Football News Desk
Week ending Friday 21st November 1997
| CROSFIELDS Football News Desk Week ending Friday 21st November 1997 |
Crosfields 1st XI 4 Summerfields 1st XI 2
After our extremely poor performance against Ludgrove we were back to playing some excellent football and if we had played like this we would have beaten them. The defence was solid, the attacking flowed and was a pleasure to watch with some excellent through balls and one touch passing. My main concern is the fact that our midfield still get caught too far forward when the opposition counter-attack. Having said that we reverted to closing down space and moving towards the ball instead of waiting for it and this allowed us to enjoy 70% possession. Darryl Tott proved to be a menace up front again and the service by the wings Oliver and Daniel, and the midfield Julian, Garo and Chris provided plenty of opportunities. David and Ravi gave ample support to Richard and Sam had very little to do and was very unlucky not to save the penalty having got his fingertips to the ball.
Goalscorers; Julian Stutley, Richard Craig, Daniel Warrell and Oliver Springgay (pen.).
G. Close
Crosfields 2nd XI 4 (1) Summerfields 2nd XI 2
A flattering score-line but a victory which I felt we probably deserved only if because of the performance of one player Richard Perkin, who scored all four goals one of which was a quite brilliantly taken solo opportunity. The loss of Will Stevens had left me wondering what formation to play but Friday's discovery of Philip Stephenson's potential up front allowed us to play a balanced four-four-two. In wet conditions we adjusted to the surface quicker and also to the small pitch on which we were playing. There are still many faults to rectify the principle one being allowing players too much time and space. You don't need to commit yourself but you do need to make them play the ball. Let's end the season with a convincing last match against Elstree.
S. Greenish
Crosfields 3rd XI 1 Summerfields 3rd XI 2
Another very close game which the 3rds only just lost but which was entertaining to watch for the spectators and frustrating for the referee (me!). Summerfields scored two quick goals due to some inaccurate marking by the Crosfields defence, but the 3rds came back strongly and forced an own goal from Summerfields. Crosfields suffered from the perennial problem of lack of power in their crosses and in their shots despite trying to play flowing, passing football. I was very pleased with their second - half performance. Matthew Flint had to be 'man of the match' with some brilliant saves. All out now for our last fixture against Elstree on Wednesday!
S. Verity
Wednesday 19th November
Elstree 1st XI (0) 0 Crosfields 1st XI (0) 1
On a heavy clay, wet pitch trying to play our normal passing game proved impossible. We tried to adjust to the underfoot conditions but encountered difficulty putting thought into practice. Playing against the wind and the rain in the first half, the game more of a dogfight and very little constructive play was seen. Turning around at honours even in the second half the scrappy game continued but we did try to use the elements to our advantage. The weather worsened into almost monsoon type conditions with lashings of rain creating vast areas of standing water. We had a number of opportunities and finally a long ball from Richard Craig reached Darryl Tott who back headed the ball from 18 yards beating a stranded Elstree goalkeeper off his line. Rather fortuitous but they all count. The heavy pitch took its toll on already weary wet limbs but this could not damage our delight in finishing a good season with a win. A hard season but a valuable learning experience.
G. Close
Crosfields 2nd XI 1(1) Elstree 2nd XI 4(0)
You cannot win matches with three players taking on eleven.
S. Greenish
Elstree 3rd XI 1 Crosfields 3rd XI 1
I thought at one point during the afternoon that the 3rds were going to achieve their second win of the season , judging by the way they began the match. One goal up after 5 minutes they appeared to be in control, being more skilful and passing the ball accurately. They had several chances to score again but were unable to finish in front of goal.
In the second half Elstree came back hard and almost camped in our half, such was the pressure they put the 3rds under. Inevitably Elstree scored and then it was a battle to prevent them scoring again. A good effort by the 3rds - at least you didn't lose!
S. Verity
Elstree 4th XI 0 Crosfields 4th XI 7
A fine performance in appalling conditions to bring to a successful end a season of hard work and
effort. Well done! Everyone was positive and attacked and defended with gusto. Passing was more
accurate and people used their heads well. James Rhodes, Matthew Saunders, James Sutton 2 and
Adam Morice scored the goals with two own goals added by Elstree.
