Shola was the outstanding player in this game, making many saves when we were under pressure including an amazing penalty save, and her distribution was unbelievable, being able to split the midfield open with one pass. Tanya was amazing too reading the bounce of the ball when it came longer towards her, also her understanding of being able to cover her team mates was brilliant especially from opposition throw ins. Naomi was key in understanding positional awareness in the game. When playing left back she understood the trigger to advance and create wide overloads against the opposition. Another standout performance came from Laura who created a lot of width for the team throughout the game. Her body position was key in being able to advance the team forward on two or more touches. This was combined with an amazing goal line clearance that saw her throw her body on the line to not concede.
The team worked on their body position during 1v1 defending in training, and were able to apply this in the game, successful too but less so when tiredness began to creep in after expending a fair amount of energy.
They started slowly, and so at half time the discussion was about using the context of the game: exploiting space quickly from a throw in and taking two touches instead of one. Once the switches were made, the girls adapted to playing a physically dominant opposition and tapped into their rhythm, successfully creating more chances not just from direct actions but also from quick combination play, producing one of the best second half performances they’ve ever dropped with a late winner to cap it all off. A win that places the U13s second in the league and looking primed to challenge top-spot as their performances keep on improving.
The end score-line very much flattered the opposition because the U7’s Gold team put in an impressive performance against an older U8’s team, and were unlucky not to score more goals. After a bright start that resulted in a couple of shots on target, and numerous back to back corners, the U7’s put in a great battle in all areas of the pitch in order to restrict the opposition to very few clear cut opportunities.
When faced with shots on goal, Rocco showed his fantastic ability in goal with saves that were made to seem more comfortable than they were. This was then followed with some fantastic distribution to get the ball up the pitch as quickly as possible. Both Louis and Blaise struck up a great defensive partnership in the first half, putting in some great tackles as well, progressing the ball into the next third via some great passes or carrying of the ball. Both demonstrated this further as a midfield partnership in the second half, with Louis grabbing a deserved goal after some fantastic individual work by the industrial Rahul who looked a menace every time the ball was at his feet. Sean was relentless in making tackle after tackle in the middle third, battering through the opposition defensive lines and was unlucky not to score. Noah and Ayman were looking to progress forward whenever possible, showing some great footwork and creativity on either wing in search of the goals the team well and truly deserved.
The aforementioned goal came after a fantastic long ball forward by Oliver, who was spraying the ball around with great success all game, found Rahul who’s initial shot was saved by the goalkeeper only for Louis to follow up with a fantastic first time finish.
Results will come for this U7s team. For the coach, it’s always a pleasure to take them on match days. It’s very much a case of watch this space!
With key players missing due to call-ups to the older U9 age groups – highlighting just how well the U8s have been playing this season – this game was going to be a different challenge for the team, with the onus being on the rest of the U8 Gold squad to fill the gaps.
Ivan had an excellent game in goal. Distribution was great alongside the key saves he made when required. He also showed his leadership skills by ordering the defence around when needed, really fantastic to see at this young an age. Moving on to the defence, Mathias put in a man-of-the-match performance, demonstrating his defensive strengths to win the ball back and then expertly distributing the ball both short and long to teammates in space, rarely losing the ball in doing so. Laurie demonstrated similar qualities when in the defence too, ensuring that we looked to build from the back where possible. Although lacking the usual clinical aspect in the final third, the attacking four of Marco, Franco, Pax, and Tommy put in the mileage through the fixture, working tirelessly both when progressing forward, and tracking back, only lacking the final product, in some situations finding themselves taking too many touches rather than shifting the ball quicker.
A well-fought draw with the bluntness in attack a result of the energy expended in defensive because of missing the key players. Nobody complained, instead everyone gave 110%. A fair result based on the balance of play, with neither team looking like they were going to score numerous goals, the upcoming training week will allow the boys to fine tune where needed and prepare themselves for upcoming fixtures where they will look to regain their sharpness back, which will undoubtedly be assisted by the return of the key players.
A classic cup-tie: a hard-fought different challenge, but nonetheless fruitful for the U9s progressing through to the next round with a well-deserved victory.
The opposition, very physical in battles, were very content in playing long from their centre half, combine this with the fact they took the lead very early in the contest, first minute in fact, meant the U9s overcame a tough encounter.
