Season 2005-06 Reports

Under 15

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8th January 2006
Kent Youth League U15 South
Kennington 2 v 3 Borden Village

We started the new year off against a Borden side who were battling for runners up spot, but we were confident that if we produced the fight and performance of the last 3 games we could get a result. After our recent run of injuries it was good to see Keeper Alex Stevens return for his first game of the season and Samuel Bible back on the subs bench on his recovery which has seen him only play 40 minutes so far. But the good news was dampened when Adam Slegg had to miss the game due to another injury.

Despite plenty of pre match talk of getting off to a good start two of our defenders went for the same ball and got in each others way and the ball went straight to Borden attacker who could believe his luck as he calmly passed the ball into the net after only 2 minutes. For the next 15 minutes we never hardly got out of our half as the team looked totally out of sorts. 20 minutes in though a great cross from Chris Dawes was fired home from Chris Wyles and this began a turnaround, as from then on in, we had the better of the half and didn't want the ref to finish it.

The 2nd half started with us back on top but the direct play of Borden resulted in a ball over the defence and the attempt to make a tackle was judged as unfair by the ref who awarded a pen. (disappointing thing was we had 2 penalty appeals turned down) They scored to go back in the lead and 5 minutes later after another mix up they went 3 - 1 up against the run of play.

Frustratingly we finished the stronger and in the last 15 minutes should have scored 4 or 5 goals instead of the 1 Jonathan Townsend got. The chances were shared between a number of players and they weren't difficult. So we lost our 100% winning home record against a side that on form we would expect to beat. There was good performances from Ali Hussain Zafar, Chris Wyles and Mitch Punt.

This result now means we have lost our way in the league and will probably have our lowest league position ever. But the boys still have the potential to beat anyone on their day so it will be a test of their character to see how they perform for the rest of the season with nothing to play for.


18th December 2005
Kent Youth League U15 South
Ramsgate 3 v 2 Kennington

Last season Ramsgate were our bogey team and we have never won on their ground in 4 previous attempts. And with players dropping down like flies during the week, we went to the game with only 11 players available. So things didn't look good.
On arrival at the ground we inspected the pitch which looked more like an ice rink then a football pitch, but the ref who obviously needed some money to buy some xmas presents amazingly said the game had to go on. We weren't happy about the decision as it was plainly difficult to stand up and a danger to all of the players but after a 30 minute delay the game finally kicked off.

And within 25 minutes we had shot into a 2 - 0 lead through Mitch Punt and Jonathan Townsend. The boys were skating around the pitch and Ramsgate didn't know what to do. They needed help or something, and sure enough Father Christmas disguised as the ref came to the rescue.
A good tackle and clearance to give Ramsgate a corner was amazingly given as a penalty. The ref rushed to pick up the ball and put it on the spot before a Ramsgate player beat him to the kick and pull them back into the game.

The 2nd half was always going to be hard as the players were getting tired but a great opportunity to score the 3rd was missed and this kept the aggressive Ramsgate team in the hunt.

It was about this time we were all glad that U Jet had gone bankrupt and stopped the flights at Manston which was just behind us, because the now infamous Ramsgate linesman was flagging like he was trying to direct a plane safely to ground. Didn't matter where we were he just kept flagging, just in case we got in their half again.

But we still looked comfortable and Ramsgate were getting more and more upset and Adam Slegg became the number one target and received a smack in the mouth and a number of kicks in an effort to stop him charging down the line.

Enter Father Christmas again, he seemed to turn a blind eye to the treatment Adam Slegg was receiving but couldn't wait to get the card out and book him when a innocent looking tackle was penalised. And with 5 minutes to go another tackle from Adam resulted in the Ref giving him a 2nd card and sending him off. To be honest the 2nd tackle was a booking offence but we have had player earlier in the season punched in the face and the Ref has ordered his team to sub him rather then send him off, not many of the refs seem to like booking anyone let alone sending the kids off.

