WEEK 2 | Bloomsbury Boys Battling Hard
FEATURED FIXTURE
3-3
Though they weren’t able to get what they ultimately deserved, it was a performance the U11s should seriously be proud of.
After having to deal with a tough opening spell, for the boys to not only respond, but hold their own by dominating large parts of the game against older opposition, winning the ball high and forcing the opposition into unwanted decisions resulting in chances galore, they should take great pride from their performance. Rupert, one of many who excelled, was a constant threat on the left-hand side of the midfield four, epitomising the objectives set for the group beforehand of being brave, positive, and responsible.
Goals from James, Troy and Oli, who’s goal capped off a fantastic performance from someone playing a year up against players two years older, meant Bloomsbury drew 3-3 against Katanga FC U12s. They may not have got the win, but their performance is worth more than three points could ever be.
U7 vs Fusion
1-9
A tough day for the U7s in the U8 Market Road League, losing 1-9 at home to Fusion. Whilst the score-line paints a damning picture of a performance with no spirit, effort or competition – that couldn’t be farther from the case. They created chances and showcased their flair and trickery when they had the opportunity and battled fiercely against a very large and physical team; epitomised by our goal which was started by a Sean tackle, one of many on the day as he made several that saved the team, which allowed Guy to dribble amazingly, skilling many of the opposition to set Rahul for a fantastic finish with his left foot.
U8 vs Crouch End Vampires & TG FC
1-1 & 3-1
In a three-way tournament including ourselves, Crouch End Vampires and TG FC, our U8s managed to stay unbeaten, drawing 1-1 against the former and winning 3-1 against the latter. Majid, who was especially brilliant on the day, his attitude and ability to absorb information leaving a lasting impression on the coach, scored the solitary goal in the draw and added to his day’s tally with a brace in the victory, with Nico following up with the third of the game to cement the win.
An impressive effort from the players, especially from those who played an age up. The players confidence to take their time on the ball to find the best option available, fantastic to watch. Lori who worked especially hard to help his teammates both in and out of possession, and Ori who through his short and long passing displayed his exquisite passing range, both of whom doing their upmost to create opportunities for their teammates, emphasising the effort and confidence from the team on the day.
U8 vs Camden Town
10-1
Assertive, absolutely, but what was most appealing about the performance from Bloomsbury’s U8s in their 10-1 victory at home against Camden Town in the Camden and Islington Youth League (CIYL), was the demonstration of their learnings from the past week. To have parent’s commenting on how good the movement was in order to create opportunities, considering the week’s theme and topic was all to do with ‘movement to receive’ when playing through the thirds, was exceptionally vindicating and added the cherry on top of the Marcelo, Pax, Franco hat-trick and Misha quintuple, cake. Odd-flavour, we know, but we sure enjoyed it.
U10 vs Coram’s & Academy Reds
4-0 & 8-1
Two very professional performances by the U10s saw them win 4-0 against Coram’s and 8-1 against Academy Reds in their double header. Goals on the day were contributed to by Adam and Otto both with three, two from Travis and one from Bert and Yili, as well as Sammy who not only scored two but set up many of the goals and demonstrated his technical prowess throughout in attack and defence. Twelve goals that showcased the player’s organisation and most pleasingly, the creation of chances as a result of plenty of movement to tick off this week’s theme in training. A special mention goes to Deniro who stepped up from the U9s and played superbly.
U10 vs Global Football Academy
3-0
Those wins that upon their conclusion leave a feeling of unfulfillment is, ironic as it sounds, the best type of wins. The 3-0 victory for Bloomsbury’s U10s at home to Global Football Academy, though comfortable, was flattering for the opposition due to the volume of chances we created and so was disappointing not to have scored more goals. At times selfishness on the ball was evident and calls for the need to revisit our decision-making of when to pass and when to dribble.
A game with plenty of positive points, supplemented with a wanting to address and work on our finishing in the final third, emphasises the underlying hunger and quality of the team.
U11 vs Thame United FC
2-9
An eleven goal thriller for our namesake’s team as our Bloomsbury U11s beat Thame United FC emphatically away from home in the Junior Premier League (JPL): 2-9. An exceptional performance, not for nearly reaching double digits on the score-line, but for how the players applied the key themes from the week’s sessions, superbly, with many goals being created from third-man runs, overlaps, and one near miss that came from a show and go. The first goal a perfect exhibit of such: a cut back from Alfie to Tristan, Tristan finding Freddie’s third-man run at the back post, who then cut the ball back again for Adam’s late run who found the bottom left corner with a first-time strike.
Not only were they exceptional in their movement to receive and supporting of the player in possession, but the team played a new wing-back system and adjusted perfectly, once again taking on all the information to execute the game plan with style, Bloomsbury were well organised on every opposition goal kick to win the ball back high and recognised the right opportunities to engage. Special mention for Alex whose constant communication was the glue for our success, and for Zeid who impressed with his comfortability to retain possession whilst playing out and his ability to win the ball on the halfway line and stop opposition players turning allowed us to commit more players forward.
