Christchurch Football Club

Ringwood Rangers v Christchurch Sunday 21st March 2010

Mark Duffy — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:49:00 +0000

Ringwood Rangers v Christchurch

Match Result: 1 - 0

The Christchurch supporters were warned by the referee at the start of the game. Any nonsense and they would be sent back to their cars and there the tone of the game was set!!!
Christchurch made a good start to the game with Miles and Callum combining well in the first minute. The play swung to the opposition and this required some sound defending by Jack C and Sam. However, in the 8th minute, Ringwood had a corner, from which they scored.
Good attacking moves from Miles and Callum led to an excellent shot by Sam, who hit the bar, with his right foot! Christchurch upped their game again and Brad and Dan joined in the attack.
Ringwood gained possession and hit the post in the 15th minute. A corner led to a good catch by Finn and Dan shielded the ball well and headed away. During this spell both Jonathan and Jack defended well as a corner and free kick were blocked. Brad, Sam and Lewis then worked the ball up the left side and relieved some pressure but Ringwood gained the ball once more, resulting in two more corners. Sam got the ball and passed through to Lewis whose shot went wide. Ringwood had one more corner right on half time which Sam managed to clear.
A difficult half for Finn and the defence as it was very windy, we also did not get many decisions go our way!!
Right at the start of the second half Ringwood attacked and Finn made a good save. Jack J made some sound tackles and then Charlie and Callum worked together and managed to get a corner. Christchurch had a better spell and Sam had a corner, Brad and Callum linked together passing to Miles and Phil. Sam and Callum worked the ball up the line and this resulted in a corner. Sam crossed and it was well defended and Christchurch just could not get the ball in the net. Phil continued to work hard in the midfield and Jack J showed great commitment in his tackles.
Jonathan came on for Lewis and immediately joined in the attack leading to a free kick. Sam took and narrowly missed the top left hand corner. Jack C defended well and Dan joined in to take long throws into the box. The second half was all Christchurch but they just could not score and Finn had nothing to do!
A fair result would have been a draw.

Man of the Match was Phil who had worked tirelessly in the midfield.

Branksome v Christchurch Sunday 21st March 2010

Mark Duffy — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:42:00 +0000

Branksome v Christchurch

Match Result: 5 - 2

Goal Scorer: Lewis (2)

Christchurch once again got off to a slow start, conceding two early goals. Christchurch came back into the game, with a free kick in our own half, Callum coming close, before Lewis latched onto a fumble by the Keeper and slotted home. Christchurch pressed winning a corner & several throws deep into the Branksome half before a through ball found Lewis who nutmeg the oncoming Keeper to equalize at the stroke of half time.

Branksome started the second half brightly, winning an early corner and went close soon after. Lewis went in close before Branksome won 2 more corners. Jonathan linked well with Jack and sent the ball to Callum on the wing as Christchurch started to press forward. Jack again sent Callum through and crossed but there was no one in the centre, Branksome broke from the left and scored to make it 3-2. Finn then produced a great strong handed save as Branksome broke, the ball went out for a corner. The play then went from end to end, with Lewis going close latching onto a through ball. Branksome then won a soft free kick just outside the box and scored making it 4-2. Christchurch won a corner, as a free kick was turned away but Sam’s shot was cleared off the line. Branksome broke on the right and scored to make it 5-2. Jack then shot over after a throw in and Callum’s cross went out for a goal kick. Christchurch won another corner though Jack again blasted over the bar. Marley had a chance from distance, but went wide. Christchurch pressed hard into the closing minutes winning yet another corner. The final whistle went at 5-2.

A strong performance by all, though the score line didn’t justify the performance. A draw would have honestly reflected the match.

Man of the match: Lewis

Ringwood Rangers v Christchurch Sunday 14th March 2010

Mark Duffy — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:52:00 +0000

Ringwood Rangers v Christchurch

Match Result: 1 - 0

Match report to follow

Christchurch v Highcliffe Hawks

Mark Duffy — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:09:00 +0000

Christchurch v Highcliffe Hawks

Match Result: 5 - 4

Goal Scorers: Bradley, Sam (2), Callum (2)

Highcliffe Hawks have always proven to be a tough opponent, beating us twice last season, 3-2 & 5-1.

