Friendly vs Hessle Rangers - Sunday 30th January 2011

In readiness for the second-half of the season, we played a friendly against Hessle Rangers. I'd met their manager Paul at a coaching session very early in the season & has been a great help to us, so it was great to be able play against his team. Despite some frosty mornings recently, the pitch was is great condition for this time of year.


Match 1
Kicking off, the pitch looked enormous compared to our training venue, so it seemed there might be some tired legs by the end of the day. But the players started with their trademark enthusiasm & it seemed from the start both teams were well matched.

It was evident that the winter training focusing on passing had paid off & we were very unlucky to go one-nil down at half-time. Playing in midfield, Benson put in some great tackles & passes.


In the second-half we equalised with a great strike from Taylor & were kept in the game by a series of fantastic saves from JoshC. And we were very unlucky to go 2-1 down after a ricochet off the post following a corner. We battled back & were unlucky not to get a deserved equaliser.


Match 2
Encouraged by the performance in the first match, we started the second game determined to play even better.


Again, the passing on show was terrific with Ewan, Dylan, Kieran & Harry playing some great balls. The great play was rewarded with a goal from Joel in the first-half.


Into the second-half we were determined to prevent our opponents from scoring, whilst also pushing on for another goal. The defence was rock-solid with a particulalrly outstanding performance from JoshL. William almost doubled the lead with a stunning long-range shot that hit the post, but the teams effort was rewarded by a well-taken breakaway goal scored by Ben. So, in the end, a 2-0 win was a great result.


The penalty competition was tightly contested as always, but we just edged it through some great spot-kicks & some top-class saves from Benson.

Hull Boys 5-a-side & Futsal competitions

In the absence of any league matches over the winter, we took the opportunity to play in the January 5-a-side competition at the Bonus Arena. Not having played the 5-a-side format before - including the ball not going over head height & not encroaching into the penalty areas - it was a steep learning curve, but the boys quickly picked it up & had great fun. It was fast & furious, with us getting chance to play 4 other teams.

After a nil-nil draw & & losing 3-2 (after being 2-0 up) , we hit our stride with a 6-1 win with goals flying in from all corners of the pitch. The final match was a very creditable 1-1 draw against Westella & Willerby who are recognised as one of the most competent teams.

At the end of the night, all the teams were presented with a ball. With everyone playing their part it was tough choosing a Man of the Match, but Dylan just edged it after a fine display in goal.

The following week we played another new format when we entered the Futsal competition at Warners. Futsal is similar to 5-a-side but the goals are bigger & uses a heavier ball which encourages more passing.

This involved playing 4 matches of 5 minutes duration - again it was very high speed & energetic. After a couple of draws & a loss, we finished off in great style with a tightly fought win against St Andrews. This time Ewan took the honours as Man of the Match after another super performance between the goalposts

The smartest team in town

After the cancellation of the last league match at the end of November, we had no more Sunday matches to play until after the end of the winter break. That meant the next competitive Sunday match would be on the 20th February 2011 when the second-half of the season starts. In the meantime the League is assessing the results for the first-half of the season & re-arranging the divisions for the second-half. We are looking forward to the next round of matches whoever we play.

In the meantime, as a Christmas treat we arranged for the boys to have a hoodie for Christmas, complete with the Cottingham Rangers badge & their initials. Not only do they look great, but it's now easy to identify the owner after they get scattered on the floor during training!

And our Christmas party at Laserquest went ahead despite the snowy conditions & was enjoyed by everyone. Thanks to Lisa for all her hard work in arranging it & the hoodies.

Snow, snow & more snow.............................

Unfortunately we were never able to play our final match of the first-half of the season. We were due to play Sproatley at home on the 30th November but a few days before we were hit by a deluge of snow which made travelling difficult, let alone playing football.

On several occasions we tried to re-arrange the match & even looked at playing it on an all-weather pitch, but to no avail. The unseasonably cold weather stayed around for several weeks & at it's worst meant that travel around the village was only safe on foot. We even had to cancel a couple of indoor training sessions because the venue was closed.

Fingers crossed we'll be able to play Sproatley in the New Year.