Hat-trick from Oscar Cameron, double from Enrico, and goals for Dylan, Elijah, Prince, and Johnny meant the U15s rampaged their way to three points in the Junior Premier League.
Noticing the oppositions press straight away, the were spaces behind the opposition’s fullbacks which Bloomsbury’s wing-backs were primed to penetrate thanks to their 3-4-1-2 set-up. And they did just that, with multiple phases beginning with the ball played out to the centre backs on the side, followed by a straight ball in beyond to the wing-backs, who then cut it back for either striker to score. As easy as one, two, three. The distribution from Daniel the goalkeeper to the wing-backs who were high and wide was also superb and a massive asset to the team on the day. Credit to the team for the way they took on the feedback.
Massive shoutout to Stanley for his performance, one of resilience, ingenuity and true quality. After struggling in the opening ten minutes attempting to match his very physical centre midfield opponent, once switching weapons from strength to instead speed of mind and calibre of technique, Stanley was truly majestic, linking play between the back line and wide players superbly, winning his midfield battle at a camber.
Bloomsbury Football Academy housed an absolute blockbuster in the Cup at Coram’s Field.
It was a stunning start to a stunning contest too: a first minute penalty would give the Blacks the lead, Roka’s first of the game, and immediately in the next minute, Mila and the girls responded. Thanks to Princess Avia, the Girls took the lead a quarter of an hour in. The Blacks would bring their contest in their favour: levelling ten minutes later through Roka’s second, then taking the lead through Louis’ double in the space of three minutes to shock the Girls, 4-2. You’re at your weakest when you’ve just scored as the old adage goes, straight after the fourth went in for the Blacks, the Girls replied to bring it back to 4-3, but it wouldn’t matter in due course, as Iziah finished the contest three minutes later.
A bout of many goals, and many fantastic performances.
In order to compete against the talented opposition of the U7 Blacks, the Girls had to get physical, and they did this so, necessarily, but brilliantly. Alexandra’s resilience in bouncing straight back up when getting knocked down epitomised just that – and that’s even without mentioning her stalwart performance in defence: putting in strong challenges that slowed the opposition down every time. The powerhouse performance from Isolina, her bravery to challenge, tackle and run with the ball was so, so impressive also, never giving up even when the ball was taken from her. The Girls really impressed with their defending, but what impressed most was their insane will and determination – never giving up.
The victors had their own standouts too. Louis Vara grasped the week’s theme and topic (for the Blacks) of ‘defending in pairs’ when ‘defending the thirds’, with ease – always the closest person to the opposition and was therefore able to press them quickly. Cole Oxman, taking up a position on the halfway line to prevent counter attacks when the Blacks were on the ball, displayed his understanding of how and why individual positioning when our team is on the attack, is crucial to eliminating defensive vulnerability. Iziah-Vidal Louis’ marking and following of their opponent from throw-ins so they couldn’t progress with the ball was impressive and translated through across the rest of the team.
Massive congratulations to both teams for their exceptional performances, a brilliant advertisement for Bloomsbury Football Academy.
A game of mixed-emotions for the Golds in their Camden and Islington Youth Football League defeat: disappointment losing, but delight in the manner of their play in possession. Delight with the goals that were scored, but disappointment at the lack of desire shown to re-win the ball when it was lost.
Naturally dejecting, as is expected with a defeat, but what impressed the coach most of all is how the players conduct themselves after a loss, acknowledging where improvement is needed and in unison in their showing of desire to improve them. The spectrum of emotion illustrates why and how this performance will act as a great tool of reflection for a team that is still learning and has improved massively this season because of that. What matters most now, is how they use these learnings to bounce back in training and their next fixture.
Massive shoutout to Marcelo who was marvellous. So dependable as our last line of defence, and even when playing further up the pitch, displayed the same desire to help his teammates and demonstrate the week’s theme and topic: ‘defending in pairs’ when ‘defending the thirds’. When in possession, he showed fantastic decision-making always choosing correctly whether to pick the pass or drive forwards, doing both to a very, very high standard. Oh, and he bagged a brace. A wonderful all-round performance.
Character in chaos, mentality in a mental game, bedlam because of the battle.
A superb performance from the whole team, in an extremely tough fixture, fighting until the very end. From being comfortably in front, to having that lead disappear with mere minutes to play, the personality of the team to not let the comeback affect them, and instead grab the winner in the dying seconds, pure ecstasy.
