Woodford Youth Football Club

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This afternoon saw the under 9b's compete in this enthralling cup game in testing conditions. The ground was extrememly heavy but both teams played some gripping football which was a credit to all. To be fair Ridgeway probably had slightly the better chances in the first half but in terms of possession there was little in it. Horgan, in goal began writing the script early on when pouncing on all efforts on his goal and was determined not to be beaten. He was ably assisted in this by both McDiarmid and Hepworth who defended their goal as if their lives depended on it. Walters, Kiernan, Smith and Graham were all a threat on the break and managed to create a couple of opportunities for themselves which the Ridgeway keeper cooly palmed away for corner kicks.  The second half saw a couple of changes with Thomas and Kennedy coming on, and the pair of them slotted into place very well. Thomas in particular held a great line and positioned himself superbly to defend every Ridgeway attack while at the other end Kennedy was using his lightning pace to rampage up and down the left wing which on one occasion saw him play a neat one-two with Graham and unleashing a venomous shot low down to the keepers right which again he got finger tips to turning it agonisingly around the post. Woodford were now in the ascendancy and had a ten minute spell which gave the defence a breather but the goal just would not come. With the final whistle upon us there was a scramble to get some penalty takers back onto the pitch with seconds to go. Final score 0-0.  No one likes the misfortune of losing a cup tie on penalties, and when both teams have put so much into a game of football in seems a cruel way to be eliminated but the rules are the rules and our five takers all volunteered, not one of them cowering from the pressure.
 
First up Ridgeway.....wide!.....0-0
Up stepped Graham.....goal!.....1-0
Ridgeway.....goal.....1-1
Up stepped Smith.....goal.....2-1
Ridgeway.....goal.,....2-2
Up stepped Walters.....crossbar.....2-2
Ridgeway.....goal.....2-3
Up stepped Thomas.....goal.....3-3
Ridgeway.....Horgan SAVES.....3-3
Up stepped Kiernan.....GOAL.....4-3
 
A great result against a superb team of talented boys and we wish them well for the remainder of their season. As for our boys, what can we say that hasn't already been said. You are a pleasure to train on a weekly basis and with more performances like that we will soon be moving up the league table. Man of the Match goes to the entire team for what was a truly admirable display.
 
Match report: RH

Our cup run continued today when the foxes travelled to the home of Romford Colts in what was a very entertaining game of free flowing football played by both sides. Woodford took a deserved lead when Thomas received a pass which he played around the corner to the oncoming Smith who put his laces through the ball and it flew with dip into the top corner, a fantastic goal at any level but at under 9's finishing like that truely is something special! 0-1.  Graham was working beaverishly in the middle of the park breaking up opposition attacks and starting ones of our own. And Kiernan was rampaging down the left putting in dangerous crosses at every opportunity. Kennedy who was playing in an unfamiliar position at right back did nothing wrong and was tigerish in his approach but it was the calmness and organisation of Man of the Match Hepworth that really shone through this week, very rarely did the Colts attack get past him but when they did the amazing Horgan was always on hand to get his team out of trouble. However, in saying all that Romford did draw level when the ball was toe poked home by their striker, 1-1. Walters and McDiarmid came on to give the side some more strength at the back and central midfield and it worked to an extent but Romford were playing some marvellous passing football which would have been a pleasure to watch had I been a neutral!  Woodford finally clicked into gear and from a clearance by Horgan to Smith, he and Graham somehow manufactured an opportunity for Smith to put a cross into the box which went over the keepers head and like all wingers are taught, coming in at the back post was captain Kiernan who side footed home, 1-2. The team saw the rest of the game out with solid football from back to front and have now navigated their way into the hat for the next round draw!
 
Good luck to our hosts who were very gracious in defeat, but their football is certainly a credit to the manager, parents and club.
 
Merry Christmas to all our players and parents who have been very supportive to the team from both Kevin and myself.
 
