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Under 14s Black

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Match Reports 2011-12

22nd Apr. 2012: Northwood Black 1 Nascot Wood Falcons 0

The Woods were focused and ready for this Spring Shield semi final, against a team that they had lost to last season 4-2. The visitors kicked off and were immediately under pressure as the Woods’ striker Henry Gibbor closed down the visitors’ defenders one by one and forcing a throw in near the corner flag. The visitors had kicked off and lost almost 50 metres in the space of 20 seconds! The Woods continued to press and most of the early action was in the visitors half. With the home defence in control of their section of the pitch, the Woods looked to get the advantage of the first goal. They continued to pressure the visitors, when not in possession and tried to attack when in possession.

Northwood had been encouraged to shoot on sight and this nearly paid off when Ntabiso Bhebhe hit the ball perfectly from 20 metres but saw his shot hit the cross bar, with the goalie beaten. It did look only a matter of time before the Woods would score but the game was still goalless at half time even though the Woods had the majority of both possession and territory.

Nascot Wood came more into the game after the interval putting more pressure on the Woods defence, but centre backs Matthew Biss and Sam Nelmes held firm, ably supported by full backs Vyshnave Amaranath and Reuben McKennell. However this pressure did not produce a goal and the Woods started to get back into the game, attacking down the flanks to good effect. Whilst the Woods were getting the balls into the box the Nascot Wood defenders somehow kept the ball out of the net by putting their bodies on the line time and time again.

With about 15 minutes remaining Ntabiso chased what looked like a lost cause as the ball looked to be going out for a goal kick. Ntabiso got a foot to the ball just before it went over the like. The ball came into the goalmouth, and found its way to Henry Gibbor on the far post. Henry got a foot to the ball, but with a defender closing in, and his back to goal, Henry back heeled the ball over the line from close range, to the delight of the Woods’ players, Parents and supporters.

The Woods had to be careful not to concede a goal immediately and to keep their concentration. Nascot Wood, on the other hand upped their game and there followed a further period of pressure on the Woods, but with midfielders Jack Price and AJ Oyekanmi supporting the defence, the Woods rode out this pressure, and again they began to control again by putting pressure on the Visitors and playing the game in the Nascot Wood half of the pitch. In fact the Woods had a good shout for a penalty when Henry Gibbor drove into the Nascot Wood penalty area and appeared to be tripped up, but the Referee deemed otherwise.

The Woods held out for a deserved victory and a place in May’s Final. Henry Gibbor was awarded Man of the Match for his hard work not only when on the ball, but also when not in possession.

25th Mar. 2012: Northwood Black 2 AC Finchley North 5

The Woods' final league game of the season saw them play some great passing football in patches but not consistently enough to have the chance of signing off their league season with a win. The early pressure came from the visitors who were thwarted, on a number of occasions, by the Woods goalie Thomas Nicholas. Eventually the pressure told and as Thomas made another save, the ball fell at the feet of an AC Finchley player who slotted the ball home.

The Woods then seemed to wake up and started to pass the ball around a lot better and consequently they were able create some pressure on the visitors’ defence. The pressure eventually paid off and the Woods equalised when the ball fell to Matteo Desiderio who made no mistake from about 8 metres out. The Woods were back in the game, and looked to get the next goal. This was not to be as the visitors took advantage of a loose ball in the Woods area to retake the lead. The lead was doubled when an innocuous looking cross hit a Woods defender on the shoulder and the referee surprisingly awarded a penalty, which was converted with aplomb.

A half time score of 3 -1 to the visitors was a bit harsh on the Woods, but the boys went out in the second half and put more pressure on AC Finchley. It was just a matter of time before the Woods scored. From a corner the Ball was worked to Jack Price near the penalty spot who made no mistake to score his first goal for the Woods. The Woods continued to press but it just wasn’t to be and a further two quickfire goals from the visitors put the game beyond the Woods.

So the Woods, after a difficult start to the season finished the league season having retained their place in the Blue division for next season, when in the early months of the season this looked doubtful. The Woods have the bonus of a place in the Spring Shield semi final to look forward to, and are now playing a good passing game which they will be looking to take on into next season.

