FIRST HALF REPORT
Here are the results for the first half of the season. I have counted the abandoned game against Bonnyrigg as a win, which might not be very fair, but the coach's decision is final!
Anyhow, I think our performances have certainly not always been reflected in our results. I think anyone who was there would agree we should have won the second game against Easthouses and the game at Cramond - and arguably, we should have won (and at least drawn) against Musselburgh Windsor.
Still, the improvement in the last few matches shows we are definitely getting there in terms of grinding out results in tough games - and let's hope we can carry this on into the New Year. Well done to all the boys for some fantastic performances and here's to an even better 2009!
EDINBURGH LEAGUE GAMES
TYNECASTLE: LOST 0-4
EDINBURGH SOUTH: WON 6-1 (Callum, Seth, own goal, Lloyd, Brandon, Jack)
CRAMOND: DREW 4-4 (Lewis 2, Seth 2)
MUSSELBURGH WINDSOR: LOST 2-3 (Seth 2, 1 pen)
SPARTANS: LOST 2-6 (Lloyd 2)
EASTHOUSES: WON 6-5 (Seth 2, own goal, Callum, Blair, Lloyd)
BONNYRIGG ROSE: WON 1-0 (Jack) - match abandoned after 25 minutes
TRANENT COLTS: LOST 4-7 (Paul 2, David, Seth)
LEITH ATHLETIC: DREW 1-1 (Callum)
EASTHOUSES: LOST 4-5 (Scott 2, Blair, Seth)
DUNEDIN: WON 5-3 (Scott, Jack, Seth, Blair, Cammy Brown)
LIBERTON: WON 3-0 (Connor, Scott, Lloyd)
FERNIESIDE: WON 3-2 (David, Scott, Jack)
PLAYED 13, WON 6, DRAWN 2, LOST 5
FOR 41, AGAINST 41
GOALS: Seth 10, Lloyd 5, Scott 5, Jack 4, Blair 3, Callum 3, David 2, Lewis 2, Paul 2, own goals 2, Brandon 1, Cammy Brown 1, Connor 1
OTHER GAMES
FRIENDLY: ABERLADY LOST 1-3 (Seth pen)
MUUSELBURGH WINDSOR TOURNAMENT
WINDSOR LOST 0-1
TRANENT COLTS WON 2-1 (Lloyd, Euan)
HILLFIELD WON 2-1 (Paul 2)
LOANHED WON 3-2 (Seth, Paul, Euan)
FINAL - WINDSOR LOST 0-4
Sunday, December 14, 2008
FANTASTIC AT FERNIESIDE 14-12-2008
FERNIESIDE 2 MYS BLACKS 3
A brilliant performance from a squad depleted by illness saw Youngstars end the first half of the season on a high with a third straight win.
Cammy Brown was unavailable for this game and in the 24 hours before kick-off, we lost Callum, Blair, Seth and Brandon, who were all unwell. Ross McGuire was drafted in from the blue stripes to play in goal but we still had only seven outfield players for the game.
Luckily, those seven outfield players - and Ross - were all outstanding as we continued our fine form to record a great win.
Youngstars were straight onto the attack and won a succession of corners. From the first one, Lloyd put the ball perfectly on Jack's head and only a deflection off a defender's back prevented a goal. David had a left-foot shot saved after a great move and Scott also went close before Youngstars took the lead. Jack knocked down another Lloyd corner and David smacked a terrific shot past the keeper and high into the net.
Scott sent a superb flick header narrowly wide from another corner and there was some excellent passing play, especially from Lloyd and Jack. Fernieside had a few efforts, but there was little to trouble Ross - largely thanks to very solid defending from Connor and Jason, who also distributed the ball exceptionally well.
A long clearance from Jason came back off the post after squirming through the Fernieside keeper's hands, but the half-time score remained 1-0.
Youngstars continued to press after the interval, with Cammy Dunlop putting in a good shift in an unusual position of left midfield, with some good challenges, passes and throws. He almost got on the end of a great cross from Jack as the game swung end-to-end before Scott put Youngstars 2-0 up. Jack's shot was saved by Fernieside's excellent keeper, but Scott followed in to poke home.
Fernieside came straight back when a long-range shot was brilliantly saved by Ross but a striker followed up to score. At 2-1 the game could have gone either way, but thanks to a couple more great saves by Ross and more excellent defending, Youngstars held on.
