News and Match Reports

Rovers are looking to strengthen the team for 2004-2005. Boys who would like to join an A League team should contact edward.lee@logicacmg.com

Having made a serious challenge for the title, and missing out in the last two games of the season, I expected this season to be a big challenge. It was further disappointing that due to commitments with Colchester United, Andy Eales had to acknowledge that he would not be able to run the team this year so we were not only short of players but also short of a coach.

Fortunately we were able to sign James Martin and Connor Osborne who brought his father Terry, previously with Tempest, with him. After a few games Terry began to take over control of the team and by the end of the season established himself as manager for 2004-2005.

Several of the boys - Tom, Ryan, Sam, Toby and Paul were invited to trial for the Rep team and Tom, Ryan and Paul were chosen to represent the District Youth League during that successful campaign.

A further blow to the team was when our changing room facilities at Spring Lane were burned down in October.  Then 6 weeks later Ashley Thornton-Jones left us for Tempest.

However Chris Ketley, another Rep team player joined the team in December and at last the squad was settled. Whilst this was going on the team were disappointed to go out on penalties to Long Melford in the first round of the League Cup and in their third game in the Open Cup against Stowmarket, having beaten both Mountnessing (played on the Senior pitch at New Farm Road) and old friends, Lawford. The League campaign stuttered with some excellent wins at Tempest and Cornard, and some disappointing defeats to Clacton and Stanway Villa. All things taken into consideration finishing sixth in the "A" League should be considered extremely good under very difficult circumstances.

All three played well and participated in a strong team performance which saw the team win 1-0. An excellent game of football. Our boys represented the club well both in effort and behaviour.

The inexperience of the referee had an impact on the game. He seemed to be influenced by the calls from opposition supporters and players. Junior referees have to learn and gain experience.

Overall the defence coped marvellously with Villa's attack and passing moves. It is a shame that more of our players can not take the time to look and pass the ball. I will say that Tom is largely an exception to this and successfully passed the ball far more often than not, creating several goalscoring opportunities.

Team: Billy, Stephen(Rowan), Connor, Sam, Ryan, Leigh, Chris(Toby), Paul, Tom, Rob, Max

MoM Connor & Sam.

The second half began fairly equal with Rovers having much of the ball and seeking an equaliser but Melford looked more dangerous with solid defending and good passing moves in attack. Failure to clear when in possession allowed Melford to feed the ball back into Rovers 6 yard box and a sliced shot crept over the line. To their Rovers did not give up and a well worked goal followed as Tom completed a passing movement which Rob converted with confidence. Rovers pressed again for the equaliser but were unsuccessful. An interesting point to note were the number of free kicks conceded by Melford in the opposition's half. Too deep to give an advantage to Rovers but enough to allow Melford to get everybody behind the ball. A tactic we must learn from.

Team: Toby(Rowan), Connor, Ryan, Sam, Leigh, Stephen(Max), Paul, Chris, Rob, Billy, Tom

Scorers: Tom, Rob

MoM: Rob - good, hard work all afternoon.

Shortly afterwards Rowan found Paul in space and his shot from a difficult angle beat the keeper. Rovers did most of the attacking and Tom and Chris coped comfortably with the occasional Brightlingsea attacks. A second goal followed when Rob passed intelligently to Paul who hit the target again.

The second half saw Rovers continue to attack and Chris struck from outside the penalty area to make it 3-1. Unfortunately Chris missed the opportunity to score a second from a free kick when the net that he  hit was the one which prevented the ball from going into neighbouring gardens. As Rovers tired the fresh legs of the larger Brightlingsea squad began to tell. Brightlingsea scored by hitting a quick free kick over the Rovers sleeping defence. This gave them the confidence to come forward and leaving fewer defenders back meant Rovers had to defend. A 38 minute second half was not long enough for Brightlingsea to find an equaliser so Rovers finished as tired winners.

Team: Toby, Sam Th, Tom, Chris, Max, Leigh, Stephen, Billy, Robert, Rowan, Paul, James

Scorers: Paul(2), Chris

Gt Bradfords Blues beat Stanway Villa today. This means that to catch Gt Bradfords we have to not only beat both Long Melford and Col Villa, but score a lot of goals too. Might as well try! However that result also means that Stanway Villa can not catch us so we are guaranteed 6th place in the 'A' League. All things considered that is satisfactory.