Bastion was able to create fuses with his teammates to create chances and showed great desire to be getting in the right areas to receive and help out his team mates. Alex successfully won many 1v1 defensive battles often being trusted on his own to prevent goal scoring opportunities, and George’s bravery when on the ball driving the team forward and his ability to slow down and draw the defender in to then go past them was seriously impressive. Special shoutout to those three.
Where the Gold’s were able to progress in the Cup, unfortunately the Blacks were not able to do the same. A shame but despite the score-line, it was a strong performance, creating lots of opportunities for goals, all that lacked was the conversion. A lot of positives to take from the game, all the boys played well and gave it their all. Huge credit to Misha and Marcelo for stepping up to play in the age group above, both got involved with the team and tried their absolute hardest.
Amir, man-of-the-match, was solid in all areas of the pitch, defending well when needed but was the catalyst for many of the Bloomsbury attacks; cleverly positioning himself to receive a great cross from Aarez before providing an excellent finish, Amir had an eye for goal and was very unlucky not to score more.
Huge shoutout to Lukas who made a wonderful comment on the side-lines praising Misha and Marcelo for their performance in the match. Showing great support to his teammates was a fantastic thing to do and is everything we encourage at Bloomsbury Football. He really helped the younger players feel welcome in the team and speaks a lot of the personality of this young man, what a credit to the club.
A very impressive display characterised by Alex Dearing after the game who said, “I had to score to make up for the time I lost the ball”. The team responded really well to information that was given in terms of being brave on the ball and was emphasised by their first goal. A hooked ball through from Riku culminated in a difficult opportunity for Deniro to rifle home on the volley, a fantastic goal to put the group ahead. The boys went into the second half leading though shortly after the restart Isledon equalised after a brief lapse in concentration, but this was quickly corrected after Joao finished with aplomb after beating a handful of defenders. The scoring was not done there, as Alex our quote maker scored our final goal and his second of the season. A truly fantastic display that lead to everyone involved receiving the plaudits they deserve.
Shoutout to Bastian Davis, a brilliant display, only missing the goal. He was a constant threat when in possession but also superb at winning the ball back and starting attacks.
Liverpool saw the sweetness of Bloomsbury’s U10s winning their cup fixture on pens and went ahead and did the exact same at Wembley the very next day. Thanks to our brave penalty scorers Adam, Jacob and Max, Bloomsbury progressed through to the next round of the Cup after normal time somehow ended goal-less.
Otto, man-of-the-match, defended like his life depended on it. When outfield in the first half, his numerous blocks and challenges as last-man made Yili’s first-half stint in goal far, far easier. But it was his performance second half after kindly offering to go goal, that smashed all expectations. He stepped up to the challenge of an alien position and blew it away, calmly coming out to collect long balls, making some ridiculous saves. Yili our first-half goalkeeper was also great in between the sticks, when called into action made some brilliant saves, and when outfield, proved very difficult to disposes and often orchestrated plays down the sides of the pitch. He was very unlucky not to have scored as his high pressing often rewarded him with the ball in dangerous positions, but the opposition to their credit defended well.
Who also defended really well was Mo, tracking the opposition at all times and transitioning very well into the attack, constantly on his toes in anticipation of the next passage of play. Yacine and Max’s showed lots of passion, their work-rate fantastic. Despite being two of the smallest on the pitch, both were more than happy to throw themselves into challenges and attempted to engage physically with all of the opposition. Kieran used his physicality superbly, holding players off and shielding the ball to retain the ball fantastically, making a variety of well-timed tackles. Bert used his footwork and physicality to control play in the midfield, often tracking back to intercept the ball and recycle possession. Jacob’s unbelievable footwork prevented the opposition from tackling him and created a host of opportunities for both him and his teammates, despite his size, Jacob was regularly engaging in physical battles with the opposition, which was excellent to see. Zak was fantastic again, dominated the right-hand side of the pitch and came mere inches away from scoring the winner with an excellent driven shot. Adam was excellent too, using his tricky feet to out-skill the opponents and create chances for both himself and others, incredibly unlucky not to score, striking the post at the end of a well-worked team play.
An overall fantastic performance from the team. Pressing was excellent and everyone covered their teammates if dragged out of position, the marking was fantastic, and the team all knew their positions and roles. Against very tough older opposition, the team showed great character and desire to win the game, and deserved the win, with the players ecstatic with the performance and result and celebrating each-other’s hard work and passion in the game.
