Sunday 28th January v Alsager Town Black

This game was the final match of the winter season, strangely enough the summer season starts next weekend so we have to hope that maybe the weather and our results will improve then. Today’s match started quite end to end with both teams having some chances. Our best chance came after a superb passing move between Ben, Ally and Tom D but, unfortunately, we couldn’t put the chance away. Tom J, Lewis C and Rhys were keeping things very tight in defence and James was playing well marshalling the midfield and it seemed like the game was heading for a 0-0 draw when Alsager managed to slot the ball home to make it 1-0. They scored another two goals in quick succession to make the final score 3-0 in a game we could easily have won. Luckily the boys soon cheered up as we went off tenpin bowling to celebrate the end of the season and a belated Christmas treat.

Sunday 14th January v Bocca Juniors

We knew today’s game was going to be difficult before the start as Bocca have only lost one game, so far, all season and so it proved. We started the match quite brightly although we didn’t really manage to create many chances. Lewis S was playing well in goal and pulled off a number of fine saves to keep us in the match but unfortunately once they managed to score they never looked back and managed to hit five without us really have much chance of getting a consolation goal. Next week the boys have a free weekend so, hopefully, they will be raring to go for our last match of the season the week after.

Sunday 7th January v Stapeley Instyle

We hoped the New Year might bring a change of fortune but it wasn’t to be as the boys lost 5-1 to Stapeley however, the result doesn’t do justice to how well the team played and, if it hadn’t been for one of their players outpacing our defence several times, the score might have been a lot closer. The first period was quite end to end with both teams having a few chances, the conditions were very difficult as heavy rain and a strong wind swirled around the Soccer Centre. As the conditions improved going into the second period, unfortunately our chances of a good result went by the wayside as Stapeley sailed into a 3 goal lead. We briefly staged a comeback as Ally surged through their defence to hammer what proved to be a consolation goal but Stapeley struck back with two more quick goals to put the game out of our reach. To the boys credit they kept on battling and came close to scoring several times in the third period. Lewis S had another good game in goal, Lewis C was outstanding in defence, ably backed up by Declan and James, Ben and Tom D all played well in midfield, Tom J did well when he came on after being a late call-up as Rhys was sick, Ally came close to scoring several times and hopefully we can all pull together next weekend when we come up against Bocca.

Sunday 17th December v Crewe FC

After the confidence boost of a good performance last Sunday, the team were raring to go against Crewe. However, Crewe had other ideas and the first period ended up evens. In the second period we conceded a late goal to give them the advantage. Our performance was continuing to improve, like last weekend, but unfortunately we made a mistake in defence which let them in to score a second goal and make the final score a 2-0 defeat. Hopefully the New Year will bring some much needed good luck with it.

Sunday 10th December v Betley

After disappointing results over the past few weeks the boys bounced back with a brilliant performance today only to lose the match in the final few minutes. Brookfield went ahead early in the first period when Ally scored to put us in the lead 1-0, though Crewe soon equalised. As the game went on, Crewe scored to make it 2-1 to them but then Lewis C popped up to score his first of the season, a brilliant shot from midfield. This would have been a great goal to have won the match but unfortunately Betley had other ideas and scored again in the final few minutes to win the game 3-2. Huge disappointment to lose but comfort can be taken from the manner of the display.

Sunday 3rd December v Nantwich Dynamoes

After halting our losing streak last weekend we were hoping to stay unbeaten for a while longer, however it wasn’t to be today against a Nantwich side pushing Bocca for top spot in the League. Conditions were not great as we started off the match with the wind howling around the soccer centre and it was Nantwich who set off at a fast pace, taking the lead early on and then extending it to 2-0 before we’d even got going. Brookfield kept pressing up though and Tom shot narrowly wide after a great move but Nantwich then went further ahead from our throw-in after we lost possession to make it 3-0. Declan was playing up front and nearly got us back into it as he came with a great run through several players and a few moments later Declan and Tom again pushed up and Tom D slotted the ball into the net and make it 3-1. As the game went on though we conceded two further goals to make it 5-1. In the last minute Nantwich were awarded a penalty after a handball in the box. Lewis S, our goalie, faced Jake, their captain, and pulled off a fine save to keep the score down to 5-1. Not a bad performance today, hopefully we can turn things around next weekend.

