HBU Keep pushing on in Under 13’s and Premier League
HBU Under 13 results from Eastern Counties 3rd December:
HBU 5 VS 1 Kings Lynn B
HBU 0 VS 2 Kings Lynn A
HBU 2 VS 2 Ely
HBU 6 VS 1 Cottenham
Report:
HBU U13s were in action for the second consecutive week travelling to Kings Lynn for HBUs ‘home’ tournament in EC Div 1.
Traveling again with two U11 players, HBU faced tough opposition in their four games, facing two of the top four teams.
The tournament started slowly with HBU playing a Kings Lynn B side and goals from Jamie and George in both halves saw HBU comfortable 5 -0 winners. This game saw HBU U11 player Noah Latham making his U13 debut.
The next game saw HBU against unbeaten league leaders Kings Lynn, following their slow start in the first game Utd started brightly, defending well as a unit and creating their own chances, one unlucky break midway through the first half saw HBU 1-0 down following a goalmouth scramble. Utd continued to frustrate their opponents with Charley and Will leading a good defensive team display and in the dying minutes of the game conceded a second goal to lose the game 2-0. This performance gave the team great confidence as Kings Lynn had been winning games by a much higher margin.
The third game saw then face the Ely team who had narrowly won a close game (vs HBU) the previous week. Continuing from their earlier performance Utd were creating chances and found themselves 2-0 up with goals from George and Jamie. Ely resorted to long range shots and keeper Rhys was dealing with these comfortably until late in the first half where a deflection saw Ely pull one back.
The second half continued in the same manner of the first half in an entertaining game, where the next goal would likely decide the outcome. Unfortunately this came from another Ely long range shot that crept into the net. The final score in an entertaining game was 2-2, both teams deserved great credit, although on balance of play HBU were more disappointed with the result.
The final game saw HBU against Cottenham, based on the results of the day HBU entered this game as favourites and a goal after 12 seconds from George put them on top. A second from Jamie left the score 2-0 at halftime. The second half saw HBU concede an early goal and then camp in their opponent’s box. Despite poor finishing and pass selection HBU went on to score another 4 goals through Jamie, George and Will. This scrappy game ended 6-1.
So two wins, one defeat and a draw, this is encouraging for HBU U13. All players deserved great credit for their performances over the last two tournaments including Jamie L, Luke and Oli who were missing from this weekend’s games. The first two tournaments of the year have established HBU as one of the top four teams in the league and very close to second place. Who knows what could happen with a full squad available.
Man of Match – Rhys Young
Jamie L, Luke, George and Noah will be in action for the u11 in a couple of weeks.
The next tournament is Saturday January 6th 2012.
Player of the tournament: Rhys Young
HBU: Rhys Young(GK), (C) Jamie McVey(5), George Daly(6), Noah Latham, Will Parkinson-Wellard(2), Charley Bassom.
Premier League:
HBU 5 VS 1 Peterborough
Report:
HBU (Kings) 5 v 1 Peterborough
Location: The Bay Sports Arena, Time: 11.45am. Date: 04.12.11
Top of the table HBU faced a young Peterborough side at the Bay Arena this weekend. United started the game strongly and were rewarded for the fast start when Brendan Barker scored in the opening 2 minutes to give United the lead. United were moving the ball around well and their opponents were restricted to shots from long range, all of which were easily dealt with by United’s keeper (Dave Garlick). Seven minutes later captain Simon Hosking scored from close range to finish off a well worked team goal. 3 minutes later Barker finished first time to make it 3-0 to United. United were dominating in both defence and attack and they should have pushed on from there, however Peterborough kept working and they were rewarded when a deflected shot found it’s way passed a helpless Dave Garlick in United’s net to make it 3-1 with 10 minutes to go in the half. Despite efforts from both sides there were no more goals and at half time the score was HBU 3 – 1 Peterborough.
United manager Phil McVey was ringing the changes in both defence and attack, and United started the 2nd half on fire as Luciano Difeo scored a great individual goal only 11 seconds into the half to make it 4-1. Again United looked as though they were going to pull away from Peterborough, and again Peterborough remained resolute in defence. The visitor’s keeper pulled of a string of fine saves to deny United, the resistance shown by the ‘boro keeper gave his players confidence and they were now creating a few chances of their own. Then with 13 minutes remaining in the game Neil Austin put the game out of reach with a superb drive which rocketed into the top right hand corner of the net to make it 5-1 to United. There were no more goals in the game despite United pressing Peterborough for the last 5 minutes of the match. The tactic worked however the Peterborough keeper was having the game of his life and was equal to everything thrown at him. The final score was HBU 5 – 1 Peterborough. The result means that HBU remain top of the league.
After the game HBU captain Simon Hosking said: “For the first time this season we showed glimpses of how we should be playing as a team. Moving to the new rink has not been an easy transition for us but perhaps we are finally feeling at home. The rink is much bigger than the pier and this has affected our team game. For 20 minutes in the first half we were excellent. However our performance dropped in the 2nd half and we know we need to work to improve our team game.”
United manager Phil McVey added: “We have to win every game we play so first and foremost the result was the main thing, so I am delighted with the win. The next thing I have to look at is our performance, both individually and more importantly as a team. We have struggled this year coming to a new rink, and we have not yet managed to get out of 3rd gear. Our team game will have to improve if we want to win the league this season, that said, for a large period of the first half we looked like we were getting back to somewhere near our best. It has not clicked at all for the team this season, but the signs are there that it will. Our next 2 games are very important, whilst not make or break they will go a long way to defining our season. On the 17th December we face the Austrian side Dornbirn in the return leg of the CERS cup. We are 3-8 down so we need to win by 6 clear goals. It is a big challenge but one that I hope the lads are up for. A good performance in that game will set us up nicely for our next Premier League match, at home to champions Middlesbrough on the 14th January. If we can get the result in that game it will be a giant step towards winning our title back. That is why it was so important that we managed to perform as a team today. And for 20 minutes we did. As a group of players we turned a corner today, let’s hope we can push on from here and win the next 2 matches.”
Man of the match: Dave Garlick
HBU team: Dave Garlick (GK), Jay Williamson (GK), Joe Singleton, Karl Smith, Danny Butcher, Luciano Difeo (1), Simon Hosking © (1), Neil Austin (1), Tom White, Brendan Barker (2),
Peterborough: Matt Stearn (GK), Sam Cayley (GK), Carlos Amaral, Nick Flint (1), Michael Carter, Luke Morrow ©, Han Wei Lim,