I. Boyd
Leighton Park 2nd XI 0 Crosfields 5th XI 0
Given the fact that we were playing Leighton Park 2nd XI we performed excellently. Everyone of the team played to his potential and made every effort to get into position. The opposition proved a little more skilful but we showed greater determination. Matthew played well in goal, Sam Wilson captained the side admirably, Richard St. George-Yorke, Mark Gourley and Ameet Ghatahora were solid in defence. Well done everyone.
N. Moores
Bearwood 2 Crosfields 6th XI 1
A brilliant effort from everyone. A battling performance where we were unlucky on a number of occasions hitting the woodwork more than once. Particular praise to John Hissey for his tenacity and to Philip Heafield in goal who made a few good saves. It could have ended 3-3 but we showed great enthusiasm in our performance. Well done all.
Goalscorer: Kit Allsopp.
D. Brazier
Leighton Park 1 (0) Crosfields 7th XI 3 (2)
A most enjoyable game played with the spirit of good competition in mind. On what was a repeat fixture for the 7/11s, the team's thoughts could not help but dwell on last time's 1-0 defeat. However, this was a new game with fresh opportunities, and from the first whistle the left wing (Oliver Booth) showed himself dominant in his quadrant of the field, and it was not long before a deft cross met Daniel O'Shea at centre forward and following an initial attempted save was neatly trickled across the line to give Crosfields the lead. Leighton Park soon began to mark heavily the left field and so it was no surprise that the thundering hole left on the right allowed Shervin Gilarni through to further extend the lead.
The second half began with considerably greater effort from Leighton Park, and much of the game was fought out in midfield. However, with about ten minutes left on the clock, Ollie Booth once again broke through LP's defence, dribbled into the 18 yard box, and thundered home a splendid left footed shot straight into the net. The last 10 minutes saw Leighton Park lift their game considerably and eventually their efforts were rewarded with a well scored goal. However, it proved to be too late to affect the outcome of the match and at the final whistle Crosfields 7th XI were able to celebrate their first win of the season.
M.W. Geldart
Elstree U11A Elstree U11A
Strength and determination proved to be the key factor given the atrocious weather conditions. Any attempt to play our usual brand of passing football would have been quite futile and it was left to Matthew Richards to score two fine opportunist goals to win the match and retain our unbeaten record for the season. All credit, once again to the back four who defended resolutely when under pressure near the end. Well done everyone, a most encouraging season.
L. Smith
Crosfields U11B 4(3) Elstree U11B 0(0)
Another victory for the B team, albeit rather unconvincing. I was rather hoping for a stirring performance as this was the final game after all! Sadly it was not to be, although there were some good moments. The man of the match, Peter Westwood, played his best game and scored a fine individual goal. William Britton scored two, and Charles Boultwood scored the other, although he should have had a hatrick. He saw his Dad in the crowd! But, on the whole this performance was rather lacklustre. The referee even suggested that he bring his bed out and have a little nap! He wouldn't have missed much.
D. Affleck
Crosfields U11C XI (0) 1 WhiteKnights U11 A (3) 7
Crosfields playing their last match of the season competed well for the first 15 minutes, but as soon as the opposition scored their first goal, heads went down and the marking and defensive work was very poor. At half time we were 3-0 down and with very grim
prospects ahead. Fortunately we played a little better in the second half and we scored first with a good run down the right wing from Luke Hargreaves who cut inside the full back and drove the ball low into the corner of the net. Our backs were constantly letting us
down with one defender playing 3 or 4 Whiteknights forwards on a number of occasions. All of their goals came from defensive errors and if we could have played to our normal form we would have had a better result. Never mind boys, lets look for some improved results next year.
P.M.James
Crosfields U11D XI (0) 1 Elstree U11 C (0) 0
A game of honest endeavour which made up for the lack of skill. Neither side deserved to lose but Sudharshan Soysa broke the deadlock with five minutes to go and despite Elstree trying their best to score it was Crosfields who looked the better team at the end. A delight to referee and congratulations to both teams for their sportsmanship.
D. Hardman.
| Return to Crosfields Homepage.. | Return to 'Closer Look' Homepage |