U11's Match Reports

Hattersley 6/11/10 Away

When Hattersley visited us back in September they arrived in style in a bus. Determined not to be out-done a clandestine meet at Mottram roundabout saw us descend on their ground in a menacing convoy. Sadly one right turn followed by one left proved too much and the convoy became a starburst leaving us to limp in one by one.

What a facility and again a testament to the efforts being made by the FA at grass routes. The rainfall in the run up to this fixture had been excessive and it was a surprise that the game was going ahead. The pitch however was in great shape and yielded barely a divot throughout both games. At this time of year (perhaps poignant) most junior pitches resemble the Somme, with fourteen kids dressed in mud trying to dig the ball out of the penalty bog.

Athletic

If one criticism could be offered it would be the length of the pitch. How they’d fitted a centre circle between the two boxes was a mystery. The length of the pitch was compounded by the speed at which the ball zipped off the wet surface and this seemed to suit the home team. All of Athletic’s forward play was snuffed out easily with no room for manoeuvre through the middle. Hattersley showed us the way by more fluent passing using the full width of the pitch, spreading our defence out and then punishing us with some clinical and excellent finishing.

To our own detriment, too many Athletic players stood off the home team allowing them enough time on the ball to craft the perfect pass. When Athletic set about them their playmaking was curtailed and some of our own attacking paid dividends especially when we took the play wide. A consolation goal however failed to soften the score line with the game finishing 8-1. Sam and Scott led the Tintwistle charge closing players down quickly, tackling, marking and running tirelessly throughout. Scott edged Man of the Match for being active in most attacks as well as being back to help out in defence.

Athletic are becoming like an old Chevrolet 6 Litre V6 engine in the middle of being restored. They look like they could do the business but in spite of the quality of the individual components when they’re only firing on two cylinders they’re not much use. Take nothing away from Hattersley though you are only as good as the opposition let you be and today was their’s – well done!

Stripes 

Last game stripes turned Hattersley B over 4-3. Today had to be another win to show that our progress matched theirs. No pressure then but game on.

The defensive partnership of Chris and Adam is now becoming quite impressive. Such is the confidence that Adam is experimenting with excursions deep into the oppositions half, while Chris snuffs out each of their attacks effortlessly.

Up front attacking options are opening up with some twisting runs from Kyle and Matt creating space for Aaron and Tom to let their shooting boots fly. Tom was awarded Man of the Match for putting in his performance of the season, being decisive in the tackle, incisive with the pass and even pulling off a Beckham like lob from near the halfway line (sadly it met with the save of the day from the Hattersley keeper).

Stripes attacking paid off with goals coming regularly throughout the game, finishing 4-0, Scorers were Aaron, 2, Tom and Kyle. Our defence was solid and to be fair they caused little problem for keeper Liam S. In short Stripes gave a confident display and showed a vast improvement on last time these sides met. To score four is a great effort but to keep a clean sheet as well is a credit to the whole team.    

 

Hillgate Boys 30/10/10 Home

Athletic strode out against Hillgate Boys who in spite of their name had a young lady for a goal keeper. This brought home everything that’s good about youth football. This slight framed girl smashed all stereo-types as she gave a goal-keeping master class. In fairness Athletic haven’t put many keepers under massive pressure this season, but our attacking play created numerous opportunities. Some great efforts were all snuffed out however leaving Hillgate with a well deserved clean sheet.

Dyl at the other end gave a similar performance, backed up by some solid defence leaving the score nil-nil. A fair result on the day but the score-line hints at a dull game. Nothing could be further from the truth and the game really was full of clichés. Both sides battled hard and some fluent passing generated real nail-biting end to end stuff. Great attacking moves ended with on target strikes raining down on both goals and the clean sheets were hard earned by both keepers.

At the first meeting, Hillgate turned us over 4-2 and so credit must be given to Athletic as 0-0 shows tangible improvement. It was felt on the day that all players performed well but had any one really given an outstanding performance then we could and probably should have won the game. Man of the Match was shared equally across the seven.

Next stop Hattersley away.

