Amaya was able to combine a couple of times and play off a few touches. This led to progressive passes that brought the team further forward. Aila was able to influence the game by creating multiple goalscoring opportunities. However, she could have upgraded the chances she got and created fuses with her team mates to progress up the pitch. Aila also showed her technical ability in small areas which got her away from pressure. Tori was successful at understanding what areas she can exploit when the opponents were disorganised. Yas’s decision making has improved so much over the season, and she understands a lot better when to be selfish and selfless. This led to the team upgrading chances a lot more and leading to one of the teams goals. Malaika had a very positive game playing in a variety of positions. When she played further back, she succeeded defensively in not allowing teams to beat her down that side. She was also key to building the attack with her left foot on the left side progressing the team up the pitch very frequently.
As a team performance it was very good minus a 10-minute spell where the girls struggled. What started this spell was a failure to get behind the ball when it was lost meaning the opposition scored 2 goals in quick succession. After this 10-minute spell, the players were very successful in managing the game with many decisions going in their favour and understanding how to slow down the game. Other than that, the team found the fixture a good challenge and created more chances which was a credit to the girls on the pitch. They also showed that despite the opposition coach claiming the girls were scared and didn’t want it, they were in fact confident and had the desire to win the game.
The highlight from the tournament was the teams desire to score in the final match, the mentality was fantastic, and they very much deserved the goals and the clean sheet. A very tough day out for the players but they handled it extremely well and showed great desire and passion to keep going. Very deserving of the win in the final match, with each game being better than the last. A fantastic group of lads who should be very proud of how they played and represented Bloomsbury out on the pitch! Thank you to the parents for the brilliant support! The players were extremely enthusiastic about scoring in the last game, and then proceeded to go out and score 5 goals!
The boys continued their fantastic Market Road form stretching their unbeaten run that began in March! Goals from Ayman and Blaise put the boys well on the way to a win after a goal from Fusion had put them ahead. After leading 2-1 at the break the boys were pegged back to 2-2. Well taken goals from Oliver and Louis left the boys deserved winners. Another fantastic performance for this extremely talented group. Full credit to Fusion who were fantastic opposition.
The boys endured a tough day of results at Spelthorne but a fantastic day of learning. The boys battled hard all day and showed many positive aspects and were unlucky not to come away with more results and more goals. The boys struck the post on multiple occasions and created many promising openings and chances at goal, evidently displaying the learning from previous weeks. Throughout the day the boys played against teams such as non-league sides Met Police and Motspur Park as well as other strong sides in the form of Spelthorne. All round a very good day of football that ultimately deserved more. Full Credit to each and every player who played as part of this fantastic day of football.
Misha showed great maturity by breaking lines and looking for players to serve the ball. The team had multiple chances to score in the first and last matches, but they missed the target. Individual players showed great progress during the tournament, but unfortunately the team struggled to produce more positive results.
The boys embarked on their Cup Final and started very brightly creating chances almost immediately as Amir threatened the East End Lions goal. The pressure finally paid off when Amir slammed the ball home from close range to give the boys a 1-0 lead. After this the battled continued however the tide turned, and East End Lions scored 2 in quick succession to flip the game on its head at 2-1. This however was quickly pegged back after a well taken goal by Yasser after stooping low to win a header and lift it over the keeper. As the boys closed in on penalties there was one last twist as a penalty was awarded for handball and was coolly dispatched to make it 3-2 to East End Lions. The boys should be extremely proud of their efforts and how they conducted themselves throughout the day!
The U9’s Gold had a tough first game against Atletico Madrid U9’s in the group stage. Though the boys tried their best, Atletico found it too easy winning their first game. Disappointed, the message to the team was to speed up in possession and make decisions before the ball otherwise feel the consequences. The next two games were also difficult but were much better as the players were dominating possession and creating many chances which resulted in a 0-0 draw vs Peterborough and a 1-0 loss against Finesse. The boys needed a win to give themselves a chance of making it through to the quarter finals, they did so in style winning 3-1 in the next match, one of the goal coming from a superb counterattack with nearly the whole team involved, converted by Kurt! Squeaking their way to the quarter final, Bloomsbury had to play Southend United. They played great, Joao doing an excellent job, as usual, in goal and the boys giving everything they could to win. Southend scored first but this did not deter the team as they were aggressive and quality with the support from the side-lines by the U11 Gold. With a chance to score in the last minute beautifully crafted by George, he was so unlucky to not score. With that, Bloomsbury were out of the tournament but very proud of everyone’s effort against very good oppositions. The U9 Gold showed an immense amount of character and should be very pleased with the day, onto the next one!
A combined U10 Gold and Black team took part in the 1st tournament of the summer for the U10 age group over in High Barnet on Saturday afternoon, finishing in a very respectable 6th position out of 16 very competitive teams. The boys in gold started off the day on fire, turning heads in the 1st game of the day on their way to a 3-0 win vs APB. The build-up play on show was fantastic and finished with aplomb. The 2nd game was a little bit cagier, however Bloomsbury managed to come on top with a final minute goal finishing the game 2-1. On to the final game of the group, a different side to the Bloomsbury team was on show as they defended resolutely and compactly in a 1-1 draw against eventual tournament winners Top Touch. Wingate would prove to have too much for the ball and crown as the U10’s slipped to a 2-0 defeat littered with minor errors in the scorching heat in Barnet, however they’d bounce back in their play-off match against Whetstone, displaying a very similar performance to that seen in their scintillating 1st fixture to win 2-0. Onto the final game, and the boys were unlucky to be trumped by NSS Academy in a fiery 2-0 loss. A huge thank you to all parents present on the day for their continued support, and a huge well done to the players who although did not win the tournament, put in some very good displays and wore the ball and crown with pride, representing it in a very responsible and mature fashion.
