down on goal and rounding the keeper. Joe did extremely well to keep the ball in play to the left of the penalty area and was unselfish in playing the ball across for Michael Wall, who slammed home from close range to restore the lead.

Ford were looking slightly edgy as the game came to a close, especially vulnerable to the quick breaks down the wings and with just ten minutes remaining, Rangers had got themselves back into the cup tie with another equaliser in similar fashion to their first goal.

Kelvin was replaced in goal by Kane midway through the half, but Richard raised a few eyebrows as he chucked the goalkeeper back into the action, only this time as an outfield player!

Pleasantly surprising a fair few people, including his teammates no doubt, Kelvin came on and was a bright spark in the team. Full of energy and determination not to mention being unlucky not to have got himself on the score sheet. A great contribution.

No one could find a decisive winning goal in normal time, despite both sides coming close, and so the game went in extra time where the boys would continue their battle for a place in the next round with a further fifteen minutes each way to settle matters.

FULL TIME: CFY 2-2 Lee Rangers

Some legs started to tire, and understandably so, but the game was still fast-flowing and providing a lot of goal mouth action.

Michael Wall came close several times but couldn't quite find a way through, as did Joe, Miles and Alex who were all unlucky also.

FIRST HALF EXTRA TIME: CFY 2-2 Lee Rangers

It wasn't until the start of the second half that Ford began to really dominate and take charge for the first time in the game.

Their constant pressure on the Lee Rangers goal was more than enough to see them back on top, as Michael Sawbridge claimed his second goal of the morning directly from a corner kick with the help of a defender on the post who diverted the ball into his own net.

CFY were cruising to victory as Joe volleyed the ball home from a corner, Kelvin doing enough damage from the set piece by distracting the goalkeeper (completely legitimately) running a long the goal line and causing a diversion for the corner as it came in. Joe did all the rest however picking the ball up sweetly first time blasting the ball into the corner through a crowd of players.

Finally Tom Ashton was brought down in the penalty area by a late challenge leaving the referee no choice but to award a penalty kick. Jake Beattie stepped up and made no mistake, though the goalkeeper was a little unlucky as he guessed the right way and got a hand to it. This goal well and truly wrapped up the win and deservedly put the Blues into the next round.

A great all round effort and display from the lads, which form must now be taken into their league games starting next week.

FULL TIME EXTRA TIME: CFY 5-2 Lee Rangers

Man of the match – Kelvin Bagot.