Tom, Sam, Ryan, Paul, Chris - you are invited to join the Rep team for training on Saturday 13th at 10:00 a.m.at Clairmont Road.

Team: Billy, James, Toby. Stephen, Rowan, Chris, Sam, Ryan, Leigh, Tom, Max, Rob, Paul, Connor, Sam Th, Charlie

Scorers: Sam(2), Max(2), Tom, Billy(3), Rob(2 at least), Charlie (at least 2) plus 3 others.

So we have anarchy. Some of the boys ignored my instructions and played how and where they wanted. The vote at half time was that we should leave the formation as it was and we did. Well done Leigh and Chris for dropping into defence and Paul for good work throughout and using his brain.

The team were stronger in the second half. Not a single free kick was awarded for us and Heybridge had their chances. Two further goals from Connor as he was moved up. The first down to strength and determination as Connor out muscled the Heybridge centre-back to score. The second when Tom played Rowan in, Rowan' s run and shot parried by the goalie and there was Connor to follow up and score.

Team: Billy(Toby). Stephen(Rowan), Chris, Sam, Ryan, Leigh, Tom, Max, Rob, Paul, Connor .

Scorers: Stephen

MoM: Max (work rate); Billy - so many Great Saves

Team: Billy. Stephen, Chris, Sam, Ryan(Rowan), Leigh, Tom, Max, Rob, Paul, Connor .

MoM: Sam

Amazingly we were leading three times in this match. Chris scored a scorching opener to give us the lead at half time. After Gt Bradfords equalised Rowan headed our second then shortly after Bradford's second equaliser Paul scored our third. But Gt Bradfords were always likely to come back. They attacked up the right and we defended on the right so all that was needed was a cross and Rovers were wide open. Midfielders were not tracking back and defenders were  leaving their positions and people unmarked. What else can you expect than for Gt Bradfords to score two more to take the points.

Some may have enjoyed a see-saw game. Wonderful, good spirit, no fouls, no problems whatsoever and no points again for Rovers.

Team: Billy. Stephen, Chris, Sam, Ryan, Leigh, Tom, Max(Rowan), Rob, Paul, Connor .

MoM: Chris

Scorers: Chris, Rowan, Paul

Except the Colchester & District Rep team boys who played at Hertford Town FC. C&DYFL won 1-0 and are now in the final.

A good performance by the team and certainly the boys deserved more from the game. I hope they enjoyed themselves.

Team: Toby. Stephen(James), Chris, Sam, Leigh, Tom, Max, Rob, Paul, Billy(Rowan), Connor .

MoM: Sam (who defended well and later in the second half ran, with the ball, through 5 Villa players to shoot - by the way whilst he did so the linesman flagged for off-side - work that one out!)

Scorers: Rob, Tom(p)

No doubt the better team on the day won. It looked from the off that they wanted it more than our players. The only time Rovers looked as if they believed that they could get something out of this game was when Billy's looped shot went in to make the score 2-1 just after half time.

Of course it didn't help having two players ineligible for this game and Connor having to come off after about 15 mins due to injury. Ryan seemed to be out of sorts throughout, possibly due to a niggling knee problem which led to him leaving the field before the end of the game, thus Rovers finished the game with only 10 players. Rob hit the post at a time when a goal could have made all the difference. I think it would be fair to say that we had very little luck in the game but we should not take anything away from Stowmarket who were up for this and played some very good football.

It was encouraging that some players kept trying to the very end, but disappointing that some heads went down very early. I am not sure what the players expect when Toby blocks a shot in a one-on-one and there are three opposition players ahead of our defenders ready to put away the rebound. Of course we are going to lose the game if boys are not prepared to put as much effort into defending as they do going forward.

Team: Toby. Stephen, Ryan, Sam, Leigh, Tom, Max, Rob, Paul, Billy, Connor (James).

MoM: Rob and Tom

Chris Kettley signs for Rovers from Halstead Town.

Replacement Accommodation unit delivered to Spring Lane

Firstly I'd like to say how pleasant it was to entertain Boadicea. I thought the atmosphere was exactly right for boy's football and I sincerely hope that Boadicea (and ourselves) remain in the "A" League to meet again next season.

Rovers had much of the early pressure and a couple of chances fell to Rob. Most notably a through ball from Tom which brought the Boadicea goalie off his line to make a good save at Rob's feet. Another near post header from Rob went flying over the crossbar. Boadicea attacked intelligently up their right wing and I noticed Jake playing well in the right-back position for Boadicea. Max was putting in very solid challenges all over the pitch. I must remember to remind Max that the boys in Yellow shirts are his own team - he doesn't have to tackle them.