The team recognising how important a fixture this was to win supported each other from the side-lines superbly throughout, that togetherness of the team translated into a willingness from every individual to get back on the pitch, make a difference and support. Every player even offered to go in goal, that selflessness epitomised the showcasing of responsibility from the boys, and made substitutions far easier.
That’s not to say this game was won off of the pitch, what materialised on it was some brilliant passing and finishing, accompanied by a fearless press, swarming the opposition and winning the ball back high up the pitch at all times.
Odessey, the man-of-the-match, demonstrated excellent pressing: closing down the opposition with great pace and winning the ball back in dangerous positions, even displaying his clinical finishing scoring two well-worked goals. Robert had a fantastic game, scoring a goal on the counter attack, always positioning himself well whether that be in attack or defence, in the correct position to receive the ball. Christian was extremely solid defensively, showing great awareness and scanning to locate the opposition and cut out the forward passes, putting in big tackles where necessary and distributing the ball well. Lawrence was a close second for MOTM, put himself about and did not shy away from any tackles or 1-on-1’s, scoring the winner was the cherry on top of a superb performance. Niko kept running at all times, constantly pressuring the opposition, forcing them to make many mistakes and frequently winning the ball back in dangerous areas of the pitch, he also made some fantastic runs and was unlucky not to have scored. Laurie played brilliantly, making some great passes and a lot of smart decisions, also keeping the heat on the opposition at all times, giving them very little time on the ball. Noah dominated the wings, running rings around the oppositions defenders and never stopped pressing throughout the entire game, unlucky not to have scored but created a variety of chances using his ball-winning abilities. Ori had a strong game when out pitch, pressuring the opposition and playing accurate passes to his teammates, and when in goal for the important final ten minutes, he made some crucial saves keeping Bloomsbury in the game right till the final whistle.
A performance worthy of the purest pandemonium.
Bloomsbury blitzed their way through to next round of the Cup. Total domination for the entire duration of the game, never letting the success of their onslaught carry them away, remaining humbled to perform the basics properly not forgetting the important parts of the game when pursuing their next goal.
MOTM Robert was truly magnificent, completely unmanageable for the opposition, constantly finding himself in fantastic positions, many of which were met with a clinical finish. Ori had an extended stint in goal and made some excellent saves denying the opposition three or four goals. Outfield he offered the same great contribution. Niko had a fantastic game, carrying the ball across the length of the pitch on numerous occasions, creating a host of opportunities for his teammates and himself, seriously unlucky not to have scored. Christian once again demonstrated his defensive prowess, positioning himself fantastically to intercept the ball and driving forward when necessary. Noah had another great game, always driving forward when the opportunity arose, and never shying away from challenging the opposition and battling to win the ball back all across the pitch, coming close to scoring on numerous occasions. Odessey demonstrated fantastic ball-winning ability, regaining possession very high up the pitch, catching the opposition off guard on a variety of occasions, his ability to cut inside from out wide and finish the ball was phenomenal and will certainly allow him to score many more goals in the future. Laurie had a great game too, making some fantastic passes and helping out with the defence whenever required. Lawrence played very well as well, winning the ball back using his body in fantastic ways, always getting himself between the player and the ball, making some great saves when in goal too.
After the change of formation and system over two months ago, the U10 Blacks have continued to impress, and this week was no different: Bloomsbury steamrolled their way through to next round of the Cup. Powerful physicality, high pressure of perfect technique, chances created in a myriad of ways topped off by clinical finishing, made this a complete performance emphasised by an emphatic score line.
Shoutout to Sammy who was sensational on his return! Goals win games, and Sammy created the majority of them, but it wasn’t just his artistry that flourished. Not only did he dictate the game, especially the central areas, in an attacking sense, but defensively he fought, and won, every, single, ball. Supreme.
A tough fixture for the team, one that started strong and looked promising, but a second-half comeback from the opposition meant Vale progressed through in the Cup.
Bloomsbury fortuitously took the lead through Vanya’s deflected cross which lead to an own goal for the opposition, and then extended their lead just before half-time thanks to Jon’s excellent strike, undoubtedly the highlight of the game: some great build-up play, driving deep into the oppositions half before the cross was fired in to meet Jon who was making a fantastic run towards the far post, touching the ball down and blasting it into the net with an excellent low-driven strike.