Man of the Match was awarded to Ryan Clay.

11th Mar. 2012: Edson Youth 1 Northwood Black 2

A must win game for the Woods got off to an unexpected start with the Woods finding themselves behind in the first 30 seconds. The boys were stunned by this and, understandably, took a while to settle thereafter. As the Woods settled they became more comfortable on the ball and started to play their passing game, consequently looking the better of the two teams. Chances were created but the ball just wouldn’t go into the back of the net, including a penalty miss. To be fair to the home side, their goalie did pull off a series of good saves.
Even being a goal behind at half time, the Woods still felt as if they could win the game, and the second half starting as the first had ended, with the Woods applying pressure on the home goal. Further chances came and went and it looked as if it would not be the Woods day. Then with about 15 second half minutes on the clock Ntabiso Bhebhe, on as a half time substitute, collected the ball on the right and attacked his full back. Showing great strength Ntabiso went past his man, then the covering defender and drove into the box to the bye line, before crossing for Matteo Desiderio to meet the ball in front of goal, and put it into the back of the net, off the underside of the crossbar.
The Woods were overjoyed, but knew they had to push on to win the game. Further pressure followed, and from a corner it looked like the ball was about to be cleared. With his back to goal AJ Oyekanmi stuck out a foot and somehow guided the ball, back over his shoulder and into the net to give the Woods the lead that on the balance of play they deserved. Despite a few scares the Woods held on and could have scored more goals to give a more realistic look to the scoreline. Credit must go to the Edson goalie, who thwarted the Woods attack on so many occasions.
The Woods’ Man of the Match was awarded to AJ Oyekanmi for his non-stop efforts in the centre of midfield, not to mention his winning goal.

4th Mar. 2012: Hadley Wood & Wingate 5 Northwood Black 0

Clearly heavy rain and the cold didn’t agree with the Woods, who probably played their worst game of the season. The Woods failed to complete and have goalie Thomas Nicholas to thank for making a string of outstanding saves. In the first half centre back Sam Nelmes put in a great goal saving tackle.
The home team were the better team on the day but the margin of victory flattered them. The Woods surely cannot play this poorly again and we look forward to our final two league matches and thereafter the Spring Shield semi final.

Thomas Nicholas won the man of the match award.

26th Feb. 2012: Northwood Black 2 Omonia White 1

Northwood qualified for the semi-finals of the Spring Shield despite a generally poor performance, never really getting started and conceding control of the centre of midfield to the visitors. Consequently the visitors created the early chances and were thwarted by the efforts of the Woods’ stand in goalie, Matteo Desiderio. With about 25 minutes on the clock, Ryan Clay slid a ball into Jorge Pacheco, in the Omonia penalty box. Jorge remained strong and held off two defenders before shooting into the back of the net, in only his second start for the Woods, having only played a handful of games in total. This should have lifted the Woods but they still didn’t really get any of their game going. Still they took the 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
The second half started as the first had been played, with the Woods still lacking the passing that has been the game they have been playing of late. Jorge Pacheco seemed uplifted by his goal as he continued to work tirelessly on the left of midfield. With more and more pressure falling on the Woods defence, it was clear that we needed another goal to relive the pressure a bit. Half way through the period, Jorge took the ball on into the Omonia penalty box, only to be tripped for a clear penalty award. Top scorer Henry Gibbor stepped up to slot the ball past the Omonia goalie, who stood rooted to the spot as the ball hit the back of the net.
The Woods then seemed to decide that the game was over and stopped any semblance of competitiveness, allowing the visitors the freedom of the park. Luckily they hadn’t conceded as the game entered the final minute. Omonia were then awarded an indirect free kick on the edge of the Woods box, slightly to the right of the goal. A very simple free kick saw the ball laid off and the visitors halved the Woods lead with a well-placed shot. In the dying seconds the visitors threatened again but the Woods held on to maintain a 100% record in their four group games. With three very important league games coming up, the boys need to up their game.
Man of the match was Jorge Pacheco for his hard working effort and goal.