Of course it was our nemesis, Charlie Saddler, who just once in the game was given too much space and broke through to score for Boadicea. A combination of good pace and excellent finishing. Only one this time though Charlie!

Rowan Clarke came on at half time for Rovers and shortly afterwards played a great through ball for Connor to latch on to, he did and finished well to equalise. Boadicea were always dangerous on the break but largely Rovers had the better of the second half. A second goal in two days from a free-kick by Ryan gave Rovers the lead. Were it not for the first match ball being kicked into the adjacent field I would have had the pleasure of seeing Rowan's first league goal for the club. As it is I'll just have to accept the report that he finished well having received a well-placed through ball from Sam.

I'd like to mention the contribution of all the boys and opposition management today, it is best summarised by the referee who expressed the opinion that he wished it was like this every week. So do I.

Rovers 3 Boadicea 1

Team

Toby Reid, Billy Clarke(Rowan Clarke), Stephen Warner, Ryan Pinfold, Sam Barton, Leigh Lawther, Tom Lee, Max Springett, Paul Young, Rob George, Connor Osborne, Chris Kettley

MoM: Max Springett

A good fightback after going 2-0 down. Sam Thornley, Rowan and Chris K. took this opportunity to wear Stanway Rovers kit for the first time. Rowan scored his first for the club and Chris Kettley was solid all over the pitch, impressing in midfield and in defence.

Other goals were from Ryan - his first this season in open play - followed by the winner from a free-kick which was just outside the area. The Rep team wanted a hard game and we needed to shake off some of the Christmas pudding. Seems that everybody got what they wanted and the club was represented well.

Team

Toby Reid, Billy Clarke, Stephen Warner, Ryan Pinfold, Sam Barton, Leigh Lawther, Tom Lee, Max Springett, Paul Young, Sam Thornley, Rowan Clarke, Rob George, Connor Osborne, Chris Kettley

MoM: Chris Kettley

Both represented the club well.

Well done to Connor who both scored an excellent goal in the first half and was MoM. The scoreline doesn't reflect the performance. As usual all our boys played well and we can be proud of them.

Team: Toby Reid, Leigh Lawther , Stephen Warner(James Martin), Ryan Pinfold, Sam Barton, Billy Clarke, Rob George, Connor Osborne, Tom Lee,   Paul Young,  Max Springett.

Scorer: Connor Osborne

MoM: Connor Osborne (took the elbow to the face quite well and was not intimidated.)

Rovers took their foot off the pedal in the second half and carelessly allowed Tempest to come back into the game; but shortly after the score reached 4-3 Rovers wrapped the game up with a fifth goal as Rob George muscled past the goalkeeper to score.

Despite having no league appointed referee the game was played in good spirit and well refereed by an unqualified Tempest parent. 

Team: Toby Reid, Leigh Lawther , Stephen Warner, Ryan Pinfold, Sam Barton, Billy Clarke(James Martin), Rob George, Connor Osborne, Tom Lee,   Paul Young,  Max Springett.

Scorers: Tom Lee, Connor Osborne, Stephen Warner, Rob George(2)

MoM: Ryan Pinfold (Dangerous corners led to two goals; Solid defending and leadership)

Well done to Boadicea for providing opposition. Their boys did them proud.

Well done to all the boys who took part in a match played in pouring rain.

Next Round: Home to Stowmarket (who beat Witham Nomads 6-1) Jan 11.

Scorers: Rob(4), Ashley, Stephen

MoM: Stephen Warner (second week running!)

Throughout football people regularly disagree with refereeing decisions and as much as we may not like it we have to accept the decisions of the senior official or sink into anarchy.

The Rovers boys did very well by concentrating on the game and not being put off by questionable behaviour. Villa were strong all around the field and missed many chances. Rovers probably had fewer chances over-all but made them count.

Confusion in the penalty area led to a goal for Rovers as a Villa player cleared a shot from Connor into his own net. The second goal came as the Villa substitute goalkeeper came out to clear a ball which was returned to Paul who, in acres of space, calmly slotted the ball into an empty net from 15 yards.