Reddish North End 30/10/10 Home

Reddish won the toss and elected to kick off. From the centre a pass back to the centre-half who calmly controlled it and looked up for a pass. Stripes were stood rooted to the spot wondering what he was going to do with the ball. They had failed to notice the forward who had jogged calmly through their midst. The centre-half noticed him and more to the point found him with a near 50 yard pass. The pass was brilliant but the 20 yard finish from the forward eclipsed it. 10 seconds in and five touches gone Stripes found themselves 1-0 down – this was going to be a long day. Heads dropped as hearts sank and the half finished 7-0. A couple of alterations at half time saw some spirited play and the game finished at 10-0.

Some of the football on display from Reddish was simply exhilarating and to be fair to our players to ever expect to beat a side of this quality would be too high an expectation. For our players a day like this is about little victories for both individual and team; a great save, block or a pass, a tackle or some effective marking. If kids are praised for those little victories then they’ve had a worthwhile day (Ronaldo might have skipped passed them 50 times, but it’s the one tackle that matters – forget the score – little Johnny tackled Ronaldo! and even if he didn’t, he came close which is brilliant!). To the credit of all of our players and most of their parents this seemed to be the order of the day. These days are about learning and development which is what lies at the heart of grass roots football.

Man of the Match, second week running was Spence for showing the exact spirit that’s needed. No matter what happens what’s important is the next bit of play and we play with heart, spirit and pride until the final whistle.

Next week sees the return of Hattersly who we beat 4-3 at home. This should be a measure of our development.

 

Droylsden 23/10/10 Home 

Welcome to grass roots football. Some kids, a ball, some rain and some mud – great. Luckily the rain calmed down as we got under way, not that that mattered much as by then we were truly soaked after putting the goals out. Incidentally any help with the goals pre or post match would be more than welcome.

As the rain stopped a cheeky shaft of sunlight danced teasingly across the pitch and lo… a miracle… a league appointed referee stood in front of us; a sight as rare as six numbers coming in. A couple of minutes into the game and he probably wished he’d stayed at home as his every decision seemed subject to a very vocal scrutiny panel. From the opposite side of the pitch it was impossible to single out the majority though it seemed to be more from the travelling support than the home. If adults throw abuse at refs then what chance is there for the kids? If there’s nothing nice to say then say nothing.

Onto the game and it was the same old story. A lacklustre start by Athletic was capitalized upon by the visitors and in spite of a rally by Athletic the half finished 3-0. At half time a slight head to head between the two sides coaches’ attempted to address a couple of full-blooded (bordering on the nasty) challenges. A stern talking to seemed to rally Athletic for the second half and a spirited performance saw honours even with the game finishing at 3-0. Droylsden felt a little cheated by having a goal ruled out that appeared to cross the line (it nearly busted the net). In spite of much noise from the Droylsden support the ref considered touchline hostility before goal line technology and ignored their claims – Respect!

Overall a game of two halves or a team of split personality but either way a little bit of not so good but lots of good to take away from this encounter. Man of the Match was Spence for a great effort as stand-in keeper and for his vocals on the pitch.

Stripes once again were over-awed by some great Droylsden play. A common theme is now emerging and it is quite obvious that the opposition in many cases have been playing together for a number of years, as opposed to months. Stripes need to put it in during training sessions to maximise their chances on the pitch on a Saturday. Some sparks of individuality are on show but too few have realised that they are part of Tintwistle AFC – it says so on their chest.

The cycle is at last complete and we have played everyone in the league so from now on it should be possible to measure each team’s progress. It is clear from some results so far that certain games will be difficult to win but nonetheless the results should show improvement. If we can’t see any improvement then we might have to get a bit giddy in the January transfer window.

 

Glossop North End 16/10/10 Away

This game was always going to be a benchmark. We played a friendly against Glossop some six or so weeks ago and to be fair on the day they probably had the edge on us. Their performances against the other teams in the league have been similar to ours so this game served as a great test as to both teams progress.

The weather was brilliant and the central location attracted a crowd bigger than a Wigan home game. Once more the lure of the Dark Peak was not enough to attract a league referee from Stockport and so it fell to the coaches to provide this service again. Both games were well marshalled, played in excellent spirits and were well supported by both sets of fans.