19th Feb. 2012: Northwood Black 3 Alexandra Park South 1

The Woods had a couple of late withdrawals from this Spring Shield Group B game, so they played with the basic 11 and no substitutes. Playing into a strong cold wind, the Woods yet again started very slowly, with the visitors having the majority of the early possession. The Woods did look as if they had forgotten how to play their passing game. As the first half progressed, however, Northwood showed little signs that they were beginning to get back into their passing game. Despite this there did seem a reluctance to get the ball into the Box and even more of a reluctance to shoot.
Whilst the visitors had a fair amount of possession, the Woods looked comfortable at the back, with Matthew Biss standing strong at centre back. With the game goalless at half time, the Woods were left in no doubt that they had to put more effort in and that they needed to start passing the ball around. If they could do that, they would surely win the game.
The Woods came out for the second half a different team as they started to pass the ball around. The results of this change only took a couple of minutes when Ntabiso Bhebhe finished off a passing move by beating a couple of defenders and slotting the ball home to give the Woods the lead. The Woods continued to pass the ball, whilst standing firm in defending their lead. Within minutes, striker Henry Gibbor turned his marker and beat another two defenders to the left of the goal. Henry’s hard and low shot went towards the goalie but was too hard for the goalie as it hit his legs and into the net.
At 2-0 up, Northwood looked comfortable and with their defence looking solid, looked to see the game out and possibly add to their goal tally. Thomas Nicholas in the Woods’ goal had very little to do, but deserves praise or playing when he was very much under the weather and really should not have played.
With about 10 minutes left on the clock, Matt Gibbs sent in a cross which was perfectly hit to the far post, where Henry Gibbor had pulled away from his marker. Henry swept the cross into the net on the half volley. Other chances were created but the Woods couldn’t add to their lead.
Man of the match was Matthew Biss for his solid performance at centre back.

22nd Jan. 2012: Northwood Red 1 Northwood Black 3

The Woods first competitive “local” derby saw the Black team come out on top. The Black team started, again, very slowly, but still tried to play their passing game, as compared to the more long ball game of the Red team. During these eerily exchanges neither team looked as if they were going to score.Then with about 15 minutes on the clock, the ball came out to Louie Lowinson near the left hand touchline midway into the Black team’s half. Louie took the ball on and hit an absolute pile driver of a shot from outside the box and into the far corner of the Black team’s net. The shot was unstoppable, and probably would have beaten even a premiership goalie.
The Black team’s players' heads could have gone down but they stuck to their game plan and slowly excerpted more pressure in midfield and hence created more attacking chances. In one such attack the ball fell to AJ Oyekanmi on the edge of the box and he struck the ball with the outside of his right foot, his shot perfectly placed into the Red teams net. At a goal a piece at half time, and the Black team having the wind behind them in the second half, the Black team started to believe that they could win the game. The midfield closed down quicker, and the Boys concentrated on their passing, to take control of the game.
With this control, they needed a goal to reflect their second half supremacy, and this came following a great ball from AJ Oyekanmi, on the right of the Red’s penalty box. The ball came to Matt Gibbs who had a chance to score his second goal. Matt’s shot was well saved by Joe Osborne in the Red team’s goal. However Joe could only parry the shot and the ball fell to Henry Gibbor who calmly put the ball into the net, to give the Black team a deserved lead.
Even at 2-1 up, the Black team knew that they were not home and dry, and needed that third goal. The ball was played up to Henry Gibbor who took the ball with his back to his marker. Henry turned and beat his marker but still had the other centre back to beat. Taking the ball past the defender Henry had created a chance to score his second goal and made no mistake to give the Black team the cushion of a two goal lead.
With Jack Price putting in another man of the match performance in midfield the Black team comfortably saw the game out to record a deserved win.