This was just what Ramsgate wanted the chance to get at us and 2 goals (1 in the last minute) from their left (where Adam Slegg was playing) meant we were robbed and lost the game undeservedly 3 - 2.
The whole team can feel proud of their performance though and it was bad luck and poor effort from the ref that kept our poor record at Ramsgate

11th December 2005
Kent Youth League U15 South
Kennington 4 v 0 Margate

Kennington U15's entertained Margate FC in the reverse of the opening day fixtures and were looking to revenge a 4 - 2 defeat. And they started off playing some neat and tidy football and could have grabbed an early lead when Matt Godden's header just went the wrong side of the post. Despite being a big team (several 6 footers) the Margate boys failed to get to grips with Kennington's pace and movement, and after 15 minutes a through ball from midfield put Adam Slegg clear and he coolly slotted pass the advancing keeper to give us the lead. The chances came and went and we were almost punished when the Margate defence cleared a long ball which wrong footed the solid looking home defence and the forward's shot hit the woodwork. This proved to be the only noteworthy attempt shown all morning from the visitors, and soon after Kennington also managed to hit the bar when Matt Godden's header left the keeper standing.
The second half started slowly but Kennington eventually got back in gear and 20 minutes in, a great turn and volley from the impressive Matt Godden flew into the net to double the lead. This seemed to deflate the Margate boys who couldn't get into the game and Chris Wyles then turned their defence inside out and knocked home a fine goal for the 3rd. Kennington then created numerous chances and could have easily scored 3 or 4 more before a great cross from Matt Godden resulted in Chris Wyles heading his 2nd and Kennington's 4th to give the us a fine 4 - 0 win.

Dan Scorer, Chris Dawes and Greg Conlon all had solid games and impressed but every player did their bit in a good all-round team performance.

Well done boys, a game enjoyed by all who watched it

4th December 2005
Kent Youth League South Division
Chatham 4 v 3 Kennington

Kennington U15’s Kent Youth League team travelled to unbeaten leaders Chatham Town. Some early sloppy defending saw them concede three goals, however just before half time the arrears were reduced when Chris Wyles laid the ball on to Matt Godden to perfectly chip the advancing goalkeeper. In the second half, after some early scares, Kennington started to control the game. Mitchell Punts superbly struck free kick from 25 yards gave hope, only for Chatham to counter with a quick break to increase the margin back to two. With 15 minutes left, Ben Jordan met a cleared corner to scream an unstoppable shot and reduce the deficit back to one. Kennington sensed an opportunity to upset the form book, however some resilient defending by the league leaders enabled them to hold on for the win. This was a fine performance from Kennington who should be congratulated for their superb approach when initially faced with a rampant Chatham outfit who admitted that we deserved at least a draw.

20th November 2005
Kent Youth League U15 South
Kennington 3 v 2 Whitstable Town Juniors

With only 13 fit players available we went into the game against a struggling Whitstable hoping to get the season going again after losing our last 2 games. And after a slow start the boys began to get on top and Ali Hussain Zafar deflected a Chris Wyles shot home to give us a early lead. Soon after that Ben Jordan became the latest player to join the ever increasing injury list when he limped off the pitch. Despite dominating the rest of the half we failed to increase our total until good work by Matt Godden resulted in a cross that found Zafar who scored his and our 2nd goal on the stroke of half time. Minutes into the 2nd half Matt Godden scored a great goal, direct from a free kick. But instead on going on from there and adding to the goal tallly, 2 sloppy defensive moments allowed Whitstable to score 2 goals in 3 minutes and get back into the game. Only a great save from our now regular stand in goalkeeper Dan Rose, foiled Whitstable from getting an undeserved equaliser before we gained more control in the last 15 minutes. So we got a win but it was a disappointing performance against a ordinary looking Whitstable side.

13th November 2005

Kent Youth League U15 South
Dover 1 v 0 Kennington

Playing against the League leaders was always going to be a tough ask, but when 2 players dropped out at the last minute, Kennington U15's were fearing the worse when they travelled to meet Dover. And for the first 20 minutes Dover put the Kennington defence under a lot of pressure, and if not for some poor finishing, could have taken a three goal lead.
But as the game went on it became a more even contest and Jonathan Townsend was unlucky not to score after a great run and shot that forced the Dover keeper into a fine save. With Ben Squires-Quinn and Gregory Conlon playing superb at the back for Kennington it looked more and more likely that Dover wasn't going to be a threat to the Kennington goal until for the 2nd week running the referee turned the game on a poor decision. This time a defender was barged in the back and fell on to the ball and the home side were amazingly awarded a penalty for handball, from which they scored much to the amusement and embarrassment of the large number of Dover supporters who couldn't believe their luck.

The 2nd half was a half of frustration, as on a number of occasions the Kennington side just failed to get the equaliser due to some last ditch defending and shots just going the wrong side of the post. It wasn't going to be Kennington's day and the disputed penalty proved to be the winning goal but more worrying for them was 2 more players having to leave the pitch injured, leaving the already stretched squad down to just 11 fit players.