The first game saw Athletic really starting to play to somewhere near to their potential. A sluggish start gave Glossop the edge early in the first period. Some great strikes by a couple of their players being cruelly denied by Dylan who was springing around the goal like Zebedde at a rave, making saves that didn’t seem possible. This ignited the support which seemed to fuel the players and a proper, entertaining game of football broke out. After some exhilarating end to end stuff, the deadlock was broken by Glossop towards the break by an Athletic own goal whilst defending a corner.

The second half saw Athletic come out with a self belief that they could win the game. Both sides played well and to their credit Athletic managed to pull a goal back thanks to Liam P. Hearts were racing as the game became even more entertaining as it wore on and in the end it finished a well earned (by both teams) 1-1 draw. This on the day was probably the fairest result and the next encounter should be a date for the diary. All players should be singled out for praise but Man of the Match was given to right-back Josh for turning interceptions into attacking opportunities, when knocking the ball out of play would not have been out of place.

Stripes strode out and played impressively against what was on balance a slightly stronger Glossop side. A sterling first half performance saw them slip to a 1-0 deficit at half time. Solid displays were put in once again by Chris and Aaron, with Man of the Match being awarded to Chris. Sadly half time brought some wholesale changes and the balance of the team was lost with the game finishing 6-0. As a result of these changes several players were denied the opportunity to play to their best and the Glossop kids were left with a result that flattered them a little.

It was felt on the day by the coaches that whilst no single player had let anyone down, the way they were managed had let everybody down. There are a number of issues that need looking at to try and rectify this situation. Whilst it’s not going to be easy a ‘player focussed’ solution will be coming so that in future both Athletic and Stripes will play their hearts out and will win, draw or lose on merit.

Next week we are at home to Droylsden.

Spurley Hey Home 9/10/10

Four games down (along with 2 tournaments and 2 friendly) prompted a bit of a think through the week. Passion, pride, effort, energy – the list goes on for words that could be used for Tintwistle U10s on matchdays. Sadly in midweek training sessions the same is seldom true. One word could be used to adequately capture attitude during training – daft.

Our new start time (6.50 at the 3G for a 7.00 prompt start) heralded a new regime. The right attitude and a desire to develop will always receive positive praise along with a place in a Saturday team. From now on however any poor attitude or effort, or disruptive behaviour will attract a ‘yellow card’. Two ‘yellow cards’ will result in exclusion from a game. Further repeated ‘yellow cards’ will result in a months sabbatical where a player can re-kindle the desire to develop their skills.

What a training session followed and truly, if the kids perform like this week in week out then we are going to see a vastly improved set up as the season progresses. In spite of the great weather at the moment the nights are drawing in and temperatures are dropping. A cold, soggy kid is less likely to perform as well as a cosy, dry one so let’s make sure they all turn up prepared to train, prepared for the conditions.

Onto Saturdays game and a lack-lustre start met with a rampant Spurley Hey brimming with talent, confidence and passion. Three or four goals went in within the opening ten minutes and from there the game was sadly as good as lost.

Bad news out of the way the next 25 minutes was all positive. Last week some players were consumed by frustration as goals were conceded. This week it seemed to spark the passion in the side and all players started to perform and started to frustrate the opposition. Chances were created and a couple of great saves from their keeper limited our reply to a solitary goal which came from a penalty courtesy of Sam. 5-1 at the break and so the score remained as the sides were pretty balanced throughout the second half. Sadly energy levels dipped and the last few minutes saw two late goals from the visitors – final score 7-1.

Man of the Match was Scott for performing out of his skin and managing to not let frustration taint his play. Once again he was subject to some physical play from the opposition and even some of his own team got in on the act with a couple of robust tackles.

Stripes strode out to face the same team bolstered with a couple of subs, which resulted largely in a no contest, finishing 9-0. A similar story unfolded in that it took four or so goals to wind Stripes up into a response. Once they’d woke up they had larger portions of the game and in spite of some swash-buckling runs from Liam S. Stripes failed to penetrate with any success. Adam B. won Man of the Match for treating every passage of play as though it were 0-0 in the world cup final. No matter what the score that’s what we all need to do – from kick off to full time.

Next stop our first local derby – Glossop North End away.