15th Jan. 2012: Northwood Black 11 Harvesters 0

The Woods, playing their first game for a number of weeks started very slowly against a team that had conceded only 23 goals in 14 league matches. Over recent weeks the Woods had worked on a passing game during training, but showed little sign of this during early exchanges, but they showed enough in attack to indicate that they could win the game, as there was very little pressure on the Woods’ back four.
Some good inter play between the strikers resulted in Matteo Desiderio opening the scoring quickly followed by a goal from Henry Gibbor. Matteo doubled his tally before the interval and Ryan Clay also scored with a scorching shot that gave the goalie in the visitors' goal no chance.
With a 4-0 half time lead, the Woods had the game wrapped up, and so with the pressure off in the second half, they could relax and play their passing game. A further seven goals were scored in the second half, including a first goal for Sam Nelmes who has played for the Woods for over six season.
Matteo Desiderio, with 4 goals, shaded the decision for the man of the match award.

20th Nov. 2011: Northwood Black 5 Panathanaikos 0

The Woods entered this game without a win all season, but were boosted to be playing with a full squad of 13 Players, new kit and a new coach in Barry Rhodes. From the start the Woods tried to play their passing game, whilst putting pressure on the visitors whenever Panathanaikos had possession. The Woods had the most of the territory and possession, and tried hard to create goal scoring opportunities. They achieved this by solid defence and by winning the central midfield battle through the efforts of Jack Price, AJ Oyakanmi and Matteo Desiderio.
However the chances that were created were not being converted, but there was the underlying feeling that once the Woods scored they could push on further. With 20 minutes on the clock, Jack Price played a through ball to striker Henry Gibbor, whose shot beat the goalie but hit the inside of the post and rebounded across the goal. Both Henry and Matteo followed the shot up and either could have scored. Matteo got to the ball first to touch the ball into the empty net.
The Woods pushed on with renewed confidence, attacking well down the flanks through Ryan Clay and Matt Gibbs, whilst the defence looked very comfortable. It looked like the Woods were going into the break with a slim lead that could cause some anxious moments in the second half. With seconds left on the clock, another ball from Jack Price put Henry Gibbor through. Henry looked up and saw the Panathanaikos goalie, a very tall boy, standing on the edge of the area. Henry lobbed the ball over the stranded goalie and into the empty net to give the Woods that cushion they were looking for. The visitors kicked off and the half time whistle went.
With a two goal cushion, the Woods looked to push on after the break, and started brightly. However they seemed to have relaxed a bit and lost some of the shape that they retained so well in the first half. The Woods created more chances and extended their lead after about 15 minutes when Matteo executed what looked like a Kung Fu kicking style volley into the far corner of the net.
The Woods continued to work hard with Ntabiso Bhebhe, who came on just after half time, doing well down the wide left. Then 20 minutes into the second half, the Woods were fortunate to be awarded a penalty. Having failed to convert two penalties earlier in the season, when Henry Gibbor wasn’t playing, the penalty taking duties fell on the shoulders of someone with a good penalty scoring record but without the baggage of these earlier misses – both of which had been blasted over the crossbar. Despite not making a clean contact with the ball, the Ball stayed low as Henry converted the chance to score.
It was pleasing to see Sam Nelmes return to play his first game of the season, coming on to play at centre back next to Matt Biss. With about 5 minutes left on the clock, Ntabiso pressured the visiting Goalie just to the left of the goal, the Panathanaikos goalie hit the ball straight at Ntabiso. The ball hit Ntabiso and ricocheted across the goal and into the net, for Ntabiso’s first goal for the Woods. Ntabiso being mobbed by his overjoyed team mates.
The Woods saw the game out to record their first win of the season, and move above their opponents in the league. The defence should also be proud of their efforts which ensured that Thomas Nicholas in the Woods Goal didn’t have a shot to save. Well done to Matt Biss, Reuben McKennell, Sam Nelmes, Kavathan Thavatheva and Vyshnave Amaranath. Hopefully today’s performance can be carried forward into next week as the Woods look to push on and move up the league.
The Man of the match award went to Jack Price for his solid and consistent performance.