Another classic cup tie, and another fruitful one at that for Bloomsbury, as the U10 Golds progressed through to the next round of the Development Cup.
Jorge, man-of-the-match, had an absolutely fantastic game, covering all angles of the goal and made plenty of vital saves. His distribution was also excellent, and his attitude and commitment won us the game, huge congratulations for a massive performance! Vanya used his physicality to match up to the U11’s denying them multiple attacks and commanding the team from the back when playing in defence. Archie was also extremely solid defensively, making lots of well-timed challenges and preventing the opposition from scoring a handful of goals, even making a vital goal-line clearance late on to keep the game at 2-1. Yili and Zak both performed very well, coming straight from another fixture can be tough but the boys didn’t let it affect them and showed their class on the pitch. Both Sam’s: Sammy and Samuel, bossed it in midfield, orchestrating many attacks and helping out defensively where required, some excellent passing on display from both of them. Oli was fantastic and was almost impossible to dispossess and created many brilliant chances for both himself and his teammates, and deserved a goal. Who did get the goals, 10 and five minutes from the end of play was Jon. His clever positioning and attacking awareness were what allowed him to score both his goals, two tidy 1v1 finishes to win Bloomsbury the match and progress them through.
Unbelievable passion and desire from the team, the added pressure of being a cup game against the age group above did not affect the team in the slightest, and they showed great maturity to win this match in its dying embers. From the celebrations when the goals went in and at the final whistle, the team were buzzing, and rightly so! A fantastic team performance, one that all involved should be very proud of!
From kick-off to the final whistle: effort, intensity, aggression and decidedly, quality, of the very highest order. Our best performance of the year.
Jorge Camacho pulled out a number of top-class saves that kept up is the game when the score-line was tight. His soldiers in front Rabah David, Troy Selene and Alexander Bendon-Coomes were the solidest back three: compact and in-line, winners of their ground, and aerial dules, and to add a touch more class were progressive in their passing and dribbling from the back. A secure foundation for the team that deserved a clean sheet, but by far their best defensive performance of the season.
Where the duels in defence were settled with ease, the battles in the next zone of the pitch were total obliteration. The ability of Zeid Mehareb, Archie Alberts and Adam Butragueno to assert dominance and outmatch the opponent’s aggression, set the intensity. Winning every tackle, causing a number of turnovers, and then providing the quality by moving the ball through the thirds either on the ground or in the air, demonstrated what was a midfield masterclass. All players were comfortable playing as defensive or attacking midfielders and pushed the team to victory.
Don’t think our front-cast of Alfie Demetriou, Rupert Robinson, Tristan Turner and Noah Conway weren’t up to the task either. The raw pace and slick dribbling ability blended with their chemistry and selflessness combining with their teammates with precision and speed and always offering support to their backline by tracking back and making a number of recovery runs saw Alfie Demetriou and Rupert Robinson dominate the wide-areas. As the focal point in attack, Noah Conway spearheaded strongly, dropping deep to link and provide an extra man in midfield, and with runners beyond made a number of precise forward passes to play them in, so unlucky to not grab an assist, but did get the goal his performance deserved: a well taken penalty. Tristan Turner, operating wide or centrally – was simply unplayable. His incredible skillset of speed and power blended with insane technical ability saw him score a hattrick of the highest quality. His first, a bullet header from a corner assisted by Archie, the team’s first headed goal of the season. The second, a well-played throw-in, with the ball crossed into the box, one touch to control, and on the half volley, putting it into the back of the net. To cap it all, a dribble in off the left side cutting past his opponent and rifling into the back of the net.
A game where every individual was man-of-the-match and consequently the team performance, was outstanding. Working on set pieces in what was a free week in training for the team, to score three of their four goals from a corner, throw-in and penalty was a delight. The coach’s favourite moment of a game filled with many, came at the end of the first quarter, where the players noticed that the opposition would always play short and wide from their goal kicks, to then play central. Once recognised, the team stopped this with their press, and from then on Pro Soccer’s academy fluidity drained to nonentity. Spotting how the opponents would build their attack from goal kicks and all together and who the danger man was, identifying how to stop the passing and danger man and use it to our advantage by implementing a specific press and doubling up. The U11’s were extremely impressive on every, single, front.
Saturday’s Junior Premier League away day to Cranford Community School was close to perfect for Bloomsbury’s U15s.