 

 

Cheshire Boys Home 2/10/10 

This week presented us with some tough lessons. Let’s not underestimate the squad’s achievement last weekend, they did brilliantly. Perhaps coaches’ naivety crept in but the expectation was that the players would start to build on the firm foundation that they’ve laid so far. Training midweek was hard work with the attitude, heart and pride of Saturday left in the corner of a field somewhere in Bredbury.

Match-day saw us depleted somewhat but the attitude of the team was again out of character. In fairness Cheshire were a highly skilled outfit and knew exactly what they were doing. They dismantled us steadily and frustration and anger was more the order of the day rather than passion and pride. The game finished 6-1. The score-line could and perhaps should have been more, but midway through the game our pride crept back in and with the help of some heroic defending by MoM Sam 6-1 in the end, wasn’t a bad result. Our goal was created by a rare excursion past their ample centre-half, which resulted in a back pass to their keeper. Somehow he managed to contrive to juggle the ball into his own goal. In spite of the delight of our fans to have gained a consolation the celebrations were respectful and we welcome that as the goal was a direct result of a kid’s mistake rather than a piece of skill.

More tough lessons for the coaches came as they realised that most home games will have to be self refereed. This is disappointing because it distracts us from what we should be doing. Any spectator who thinks that it’s easy is more than welcome to have a go – please form an orderly queue while we consider your applications. As a point of order the referee on the day does not and never has worked in banking, in spite of a section of the crowd repeatedly making reference to the profession.

Stripes performed a little better in a friendly afterwards but lacked the ability to get forward with any frequency and the game, in spite of some dogged defending finished 5-0. Chris was once again solid with little getting past him and his desire to turn an interception into a positive passage of play earned him Man of the Match.

Next week we’re at home again against Spurley Hey. The next few weeks could be crucial to our season and we must up our game and start putting together some solid performances. Let’s not worry about results, but this week we let ourselves down a little.

Woodley Albion Away 25/09/10

The match report started as a way of focussing on the positives; not always easy to do. Back in July the report celebrated having enough players to put out two teams. It talked of pride, it talked of team spirit; it mentioned the weather and even celebrated having substitutes. In short it talked of much (and still does) about all that makes junior football. At times it has been as difficult to write as it has been to read.

Athletic

This weekend was about football. Last week Athletic were picked apart by Hattersley. This week a couple of rotations forced a change in our approach and we put out our biggest side possible in a 2, 2, 2 formation. The brief was to not concede and as the match wears on our attack will prevail. They (Woodley) attacked and had some really useful players, creating many chances. Our defence, backed up by Man of the Match Dylan in goal was equal to the task. Woodley were physical and passionate. Their passion was met physically by Tintwistle. Sadly their keeper was right up to speed and on a relatively short pitch was able to confidently snuff out most of our best penetrative play, of which there was plenty. At the final whistle honours even at 0-0.

As the ref blew for full time the biggest shout was from the Woodley coach and it was ‘well done lads’ as he rushed to congratulate each of our players. He chastised none of his and praised their effort as much as ours. He expected to win yet acknowledged that a draw was a good result for his side. Sporting – yes, testament to our ability – definitely.

Every player gave 100% but special mention should be made of Aaron and Spence who gave a solid performance in mid-field.

Stripes

Stripes strode out confidently on the back of their impressive win at weekend. Again they faced a team full of talent and in large parts were equal to it. Chris and Adam in defence were brilliant, with very little getting past them. The percentage of tackles won by these two would make John Motson go into overdrive and the confidence on the ball is matched only by the desire to do something useful with it. Man of the Match went to Liam P for doing a great job in goal and in the second half in midfield. Mainly, his performance merited the award for simply getting his head down and playing to the best of his ability, wherever asked to play. There’s playing football, there’s playing for a team but above all there’s playing football in a team.

Sadly in spite of some great play Stripes conceded 3 without reply and so finished the game, 3-0.

In both games Tintwistle players, without detriment to them, were out-classed by individual skill from Woodley players. Woodley however were stopped in their tracks by a team. As our players’ skills improve (which they are week on week) and we keep playing as a team then the season will keep getting better.

Next week sees us host Cheshire Boys who by all accounts are a slick outfit. No matter what let’s go out, play with pride and enjoy it.