Sunday 26th November v Wistaston Lions

After a run of poor results the boys were keen to do well in this bottom of the table clash, a match we really couldn’t afford to lose. Things didn’t start brightly with the news that Ben had been ruled out with an injury. The match started with both teams looking nervous and scared of making a mistake, the game flowed from end to end though and we started to get going having several shots on goal before Ally finally put one away to make it 1-0 to us. We continued to have a lot of possession and several shots on goal but it was Wistaston who manage to score to equalise the game against the run of play. We continued to play well, in fact the best we’ve played for some time, but the ball wouldn’t run kindly for us, and although we had several more shots on goal the ball wouldn’t go in the net and the game finished at 1-1.

Sunday 19th November v Alsager Town Panthers

Another disappointing result today. Tom J was unable to play due to sickness so Declan came in at the last minute. We started the game well and the first period was quite even, Alsager opened the scoring but then Ally hit back with a stunning strike to level the game at 1-1. We pressed forward and should have gone in front on several occasions but failed to put the ball away and, unfortunately, we then paid a heavy price for our missed chances. In the second period things fell apart as the boys conceded four goals to go in at 5-1 down. With everyone deflated we did well to only concede two further goals in the third period to end the game losing 7-1, our heaviest defeat of the season.

Sunday 12th November v Alsager Town Black

After having a weekend off last week the boys were eager to put what they’d been practising on the training pitch into action in a real game but, unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned yet again and they slumped to a 3-0 defeat. The game got going with both teams doing plenty of attacking and Ally and Ben both went close for us but we went a goal down when we got caught out in defence with lack of numbers. In the second period the game was very even with both teams having chances and Lewis S in goal for us pulling of a string of fine saves. At the other end, Dec went on a long run to goal but his final pass went astray in a move that deserved a goal. In the final period we went further behind to a penalty before they scored another goal to leave us 3-0 down. We were left to rue our missed chances in a game that we were good enough to have got something out of.

Sunday 29th October v Bocca Juniors

Our losing streak continued in some style with a heavy 6-1 defeat to Bocca Juniors who maintained their 100% start to the season. We were without Tom D, who was away on holiday, and the side struggled to get going in the first period and we soon found ourselves 2-0 down. However, the lads didn’t give up and we started to play some good football and looked a lot better than in recent weeks. We got back into the game with a goal from Ally, who is our leading scorer this season with five goals so far. There were chances for both sides as the game progressed but disaster struck in the third period, for the second match in a row, when we unluckily conceded an own goal to put the game out of reach at 3-1. This disheartened the boys somewhat and we then quickly conceded three further goals to end up with a disappointing scoreline of 6-1. The score didn’t do our performance justice although there was a little comfort in knowing that we’d lost to a very well organised team. With no game next weekend the boys will no doubt come back refreshed and raring to go for the next game.

Sunday 22nd October v Stapeley Instyle

There was more disappointment for the boys today as we lost 4-0 to Stapeley Instyle. We knew it was going to be a hard game as Stapeley are right at the top of the table and Rhys and Lewis C were both unavailable but the first period started in disastrous fashion when the ball fell awkwardly as we tried to clear it and flew into the goal with Lewis S in goal having no chance of clearing it. Worse was to come as shortly after they scored with a thunderbolt from long distance again Lewis S in goal and our defence having no chance of stopping it. So 2-0 down at the end of the first period, we started to get back into the match slightly in the second period, Ben going close twice and Tom D working hard in midfield, however Stapeley again scored from distance and then got another when our defence just couldn’t clear the ball so 4-0 down. The boys carried on trying though and had the better of the third period, going close again through Tom and Ben and with Ally having a few runs on goal but we couldn’t convert any of our chances into goals. We have to hope for a strong display next weekend when up against the unbeaten leaders Bocca Juniors, still they have to lose a game sometime!

Sunday 15th October v Crewe FC

We were hoping to get back to winning ways today but knew it would be difficult against a Crewe side that had only lost one game and so it proved as we went down 3-1. Crewe did most of the attacking, keeping us under relentless pressure and we found it difficult to get forward to mount many decent attacks. We played quite well as a team with some good passing but unfortunately we failed to clear the ball properly at crucial times in front of goal and Crewe quickly went into a two goal lead, both goals caused by us not clearing well enough from the penalty area. In fact for the second goal we had every player behind the ball but still couldn’t clear it, possibly everyone was getting in each other’s way! Ben had a great shot from the touchline which hit the bar and would have put us back in the game but Crewe increased their lead to 3-0 with another goal from close range. Ben scored a good consolation goal for us to make it 3-1 as the final score and lifted Crewe to top of the table. We shall have to hope we can stop our run of defeats next weekend when we play Stapeley Instyle.

