Sunday 5th September Tiptree Minors 0 -2 Heybridge Lions (Friendly)

Our first match of the season was a friendly at Tiptree and took place in 27 degree heat. Heybridge started the game really well creating numerous attacks and we were eventually rewarded with a goal from Luke after some excellent passing involving Josh. The second came a little while later as Josh slotted home after more successful passing. Although we scored twice, it was not one way traffic as Tiptree also created good attacking situations, but these were snuffed out by some skillful defending and committed goalkeeping by Sam. The second half was very much like the first with both teams creating some good attacking situations and Heybridge were only denied further goals by some heroics by the Tiptree keeper.

As this was our first outing at 25 mins per half, the coach regularly rotated all the boys and was rewarded by 50 minutes of committed football by each and every one of them.

Special mentions this week go to Josh, who lead the line well and was always available when we needed to clear our lines, Ellis, whose pace and determination won us possession on many 50/50 occasions and Jacob, who hardly put a foot wrong in the 'last man' defensive position which he has made his own.

A great start boys, if we continue with this form we'll be a very hard team to beat.

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Sunday 12th September - Heybridge Lions 0 - 5 Maldon Town Tigers

As well as we played the previous week against Tiptree we played as badly against Maldon. From the first minute they were quicker to the ball and brighter when in possession. Their first goal came from a quickly taken short corner where we failed to mark up and shortly afterwards they scored a second due to out inability to clear our area. The break arrived without us conceding further. After a rollicking from the coach we started the second half with more determination but were soon further behind as they scored directly from a free kick on the edge of the box. The lack of a sub soon started to show as some of the boys noticeably wilted and we were regularly overrun and out fought in midfield. The fourth goal was a complete fluke, as a clearance from a Maldon player looped under the bar with the goalie stranded. The final goal summed up our whole game. We lost the ball in their half, failed to get back and tackle, the defenders were too flat and the ball was pushed past and centred for an easy tap in.

We must learn to maintain our shape, especially defensively and in midfield. If we commit midfield players to attack they must be prepared to run back once the ball is lost and we must ensure we keep a 'spare man' position in defence at all times.

On a positive note (which there were few) there was some good passing between Josh, Ellis and Luke and Jack put in some solid tackles in the second half.

Back to the drawing board..............

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Sunday 19th September - Burham Ramblers 1 - 2 Heybridge Lions

We went to Burnham on the back of a 5 - 0 thrashing with only a bare seven players but we showed our Jeckyll and Hyde nature by playing out of our skins. From the first whistle the difference was obvious, as we tackled and worked with great commitment and maintained our shape. Our first goal was created through some excellent passing between Ellis and Josh with Josh finishing off the move with a tidy finish. Burnham then showed their class by upping their effort and scoring a goal after a good passing move bypassed our defenders. The game then became much more even with both sides having some good possession but our efforts were rewarded when a Burnham defender unfortunately handled the ball in the area and we were given a penalty. Jacob stepped up for the penalty and was initially denied by a great save from the keeper but Jacob followed up and blasted the ball home. The second half was a different story, as Burnham increased the pressure we had to defend for our lives with Jacob, Luke and Jack all making last ditch clearances. Josh took up some great positions in order to relieve the pressure but as the half wore on a few of our players tired and we were overrun in midfield. Our efforts were finally rewarded when the final whistle went and the win was confirmed.

Special mentions this week could be for all the players but a couple stood out, Jake Melia tackled everything that moved for the full 50 minutes and Jack was also fantastic alongside Jake in midfield.

This wonderful performance was only marred by some lack of discipline when we argued with the ref and committed a couple deliberate fouls. We must stop this as we will get a reputation for being cheats. All in all though, a great performance.

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CUP - Sunday 26th September - Heybridge Lions 1 - 1 Maldon Town Tigers

This was the archetypal 'game of two halves' with our team under performing in the first half and shining in the second. We started slowly and were soon put under pressure with a speculative shot bouncing over the keepers head and giving Maldon the lead. Maldon continued to apply pressure but a combination of some poor finishing and some good saves by Sam in goal prevented any further scoring in the first half. A fairly stern team talk at half time gave the boys more resolve and came out for the second half with fresh determination. We scored almost straight away after the first of a number of brilliant passing moves involving Josh and Ellis created an opportunity that Josh finally put away. From this point on it was one way traffic, as wave after wave of Heybridge pressure was desperately defended and only four or five super saves from the Maldon keeper and a goal line clearance prevented the Lions scoring further. In order to maintain these levels of pressure, our midfield and defenders were getting to the ball first and returning it to the Maldon defensive third before Maldon had time to regain their shape.