Scott almost made it 3-1 when he ran clear after a long pass by Connor but the keeper saved well - but we did restore our two-goal lead when Jack's cross-shot squeezed in at the far post.
Fernieside went close to pulling one back a couple of times before a scramble in our goalmouth saw one of their strikers fire home through a crowded penalty box.
However, although all the boys were tired, they kept going superbly and the Fernieside keeper made another good save after a strong run by Scott. We then missed a great chance to go 4-2 up as Scott's looping shot came back off the bar and he picked up the rebound to cross for Jack who hit the top of the bar from point-blank range.
David shot wide as Youngstars continued to press, and we held on for a well-deserved win. This really was a magnificent performance in difficult circumstances and apart from 15 minutes of madness against Easthouses, we have played really well now for the last five games and are a match for anyone in this league on our day.
Well done boys and see you all in the New Year! Lloyd takes the man of the match award today for a superb, all-action performance from the first minute to the last.
Squad: Ross, Connor, Jason, Jack, Lloyd, David, Cameron D, Scott
A brilliant performance from a squad depleted by illness saw Youngstars end the first half of the season on a high with a third straight win.
Cammy Brown was unavailable for this game and in the 24 hours before kick-off, we lost Callum, Blair, Seth and Brandon, who were all unwell. Ross McGuire was drafted in from the blue stripes to play in goal but we still had only seven outfield players for the game.
Luckily, those seven outfield players - and Ross - were all outstanding as we continued our fine form to record a great win.
Youngstars were straight onto the attack and won a succession of corners. From the first one, Lloyd put the ball perfectly on Jack's head and only a deflection off a defender's back prevented a goal. David had a left-foot shot saved after a great move and Scott also went close before Youngstars took the lead. Jack knocked down another Lloyd corner and David smacked a terrific shot past the keeper and high into the net.
Scott sent a superb flick header narrowly wide from another corner and there was some excellent passing play, especially from Lloyd and Jack. Fernieside had a few efforts, but there was little to trouble Ross - largely thanks to very solid defending from Connor and Jason, who also distributed the ball exceptionally well.
A long clearance from Jason came back off the post after squirming through the Fernieside keeper's hands, but the half-time score remained 1-0.
Youngstars continued to press after the interval, with Cammy Dunlop putting in a good shift in an unusual position of left midfield, with some good challenges, passes and throws. He almost got on the end of a great cross from Jack as the game swung end-to-end before Scott put Youngstars 2-0 up. Jack's shot was saved by Fernieside's excellent keeper, but Scott followed in to poke home.
Fernieside came straight back when a long-range shot was brilliantly saved by Ross but a striker followed up to score. At 2-1 the game could have gone either way, but thanks to a couple more great saves by Ross and more excellent defending, Youngstars held on.
Scott almost made it 3-1 when he ran clear after a long pass by Connor but the keeper saved well - but we did restore our two-goal lead when Jack's cross-shot squeezed in at the far post.
Fernieside went close to pulling one back a couple of times before a scramble in our goalmouth saw one of their strikers fire home through a crowded penalty box.
However, although all the boys were tired, they kept going superbly and the Fernieside keeper made another good save after a strong run by Scott. We then missed a great chance to go 4-2 up as Scott's looping shot came back off the bar and he picked up the rebound to cross for Jack who hit the top of the bar from point-blank range.
David shot wide as Youngstars continued to press, and we held on for a well-deserved win. This really was a magnificent performance in difficult circumstances and apart from 15 minutes of madness against Easthouses, we have played really well now for the last five games and are a match for anyone in this league on our day.
Well done boys and see you all in the New Year! Lloyd takes the man of the match award today for a superb, all-action performance from the first minute to the last.
Squad: Ross, Connor, Jason, Jack, Lloyd, David, Cameron D, Scott
Sunday, December 7, 2008
GREAT TEAM DISPLAY BY THE BLACKS, 7-12-08
MYS BLACK STRIPES 3 LIBERTON 0, 7-12-08
A second consecutive home win for Youngstars thanks to a very solid display by the entire team.
This match looked in doubt right up to the morning of the game due to the freezing temperature, but there was enough give in the pitch to make the playing surface safe for all the boys.