We got off to a good start, passing well. A ball from midfield found Lewis in the box attacking the left post. The Keeper parried away Lewis’ shot, but Callum was close on hand and buried the ball in the bottom right corner. Christchurch continued to lead the game, clearing well from the back, winning balls in midfield, gaining ground down the wings and threatening upfront. After 15 minutes played, Sam put us 2-0 up when he converted a cross from Miles on the right with a sweetly met header. A few minutes later he scored an almost identical goal supplied by Callum. Having dominated the game so far, I started to rotate subs, putting Stu into central-mid and Jack J into defense. Just before half time Highcliffe scored, as our back line got caught in possession, to put the half time score at 3-1.

At half time I made a few more substitutions, pushing Brad upfront with Callum, taking Jonathan and Lewis off for a spell. About 5 mins in Sam and Stu broke down the left wing, Stu crossed a ball in across the front of the middle of the box, which Brad managed to turn in beating his marker to the header, lobbing the Goalie. 4-1. I continued to substitute, taking off Paul, Callum and Marley in turn, hoping to rotate all players, but we started to loose the fluidity we had in mid-field in the first 20 minutes of the match and Highcliffe took advantage, beating the back line, then a hesitation from Finn led to Highcliffe scoring a second, closely followed by a third. At half time, with our initial lead and momentum I thought I could substitute and re-position key players to give everyone an equal run-out, but it quickly back-fired as Highcliffe scored an equalizer, their third in about 10 minutes. Both teams were now battling for a winner, but Highcliffe looked as if they were going to steal the 3 points from us, thankfully a failed Highcliffe attack was foiled by our back line and a long ball was hit upfield, both Lewis & Callum chased it down, but the Goalie got to it first, but under the pressure from Lewis & Callum he spilled it, Callum dribbled around him and tucked it away, putting us 5-4 up. We then had to survive the last 8 minutes or so, I moved midfield back to play defensively leaving Lewis up as a sole striker. The final whistle came and another deserved win, a let off for me (Cheers Callum!!).

Moral of the story – if it’s working like a fine, don’t mess with it!!

Man of the Match – A long deserved, Miles

Cannon Colts v Christchurch Sunday 14th February 2010

Mark Duffy — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 20:12:00 +0000

Cannon Colts v Christchurch

Match Result: 2 - 4

Goal Scorers: Samuel (2), Calum (2)

Unfortunately due to injury, holidays and other commitments we were only able to field 10 players for this fixture. We decided to play 4 at the back and 4 in midfield with Calum acting as the lone striker. The wide midfielders Sam and Miles were to push into the middle to compete for the ball, Bradley was to push up to support the attack and Philip had the holding midfield role. The matches against Cannon Colts are normally close with only the odd goal separating the teams. So we were expecting a tough match.

Christchurch started the match kicking down the slope and right from the start we looked threatening. Combative midfield play and some neat passing moves created early openings for Calum and Bradley. The defence were solid with Marley and Stuart denying the Cannon Colts attackers any real chances on goal. Jonathan made a significant contribution at left back winning 50-50 tackles and being first to the ball on numerous occasions. Mid way through the first half Cannon Colts took the lead against the run of play through a harsh penalty decision when Marley was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area, 1-0. We continued to have the upper hand with both Miles from the right and Sam from the left making penetrating runs and delivering crosses which we just failed to convert. We had Cannon Colts penned down unable to clear their lines for a 10 minutes spell towards the end of the half. From this pressure we scored twice; once through Calum after an through ball from Philip, 1-1 and from Sam who shot low and hard from the left after the ball had been worked across the penalty area from a break down the right, 1-2, a deserved lead at half time.