Sunday 8th October v Betley FC

After last weekend’s heavy defeat we had trained hard in midweek and were keen to get back to winning ways. The game started off pretty even and we were the first to come near to scoring when Ally put a fine strike onto the far post. At the other end Rhys and Thomas were looking strong in defence and the game was going from end to end with us looking a lot better than last weekend and a lot more solid in defence. However, we went a goal down after their striker got round our defence. James, who was playing in midfield, then had a shot bounce off their bar but shortly after we then conceded another goal to go 2-0 down. The boys kept on going though and were rewarded when Ally scored a great goal to put us back in the match at 2-1. As the game went on we hit the woodwork no less than three more times with great strikes from Ben, Tom and Ally but we just couldn’t get that little bit of luck and force an equaliser. So although the result was disappointing, the team played much better than last weekend and can count themselves unlucky to have not come away with at least a draw.

Sunday 1st October v Nantwich Dynamoes

Both sides went into this game unbeaten, unfortunately it was Nantwich that went away joint top of the table and still to drop a point after beating us 4-0. Declan made his debut for us but there was nothing he could do to stop us crashing to defeat. The match started with us soon under pressure against a very good Nantwich side that passed the ball around well. We went 1-0 down shortly into the first period and were 2-0 down before the end of the half. We played a bit better in the second period and had a few chances but then gave away another goal to put them 3-0 in front. Into the final period and the boys tried all they could for a goal to bring ourselves back into the game but it wasn’t to be and we then conceded another goal to bring the final score to 4-0. The boys had tried hard but were no match for our very well organised opponents on the day. Still we can now look forward to better things in next week’s match against Betley.

Sunday 24th September v Wistaston Lions

This was a very tight game that flowed from end to end with both teams coming close but it seemed that nobody would score. Rhys, Ben and Thom D all came close to scoring for us and at the other end our defence played well in keeping Wistaston out. James, Tom J and Lewis C all played really well with Lewis S in goal making a string of fine saves. Ally hit a great shot that was so hard it knocked their goalie down! Tom D ran up and down the pitch from defence to attack trying to help us find the breakthrough and also stopping them from scoring. Just as it looked like the game would end goal-less, up stepped our top scorer Ally with a fine goal to give us victory in the final minutes. A great result after a good performance by the whole team.

Sunday 17th September v Alsager Town Panthers

Our first league game of the season got underway in brilliant sunshine, the first period saw both teams going close in a very end to end encounter and nothing to choose between either side. We came closest to scoring with a fantastic long range shot from Ben which hit the crossbar. The second period saw more of the same but we came under increasing pressure as the period wore on and we were pleased to hear the ref’s whistle and have the chance to regroup. The final period saw us quickly go a goal down but the boys kept their heads up and we pushed forward for an equaliser which eventually came with a great strike from Ally. Almost straight from the kick off, we won possession of the ball and passed to Ally who scored again to put us in the lead with only minutes remaining. However, we just couldn’t hang on to the lead and conceded right near the end to make the final score 2-2, which was a fair result for both sides.

Sunday 10th September v  Betley (friendly)

As mentioned elsewhere, this match was hastily redesignated as a friendly after our late promotion to Division 1 - we weren’t complaining seeing it was us who gained - but unfortunately the good news stopped there as we ended up losing 4-1. However, with James playing only his second match and Thomas and Declan making their debuts it was hardly suprising as the boys struggled to gel together as a team. After struggling initially the team did start to play together better towards the end of the match and we were rewarded with a great consolation goal by Declan from long range. Hopefully after another training session on Wednesday things will improve before the start of the proper season.

Wednesday 26th July v Wistaston (friendly)

With the gap between the end of last season and the start of this new season almost negligible, we got our new campaign underway with a friendly against Wistaston at the Soccer Centre. We were pleased to welcome a new player to our squad - James - replacing Ben I who has now transferred to another club. The match was also played with 8 players a side. The summer break didn’t seem to have done us any harm as we played some good football and soon went 1-0 up after some good passing between Tom and Ally with Ben finishing. However on the stroke of halftime we conceded an equaliser when we didn’t clear the ball quickly enough (although it was slightly crowded with 2 extra players). In the second period we went a goal up when we were awarded a direct free kick in our own half which Ben power-drived all the way into their net, a brilliant goal! Our third goal came through Ben again with another long-range effort which soared above their defence and into the net making him the hat-trick hero (though I don’t think he was lucky enough to keep the match ball!). Lewis in goal had hardly a touch which underlines how well the defence played and Ben also had a goal disallowed and hit the bar, so overall a very pleasing start to the season.