Alex Smith opened the scoring just two minutes into the context. CSR replied half an hour in, but Preet would respond five minutes later to restore our lead. CSR would then reply immediately just three minutes after that, but Dylan Summerhayes’ first of the day on the stroke of half time would ensure Bloomsbury went into the half-time in front. Dylan got the second of his double on the day ten minutes after the restart, and Rico after Preet’s amazing run ended proceedings fifteen minutes from the end.
Special mention to Johnny Brindle, running from the left through the middle and onto the right, making three crunching tackles consecutively typified the mentality and heart the coach wants to see within his individual performances, an example to the boys of what they can, and should be doing week in week out – something he feels has been lacking in recent weeks.
A brilliant response, nullifying all of the opponent’s threats and winning the individual battles which facilitated some beautiful attacking football which yielded all three points in what could have been a tough away trip.
A disappointing day all round for the U11’s however it could have all been so different after a positive start. A fast start lead to the boys dominating the early stages and carrying a threat when going forward and looking solid in defence. This quickly changed when the boys conceded against the run of play. After this the opposition capitalised on a catalogue of errors, this lead to the boys being punished and being 4-0 down. Jacob Bell scored to make it 4-1 after a pinpoint ball from stand-in goalkeeper Sami Short, but that would be it for what Bloomsbury could take from the game.
Shoutout to Sam Jothilingham. The man-of-the-match was very effective at setting standards both on and off the pitch. Also very effective at doing the fundamentals correctly thus giving the team a basis to attack from. A definite bright spark in an otherwise underwhelming display.
Friday’s game started off very slow, an unusual tendency for a team who have as one of their biggest strengths their ability to start sharp, concentrate and get their heads in the game straight off the bat.
This game had its ups and downs but opened up for the girls the opportunity to redeem themselves since the last time they played this strong opposition.
This week’s theme, building the attack, and the topic of ‘effectively building play from the goalkeeper’, placed great importance on our goalkeeper who made her debut in 2022 after a long spell away. Phoebe heavily kept the girls in the game, making brave close-contact saves, effectively distributing the ball shallow, into the middle of the pitch, and as far as the final third – a true testament to her training on distribution on the back – even almost assisting a goal from a drop-kick! A class performance from Phoebe, supported by our goalkeeper coach Luiza Moreno, both a massive credit to the club!
Despite the slow start and conceding early on in the game, there were fantastic passages of play. A special mention to our skipper Kitty, who united the team throughout the game keeping a constant flow of communication ordering her players in their defensive shape, and commanding the attacks from left-back. A performance truly deserving of the MVP win!
Shots were flying on goal and given a few more minutes, the goals would have found the back of the net. Brilliant from Emily, LacaJet and Janet (who was unstoppable in this game) and their relentless attacking ability. They landed and struck multiple shots, and though they were unsuccessful, the fact they were constantly there to still find and take the shots is one of many reasons why these players are so influential to this team.
The midfielders Cecile and Laura shone defensively. Eleonor, our most developed and improved player of the season so far, had another great game in the back. Her growth, ability to take on information and apply it in the games has been truly impressive. Last but not least, O’Miya, despite not being selected for the squad, came to support her teammates… a true testament to the spirit of this team!
Despite the loss, the girls showed great perseverance in playing against the second top team in the league and left the match with a smile on their faces. Bring on the next fixture!
The performance from this U12’s side was brave, and they showed great confidence to compete throughout. The score being 1-1 at half time represented this. The boys showed discipline by being set up out of possession and frustrated the elders from strutting their stuff. The boys were unfortunate to fall out of the game at 2-2 with two errors leading to goals, then the game got away from them. A fantastic effort, with more positives to take than negatives for sure.
Notable performances included Strahinja and Sebastian who did a great job of competing in a midfield battle against the older academy side. Jack and Eli were exceptional too at dealing with their wingers and causing a threat going forward as well.
Although they lost, it was extremely pleasing that with a small squad, the boys were able to cope, with others even thriving.
The key message was to play without fear and apply their learnings from this week’s theme and topic of ‘movement to receive when building the attack’, to input new things within their individual game. The lads were confident and played their own brand against the opposition, looking really aesthetic at times.
Shoutouts to Ford Hartman who was fantastic and showed high levels of effort deservedly scoring two goals and Victor who showed great movement as a forward to always try to get into the game when he could and made a big influence on the team.
The mood wasn’t the happiest but on reflection, several players were impressed with the team performance and found themselves unfortunate not to get more from the game.
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