Match report: RH

On a cold wet morning the under 9b Foxes travelled to Wanstead Flats for this third round cup tie, in what everybody thought would be a formality of turning up, winning and moving on, how wrong were we!!! Rippleway, although with the wind in their favour, threw eveything including the kitchen sink at Wooford for the first period of 20 minutes and took a two nil lead into the break. This came about by some clever play from Rippleway, but more concerning was the lack of effort to help the defence by our stagnant midfield. Fortunately the break came at just the right time and the manager and coach put across their concerns to the team and send te boys back out to play football how we know they can play. Immediately this took effect because the entire team clicked into gear and began to play football. The wind was now our 8th player and we took the game to our hosts. McDiarmid who was now in goal (covering for our sorely missed keeper Horgan who we all wish a speedy recovery) had little to do. Hepworth who has been growing in stature week by week was monumental at the back, this allowed his defensive colleague Kennedy to surge forward at every opportunity. Thomas was a constant menace down the right wing, Kiernan was organising his troops from the left and Walters had three geat chances to get his name on the score sheet narrowly missing out each time. Graham had one of his quieter games in front of goal but made up for it with some fine assists for strike partner and Man of the Match Smith who bagged another hat-trick to allow us to come fron 2-0 down to win this game 3-2. A great game of football by two commited sides and Rippleway were by no means any mugs, they outplayed the Foxes for twenty minutes in the first half and if nothing else this should serve as an eye opener and perhaps training will be taken a little more seriously in future.  Finally, and perhaps a little biasedly (for which I do apologise) I want to mention Hepworth, who after a huge loss of confidence several weeks ago has found his desire and hunger again and his last three performances have seen him improve ten-fold. Goals certainly win games and between Smith and Graham we have bags of them in reserve but clean sheets and last ditch tackles are just as important.
 
Hutton next week and they certainly are NO mugs so take todays second half performance into next week and a positive result can be achieved.
 
Match report: RH

Today we entertained joint top of the table Leaside Colts and fully expected a tough game. Both teams impeccably observed a minutes silence before kick off in memory of our armed forces both past and present. From the first whistle Leaside Colts went on the attack and shot goal bound but the effort went wide, this was a wake up call because few mistakes were made at the back after this and Hepworth who was outstanding could easily have walked off with a man of the match performence on any other day but McDiarmid was a colossus and deservedly took the Man of the Match trophy. He thwarted everything and was solid in the tackle but his distribution was immense. This gave the rest of the team encouragement to play in the knowledge that the defence would stand strong and with Horgan in goal you knew it would need to be something special to beat him. Woodford took the lead mid way through the first half when Graham, who on the right had a cross cum shot which found its way into the path of Kiernan who leathered the ball home for a 1-0 lead. This brought Leaside out and they passed their way from back to front, finally having a shot from distance which McDiarmid bravely got in the way of, however the deflection saw the ball land at the feet of a Colt striker who let loose a speculative shot which Horgan managed to get one hand on, but such was the power it crept over the line, 1-1. Half time and after a few words of encouragement the Foxes went back out on the pitch with a determination never witnessed before, they fought for every loose ball, shot from all angles and made last ditch tackles to win possession back. Smith who had been covering in the central midfield position moved back out on to his favoured right wing and had an immediate effect. He dribbled his way down the line and cut inide a Colts tackle before shooting goalbound, the ball deflected of an outstretched boot of a defender and into the roof of the net, 2-1 somewhat fortuitously, but certainly well deserved. Woodford then had a 5 minute spell of sustained pressure with shots from Kennedy, Graham, Kiernan and Smith all going close. But when switching off for just a minute the scores were levelled when in crept a Leaside midfielder completely unmarked who toe poked an effort under the body of Horgan, 2-2. With 3 minutes left on the clock Woodford were going forward with every opportunity and when McDiarmid passed to Smith who forwarded the ball on to Kiernan who in turn slid a pass onto the right wing for Graham to check his run and cross a delightful ball to the feet of Kennedy, and with amazing technique and no back lift he fired across the keeper who got finger tips on the ball which took a lot of the pace of the ball but almost in slow motion the ball trickled over the line for a 3-2 lead. The Den went into meltdown, players, parents and management were all celebrating. Leaside had one more effort on goal but the impressive McDiarmid again saw the attack off and the final whistle went in what was an amazing 40 minutes of football. Excellent effort boys, keep it up and we will all continue to be very proud of your achievements. Also a belated birthday wish to George who I forgot to wish a Happy Birthday to in last weeks report, sorry mate. I wont forget next time!  

Good luck to our visitors too, who were very gracious in defeat in what must have been a bitter pill to swallow, and we look forward to the away fixture later in the season.
 