Again we only had a bare seven players but we kept running until the end even though there were some very tired legs and considering this team beat us 5 - 0 a couple of weeks ago, this was a great improvement and shows that if we do what we are shown in training we can compete with any team.

Although the entire team performed well, special mentions this week go to Josh and Ellis who's second half display of passing would not have looked out of place at a much higher level and was a pleasure to watch. Well played lads.

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Sunday 3rd October - Heybridge Lions 6- 0 Waterside Wasps

The scoreline for this game could have been 12 - 0 as Heybridge overwhelmed the Wasps in every department. Josh opened the scoring with a tap in after a goalmouth scrap and then proceeded to pepper their goal without scoring until Jake Melia rifled an unstoppable left foot volley into the net. After half time, Josh and Ellis continued to pressurise the oppositions goal and Josh was rewarded with 3 further goals and Ellis completed the scoring with a screamer into the top of the net. During the game we dominated midfield and were able to rotate players with Sean coming on in midfield in the first half and replacing Sam in goal in the second half , allowing him to play in his favoured defencive position for a good 15 minutes. Although Wasps were unable to create too many attacks, when they did break through our midfield, Luke was on hand to clear our lines and Jacob swept up behind in his usual cultured way.

Special mentions this week obvciously have to go to the forwards Josh and Ellis but I would like to pick out Jake M who worked his socks off in midfield and allowed the forwards to play in the opposition's half. Well done to the whole team.

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CUP - Sunday 10th October - Dunmow Rhodes 2 - 0 Heybridge Lions

The less said about this game the better as we were aweful in almost every department. We were unable to tackle or track back, leaving our defence seriously overworked. If it wasn't for L:uke working really hard and some solid saves by Sam, the score would have been a lot worse. What was frustrating was the fact that we should have beaten them easily if we played to our potential, but after last weeks result, it looked like we just expected to get the ball without trying.

Special mentions for Luke, who was the best player on the pitch and Sam who made some good saves in goal. 'Nuff said.

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Sunday 17th October - Heybridge Lions 6- 1 Boreham Youth

Compared to last weeks dismal performance, this was a vast improvement although we couldn't have started much worse. Within the first two minutes we failed to clear the ball from a goalmouth scramble and the ball was poked home by a Boreham player. Once we'd got over the shock of the goal we started to play as we can, winning the ball in midfield and setting our strikers up for an attack on the opposition goal. Josh scored a hattrick in the first half and could have had five as he took up some excellent positions in front of goal and was regularly found with some accurate passes from Ellis. The second half continued in the same way with Josh scoring another 2 goals and Ellis was rewarded for his unselfish play with a super individual effort. Throughout the game, the midfield of Sean And Jake M worked hard to win possession with some tenacious tackling and Jacob and Luke again demonstrated their improving defensive understanding by hardly put a foot wrong. Sam was only called upon 3 times during the whole game but each time his quick thinking prevented a goal threat.

Special mentions go to the entire team for their effort but Josh's 5 goals takes some beating. Well done guys.

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Sunday 31st October - Fennlands united 1 - 3 Heybridge Lions

A pleasant Sunday morning saw us making the trip to Woodham Ferrers in good spirits with a team enhanced by a new player. We started fairly tentatively but as soon as we got the ball into the oppositions half we scored through an Ellis tap in. Without ever playing to our full potential, we continued to press and missed a number of other opportunities until the introduction of Thomas jobson for his first Lions game. Tom managed to poke home the second goal after a goalmouth scramble and this seemed to settle the team and we started passing the ball. The third goal was sheer class, Ellis ran down the right wing, beat the defender, sent in an inch perfect cross for Josh to slide the ball home. Fantastic !

As we were winning easily the manager decided to try out some players in less familiar positions, including Sam at centre forward, Ellis at central defence, a small goat in midfield and Sean in goal. Although we were less effective in this formation, it gave the manager a chance to review his options and showed that our basic shape is the best.

special mentions this week go to Ellis for his great cross, Sam for his efforts on the pitch and Luke for an almost faultess performance in defence.