Heartbreak and despair, but most of all, the best possible experience to shape this group of players. Experiencing this type of comeback to be on the wrong side of the score-line after starting so strong to see your cup journey end, will scar the team and light a fire inside of them for their next match and the next time they find themselves in this situation again.
With this being the group’s first fixture of the new year, the U12s came ready to Bloomsbury derby with a fighting spirit like no other, keen to prove themselves once more – not least because of the last time these two teams faced each-other: a heavy 5-0 defeat despite playing with an extra player.
From the offset Bloomsbury North showed their natural quality as a Futsal group, flashing their technical ability on the ball and quicker in engaging in counter-attacks.
After conceding early, the U12s picked up their pace. Dynamic duo of the returning Marwa El Harti as well as new recruit Emily Parker, proved to be real game-changers. Both naturally quick on the ball and immensely strong in 1v1 battles, they added serious speed and technical ability to the U12s, with the debutant even bagging herself a goal – winning a 1v1 in the middle third, carrying the ball up to the box with pace, gliding past the defender, and launching it to the back of the net.
This game was truly a battle of counter-attacks. Cecilie’s ability to scan and exploit space was critical in transitions into quick counter-attacks, while Aliki’s strength was equally as crucial, retrieving the ball on numerous occasions. Janet too was unstoppable when retrieving the ball, and made a difference to the score sheet in the last minute of play. One particularly impressive passage of play involved Aliki winning the ball in a transition on the left-wing, distributing the ball to Cecilie in the center, who masterfully turned to play the ball across to the far post, perfectly placed for Jet to launch it into the top right corner… an absolute screamer!
If they’d been given another ten minutes to play, the girls, without a shadow of a doubt, could have fired a couple more into the back of the net. They were on fire! A truly exceptional game against strong opposition, probably the best game this group has played to date.
It was also a great display of the week’s theme and topic: ‘defending in pairs’, when ‘defending the thirds’. Eleonor had an exceptional game in the defence: quickly understood where to close the gap between the defence and the attack, and masterfully took initiative to deny play, while scanning to make sure she was being supported. Key to this duo was Laura, who understood when to hold off, and support the player engaging with the ball carrier… at times a truly exceptional display of defending in pairs!
Following a defensive error, Bloomsbury fell behind twelve minutes in with Total Futbol breaking through the backline and finishing well. The second goal, the first of three conceded from set pieces, came from a corner. Initially a lack of marking, but compounded by failure to win the second ball saw Total finish in the top-right hand corner.
Two down, Bloomsbury battled hard, but just couldn’t break down the opposition, with Total Futbol on the opposite hand playing some excellent football evading our backline twice more in the second quarter.
With the deficit doubled for the restart, Bloomsbury had more possession of the ball. Zac Silverston made life particularly difficult for our opponents down the left-hand side, Dante continued to drive forward at every opportunity, Jake Cameron slotted in at right-back and Joe Barron and Che combined well together.
Despite the slight improvement of fruitfulness on the ball in the third quarter, the fifth and six goals would still be conceded. The fifth, another set-piece, and the sixth, a well-worked attack that left Bloomsbury’s defence disorganised.
The last and final quarter was most impressive from the Bloomsbury boys, knowing they had no chance of rescuing the tie, yet continued to work and press. Dante moved to striker and pressed high, with a couple of opportunities to break through shut down immediately. The final nail in the coffin came from the last corner when Bloomsbury were second to the ball again and Total Futbol rolled it in to the empty net via a deflection.
Despite the result, the U13’s deserve massive credit for their work rate and attitude, never giving up and, despite respecting the opposition’s strength, continued to make it difficult for Total Futbol to break us down, three set-piece goals displays that. Goalkeeper Sami warrants a shoutout too, with the score-line criminally unfair to young man, he distributed excellently, especially with his accurate throws out that started a number of counter-attacks. He also made great, decisive decisions of when to come and collect the ball, as well as diving, bravely, at the feet of the opposition strikers.
Always tough to lose so heavily, but the boys adapted well to the various formations and tactics adopted within the game, and that increased understanding of different positions and set-ups will benefit them massively going forward in future fixtures, where they’re primed to bounce back.
A wretched result for the U14s in their Saturday Junior Premier League fixture. That being said, Mustafa Labidi performed extremely well as the number ten during the second half, injecting aggression and work rate and was able to get the ball in great areas to facilitate play, and Callum Rahmen showed strong mental and physical toughness while battling the opposition’s left-winger, a tricky and challenging contest where he really showed his steel.
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