 

Hattersley at Home 18/09/10 

Our first home game was a truly exciting event with the donation of a ‘Football Foundation’ cheque kindly presented by the Rt. Hon Andrew Bingham M.P. Things like this doesn’t just happen. Club officials work incredibly hard to provide a platform from which children can experience and play football. Thanks to the football foundation (who, by the way have helped to provide the 3G on which we train). Thanks also to Andrew Bingham who in spite of an incredibly busy schedule, made time for our club and our children.

Whilst having the mug shots done, it was impossible not to be smug. Hattersley were due any minute and there we were all celebrity like, chilling with our M.P. Then Hattersley turned up in a team bus. Off comes the hat to the kings of bling as their entrance shadowed our impressive welcome.

Athletic vs Hattersley 'A'

Onto the pitch and it seemed like Athletic were star-struck by a team who had their own bus. For a large period of the first half, honours were even but the Athletic mid-field started to drop off the pace, leaving the normally solid defence vulnerable. As the game wore on Hattersley to their credit, exploited our weakness and the goals started. More a steady trickle than flood gates opening but nonetheless they finished scoring six.

Half time brought a couple of changes, which shored up the side and allowed for a few more attacking periods. Excellent performances were put in from Dyl in goal and Kieran up front as well as Sam and Josh in defence. Sub Dan came on at half time and made some great runs which helped give us back an attacking edge. Indeed it was his strike which struck the post allowing Scott to slot home the rebound giving us our consolation and the game finished 6-1. Man of the Match was Scott for his tireless energy-always tracking back to help the defence and still getting up the pitch to join the attack.

Stripes vs Hattersley 'B' 

Last week Stripes lost 13-0 and it was a real tough opening to the season. They played then with pride, passion and above all enjoyment. The match report mentioned that these ingredients are the key to victory and they should be the measure of our success. Victory in games would come as the season progressed. Week 2 and 4-3 to Stripes our first victory of the season. Let’s enjoy this but at the same time let’s keep our feet on the ground. (4-3 and they came in their own bus! – Wembley here we come!).

What a great feeling it was to win and it was done through some great performances. Chris gave a Man of the Match winning performance as did Liam P. in goal. Liam S. was energetic up and down throughout. George was solid at right back with very little getting past him. The opposition sank to 4-1 before capitalising on a nervous 5 minute wobble near the end to rally to 4-3. All credit to the Referee who had two great games but must have gone home with the sound of ‘how long ref?’ ringing in his ears. The last 5 minutes were torture but the Stripes knew what they needed to do and dug deep to survive a brave Hattersley onslaught. 4-3 the final score.

The Man of the Match was the hardest easy decision ever. It was hard because 4 or 5 players deserved it yet easy because Aaron scored a hat-trick. Hat-trick aside Aaron was on the end of virtually everything that was knocked forward and gave a great centre-forward performance. So much so that the other goal was an own goal but had to be attributed to Aaron’s predatory presence.

Next game for both sides is Woodley Albion away Sat 25^th Sept.

 

Stripes vs  Reddish NE 11/09/10 Away

Saturday 11th September was possibly the most difficult day of the season. Both teams were away – in different locations. Stripes possibly had the shortest straw, drawn from a box of very short straws. Reddish North End started playing together at under 7’s and amongst other accolades recently won the summer tournament at Stalybridge Celtic. Forget under 7’s, Stripes have been together under 7 weeks

This was inevitably going to be a day of hard lessons. We were at an immediate disadvantage with the fledgling defence being out of balance due to a late sickness bug. Sadly the improvised set up conceded goals relatively easily, albeit from a quality side. The final score was 13-0 and credit to Reddish and their support for sporting conduct throughout the day.

On to the positives and there were many. Firstly the players enjoyed playing and in spite of the score this is the bit that we are here for. Everyone played with pride, as it says on the badge 'laurifer in pugna' which translated means, 'pride in battle' (and turn up for training on Wednesday). If we’ve played with pride and enjoyed it then we’ve already won and victory in the games will be ours as the season wears on.

The game was full of passion from Stripes and a great performance from new boy Adam B won him Man of the Match. Liam S once again gave a splendid display between the sticks without which would have made the score line unmentionable. Spence made his mark as well for getting vocal, offering well needed support to tired team-mates as well as trying to organise the team to respond to the onslaught.

