11 July 10 - 20:42The End of a Great Season - and a GIANT leap forward...

To our loyal blog readers out there, a HUGE thank you for your appreciative comments about our write-ups this season. To end this season, I thought it would be appropriate to list our winning three players from the Club Presentation Evening and leave you with the season summary that the club read out as we went up on stage...

"Our U13 Warriors have had a superb season this year, winning more games than ever before, conceding fewer goals, they reached the quarter finals of the League Cup and the semi finals of the Uckfield Summer Tournament. In the league they finished mid table on 19 points, beating all of the teams below them and only losing narrowly to the top teams after Christmas as their performances got stronger and stronger during the second part of the season. With a much stronger squad of 15 boys this year, our Warriors also put in some stunning summer tournament results, beating the likes of Eastbourne Borough twice, Crowborough Athletic, Old Town and Glenco  - results that bode well for next season when they join the Sussex Sunday League.  

With plenty of social activities off the field, magazine coverage & match reports read across the globe every Sunday on their team blog, and brand new home and away kits kindly supplied by sponsors Print Matters and Barclays Bank, the Warriors have made a collosal leap forward from last year when they finished second from bottom with only one win - all built around their team motto of "Desire, Attitude and Dedication." Furthermore, tomorrow night sees this seasons outgoing captain and Vice Captain collect the U13 Fair Play trophy at the Crowborough League Presentation evening, to cap a memorable season for the boys.
 
Coaches Tim Brown, Alistair Stapley and Ross Maguire would also like to thank not only the players for their incredible team spirit and hard work all year, but the 'Broad Oak Barmy Army' of Warriors parents who have made this season a very special one."

Most Improved Player of the Year, 2009/10 Season - Charlie Busby

Players Player of the Year, 2009/10 Season - Ben Skinner

Player of the Year, 2009/10 Season - Max Stapley

With a full turnout by our Warriors who looked class in their squad Polo Shirts and tracksuits, I hope all who came along enjoyed the evening and that everyone associated with the team has a well earned rest until 24th August when we start pre-season.

Tim Brown - Head Coach

Tim Brown -

21 June 10 - 01:23Sat 19th June 2010: Ringmer Tournament - "A Tough Finale..."

Warriors Squad for Ringmer: Ryan Marston, Callum Brown, Zak Willis, James Maguire, Andrew Goswell, Mat Jarvis, Charlie Busby, Nathan Ollivierre, Luke Evans

The biggest tournament in the locality - some 320 teams over 2 days, with 13 pitches and 600 car parking spaces! Our intrepid Warriors travelled over to Ringmer on Saturday afternoon to play 5 tough matches in a group that proved extremely hard to get a point from.

Try as they might, the lads put in 120% but didn't quite match the heady heights of the other 4 tournament successes we'd seen this summer. A group containing Hastings Youth (again), Adur Athletic, Old Town Eastbourne, Woodingdean and Withdean Juniors, saw us lose every game mainly to the odd goal but a couple of heavy defeats too. We were unfortunate to lose Mat to a nasty wrist injury early on, however the lads played their socks off with Callum, Zak and James Maguire putting in tackle after tackle, Andrew and Luke running hard in midfield, and both Charlie and Nathan linking really well up front for us. However it was Goalkeeper Ryan Marston who picked up this weekends Player of the Tournament Award for his countless world class saves in thwarting numerous pacey attacks with some incredible full length saves, quick reactions and truly unbelievable tip-overs that drew gasps from everyone watching (on the Warriors HD Channel. After all, nobody's watching England anymore are they?!!) In light of Ryan playing in his last Warriors match before he departs for the Army Cadets, he played his last game as a marauding midfielder and was therefore let off the leash - to great effect! Some crunching tackles, some deft headers and great passing was a super way to let Ryan go out in style - we loved it! So thanks Ryan for some brilliant memories over the past two seasons, and we hope you sign on as our reserve keeper in case we ever have an emergency!