13th Nov. 2011: Northwood Black 2 Whetstone Wanderers Tigers 3

The Woods lost another game by a single goal margin, when they should have got something out of the game.Unlike last week the Woods started well and battled hard all over the pitch, against a team undefeated in the league, and who had won their league match es by a comfortable margin. The Woods played with a lone striker so as to ensure the midfield was not conceded to the visitors, and this worked with few chances being created early on. The game was a very tight affair so with 20 minutes gone the Woods pushed Matteo Desiderio into a more central role, with a view to increasing our competitiveness in this area, which seemed to help the Woods who started to create more chances.
The game sprung to life with a couple of minutes to go before halftime. The Wood had a corner on the right which was swung over by Ryan Clay, the ball bobbled around a bit before AJ Oyekanmi hook the ball back across goal and into the far corner of the net. Unfortunately the Woods seemed to loose their focus, and within a minute a Whetstone player lost his marker in the box and hit a perfect shot , with great pace, leaving the Woods goalie no chance as the ball zipped into the net.
1-1 at half time was probably a fair reflection of play, but the Woods needed to get off to a strong start to the second half in order to push on and try and win the game. This did not happen, and within 4 minutes of the restart the visitors attacked down the right and crossed for the ball to be turned in for a simple goal. Still the Woods could have hit back at Whetstone, but within a couple of minutes some very slack and over elaborate play at the back resulted in possession be conceded, which Whetstone took full advantage of to extend their lead.
The Woods did try to get back into the game and started to create more chances, With about 10 minutes left on the clock the ball was chipped into striker Henry Gibbor, who chested the ball down and placed the ball into the far side of the net before the visiting defenders could react.
The Woods did their best to find the equaliser, but it wasn’t to be. The Woods worked hard but that slack period either side of half time cost them at least a point from the game. Despite their poor start to the season, none of the teams we have played in this division, have been a class above the Woods, and it is surely only a matter of time before the Woods achieve their first win and push on to a mid table position.

6th Nov. 2011: Northwood Black 0 Hampstead 1

Playing with 10 men from the start, the Woods deserved more from this game. Before the game the boys were told that they needed to make a real effort and compete from every ball. If they did that there would be no complaints. The first 10 minutes saw the Woods lacking in effort and failing to match the visitors. With about 7 minutes on the clock, a long shot from the visitors hit the cross bar. When the luck is going with you, the ball would have bounced away. However the ball came down, and hit the Woods’ goalie on the back and bounced into the net.
Shortly after, a tweak to the Woods line up, and the Woods picked up their game and started to battle all over the pitch. Even playing against 11 men who were being freshened up by the use of rolling subs, they looked the more accomplished footballing team. At half time and only a goal down, it was felt that even with 10 men the Woods could get something out of this game.
The second half saw continued pressure from the Woods who gave their all in an effort to get the equaliser and hopefully a winning goal. The way they were playing this looked entirely possible. With time running out the Woods pushed more and more players into the box, and on a number of occasions they were unlucky not to score.
With less than a minute left on the clock Matteo Desiderio was put through on goal. Out came the Hampstead goalie and down went Matteo with no apparent deviation in the path of the ball. Whilst it looked a stonewall penalty, the referee waved play on. As you know the referee’s decision is final.
The Woods had given their all and really deserved something out of the game. The boys could not be faulted on effort and were rightly disappointed at the end. The whole team gave all they could and so they were all the Joint Men of the match. We continue to look for new players as having 13 in the squad is making life difficult for the team.