U12 vs LFS Tufnell Snakes
5-3
A truly gratifying victory for our U12s in the CIYFL fixture at Market Road against LFS Tufnell Snakes saw the group’s resilience and spirit come to the fore. Sebastian, Jack, Tristan and Victor courtesy of a brace were all on the scoresheet as the team responded fantastically to going 3-2 down to come back and take all three points winning the game 5-3. As a collective not only did they showcase their toughness, but they flaunted their ability to be patient when playing through the thirds which provided many opportunities, as well as their ability to employ the press which the opposition struggled to deal with. A performance to be proud of: especially for Jack who not only scored a goal but was brilliant at connecting play and allowing time on the ball for his other teammates, finding the best option when he could, and for Luca who was incredibly effective 1v1; a constant threat every time he had the ball in the final third.
U13 vs Global Football Academy
0-8
Our away trip to Regents Park was extremely disappointing, ending in an 0-8 loss for our U13s. Although the opposition were superb, technically proficient and dangerous in 1v1 situations, we allowed the score-line to affect our effort and application, only towards the end of the second quarter did we appear to attempt to match the opposition, and in the final quarter the team began to battle close to the level they’re capable of, but unfortunately the damage was too much to salvage with the game already out of stretch in the first quarter after conceding three.
U14 vs Future Football Stars
5-2
What goes around comes around was how this JPL fixture played out, and unfortunately for Bloomsbury’s U14s, they found themselves on the wrong side of the age old adage losing 5-2 to Future Football Stars.
An early error resulting in conceding in the first minute was the worst start possible, but the reaction from the team was fantastic, soaking up the pressure to score two goals on the counter to make it 2-1 by the end of the first quarter. The turnaround was to mean nothing however as we ended up losing the game to errors in our midfield third, losing possession and conceding in transition, the same way we scored our goals.
Great on the day were: Elijah, who was particularly effective up front using his pace to pressure the backline into some key mistakes, and Mustafa whose tenacious performance winning the ball back and then distributing effectively was also encouraging.
Despite the retort from the opposition, massive credit to our boys for never letting their heads drop, maintaining pressure and keeping on pushing; hitting the crossbar and post within two minutes of each other in the last quarter was a sign and near-reward for their persistence and attitude and on another day, this game is suddenly 5-4 with ten minutes to go…
But that’s how football goes, and is why we love it, and learn from it.
U15 vs The GAP Academy
3-0
Our U15s were unable to progress through to the next round in the Junior Premier League Cup as they lost 3-0 away to The GAP Academy.
A frustrating weekend that highlighted the need to work on our fitness and how to defend as a unit, as well as our finishing in the final third as after we went 1-0 down, we had two clear chances to equalise but failed to take them and were ultimately punished four minutes before the end of the first half; crucial for the match as it put the game to bed. The shining light, a promising first appearance in Bloomsbury colours for Alex Toledano, who if this match is anything to go by, will be a fantastic addition to the squad as his speed and skill was a constant threat for the opposition, especially when driving forwards and asking for the ball beyond.
Everyone at Bloomsbury would like to wish Joao Paolo Ferreira a very speedy recovery following his first minute injury, the U15s will be eagerly anticipating his return!
U16 vs EFA
4-0
An especially pleasing victory for the U16s at home in the CIYL showcased their astute ability to adapt.
After starting the match inferior in the midfield, the team responded to the necessary adjustments to their formation and dominated the second half, scoring all their goals after the restart, ending the match 4-0 winners. Shout-outs go to David who stepped up to play in goal and did a smashing job, Itay who was imperious in defence smothering their striker, and Freddie who not only grabbed a brace, but was superb in offense as a whole, winning his 50/50s.
U16 vs HMH Dynamo
5-1
A seriously impressive result but not without its potential hazards for Bloomsbury’s U16s as they won 5-1 at home in the Watford Friendly League against HMH Dynamo, with Freddie courtesy of a double, Alexey, Philo and Tristan all on the scoresheet. Tristan particularly deserving of a shout-out with a selfless and admirable performance, helping his teammates in and out of possession: starting the game in the alien role of left-back as a replacement for a team-mate, yet shutting down and stopping the opposition’s best player, and then later moving into another position to once again replace another team-mate due to injury, but not allowing that to faze him, performing fantastically there as well.
The opposition started strong and forced us on the defensive. We then had, and took, our first chance with Tristan, with the first goal allowing us to take control of the game as we were able to score the second right away and the third two minutes later. The second half saw the opponent use the counter attack to create dangerous chances, scoring at the half-way point of the second period, but in the dying embers of the game a back-pass to the goal-keeper awarded an indirect free-kick in the box which Freddie converted, and was followed by the opposition conceding a handball which allowed Freddie to double his return with a well-taken penalty.