Half Time 1-2

Christchurch were kicking up the slope in the second half and initially the game was more even. With Dan and Jonathan being effective in defence and Finn making a good save from a long shot that was dipping in below the bar Cannon Colts continued to be frustrated in their attempts to get back in the game. Christchurch were now playing some of their best football of the season passing well, supporting each other and showing real commitment in the tackle. We were denied a goal when Sam meet across from Miles at the near post and was given offside. But it was not long before we got the goal that our general play merited, from a corner on the right that swept across the box to Sam who turned smartly and fired left footed into the roof of the net, 1-3. We now had a bit of a cushion and continued to look better team even though we only had 10 boys. Calum extended our lead by latching onto a fine through ball from Stuart beating the advancing goalkeeper with a well placed shot, 1-4. Cannon Colts got a goal back with 2 minutes ago after Marley had been injured making a last ditch tackle. A very satisfying win and without exception all the team played well and rose to challenge making it look like we had the extra man. WELL DONE LADS!!!

MoM - Jonathan

Christchurch v Kingswood Sunday February 7th 2010

Mark Duffy — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:19:00 +0000

Christchurch v Kingswood

Match Result: 1 - 1

Goal Scorer: Stuart D

Having won one and lost one against Kingswood last season we knew we’d got a game on our hands. The game started strongly, with both teams playing hard for the ball, with equal possession. Only six minutes in though, Stu converted a cross from Sam with a volley on his weaker foot (right), as he hammered us into the lead. For the first 15 mins or so, the ball was played up the left wing with Johnny, Marley, Stu and Sam linking up well. About midway thru the first half, Kingswood equalized with a soft goal, as they broke through our defense and struck a timid shot to the right post. Unfortunately, Finn thought it was going wide and didn’t cover the post, as it went in to his surprise. We then seemed to be pinned down over on the back right for a few minutes, as Jack J and Paul battled hard to get the ball back upfield. Miles and Brad had their work cut out too, as Kingwood had a couple of strong opponents to compete with in their zone. A ball in from Miles from the right nearly saw Stu score a second, as he struck a ball from the right of the box over the keeper, but was denied by the far post. Callum was quick to swoop on the rebound, but struck it straight at the keeper.

The second half was more of the same, with both teams getting stuck in. Kingswood had a couple of strong, fast players. One of which broke through our back line on a few occasions, bearing down on the keeper. Marley’s pace meant that he caught up with the attacker, just into the box. Thankfully, the attacker was reluctant to shoot under pressure and opted to wait for assistance, but was robbed in the meantime by Marley and the rest of the defence. We seemed to have more luck down the right wing in the second half, winning a couple of free kicks about 25 yards out, but couldn’t convert the crosses. Callum and Jack C battled well upfront, with Callum posing a constant threat with his pace & strength, but unfortunately we couldn’t find the winner. A tough match, but Christchurch looked to have the edge. Another good
all-round performance.

Man of the match: Sam

Burton v Christchurch Sunday January 17th 2010

Mark Duffy — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:37:00 +0000

Burton v Christchurch

Match Result: 1 - 8

Goal Scorers: Jonathan C (2), Stuart, Miles, Lewis C (2), Sam, Callum

Burton are renowned for making a strong start to their matches and although we beat them convincingly at home, we knew they were still a threat and had a few strong players which we needed to isolate. They had only lost 4-1 to League leaders Redhill a few weeks before. We hoped if we could gain the upper hand with an early lead, then the flood gates would open. As expected both teams battled hard for possession, Burton pressing us back in the first few minutes, as Christchurch looked a bit un-composed, with poor first touches, sloppy tackling and stray passes. Burton mounted the first few attacks, catching our backline out a few times, as we looked sluggish. After 10 mins, we won a throw on the left, at the halfway line, Jack J threw to Sam, who controlled, turned & played in Lewis up the left wing. Lewis used his pace to loose his marker and calmly placed his shot past the Burton Keeper. Shortly after Jack C had a similar opportunity, attacking from the right, but put the ball wide at the far post. After 15 mins, I tried pushing Callum upfront with Lewis, Stu into central-mid with Brad and Jonathan into central defence with Paul. We still weren’t playing well and the match was even. Both Brad & Stu had very good long range efforts on goal but both just going over the crossbar. Jonathan played well out of position at the back.