30th Oct. 2011: Northwood Black 1 Highgate & Muswell Hill 2

The Woods’ poor results continued as they failed to compete in a game they could have taken something from. The visitors had most of the possession, and the Woods looked lethargic early on. As the first half progressed the Woods settled down but never really got into the game, with the visitors controlling the middle of the park. With about 20 minutes on the clock the visitors sent in a ball low to the near post, and the Highgate forward got his foot to it to give the visitors a lead that they deserved on the balance of play.
This seemed to wake the Woods up as they produced more attacking moves and finally put some pressure on the visiting defence. However, they could not convert this pressure into a goal. With time running out, the Woods attacked and were awarded a free kick 10 yards outside the penalty area on the left hand side. AJ Oyekanmi floated in the free-kick, which was met perfectly by centre back Matt Biss who headed home his second goal of the season. Highgate kicked off and the half time whistle blew.
At half time the Woods were told to up their game and provide more of a challenge. We also expected Highgate to come at us hard at the start of the second half, given the late equaliser we scored. As expected, Highgate came at the Woods from the start of the second half, and within five minutes, a cross from the right was met at the far post and the visitors regained the lead. Highgate continued to control the game and were denied by some fantastic saves by Thomas Nicholas in the Woods goal.
The Woods never really competed in the second half and failed to create many chances. Late on a delightful crossfield ball from Henry Gibbor almost produced a goal for the Woods but with that chance it seemed as if that would be our one and only chance of the half. In the last minute, just as in the first half, the Woods attacked and were awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area. Again AJ took the kick, again Matt Biss met it with his head ……… but this time the ball hit the post and came back out. Unfortunately there was no Woods player gambling on the rebound.
In the end the Woods could have got something out of a game that they were second best for most of the game. Jack Price was awarded man of the match for his non-stop effort and commitment, just ahead of Thomas Nicholas, who produced some fantastic saves.

16th Oct. 2011: Northwood Black 0 Pinner United 1

This was a game that the Woods should have won – pure and simple. The match started with nether team showing too much attacking prowess. In order to stamp some authority on the game the Woods needed to pressure more in midfield, but only did so in flashes. However, as the first half progressed, the Woods began to get into the game. The Woods threatened the Pinner goal but despite being one on one with the goalie on more than one occasion, the Woods just couldn’t put the ball in the net. On another day they would have scored two, three or four goals, but it just wasn’t to be today.
Against the run of play, a hesitation in the Woods defence let in the visitors as a long ball was played through and the Woods were punished for their hesitancy and were a goal down. The game was very close despite the Woods failing to apply pressure in midfield and failing to take their chances in front of goal.
At half time, a goal down, the Woods felt that they could get something out of this game, but the second half continued in the same manner with the Pinner midfield being given far too much time on the ball. Despite this the visitors did not trouble the Woods goalie. As full time approached the Boys realised, too late as it turned out, that they needed to work harder, but time ran out on them as they made their exit from the County Cup.

9th Oct. 2011: Hampstead 1 Northwood Black 1

After weeks of playing with less than 11 men, it was a strange feeling as we kicked off with 11 players. The boys slowly got into their stride and gradually their passing game came to the fore. All the boys looked comfortable on the ball, and looked to play the easy simple ball, supporting each other throughout. The new central midfield pairing of AJ Oyekanami and Jack Price is bedding in and the midfield didn’t look too troubled throughout the first half, with Matt Biss clearing everything in the air in defence, the Woods were rarely in trouble.
Up front Matteo Desiderio and Matt Gibbs were causing the home defence some difficulty, but they seemed strangely reluctant to shoot. At left back captain Vyshnave Amaranath was working hard, despite experiencing a bout of car sickness on the way to the game. The only real threat to the Woods seemed to be long balls from Hampstead for their strikers to chase.
At half time the instruction was ”more of the same” as we looked to push on and convert our superior football into goals. About 12 minutes into the second half, Matt Gibbs turned his defender and was in on goal. Despite some close efforts previously Matt made no mistake this time, to give the woods a deserved lead.
Then despite warnings that we couldn’t afford to relax, the midfield seemed to take their “foot off the gas”. This allowed the home team to benefit from more time on the ball as the Wood pulled back from pressuring the home midfield. Unfortunately this gave the home team more belief. With about 13 minutes left to play. Hampstead were awarded a free kick wide out on the left. The ball was swung over and beat everyone as it dropped into the goal just inside the far post, despite the best efforts of the Woods’ goalie.
The boys did not deserve to be back on level pegging, but they tried to regain the advantage, but could not get back to the quality of play they displayed before they scored their goal. A game lasts 70 minutes and the Woods learnt this, the harsh way. The boys’ faces at the end told its own story. They knew they should have won the game, and the draw felt like a defeat. Sport is harsh and they will have learnt by today and won’t relax again during a game.
Jack Price continues to excel in the holding midfield role and was close to another man of the match display, but the display put in by Vyshnave Amaranath after being literally car sick before the game, edged the man of the match decision in his favour.