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CUP - Sunday 7th November - Fennlands united 0- 3 Heybridge Lions

Although we won this game fairly comfortably, it was far from our best performance and we gave the impression that we just had to turn up to win, which is exactly what we did. There was little passion or commitment in our play and we hardly competed in most parts of the pitch. Defensively, we were fairly solid with Jacob and Luke covering most attacks but we lacked any spark in midfield and struggled to create up front. The first goal came half way through the first half as Josh beat a couple of defenders and slid the ball past the diving keeper. We went into half time only 1 - 0 up and after some strong words from the manager came out in the second half with more conviction. We were rewarded with a second goal scored by Luke and just before the final whistle, Ellis scored the third.

On a positive note, David played his first competitive game for the Lions and Thomas also continued his successful integration.

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Sunday 14th November - Heybridge Lions 0 - 4 Dunmow Rhodes

Before this top of the table clash, the manager asked the boys for dedication and hard work and on the whole, he got it. The majority of the players ran and tackled their socks off and could not have given too much more but, sadly, this was not enough. The score did not reflect possession but was more an indication of Dunmow's clinical finishing and did not indicate how well the keeper, defenders & midfield players performed keeping the score down to 4. A combination of some classy Dunmow defending and our inability to get forward quickly enough meant that we created few scoring chances of our own and this was not helped by the absence of our centre forward, who was rested after a few problems the previous week.

Special mentions this week go to Jack and Jake for some 'serious' tackling and Jacob who, once again looked the most cultured player on the park

. Well done to all the players, you did not let your heads go down and tried hard to the end. we can ask for little more.

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CUP - Sunday 21st November - Maldon Town Tigers 2 - 1 Heybridge Lions

We started the game playing up the slope and this, coupled with a general lack of determination and uncommitted tackling in midfield, restricted our attacking efforts to a minimum and allowed Maldon to heap pressure on our defence. But a combination of good fortune and some impressive goal keeping from Sam kept Maldon at bay and we went into half time with a clean sheet and the benifit of the slope to come.

The second half did see a fresher and faster pace towards the Maldon goal with a few good attacks courtesy of the Ellis/Josh partnership. But , once again Maldon found chinks in our midfield armoury and managed to outpace our boys, slotting a well placed shot into the net. The second Maldon goal followed shortly afterwards via an unstoppable lofted shot despite a superb effort from Sean, in goal for the second half.

There was a time when our heads would have dropped, but the team dug in and put the Maldon goal under severe pressure and were eventually rewarded with a goal from Josh. Further inspired, we charged forward peppering the oppositions goal seeking the equaliser but were thwarted by the final whistle.

It was good to see that the boys were able to make a respectable comeback after falling 2 behind . Lots of positive aspects here, but if we can gather that tougher determination in the mid field challenges, we will win possession more frequently and increase our chances of converting them into goals.

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Sunday 28th November - Sporting 77 2 - 1 Heybridge Lions

The first meeting of these sides this season saw the Lions travel to Braintree on the back of two defeats looking to return to winning ways. We started the first half kicking down hill with the wind and immediatly put pressure on Sporting's goal and were rewarded with a goal after 10 minutes. This goal followed a scrambe in the Sporting area and Jake M stabbed the ball home from 3 yards. The rest of the first half saw the majority of the play in the Sporting half but we could not convert our possession/pressure into any significant chances. Going into half time only one in front was not the situation we would have preferred and sure enough, Sporting heaped on the pressure in the second half. We managed to defend our lead for twenty minutes with a combination of some last ditch tackles from Jacob and Luke and another super display of goal keeping by Sam but eventually our resolve buckled and we conceded a goal after some poor marking from a throw on. Sporting, boyed by their goal, attacked with gusto and scored a good goal from a corner with the last kick of the game.

Although we held the lead for the majority of the game, we did not, as a team, compete enough in the middle of the field and turned over possession too easily. We also allowed their defence too muchf time to clear the ball as we did not put on any pressure and failed to follow up our shots.

If we played to our potential, we would beat teams like this easily and only struggle with sides like Dunmow but we must up our work rate and do the basics such as marking and positioning, well.