Match report: RH

On a day of torrential rain and wind the Foxes made the short journey to London Marathon Playing Fields to play top of the table Redbridge United, expecting a tough game seeing as they had only conceded one league goal in 5 league games. Despite the weather the game will long go down in the memory banks for all that were present as it turned out to be a great advert for youth football with both teams giving 110% in tough conditions. The early exchanges were 50/50 with both sets of players creating half chances but we went 0-1 down when Redbridge got a corner which deflected off the post and fell kindly to the unmarked Redbridge forward who scuffed a soft goal into the net. Despite this McDiarmid and Hepworth who have developed a great partnership at the back were superb throughout the contest. Trailing and Woodford began to play, Walters (who turned 9 today), was again a dominant figure in the middle using his size to good effect and was distributing neat slide ball passes to both the left and right wings for Kiernan and Smith to play crosses into the box of which caused the back two and keeper of Redbridge all sorts of trouble. The pressure was building when the ball landed at the feet of Graham on the right and with his back to goal he shimmied one way and then the next to create that half a yard of room which he used to deliver a cross into that area of uncertainty between defenders and keeper, the Redbridge keeper did the right thing in trying to dive to push it away but his finger tips were not strong enough and the ball was cracked home into the unguarded net by Kiernen, 1-1. At half time Kennedy and Thomas came on for Hepworth and Smith and immediately got involved in this great game of football. It was end to end stuff and if I'm being honest 1-1 was a fair result, but if either team were going to win it in the end it was definately Woodford!.....I would love to write more but due to the weather my notes became papier mache and are unreadable.....sorry!!  Great performances by all, again saw the entire team awarded MoM for their hard work in testing conditions and if we continue to perform like this then a good season will be enjoyed by all. Also a huge thanks to all our parents who continue to be very supportive to both the players, Kevin and I, it is greatly appreciated.
 
Finally a mention for our hosts who proved to be a tough team to beat but their honesty and work ethic was noticed by all and good luck for the rest of their season too.

Match report: RH

Woodford welcomed Raphaels Park B to the den this morning and there was a feeling of optimism in the air for a good performance but after a stuttery start Woodford found themselves trailing 0-1 after failing to clear their lines. Thomas was putting in a good stint in an unfamiliar position at right back and did not let himelf or the team down. Hepworth was ably supporting at the back with some hard tackles on the tricky Raphaels forwards but this did not stop stop them taking a deserved lead. This certainly acted as a kick up the bum and Woodford began to take more of a foot hold on the game and after some slick football from front to back the ball found its way to Graham who tucked away with aplomb, 1-1. Raphaels were not a team who allowed this to put their heads down and back they came at the Foxes and shot agonisingly wide. With half time nearly upon us Graham was tripped on the angle of the penalty area. This gave Walters the opportunity to crash one of his freekick firebolts goalbound and boy did he deliver, finding the top right corner out of the reach of the despairing goalkeeper, 2-1. Halftime. The second half was a much better performence, Thomas moved into the midfield and immediately looked more at home using his tenacity to good affect. McDiarmid came on to shore up the back and it worked because Raphaels chances on our goal became less and less. Woodford nearly took a 3-1 lead when a quick kick out from Horgan to McDiarmid allowed him to deliver a pass to captain for the day Smith who squared a ball for the oncoming Walters who let fly a shot which crashed off the bar, Graham tried to head in from close range but his timing wasn't quite right however Thomas swivelled and shot just over. Kennedy came back on for Walters in the middle to give more energy in the midfield as Walters had run himself into the ground. Nearly 3-1 did become 3-1 when Graham and Smith got their one two triangular passing together creating a chance for Graham who cannily tucked away, 3-1. This was recipricated 2 minutes later when Graham became provider for Smith who cut in on his left, then turned onto his right shooting right through the keeper for his first of the day, 4-1. There was still time for Horgan to provide another tremendous save when tipping the ball wide when a goal looked sure. Final score 4-1.
 
In summary, not the perfect performance but a win is a win, every player gave 100% although the gap between defence and midfield was too large on occasions but this is something that can be worked on in training. Finally we would like to wish Raphaels Park B every success for the rest of the season, their players, parents and officials are a real credit to their club.
 