All in all a tough day for the parents and supporters as well as the coaches but for the team just some tough lessons from which they have already gained strength. A friendly played on tired legs straight after finished only 7-0. Next game is against Hattersley at home on Saturday with a visit from the Rt Hon. Andrew Bingham MP to lift the spirits.

 

Athletic vs Hillgate Boys 11/09/10 Away  

Athletic travelled over to Offerton to play Hillgate Boys. The game was keenly contested and the only thing to separate the sides was about 12 inches of centre forward. Their front-man had everything; height, speed, skill and was well worth all four goals. It is no exaggeration however to say that in reality he was the difference between the two sides.

The first time this Athletic side played together was 3 days earlier and the way they have now gelled is a credit to them. At half time the score was 2-0 to Hillgate after some gutsy play from the whole of Athletic. Full blooded challenges were flying in all over the place bringing our first casualty, Scott, who was replaced by Adam G early on in the half. The referee decided to let the game flow to such an extent that nobody knew he had a whistle. When he blew for half time three players jumped and a spectator dropped a digestive into a hot mug of tea.

Half time required a response from Athletic and they delivered. Some great passages of play saw the side claw themselves right back to 3-2 with goals from Kyle and Kieran. Let’s indulge in some bias for a moment but the quality of the build up to these goals was really high class. Sadly, a goal from the big lad with virtually the last kick of the game left the final score at 4-2. In all fairness on the day the result was just.

After the game a friendly saw a patched up Scott in goal allowing a cameo from Dylan that helped earn him Man of the Match. This game finished 2-1 with Sam and Josh in defence now starting to get a grip of their star player. A second friendly finished 0-0, with Josh stepping up to the keeper role and cementing his first outing with a clean sheet. If we’d carried on playing until Sunday we would have beaten them 8-0 but we didn’t and the records will show that they beat us 4-2.

Athletic were not over-awed and if they start games with more belief sides will start to feel some pressure. It is far too early to make any predictions but all in all a good pre-season has been followed with a bright start to the season. Next stop Hattersley at home 18/09/10.

 

Glossop North End Friendly

On Wednesday 8th September we played host to Glossop North End who brought along two sides. We had enough players for three sides which is a credit to our recruitment efforts and stands us in good stead as we start the season on Saturday 11th.

Firstly, thanks to the Under 11s who gave up their 3G slot to allow us to play two games alongside each other.

Secondly to matters on the pitch. Two teams playing two halves ended up a game of four halves – confused? – thought so. Our Athletic played their B, while Stripes played their A. At half time GNE swapped teams so Athletic played their A and Stripes their B. Scores were 1-1, 0-5, 1-2 and 0-0 in that order. Our scorers were Kyle and Liam S.

Glossop brought with them (as you’d expect) several talented players. From the off they looked a class outfit able to move the ball around with style and both their A and B took the lead early on. Our Stripes slipped to a 5-0 defeat but they kept battling and each of the players responded well and learnt some valuable lessons. When you’re getting beat individual mistakes don’t matter as much as in a tight game and though it’s hard to watch, this is where players develop. So much so the second game saw the Stripes hold GNE’s B to a draw, through a combination of grit, determination and pride.

Athletic squared up to the challenge and after a slow start ended the first game looking the better side with numerous chances going begging. The second game saw them up against it a bit more but even so it was down to a bit of luck to decide matters. A screaming North End shot forced an agile dive from keeper Dyl, punching the ball into the post only for the rebound to catch his trailing leg knocking the ball over the line. A sublime diving punch combined with a perfectly timed overhead volley brought save of the day and goal of the day all in one, but still some good keeping on display throughout.

Man of the Match for athletic could have been anyone but separated by the goal was Kyle. For Stripes a brilliant stand-in goal keeping master class earned Liam S the award.

Now its down to business for the season proper, with a trip to Hillgate for Athletic and Reddish for Stripes on Saturday. 

 

Denton West End Friendly 

On Monday 16th August, twelve of our squad popped over to Denton West End for a friendly. The hospitality extended by Denton West End was gratefully received and the two games were played in good spirits.