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CUP - Sunday 5th December - Heybridge Lions 0 - 1 Dunmow Rhodes

This was a close fought battle between two sporting sides filled with good skill, commitment and technique, which was a pleasure to watch even though we lost. The first half was most probably one of our lads best performances in terms of possession and commitment but we lacked the power to add a finish to our good work .Just like our last meeting, Dunmow scored a cracker from a corner just before half time. The second half continued in a similar vein, with us winning and retaining possession well but were denied a goal though some staunch defending and a couple of great saves by their keeper. Every time Dunmow managed a breakaway, their class showed but some solid defending by Luke and Jacob and some good saves from both Sam and Sean in goal, denied Dunmow the chance to extend their lead.

Although all the boys gave a hundred percent, Jack White's performance in midfield was a revelation and he deserves a special mention. Well played boys.

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Sunday 12th December - Maldon Town Tigers 2 - 0 Heybridge Lions

A chill wind cut across the pitch as we ran out to face the Tigers in this local derby but the boys were unaware of the adverse conditions as they were focussed on the task ahead. We started with a changed line up to the norm in an attempt to increase our goal scoring potential. This saw Luke move into midfield and Jack moved back into defence. It was fairly obvious from the start that this was not going to work as Maldon cut through our defence on a regular basis and they soon scored their first goal when we failed to cover sufficiently. Maldon continued to apply pressure and were only prevented from scoring twice more by some excellent goalkeeping by Sam. The manager recognised the problems and soon reverted to our normal formation that instantly fixed our defensive frailties and put us on the front foot. For 10 minutes before half time we totally dominated the game and pressured the Maldon goal but we were, once again, unable to score . The second half saw a change in personnel up front but we continued to be ineffective in the oppositions half even though we had fair possession. As we committed more bodies forward, Maldon were more threatening on the break and they forced a couple of good saves out of Sean, in goal for the second half, and eventually they scored again. We continued to press until the final whistle but could not penetrate the Maldon defence and ultimatly, the better team won the game.
Special mention this week goes to Luke Rogers who was first to most balls and even though he was disappointed with his truncated positional change, gave it 100% for the whole 50 minutes.

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CUP - Sunday 19th December - Heybridge Lions 6 - 0 Fennlands United

As neither team could qualify for the finals of the cup, the managers agreed to give all the boys games in different positions to learn more about the flexibility of the teams but most of all, to have fun. As the score reflects, the game was fairly one sided with our boys creating loads of chances and only a combination of some dubious finishing and some excellent gaolkeeping kept the score in single figures. All the lads seemed to enjoy the game and it was a satisfactory result to go into the Christmas break. So, we'll see you all in January. Happy Christmas to all connected with the Lions.

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Sunday 9th January- Waterside Wasps 0 - 3 Heybridge Lions

This was the first game after the christmas lay off and it showed. Although we won the game, we we a long way off our best and would have been stuffed by one of the better sides. All the goals came in the first half with Josh scoring two and David getting his first for the club. The second half continued in the same vein, with a general lack of determination and poor marking from dead ball situations.

There was a couple of bright points in this game, Joshs' passing and cool play in front of goal and a run from david which started at the half way line and continued by beating 3 or 4 players before seeing his shot stopped by a good save from their keeper.

Back to the hard work of training to get our sharpness back. see you Saturday.

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Sunday 16th January- Boreham Youth 0 - 4 Heybridge Lions

Another game in which the scoreline flatters the performance. As with last week's game, we failed to do the simple things like marking and tackling and our shape was non-existant. On a number of occasions, our two defenders were left to see off a number of 4 and 5 man attacks from Boreham whilst the rest of the team wandered back without purpose. Saying that, when Jake M played in midfield he put in his usual 100% effort both in defence and attack and Josh and David managed some effective passing up front. The four goals were scored by Luke, Ellis and two from Josh who also gets a special mention for his unselfish passing, excellent positioning and one great goal.

We must work harder and with more discipline if we are to compete with the leading sides.

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Sunday 23rd January Heybridge Lions 6 - 0 Fennlands United

An improvement on last week but we still managed to forget some of the fundementals. The first half was dominated by a Luke Rogers hatrick and some cracking creative passing from Sam which could and should have produced more goals. The second half saw a significant shuffle in personnel and almost instantly Ellis smashed home the fourth and Jake W followed up with the fifth. The last goal came after a goalmouth scramble and was knocked in by a Fennlands defender. All in all, it was a good result but there is still much work to do to get back to the form and consistency we displayed earlier in the season.