6th November 2005

Kent Youth League U15 South
Herne Bay 3 v 0 Kennington

Kennington U15's played their first game for 3 weeks when they travelled to meet their bogie side Herne Bay in a Kent youth league fixture. The omens didn't look good when 4 players were unavailable due to injuries but Kennington started off playing some good football and deserved to score 2 or 3 goals in the first half, which looked like it was to be scoreless until a bizarre decision by the ref to award a free kick on the edge of the area resulted in Herne Bay going into an undeserved lead. The team found it hard to take that all their good work was undone through no fault of their own but showed plenty of fight as the ever aggressive Herne Bay team came out in the 2nd half looking to intimidate the Kennington side in an effort to disrupt their football. The game was more even until another poor decision to play on a offside even though the ball went out for a corner, giving the advantage to Herne Bay and not Kennington. The resulting corner was swung in and even though keeper Dan Rose had the ball in his hands he was bundled over the line and the goal stood much to the astonishment of the Kennington defence. A tap in minutes from the end gave Herne Bay a flattering and undeserving 3 - 0 win but the boys from Kennington shouldn't feel too much down hearted as they were by far the better footballing side but never got that little bit of luck when it was needed.

16th October 2005

Kent Youth League U15 South
Kennington 15 v Milton 0

This week we came up against a Milton side who once again finding it hard at this level of football. They finished bottom last year winning only 1 game and conceding over 100 goals and this season their results suggest a similar pattern.
Having said that apart from 1 of our previous 3 meetings we have made rather hard work against them and failed to impress.

Today was to be different though, and despite being without 4 players due to injuries and holidays, we started off with a bang when Matt Godden, who hadn't scored this season, notched a hatrick inside the first 18 minutes. Jonathan Townsend with a fine drive, Ali Zafar, Adam Slegg, with a run and finish from the half way line, 2 more from Matt Godden
and a great free kick from Ben Jordan sent us into half time with a 9 - 0 lead.

We bought on 2 subs and moved players around for the 2nd half and 3 minutes in Jonathan Townsend put us into double figures. There then came a lull in the game and our stand-in keeper Dan Rose who has reluctantly but superbly played in goal since the start of the season came out onto the pitch and immediately scored the eleventh from the penalty spot. That got the ball running again and Dan Rose, again, followed by Chris Wlyes , Dan Scorer and Liam Brenchley all got on the score sheet to finish off the rout.

Although we don't gain much from playing in matches like this one thing that can be said was that the boys held their shape throughout and did play some good passing football.

9th October 2005
U15's last 2 games v Borden & Ashford

The U 15's continued their inconstant season and put in a terrible performance when they travelled to Sittingbourne to play another side new to the league Borden Village.

On a small bumpy pitch the boys never got off the starting blocks against ordinary looking opponents and fell behind due to an own goal. But we bounced back and went straight up the other end and equalised through Adam Slegg. Still the boys couldn't get going and the match became difficult to watch as neither side looked like they were interested.

Both teams went into the 2nd half hoping to raise their games but again the teams failed to play anything like what you would expect in this standard of football. A long ball over the top from Borden caught our defence square and we fell behind to a poor goal. But the lesson wasn't learnt as a similar goal resulted in going further behind.

And that was it, a poor performance from all concerned against a team we would normally look to overcome without too much trouble resulted in us losing 3 - 1. Not much else can be said other then if they don't put in the effort they wont get anything out of the game

And then to this week, we meet an Ashford Town side that had a 100% winning record and were lying 3rd in the table with a game in hand. They were confident that their run could continue and were beginning to fancy themselves as strong runners (quite rightly) for the league.

But the boys showed within the first 5 minutes of the game starting that it was going to be a different side that performed so poorly the week before. Most of the half was spent in the Ashford half of the pitch with Adam Slegg causing no end of problems for the Ashford defence. But it wasn't just down the right we dominating but all over the pitch.

Surprisingly the teams remained deadlocked at HT and all the time we failed to put away our chances it was keeping Ashford in the game.

The 2nd half started a little more even but apart from a couple of headers our keeper had nothing much to do, in fact he never had to make a save in the whole match.

The match finally had some justice when a quite stunning shot from fully 25yards from skipper Matt Harris flew past the Ashford keeper. It was a brilliant goal and was well deserved after all the effort that had been put in by all the team.