After a slow start, with 1 win, 2 draws and 1 defeat, qualification to their next round was looking much tougher than first anticipated. However, a resurgent U11 team came out fighting, with 3 wins and a 1-0 loss to eventual champions Norwich, securing 3rd place comfortably with 14 points, and a place in the quarter final of The Silver Cup, second only to Birmingham City and Norwich. Unfortunately, the intensity of the day caught up to the players as they fell to a 3-0 defeat to Dynamo Youth. The team put in an incredible effort to have played as well as they did. A great tournament with some quality teams on show. Bloomsbury performed admirably throughout the tournament, with honourable mentions to Morgan Summerhayes, Luke Bahia and Rupert Robinson for the quality and consistency they produced.
The message before this game was to win the ball high and force the opposition to play long, this message was carried out to perfection as the boys successfully condensed the pitch and won the ball high on numerous occasions. The boys started this game as they meant to go on and scored very quickly after winning the ball high through Jacob Bell who managed to squeeze a cross into Leonardo who sent the Bloomsbury supporters into delight on the side-lines. A quickfire double from Ardi left the boys from Bloomsbury in cruise control. Special Mention to Jorge and the defence who kept a clean sheet and looked comfortable in all scenarios. Goals from Jacob Bell and Ardi extended the lead before a wonderful pass from Linus set up Sami Short who rifled in from distance to score the pick of the bunch. Troy Ismailiji capped off a superb Cup Final display to bring home the U11 Development Cup, a trophy that the boys deserve after their superb season in this format!
It was the turn of the U13’s team over in High Barnet for the 2nd day of the APB tournament in a 6-a-side format. The boys started slowly, demonstrating poor decision-making too frequently in a 2-0 loss vs Croygas. This stumbling block was to be put aside in a much improved and ruthless 4-1 win against APB Rams with Aaron’s penalty rounding off the scoring after a fantastic mazy run from player of the day Arthur. The boys in gold needed to avoid defeat against a much-fancied Edgware Town outfit, however they’d go 1 better and put in a comfortable display full of resolute defending and chance creation to overcome the favourites 1-0 and progress to the Gold Cup quarterfinals via a magical scissor kick from Joel. Wingate would be the opposition a Bloomsbury outfit would face for the 2nd day in succession at their host tournament, with the opposition running out 4-0 winners in what proved to be the frustrating undoing of the U13 side. Instructions that had worked well in the group stages were not followed from here on out, creating an unbalanced side full of gaps that allowed Potters Bars to exploit spaces left by wandering players in a 2-0 loss. It would take a penalty shoot-out win against Global to salvage a 7th place finish in what could be described as a day of two contrasting Bloomsbury performances in which fast, exciting, and ruthless performances led the team through to the knock-out stages before shape and high intensity was disregarded. There was plenty of promise on show from the team who under a solid and consistent management team next season can go on to do great things. It is very key that they work together as a team rather than a collective of individuals.
The U14’s started this 6 aside tournament slowly in the first fixture, trying to be a little too slow in possession and not taking risks, particularly with their forward passes. This began to change in the second game, a 2-2 draw with two excellent goals from Josh Sylvanus to get Bloomsbury another point in group stages. This third game is where the team began to excel, Jake, JM and Zach were really showing their class, JM incredible in the dribble, Jake with a very cheeky Ronaldo chop assist and a goal, and Zach maintaining a strong defence at the back, being very clever particularly when playing the long forward pass. The message didn’t change after this game, and the boys felt as if they had found the way to win this tournament. They remained undefeated in the group stage, with two draws and three wins, and the team was confident. Elisha in goal in the last game sealed the deal with a great low last-minute save. Entering the Quarter Final, the sun was shining, and the game was in the balance, with chances for both sides neither were able to break the deadlock. Josh S came very close in the last seconds but didn’t quite manage to get the ball over the line. Golden Goal approached and one player was taken off every minute until it was a 2v2 (speaks testament to how evenly matched the two teams were.) Elijah had a halfway line shot hit the post and we conceded on the counterattack. A gut retching way to lose the Quarters. Nevertheless the boys did a great job and should be full of confidence approaching the next tournament!
The final of the CIYFL Cup for the U14’s was a tense affair and something the team had spent all week preparing for. A mix of excitement and nerves were in the 14’s stomachs ahead of the fixture. They started in a 3-1-2 formation, looking for quick long switches of play where the front two held their width. The players started with maximum intent, with an early chance coming from kick off in the form of a 2v1, however they were unlucky to capitalise on it but continued with pressure. The first ten minutes was sublime from the team, the shape was beautiful, every 1v1 was won and when they needed to capitalise, they did, in the form of Charlie Guppy driving through midfield with his teammates from centre back and scoring a great finish into the top corner, met with a roar from the supporters around Market Road! Though excited Bloomsbury needed to keep calm, however, ERG slid through the lines quickly after and managed to equalise. The match went back and forth for the remaining minutes of the 1st half until ERG pressed effectively and scored again. Bloomsbury pushed and pushed in the second half, working as hard as they could. After hitting the post, the opposition keeper made save after save along with Timo in goal making many of his own! But Bloomsbury just couldn’t get the finish they desired. It was impressive to see Prince in midfield, once again dominating and dribbling with no fear. A killer pass added to his skill set will elevate him even more. Though it ended 2-1 to the opposition, the U14 team won everyone’s respect with their spectacular performance. The team will be back next season!
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