With only 12 players we decided to opt for one team with 5 subs in continuous rotation for both games. This proved a bit of a shock to most players, up until now we’ve never had a sub available. Everyone soon got the hang of it and the cheeky high fives as players swapped hinted at the team spirit that we’ve seen creeping in at training.

That team spirit was on show straight from kick off, and the first 7 or 8 minutes were fairly well matched with good attacking from both sides being cancelled by equally good defending. We eventually slipped to a 1-0 deficit and as we started our substitutions our shape became upset along with the score line. The game drifted to a tragic 9-0 but as the lead increased so did the display and quality of goals from West End. Where ever you stand it is great to see kids of this age playing nice football and from a biased view it was even better to see Tintwistle heads held high and battling for every ball to the final whistle.

In the second game we opted for a stable team for the first half and again the two sides were evenly matched. They went 1-0 up early on but were met by a resilience which this time paid dividends. A break through the centre released stand in centre forward Spence who finished with a great strike. The half finished all square at one a piece. The second half saw an early break after a neat interception by Liam S deep in our own half. He then took the ball down the left channel like a runaway train. All that was needed was a cool head and a decent cross into the box….and there it was. If only the Tinny midfield had streamed into the box in numbers then somebody could have calmly slotted home….well they had and Kyle did – 2-1 to Tinny.

The game finished 4-2 to West End after their players rallied and we once again rotated our players for some valuable match experience.

In short a great evening with plenty of positives to mull over with few areas of concern. Next scheduled stop Glossop NE on the 8th Sept (Hadfield 3G) prior to the season proper starting 11 Sept.

 

Eastleigh JFC Tournament 

August the 8th saw just seven of our players set off early for a day out in Leigh. Summer holidays made several players unavailable and so our team strode out with no-one on the bench. Progression in this tournament, our first on grass, would mean some tired legs by the end of the day.

Our group stage consisted of four games, the first of which saw a one goal lead cancelled out within a gasp of the final whistle, finishing one each.  In the second game the team stepped up a gear and each player was fantastic across all areas of the pitch. The early one goal lead this time was cemented five minutes from time with a second, finishing 2-0.

The celebrations coming of the field were so intense that our players forgot to shake hands with the opposition and we apologise for that – it’s not what we’re about. The next two games however brought us back to earth with a bump, losing both 3-0.

In spite of this we finished a credible fourth and proceeded after lunch into a knockout tournament. Pressure and fatigue were starting to show now and in spite of controlling the whole game with relative ease, we were unable to convert any of 3 or 4 good chances.  Extra time followed and the players, unable to rotate, tired even more as the game descended into a ‘sudden death’ penalty shootout. As with all penalty shoot-outs the stage was set for villains and heroes yet even though we lost, only heroes emerged.

Deputy keeper Scott was awarded player of the day for some valiant goal-keeping but more noticeably for coming out of goal to take the fourth strike and calmly slotting home, keeping us in the game. Kieron scored his spot kick whilst Sam, Josh and Liam were all defeated by the woodwork.

The disappointment was short lived as Jullian dug deep on the way home and treated the team to a cheeky burger.

 

Tintwistle Athletic U10 Summer Tournament

The 17th of July saw the Tintwistle Athletic Summer Tournament. This tied in nicely with just getting our numbers up to 14, allowing us (only just) two teams for the day.

The day was extremely well organised and well received by all those who attended and huge thanks go out to all the Tintwistle Officials who worked tirelessly throughout the day.

Our two sides warmed up eager with anticipation, for many of them, their first taste of competitive football only moments away. Just as the warm ups were complete and team selections finalised we were served a large helping of British Summer – the heavens opened. Luckily the rain stopped as the tournament got under way and the remainder of the day stayed fair.

Both teams played really well for their first time out and remained competitive for large periods against some credible opposition. Some of the teams faced were very well organised and had skill in depth but still Tintwistle heads were held high and rightly so.

Excellent performances were put in across both teams but singled out as players of the day were Kieron (Stripes) and Dyl (Athletic). Kieron supplied a sublime goal after a solo run starting deep in our own half beating three or four players. Dyl for Athletic made countless saves that often left the opposition in disbelief and helped the side to two draws and two narrow 1-0 defeats.

Both teams had six games without managing to progress to the knockout stages but every player had a great day and played with pride, going home to an early bath with heads held high.