Match report: RH

Following on from our last performance where we all let ourselves down we were again confronted with our achilles heel, "a small pitch"! However all the boys have worked so very hard in training on correcting this and being able to adjust to different circumstances so we went into this game full of optimism and every player stood up to be counted and boy did it work because there was a case to be made for every one of them being awarded the MoM!  Now on to the game, and from the kick off Woodford found their feet and the passes were pinging from player to player, Smith was rampaging down the right wing like an eagle soaring in the sky, Kiernan was organising his troops like a general in battle, Graham was on his toes the whole time like Usain Bolt out of the blocks, Walters was the destroyer in the middle like a tank in the battlefield, McDiarmid was reading the game like a chessmaster, Hepworth was sliding in with his tackles like a man possessed and Thomas was always available to receive the ball using his touch and awareness to play the pefect pass!....And Horgan was alert although rarely troubled!.....We were back - and back with a 'BANG!!'  With 5 minutes on the clock Woodford took the lead from another passage of one two football between Kiernan, Smith and Graham who tucked away, 0-1. Quickly followed by 0-2 when Smith shot through the keepers legs. The third came from Walters who calmy picked his spot and fired it goalbound for a score of 0-3. Graham got his second on the stroke of half time for a lead of 0-4.  At half time Thomas came on for Graham and immediately got involved and from one of his jaunts down the wing his crossed for Walters to fire home his second, 0-5. Uptill this point it would have been really hard to choose a MoM but the next few minutes made that decision quite simple when Walters put in a bone crunching, but fair tackle in the midfield, the ball broke to Smith who squared a ball in to the oncoming feet of Walters who absolutely smashed the ball into the top corner for a lead of 0-6 but more importantly his first hat-trick for his new team, a fantastic moment and very deserved. You would have thought he would be content but this was far from the case because he grabbed a fourth for himself with another blistering shot from outside the area!  0-7.  What we have done in training is to have a penalty shoot out at the end of every session and the winner is nominated to take penalties in the following game should one arise, and yesterday McDiarmid was finding the top right or left corner with each kick so to expect him to do that in a game would be very harsh. But he did not disappoint, because when we were awarded a pen with seconds on the clock to go up he stepped.  The ball must have missed the stantion of where post and bar meet by millimetres, leaving not only their keeper helpless but even Petr Cech would have failed to save it!....Fantastic and 0-8.  Its easy to praise the attacking part of the team off the back of an 0-8 victory but special mention must also go to Horgan who in my opinion is developing into the best keeper I have seen at this age for his bavery, awareness and enthusiasm, also to Hepworth who following a knock in his confidence is back to the player we all love and know, sliding in tackles on opponents almost twice his size and his distribution out of defence is improving week on week. And finally, the captain Kiernan who combines both attributes of football which is to go forward in attack but to also track back in defence, possibly the hardest job in football, if not the most demanding, but he does it with such calmness it defys his age. Onwards and upwards and with this performance in mind their is no reason why we cannot make it further in the Cup this season.
 
Also a big mention to our opponents Lakeview, who for all their effort were not rewarded with a goal but their determination and never say never approach will get them rewards in the future and we wish them well in their league campaign.
 