Villa hit back in the second half and a poor goal kick fell to Ross Pearson who lobbed the ball into the goal from over 20 yards. Villa pressured for the equaliser but as Sam took charge in the centre of the field and moved forward nobody closed him down and he was able to play an excellent ball through to Tom who shot from the edge of the penalty area making the score 3-1.

Finally another break by Rovers found Ashley in a position to beat the goalkeeper from a very narrow angle. Question off-side, unseemly scenes, linesman argues with referee, manager threatens to abandon game, linesman dismissed, game trickles to a conclusion, result - everybody leaves unhappy.

Team: Toby Reid, Leigh Lawther , Stephen Warner, Ryan Pinfold, Sam Barton, Billy Clarke(James Martin), Ashley Thornton-Jones, Connor Osborne, Tom Lee,   Paul Young,  Max Springett.

Scorers: Tom Lee, Connor Osborne, Paul Young, Ashley Thornton-Jones.

MoM: Stephen Warner (difficult job defending against a good player - stuck to his task well.)

I remain of the same opinion that I held last year which is that regardless of the number (if any) of boys taken from our squad, provided we have 11 players and a Manager, I will not seek to re-schedule our game on the day of the Rep team match. Quite simply because the boys not included in the Rep team will want their weekly game and that, after all, is what we are here to provide.

Good luck to all the boys selected for the trials and please remember that during the trials and subsequent game(s) you represent both the League and this club - I know you will behave accordingly.

Note: Tom Lee, Ryan Pinfold, Paul Young and Toby Reid attended the trials.

Results are certainly disappointing and we must now work hard to either improve the squad through training or bringing in one or more players.

Having said that I would say that despite results so far the only game where we did not match our opponents (and I include the Col Villa and Gt Bradford games in this) was the Clacton game whee we only had 10 men.

Times are hard - but we need to pick ourselves up and get going again.

Team: Toby Reid, Leigh Lawther (James Martin), Stephen Warner, Ryan Pinfold, Sam Barton, Billy Clarke(Ashley Thornton-Jones), Connor Osborne, Tom Lee,   Paul Young, Rob George, Max Springett.

Scorers: Tom Lee, Connor Osborne.

MoM: Sam Barton.

Long Melford won 3-2 on penalties.

Rovers pushed forward a little more in the second half and both sides had chances. Great defensive work by Stephen, Ryan and Sam. With less than ten minutes remaining Rovers forced a corner and pushed almost all the players up to press for the equaliser - which came as Melford failed to clear the ball. Paul striking low into the net.

Rovers pressed further and had a couple of excellent chances to wrap up the game but were foiled by excellent keeping. Extra time came and went and penalties followed.

Whilst Billy saved the first penalty to give Rovers a good start in the end Melford won through. Well done to Melford and good luck - in the cup - we'll see you next week in the League!

Team: Leigh Lawther (James Martin), Stephen Warner, Ryan Pinfold, Sam Barton, Ashley Thornton-Jones, Connor Osborne, Tom Lee, Billy Clarke, Paul Young, Rob George.

Scorer: Paul Young

MoM: Billy Clarke.

The game was very hard-fought with Rovers dominating in the first half. Toby Reid had nothing to do until late in the second half when he made three excellent saves. The goal came from Ryan's corner which was cleverly flicked by James Martin and turned in as a defender tried to clear the ball. A good team performance. We now meet Lawford Juniors (Reds) in the next round at the end of November.

Another great substitution by Terry.

The game could have gone either way with Cornard having the better of the first half chances and pressure. Toby Reid had his best game of the season, making several good saves which earned him the Man of The Match award.

Rovers made the most of their chances in the second half. Ryan and Sam were excellent at centre back, dealing with Cornard's pacy attack. Cornard almost scored from second half kick off, just shooting wide but Rovers took the lead within the first ten minutes of the restart as Connor stabbed home a loose ball in the penalty area. Rovers second was a superb free kick from Ryan which hit the roof of the goal from at least 30 years. The third was the result of pressure on the Cornard goalie which allowed Paul to finish. Cornard were not finished and were unlucky only to hit the post. Several boys were in contention for the MoM award so well done to Terry for getting the boys in the mood.

Team: Toby, Stephen, Ryan, Sam, Leigh, Paul, Max, Tom, Ashley(Billy), Connor(James), Rob

Scorers: Connor, Ryan, Paul

MoM: Toby

We have been drawn at home to Mountnessing in the preliminary round of the Open Cup.