Youngstars started strongly with some good breaks from midfield by Lloyd and Jack and some lovely passing movements. However, it was Connor who gave us the lead with his first goal of the season when he poked the ball home following a corner from Lloyd.
We should have been further ahead with Scott causing the Liberton defence some real problems with his strong running, but we couldn't score again - Lloyd and David both had clear opportunities but pulled them wide. Luckily, Jason and Connor were really solid at the other end and Callum dealt with anything that came his way in goal very confidently. The wide midfielders - including Blair, David, Jack and Seth at different times - worked hard to get back and help the defenders, while also linking up well in attack.
We went in at half-time 1-0 up and went straight back onto the attack. Brandon, who had come on at the end of the first half, linked up nicely with Seth, Lloyd and Jack and we came close on several more occasions. Seth hit the outside of the post from close-range after a great ball in from Jack and Brandon almost got on the end of a great move before the defender dived in.
Lloyd had a great long-range effort brilliantly saved by the keeper and David fired wide - but finally, Scott hit the target after Lloyd won a powerful tackle and set him up beautifully to slip the ball in.
Scott then caused havoc in the Liberton defence with some brilliant runs, but couldn't quite get the finish or the final pass. However, although Liberton had one or two chances, they were mainly from quite far out and Callum coped well as Youngstars remained on top.
Jason had a blast from long range which went over and at the back, he and Cammy Dunlop (and later, Connor again) held things together well. There was more good work from the wide midfield players, especially Jack, who worked very hard in the second half, and our effort was rewarded when Lloyd cut in from the left to smash in a brilliant third.
Lloyd could easily have won player of the week for a magnificent, all-action display but it went to Connor, who put in some superb tackles, passed the ball forward intelligently, held his position well - and scored!
Yet it was a real squad effort today as all 11 boys (Cammy Brown was away) dug in and worked hard for the whole hour of the game. We played good football in patches and - importantly - kept a clean sheet for the first time this season. Well done to everyone - let's hope we can make it three in a rownat Fernieside next week!
A second consecutive home win for Youngstars thanks to a very solid display by the entire team.
This match looked in doubt right up to the morning of the game due to the freezing temperature, but there was enough give in the pitch to make the playing surface safe for all the boys.
Youngstars started strongly with some good breaks from midfield by Lloyd and Jack and some lovely passing movements. However, it was Connor who gave us the lead with his first goal of the season when he poked the ball home following a corner from Lloyd.
We should have been further ahead with Scott causing the Liberton defence some real problems with his strong running, but we couldn't score again - Lloyd and David both had clear opportunities but pulled them wide. Luckily, Jason and Connor were really solid at the other end and Callum dealt with anything that came his way in goal very confidently. The wide midfielders - including Blair, David, Jack and Seth at different times - worked hard to get back and help the defenders, while also linking up well in attack.
We went in at half-time 1-0 up and went straight back onto the attack. Brandon, who had come on at the end of the first half, linked up nicely with Seth, Lloyd and Jack and we came close on several more occasions. Seth hit the outside of the post from close-range after a great ball in from Jack and Brandon almost got on the end of a great move before the defender dived in.
Lloyd had a great long-range effort brilliantly saved by the keeper and David fired wide - but finally, Scott hit the target after Lloyd won a powerful tackle and set him up beautifully to slip the ball in.
Scott then caused havoc in the Liberton defence with some brilliant runs, but couldn't quite get the finish or the final pass. However, although Liberton had one or two chances, they were mainly from quite far out and Callum coped well as Youngstars remained on top.
Jason had a blast from long range which went over and at the back, he and Cammy Dunlop (and later, Connor again) held things together well. There was more good work from the wide midfield players, especially Jack, who worked very hard in the second half, and our effort was rewarded when Lloyd cut in from the left to smash in a brilliant third.
Lloyd could easily have won player of the week for a magnificent, all-action display but it went to Connor, who put in some superb tackles, passed the ball forward intelligently, held his position well - and scored!
Yet it was a real squad effort today as all 11 boys (Cammy Brown was away) dug in and worked hard for the whole hour of the game. We played good football in patches and - importantly - kept a clean sheet for the first time this season. Well done to everyone - let's hope we can make it three in a rownat Fernieside next week!
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