Match report: RH

On a glorious Autumnal morning the Orange army of Woodford U9b's travelled to the home of Raphaels Park in Hornhurch. With two players missing through one reason or another we were down to the bare bones and only had seven boys who would need to see the entire 40 minutes through.  We had decided that should we win the toss we would elect to shoot downhill first in the hope that we could get a sufficient lead to defend on what was a large sized pitch. Someone was looking down on us, as captain for the day Thomas, standing in for Kiernan correctly called and downhill it was!   The game kicked off on time and Woodford from the outset were attacking the Raphaels goal with Smith and Graham, who have developed an understanding that can only be likened to those enjoyed by the likes of Rooney and Berbatov and Anelka and Drogba passing their way through the Raphaels defence at will. The passing ability of the entire team has improved ten fold throughout every training session and match which has made creating chances and taking those chances as easy as A-B-C!....Back to the game now and after 3 minutes Woodford were 0-1 up when Kennedy, thinking quickly and decisively took a throw deep in our half to Walters who thread a slide rule pass into Graham who in turn squared to Smith for what was to be his first of another fine hat-trick. 0-1 soon became 0-2 when Smith returned the compliment to his strike partner Graham who neatly finished. A loose ball was collected by Walters in the midfield who drove forward and let free with a rocket which the Raphaels keeper was unable to stop for a 0-3 lead. The pressure was relentless from Woodford and the football sublime. Although rarely needed both Thomas and Hepworth were fully switched on and encouraging their team mates forward whilst neatly clearing up the occasional Raphaels attack. Smith was using the full width of the pitch to his benefit and pace whipping in 2 or 3 crosses which so closely found diving Woodford foreheads. Woodford did force a corner which Graham crossed beautifully onto the head of Walters who was unlucky to see his header come back off the post but with a smart turn on the floor he swivelled his body and found the bottom corner, 0-4. Next came an intricate passage of play which saw the ball rebound of the post from a Walters volley following every player having a touch of the ball in the build up. So nearly goal of the season and its only September!!! Graham who had been quiet for all of about 2 minutes bounced in to life with 2 goals of sheer quality which gave him his first hat-trick of the season, the first coming from approximately 18 yards finding the top right corner and the second from somewhere approaching 30 yards when he waited for a ball to bounce before unleashing an unstoppable volley straight down the keepers throat but a tad too high for him to stop, 0-5 & 0-6 repectively. Just on the stroke of half time Raphaels did have a shot from about the penalty spot which was destined for the goal but a superb reflex save and dive from Horgan kept his clean sheet intact. Half time 0-6.  The second half was now going to be tougher, shooting up the hill, with seven tiring players but to a man they showed their desire to win and drive on. One change was made bringing Horgan out of goal and replacing him with Walters. This possibly unsettled the team for 6 or 7 minutes when they found themselves on the backfoot, Raphaels determined to get on the score sheet were now playing some tidy football of their own which was a credit to them, their attitudes and their management team but they weren't rewarded due to the tough tackles from the re-invigorated Hepworth and game reading ability of Thomas. It was from a goal kick played short to Hepworth who slid a pass into the run of Kennedy who in turn found Smith who crossed to Graham for another tap in, football played to the highest order.....'The Woodford Way'....it is this that makes football an easy game to play, where passing is the key to unlocking defences, 0-7. From a Walters goal kick it was Smith who pulled the ball down out of the air and passed to.....yeah, you guessed it....Man of the Match, Graham for another tap in and his fifth goal, 0-8. Some more nice football followed which saw Smith fire goal bound from an angle, the ball rebounded of the inside of the post and ricocheted into the goal via a small deflection off the keeper, 0-9. Raphaels got themselves on the score sheet and to be fair they deserved it. It is far too easy for kids of this age to lose interest and the desire to be the best that you can be when things are not going your way, but guts and a doggedness to keep going will always get you results and they got that when from a goal kick the Woodford defence felt it not necessary to put a head on the ball and the pacy Raphaels forward unleashed a venomous shot into the roof of the net, 1-9. With double figures now a target for Woodford the tables turned when Graham turned provider for Smith who tucked away the tenth and final goal of this match and exhibition of 'How to play football!'. 1-10 Final Score.
 
Keep up the hard work in training boys and days like today can be enjoyed more often than not, and a goodluck to our hosts Raphaels Park A for the future.
 
Match report: RH

After one or two complaints I will attempt to keep this report to a minimum, plus I am still recovering from watching United turn over City in the derby. (Get in there! - Web Admin)
 
Our first home game saw an entertaining game of football played by two teams playing attractive attacking football. Xcel started probably the brighter and had a couple of attempts on Horgan's goal but he was manfully up to everything they threw at him. With 5 minutes on the clock and against the run of play Walters who has been a revelation in central midfield broke up an Xcel attack in the middle of the park and played a delightful pass into the feet of Graham who skilfully tucked it away, 1-0. Xcel continued to come forward and found themselves with 4 v 1 at the back but superb reading of the game by captain Kiernan (a-la his numbersake Bobby Moore) thwarted the attack clearing for a throw and then preceded to scream for help from his non existant midfield! They must have listened as they didn't go missing again. Thomas, Smith and Walters all had half chances to double the lead but it was Xcel who pulled level from an exquisite corner and header set piece straight from the training ground, 1-1. Just before the half time whistle Kiernan found himself with time to shoot from long range which was neatly parried by the Xcel keeper. H/T 1-1. Following the restart and a few personnel changes which saw Hepworth and Kennedy replace Graham and Thomas, Woodford began the brighter and pressurised the Xcel goal but their keeper was becoming like a brick wall. Walters shot just over the bar as did Smith. Xcel began to find their feet and had it not been for some terrific defending from McDiarmid and Hepworth they could so easily have conceded. The game was now screaming out for someone to take control by the scruff of the neck and up stepped the captain and Man of the Match Kiernan, there could not have been a blade of grass he did not cover, he was tackling here and tackling there and although simple as it may sound passes were finding their target with aplomb. With this inspiration the team drove forward and from a Smith pile driver the keeper only parried into the path of Graham who again tucked it away neatly, 2-1. They say you are never more vunerable than after you have just scored and this rung true, as straight from the kick off Xcel drove forward and following some lovely intricate passing they cut threw the defence and although finger tips were on the ball Horgan's despairing dive was to no avail, 2-2. With 5 minutes left on the clock Woodford threw everything at Xcel, including the kitchen sink but they stood upto the pressure and the game finished a fair 2-2. An excellent game played by two attacking and fair teams and we wish Xcel every bit of luck this season.

