On February 19th the Under 10 Boys took part in the Essex Alliance League round of fixtures hosted by the club at Chelmer Park. Saffron Walden had withdrawn giving the group a difficult set of fixtures against opponents who had come out on top in previous rounds. With regular coach Nigel Seager away due to injury the squad were organised by parent helpers David Flanagan, Lee Waite and Tim Bateman with Robin Tombs providing his usual support for his goalkeeper son. There were 11 boys in the squad, a record high, and the view was that all should experience a home tournament to encourage the growth in numbers in this age group. This made for chaotic rounds of substitutions but all boys went home happy that they played equal parts in the competition.
Game 1: Blue Hornets 6 Chelmsford 0.
Game 2: Old Loughts 7 Chelmsford 0.
At this stage the organisers were thanked for handing Chelmsford the toughest of starts.
Game 3: Chelmsford 1 Bishops Stortford 0
The time-keeping went awry on this one. With matches scheduled for 15 minutes Patrick Towns was timed at 18 minutes with his winning goal and then coaches were still asking for the whistle in the 22nd minute. This was the game where things started to click as players settled in positions and substitutions became less disruptive. Some exhausted boys at the end of this one.
Game 4: Chelmsford 1 Crostyx 1
Possibly an even better performance against a team who always beat Chelmsford. Daniel Jansen scored to give Chelmsford an early lead with Crostyx equalising at the halfway point. However it was Chelmsford who finished the game stronger and came close on a number of occasions.
The squad:
Max Tombs – outstanding keeping in tight games which kept Chelmsford competitive.
Cameron Waite – resilient defending and clearances.
Edward Flanagan – solid left-sided performance and led breakaways down that flank.
Patrick Towns – gave the team great shape in midfield, scorer of a crucial winning goal.
Aaron Bateman – another defensive/midfield yeoman.
Daniel Jansen – excellent midfield play, scorer of a goal which meant Chelmsford led Crostyx.
Tom Ellis – good midfield performances across a number of positions.
Leo Parrish-Chiassaro – constant threat in the wide and forward areas.
Alessio Ebdon – attacking menace, unlucky not to get a winner against Crostyx.
Riley Anthony – good promise on first games for the club, one for the future.
Hugo Ireland – good contributions in the wide positions, will develop further with the squad.
The stand-in parents enjoyed their time but very much look forward to welcoming Nigel back and never being required again!
David