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Sunday 13th February Dunmow Rhodes 3 - 1 Heybridge Lions

The manager identified before the game that to have a realistic chance of beating this team we had to work very hard from back to front and we had the ideal start with Josh scoring after a goalmouth scramble in the first 5 minutes. We very soon forgot what the manager had said as we stood off the Dunmow players allowing them to run and pass through us at will and they scored a well worked goal as a result. This gave Dunmow even more belief and they attacked on a very regular basis and we conceded a second through an unfortunate own goal. The third goal was typical of the way we were playing as Dunmow approached our goal without significant resistance, passed the ball across the pitch without Heybridge intervention and smashed home the shot without any of our lads trying to shut the player down. We went in to half time where the manager highlighted our weakneses but also singled out and praised the 2 players who had shown some effort in the first half. We continued to change players in the second half but could not find anyone who could support Jake M in midfield and it was only through some brilliant defending from luke R that we did not concede further as we were squeezed into our own half by Dunmows ability to pass the ball.

The result reflected the lacklustre performace by most of the team but was scant reward for Jake M who worked hard and Luke R who was superb throughout. Well palyed you two, lets hope your work ethic rubs off on the other players.

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Friendly - Sunday 20th February Maldon Town 3 - 1 Heybridge Lions

This was a friendly game organised to fill a space in the fixture list but we were unable to learn a huge amount as the team was truly awful. The lack of desire to win the ball was obvious as we rarely tackled any of the opposition and we were ambling about aimlessly for the majority of the time. We did try to pass the ball when we got it but that was on rare occasions when a misplaced pass from Maldon came our way. On a brighter note, this was Matts debut game which he enjoyed immensely. Back to the drawing board.

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Sunday 27th February Heybridge Lions 2 - 3 Sporting 77

There was a covering of snow on the field and a chill in the wind as we attempted to beat Sporting for the first time and we couldn't have asked for a better start. Within ten minutes we were one up after Josh scored from a well taken corner from Jack and we were playing some nice football, especially up front. There was still a lack of commitment and tackling which allowed Sporting a number of attacks which were only thwarted at the last minute, either by a tackle from the defenders or a save from Sam. We continued to push forward ourselves and created a number of attacks and forced numerous corners but we could not score again and went into half-time leading by a single goal. In the second half we were second in almost every department and Sporting capitalised with an early goal shortly followed by a second and then a third, each goal attributable to our inability to close down and tackle in the middle of the park. We did manage a consolation goal with Josh scoring his second after a goalmouth scramble but all in all, the score reflected Sportings desire and our lethargy in the second half.

Special mentions this week go to Luke who was the only Lion that got stuck in for 50 minutes and Sam who made three great saves to deny Sporting more goals.

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Sunday 20th March Heybridge Lions 1- 5 Burnham Ramblers

The scoreline in this game did not completely reflect how well the boys played, especially in the first half. We passed the ball well and defended stoutly but we could not prevent Burnham scoring twice in the first half after we failed to clear or own area when we had the opportunity. In the second half we scored our best goal of the season so far with a long ball from Luke putting Josh clean through and he cooly lifted the ball over the advancing keeper. This goal should have given us fresh hope but we self districted by getting over excited and forgetting the basics. Burham punched through us at will and scored a further 3 goals. We did rally towards the end with both Josh and Tom coming close but it was too late and the best team won.

Special mentions go to Jacob who played his best game for a long time, Josh who held the ball and passed well and Tom, who, despite receiving the wrath of the ref early on, gathered himself and put in one of his best performances to date.

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Sunday 8th May - Under 9 friendship tournament

This was our first, and possibly our last, 7-a-side tournament as I doubt the Manager would want to take part in another after this embarrassing display. The problem was not out football but our behaviour, we were the only team who bickered, argued, sulked and fought amongst ourselves during this 'fun' event letting down parents but most of all, the Manager. We lost all 3 games we played, which was not really surprising considering the poor attitude the lads displayed from the start. The only positives were a solid performance from Jacob and Luke and some wondrous saves by Sam in goal, one of which was described by the ref after the game as a save that would grace any level of football.

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