Match report: RH

The long wait was over at 10.00am this morning, for the newly formed WYFC B team, and blimey, was it worth it. Football played the way its supposed to be and most importantly with a smile on your face and as a team. The training leading up to this fixture centred around creating an unbreakable team spirit and passing, the score although important was always secondary.
 
The game kicked off on time and Woodford found themselves on the attack from word go, with Smith having two early shots only to be foiled by despairing dives from the BHFC keeper. In the ealry stages BHFC offered little going forward but when they did McDiarmid and Hepworth cleared up. On one occasion Hepworth played a line ball down the left to Kiernan who dribbled round one player followed by a step over and whipped in a cross which was cleared for a corner. From the resulting corner McDiarmid trundled forward to take it and put across a ball on a sixpence which Graham narrowly missed out on converting. This was to be one of several fantastic corners by McDiarmid. The shots continued to rain down on the busy BHFC keeper who stood up to everything thrown at him, however his resistance was soon to be breached when Graham and Smith playing some fantastic triangular one-two football created Smith the space to unleash an unstoppable pile driver in to the roof of the net, 0-1. Walters was now dominating the centre of the park breaking up sporadic BHFC attacks and distributing sublime passes into the forwards. Again some fantastic Woodford passing created an almost identical chance for Smith who found his shot deflect off the bar where it meets the post, the goal is probably still shaking from its brutality. For a minute Woodford switched off and allowed BHFC through on goal but the skillfull forward shot across goal, narrowly missing. This only kicked Woodford back into life and from a throw deep in our half Kiernan found Graham who set off for goal fully aware of his team mate Smith who was definately in the better position to score and unselfishly he rolled the ball inch perfect into his path and again he shot on target into the back of the net, 0-2. BHFC regrouped and had a 5 minute spell of pressure on our goal but Horgan who has developed into a superb keeper was up to everything, however when he found himself one on one with the Hill's lively striker he was unlucky having made the initial save low down to his right the ball rebounded back into the strikers path and he tucked it away, 1-2. BHFC continued to come forward straight from the kick off and earned themselves a corner. McDiarmid cut it out at the near post and the whole team broke forward at pace, McDiarmid played a pass down the right to Smith who bore down on goal with Hills defence exposed and from an acute angle fired goalbound, a terrific save by the keeper was the result but Graham like the poacher he is was looking for the scraps and poked the ball under the keepers body, 1-3. H/T. The manager and coach made a couple of changes replacing Graham and Hepworth with Kennedy and Thomas and sent the team out with the same ethos of attacking football. BHFC chasing the game were now playing some lovely football up front with the silky number 5 making some great Cruyff turns and it worked because he brought them back into the game with a great shot which Horgan manged to get finger tips to but to no avail, 2-3. This truly was the catalyst for Woodford to up their game and from this point on it was all Woodford. Smith had another shot, followed by Thomas and then having switched wings, Kennedy was having a blinder on the left and it was from one of his forages forward that he found himself in a shooting position from the angle and he didn't disappoint firing low down across goal into the corner of the net, 2-4. Thomas was working tirelessly up and down the right playing some neat and tidy football with Smith and between them they created two opportunities for Smith to grab his hat-trick but one went wide and one was parried wide. From the resulting corner Kennedy floated a ball across which was cleared to the edge of the area to the feet of Smith and he was not to be denied his hat-trick shooting through the crowded area into the back of the net, 2-5. this spurred a couple more substitutions replacing Walters who was tiring following his midfield general role and the hat-trick hero Smith who was clapped off for his Man of the Match performance, with Hepworth. With time running out Thomas was determined to get his name on the score sheet and when the ball rebounded to him although bouncing high he used superb technique to get his instep over the ball and drill a shot into the roof of the net, 2-6. The final whistle was seconds away when a BHFC defender handled on the line giving Woodford a penalty which Hepworth was nominated to take in the hope to break his duck of never scoring for his beloved Foxes, he picked his spot and fired low to the keepers right but to his credit the keeper made a fantastic save. As mentioned at the very beginning of this report, team spirit is a massive part of this teams mentality and every member gathered around him to give him a pat on his back which was pleasing to see. Final score Buckhusrt Hill A 2 - 6 Woodford Youth B.
 
This was a great start to the season and both the manager and I were pleased with the performance, result and most importantly the smiles on your faces throughout. Keep it up and we are sure this will be a very successful season.
 
Match Report: RH