The unpredictable Kennington side showed what they can do when they were up for it and Ashford just couldn't get into the game as they were outplayed for most of the match.

So the boys won the game 1 - 0 and opened up the league table to keep a host of sides involved in a tight and interesting division.

Well done to all the boys who showed that if they go out with right attitude and keep their shape their natural ability will get them through in most games they play in

25 September 2005

Kent Youth League U15 South
Kennington 3 v Cray Valley 2

We met league newcomers Cray Valley and wasn't sure what to expect but despite a slow start we gradually started to get some sort of game together. And once Adam Slegg started to get the better of his opponent on the right, chances began to appear, but 3 times we failed to convert relatively easy chances. Eventually Chris Wyles put us in front with a good finish but then it was down to stand-in keeper Dan Rose to pull off 2 great saves from free kicks to keep us in front at half time.

We went into the 2nd half expecting to increase our lead, but against the run of play a cross from the right flew in the net to give Cray the equaliser. Even worse, minutes later one of the many harshly awarded free kicks given against us resulted in the cross this time from the left missing everyone and flying into the net to amazingly put Cray in front.

Credit to the boys who didn't let it worry them and went straight from the kick off and equalised when Chris Wyles scored his and our 2nd goal. Again we got on top and again we continued to miss numerous chances before a through ball to Adam Slegg resulted in a cool finish to put us back in the lead.

The match finished in a 3 - 2 to us and we should have scored a lot more, but at least the boys showed plenty of character in fighting back after unexpectedly falling behind. In a tight looking league sometimes its more important to get the 3 points even if the performance wasn't the best. Well Done !

18th September 2005
Kent Youth League

Summary of the opening 3 games of the U15's season

The U 15's started their 2nd season in the Kent Youth League away to newcomers Margate FC and on a hot day never got going at all. Despite very little happening in the first half we were never really in trouble against a ordinary looking Margate team. But the teams poor performance in the first half was eclipsed in the 2nd with a display that ranked as bad as any played by the boys before. The defence switched off and allowed us to fall 2 behind before an outrageous decision by the ref allowed 2 players yards offside to run through on their own and score again to put us 3 down. This knocked the team for six and almost immediately afterwards we fell further behind after a defensive mistake. With 5 minutes left the team suddenly woke up and scored 2 quick goals from Matt Harris and were unlucky not to score at least another one, but it was too late and we lost our opening game by 4 - 2.

The next game was against our 'bogie side' Ramsgate. Four times we played them last season and all of them ended in defeat, although one of them was on penalties in the quarter final of the cup. So after the performance the week before it was looking like we were in for a difficult game. But the boys started the game really well and never allowed Ramsgate to settle. Somehow despite us dominating the first half and missing countless chances to score, the teams went in at HT level at 0 - 0. Ramsgate tried to step up their game in the 2nd half and came more into it before a great turn to shake off a defender by Chris Wyles resulted in him being bundled over in the area. Matt Harris converted the spot kick and got the team going again. A great run and finish by Adam Slegg increased our lead and soon after Adam tore past 4 defenders and crossed for Jonathan Townsend to put us 3 up. A consolation goal direct from a free kick in the last minute gave the scoreline a closer look to it then Ramsgate deserved, but it was a great team performance and result, as we finished winners by 3 - 1. The match finished on a sour note as the Ramsgate goalkeeper collapsed and had to be taken off to hospital.

We then travelled to league champions Chatham Town to play them in the first round of the cup. This was always going to be a hard game but for the 2nd week running the team started off well and when Chris Wyles finished a great move after 15 minutes it was no more then we deserved. The boys grew in confidence and looked like they could produce an upset but a lapse in defence allowed a Chatham forward to find himself unmarked in front of goal to draw his side level. It was 1 - 1 at HT and we had been the better side and Chatham were relying on the long ball game. The 2nd half started badly though when a corner for Chatham ended up with a player again being unchallenged on the edge of the box and he finished to put them ahead against the run of play. We went back up the pitch and almost equalised and were even more unlucky when Wyles hit the bar, but Chatham cleared the ball straight up the other end and the defence were caught out of position and we fell further behind. This proved to be the killer goal as we lost all shape in our efforts to get back into the game and Chatham scored two more goals by their long ball over the top game. A late goal by Jonathan Townsend made the final score Chatham 5 Kennington 2. The boys were in the game for all but the last 25 minutes and have got to learn to keep their shape if they want to remain competitive, but the final score didn't quite reflect the game

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