Half-time: 0 - 1

Our lead was slender and we knew we had increase our lead before Burton equalised. The small pitch size didn’t suit us, as we were too compressed, so a few more changes saw Jonathan push upfront with Lewis, Callum back into central mid with Stu, Brad out to the left wing, & Sam back into central defence with Paul. Thankfully these changes worked in our favour, as the formation clicked immediately and the boys started the second half on fire. From our centre, the ball was played up through middle to Lewis, who again broke through and beat the Keeper. A few minutes later, Burton broke through our back line and netted a goal, beating Finn at the far post, to put the pressure back on, 1-2. Callum soon restored our 2 goal lead, as he broke through from midfield and hammered a shot in. Moments later a through ball to Jonathan was just too heavy and as he chased it down the Keeper came out to clear, but fortunately miss-kicked the clearance and Jonathan seized the chance to net his long awaited first goal of the season, putting us 1-4 up. Christchurch were now controlling the game, the defence now looking steady with Dan, Paul Sam & Jack C & Jack J winning balls confidently and passing up Stu & Callum in central mid who were spreading quality balls to Lewis & Jonathan upfront and supplying Brad & Miles on the wings, who were then using a good combination of speed and skills to gain ground and feed cross after cross into the box. A run from Miles down the right wing and then along the backline, saw him fire a ball low across the six yard box, which Jonathan connected with at the far post, to bag his second. This gave Jonathan a good confidence booster, as he started to chase down ball after ball, eager for a hatrick. Although Burton had now conceded 5 goals, they were still mounting attacks, with Finn making some good saves, one of which was an excellent diving save to his top left corner. From another Burton attack, Paul cleaned up and dribbled into midfield before playing in Miles up the middle, who went on to bury the ball in the back of the net. Brad was having a very good second half out on the left wing, winning tackles and running rings around players, making light work of turning his markers and crossing and switching balls. One of these crosses found Sam, who shot from just outside the box and netted well to join the score sheet. Just before full-time, Stuart got a slice of the pie, finding the back of the net to finish the game 1-8. A sluggish 1st half, followed by an excellent 2nd half, with a good display of both individual skills & team play.

Full-time: 1 - 8

Man of the Match – Bradley

Christchurch v Redhill Rangers Sunday 3rd January 2010

Mark Duffy — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 20:56:00 +0000

Christchurch v Redhill Rangers

Match Result: 2 - 1

Goal Scorers: Stuart, Calum

There was much debate before the match on whether the pitch was playable. The ground was softer in the central areas and around the goal mouth, the flanks and especially the corners were harder with frost. With the approval of the opposing manager, parents and the referee it was decided to go ahead with the match.

Redhill have always been a top team in this age group and are current league champions. Christchurch Youth FC U12 had not beaten them in a full 11 a side competitive match although we had come close on several occasions. So this was a tough match and a win would consolidate our 3rd position in the league.

This was to be a close hard fought match and a game of few clear cut chances. Christchurch started well passing the ball accurately especially in the midfield. Calum was used as a target man and held the ball to good effect and then passed it out to the midfield with Miles, Stu, Bradley, Philip and Marley in support. Jack C was put through mid way through the half his shot beat the goalkeeper but drifted just beyond the far post. While Christchurch had the best of the first half Redhill also threatened with efforts on goal that Finn saved well. Our first goal came from a corner on the left that was not cleared, in the resulting goal line scramble Calum managed to poke the ball in on the near post 1-0. It was good defending that formed the platform for our passing game, with Charlie, Dan, Paul and especially Sam coping admirably cutting out the Redhill attacks.

Half Time 1-0

The second half started with Redhill having their best period, although the game was still fairly even, they were creating the chances. Finn made two top drawer saves to keep us in the match, before the pressure told and Redhill were awarded a penalty after Sam was adjudged to have brought down an attacker who was charging through for an attempt on goal. The penalty was converted despite a valiant effort from Finn in goal to save it. Christchurch battled, with Philip, Sam and Miles playing well we managed to gain belief and looked the team more likely to win. All players contributed to some good passing moves, although clear chances were limited. The game appeared to be heading towards a draw, when with two minutes to go Stu found space on the left and was put through on goal after some neat passing in midfield, and from just inside the penalty area he shot low and hard beating the goalkeeper at the near post 2-1. We held on for the final few minutes to earn a well deserved and long awaited victory; how good does that feel!!!!!!!