Team:  Toby, Tom, Connor, Sam, Leigh, Stephen, Paul, Ashley, James(Billy), Rob, Ryan(C)

Scorers: Rob

MoM: Paul (stuck to his job and showed good control)

The front of the building and the roof is ruined; the pavillion can not be used. Stanway Rovers will not be able to offer changing room, kitchen and toilet facilities to our visitors until replacements are put in place. It seems unlikely that there will be a replacement building however the Rovers committee is working to find sufficient facilities to bring football back to Spring Lane.

We can recover the loss of the building but hopefully the person who is responsible for these sad crimes will be identified and given appropriate help before somebody gets hurt.

Having brought themselves back to 2-2 just before half time an unusual free-kick was conceded (although no contact was made the Ref considered the tackle to be dangerous) and somehow the ball crept through any of three players who could have cleared it to make the score 3-2 to Tempest. Looking back it was probably that incident which turned the game finally in Tempest's favour. The second half was a blur of scoring. Tempest made it 4-2 and Rovers pulled it back to 4-3. Then Tempest took it to 6-3 and Rovers came back to 6-5. Tempest got a seventh and Rovers a sixth. Time ran out before double figures could be reached. 

It's a shame for Rovers to lose the game but if you are going to lose this is the way to do it. I hope a good time was had by all!

Team:  Toby, Tom, Connor, Sam, Leigh, Stephen(Alex), Paul, Ashley, Billy(James), Rob, Ryan(C)

Scorers: Rob(3); Ryan; Sam; Ashley

MoM: No man of the Match

A fresh start saw Heybridge go 2-1 up just after half time. They have very capable, quick forwards and attack well, passing the ball to feet. It took Rovers a few minutes to start exerting pressure on Heybridge but then it was one-way traffic for most of the second half. Eventually this bore fruit as Paul latched onto a loose ball and drove it into the net.

The winner was a near-saved penalty from Ryan after Rob had been clearly brought down well in the area. More could have followed but equally Heybridge could have equalised.

Bit of a quiet day for Toby but he managed to make two or three very good saves - but otherwise was not busy at all (other than the goals!)

Look in the "Green 'Un" for a match report this Saturday.

Team:  Toby, Tom, Connor, Sam, Leigh, Stephen, Paul, Ashley, Billy(James), Rob, Ryan(C)

Scorers: Rob; Paul; Ryan(p)

MoM: Sam (Comfortable in an unusual midfield role)

Looking for positives - Connor and Tom both played some super passes from defence to the front players. Paul showed some great skill. Ryan - another Captain's performance.

The scoreline did not reflect the difference between the two sides and we'll just have to promise ourselves to do better when we meet again later in the season.

As a footnote, the pitch was too hard and therefore too dangerous to play on. It's the referee's decision but I believe they need guidance.

Team: Toby, Tom, Connor, Sam, Leigh(Alex), Stephen, Paul, Ashley, Billy(James), Rob, Ryan(C)

MoM: Tom (covered Right Back and added Left Back to his collection)

Ashley received the man of the match award for good work in midfield and some unselfish passing. Playing at Right Back, Tom Lee has, over the last year, played in every position except Left Back and Goalkeeper. A defence splitting pass from Tom opened up the Boadicea defence for Rob to score the opener and persistence from Ashley brought him the second goal. Rob's second was a result of pressure from a goalkick and others followed as Boadicea were put under increasing pressure.

Another Captain's performance from Ryan.

Connor Osborne made a very solid debut at centre back demonstating good control and being prepared to pass the ball out of defence. James Martin also made his debut in central mid-field, picking up the pace of 'A' League football.

Team: Toby Reid, Connor Osborne, Sam Barton, Tom Lee, Ryan Pinfold(C), Stephen Warner, Billy Clarke(James Martin), Ashley Thornton-Jones, Rob George, Leigh Lawther, Paul Young

Scorer: Rob George(4), Ashley T-J

MoM: Ashley (good contribution to passing moves).

Leigh Lawther was awarded the man of the match medal but any of six players could have won that award.

Team: Toby Reid, Alex Hall, Sam Barton, Tom Lee, Ryan Pinfold(C), Stephen Warner, Billy Clarke, Ashley Thornton-Jones, Rob George, Leigh Lawther

Scorer: Ryan Pinfold(p)

MoM: Leigh (very comfortable at left back - getting better and better and worked throughout the game).