MoM - Sam

Christchurch v Kings Park Dynamos Sunday 13th December 2009

Mark Duffy — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:50:00 +0000

Christchurch v Kings Park Dynamos

Match Result: 2 - 2

Goal Scorers: Callum, Miles

Squad/Formation: Only basic 11 available today, Jack J in goal and a back line of Dan, Jack C, Marley and Charlie, in midfield Miles, Phil, Brad and Sam, with Callum and Jonathan upfront. Having seen Callum play upfront for his school team, I decided to take the gamble and push him up, using Phil and Brad in central mid, with Jack C and Marley as centre backs for speed and strength.

This was our second match of the season against Kings Park Dynamos and our first meeting was a tight match, though Dynamos managed to take the win. The game started very evenly, with both teams battling well for position. After about 10 minutes of vigorous battling, we looked as if we were going to break the deadlock, as Callum crossed a ball in from the right, across the face of goal, for Sam to meet with a header, but unfortunately found the side netting. Moments later, Jack J was tested with a close range, scrambled shot, but blocked well. A few minutes later, we got caught out as Dynamos fired a shot from the right corner of the box, beating Jack at the far post. We had an unsettled period around our box for around 5 minutes, where we were struggling to regain composure and not to concede a second, but then re-grouped and battled hard to try & find an equaliser.

Half-time: 0 – 1.

With no formation changes, we battled through the second half, with lots of long balls to Callum upfront, who was playing the ‘Crouch’ role, battling hard to receive balls on his chest or head. Our equalizer came as a counter down the left wing which was then switched into midfield just outside the 18yrd box, & then played into Callum who calmly tucked it past the Keeper. The battle continued & we took the lead, as Miles miss-hit a cross from the right, but thankfully the cross lobbed the keeper instead. Dynamos replied quickly with an equaliser 2-2. Both teams were now battling for the winner, with attempts at both ends. Jack J pulled off a first class save during a one-on-one with a striker, as he came out to close him down, his outstretched foot steered the goal bound shot, wide of the far post, keeping us in the game.

Final score: 2 - 2.

An excellent all-round performance from defence, midfield and forwards.

Man of the Match – Jack J.

Corfe Mullen v Christchurch Sunday 29th November 2009

Mark Duffy — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:26:00 +0000

Corfe Mullen v Christchurch

Match Result: 1 - 4

Goal Scorers: Lewis (3), Callum

After winning our home meet just 2-1, we knew Corfe Mullen were a threat, & posed a danger with their quick forwards. So we started with Paul, Marley & both Jack’s in defence, Miles, Callum, Brad, Stu & Sam in mid, & Jonathan & Lewis upfront. We looked the more likely team to score as we dominated the first half. Lewis drew first blood, with a run into the box from the right, & neatly placed shot low to the keepers left. Corfe were creating chances, but Paul & Jack J, held strong, & and the pace of Marley & Jack C played a crucial role, in snubbing out their attacks. Lewis went on to score another 2 to put us comfortably ahead at half time, 0-3 up.

The second half we made a few positional changes, but the team looked flatter, as Corfe pushed harder, a failed clearance led to a Corfe goal, putting the pressure back on, 1-3. Corfe kept pushing for the duration of the second half, looking like the more eager of the two teams, forcing Finn to pull a few saves out of the top drawer to keep us ahead. Christchurch put the nail in the coffin with about 7 mins to go, when Lewis supplied Callum a great pass, which he willingly tucked away. Full time score 1-4, win!
The team in general played well, though we lost our sparkle in the second half. We had a few contenders for man of the match today, Lewis had a great game scoring 3 & supplying 1, & Finn made some superb saves, & Marley & Jack C covering a lot of ground at the back. But we felt Paul played a crucial part, giving us solidity at the back.

Man of the Match: Paul