In the meantime, we have our End of Season Bash at Wessons Cafe on Wednesday evening, we collect our Crowborough League FairPlay Trophy in a few weeks, and the Presentation Evening looms large next month....

Tim Brown - Head Coach

Tim Brown -

16 June 10 - 22:51Sat 12th June '10 - Broad Oak Tournament

"Warriors save their very best till last"

Tim Brown -

07 June 10 - 23:27Sun 6th June '10 - Polegate Tournament

"Yet Again a Strong Group.......But Guess What Yet Another Strong Performance"

Tim Brown -

30 May 10 - 03:36Sat 29th May'10: Uckfield Tournament "Another stunning performance..."

Warriors Squad: Zak Willis, Callum Brown, Ben Skinner, James Woodroofe(c), Andrew Goswell, Josh Ingram-Chorley, Max Stapley, Charlie Busby

Our third tournament of the summer, and despite a repeat of the Eastbourne Tournament where we yet again found ourselves placed in the group of death, the Warriors played their socks off and took it to an even higher level again - only losing their last game which narrowly prevented them bagging a semi-final place - amazing!!

When we all arrived we once again found ourselves with a seemingly impossible group - U13 League Champions Crowborough Athletic (again!), our Division 2 Champions Ringmer Rovers, highly fancied Little Common JFC from the Hastings League, and unknown outfit Marle Place JFC. An incredibly tough draw, and a real baptism of fire for our new keeper prospect Zak Willis who had a sensational morning for us - nice one Zak!

First up were Ringmer Rovers who thumped most sides in our league this year. The boys got off to a really sluggish start, & had a great move finished off by Max who shot wide of the goal following a good flowing team move up the pitch. However we were lucky to go in at halftime scoreless thanks to Zak who blocked some terrific 1v1's, and so with a bit of hairdryer treatment the lads improved slightly in the second period. More saves from Zak followed, and in the end we did well to hold out for a creditable 0-0.

Game 2 was no easier - Crowborough Athletic, who we lost 1-0 to at Eastbourne. This time however, we upped our game massively and the lads played some superb pass & move football, competing with them all over the park. Again, Zak pulled off some tremendous saves, Charlie was a giant up front in closing down defenders, winning the ball well and bringing players in to the game. Callum was knocking the ball around well alongside the hard working Andrew in midfield, and indeed it was a Goswell freekick on the left that flew straight into the far corner of the net to put us 1-0 up midway through the first half - the keeper being put off by Woodie's run into the box. Immediately Nick Kavanagh equalised after a minute with a well taken shot from just inside our box, and so we went off at halftime in good shape. The second half then saw the Warriors show what they're made of, as we outfought them all over the pitch. Josh and Max added some flair to a fresh midfield for us, Woodie, Andrew and Charlie tackled like lions and won everything, and despite every effort to get another goal we nevertheless avenged 2 weeks ago with a superb 1-1 draw.

Game 3 - Little Common, and another huge test for us as always! So what did we do? Win convincingly 2-0 with some superb flowing combinations and excellent strength in the tackle. Ben raided forward and ended a great counter attack by shooting high over the bar - injuring himself in the process, however it was the industry of Charlie to feed Josh, who broke down the left into their box, and then in sweeping the ball to the by-line with the outside of his foot he completely fooled their defender to earn an obvious penalty that he duly smashed home. Our second goal after the break was the highlight of the morning though - a superb move from a Zak throw to Andrew, who squared to Woodie. A forward pass up the centre to Charlie was instantly laid out wide to Callum on the right, who turned and sped up the line past one player, and then crossed a delicious ball round Josh's marker for him to control, take a touch and then smash a screamer past the helpless keeper into the net from just inside the box. A brilliant team goal, and a great finish. 2-0 to the Warriors, and we found ourselves joint top unbeaten on 5 points!

Our final game - game 4 - and the chance to go where we've never been before - a tournament semi-final. The boys knew what the prize was - win and we go through to the last 4. Marle Place were our final opponents, and having seen them lose 6-1 to Crowborough 2 games before, we had a great chance on a plate. Unfortunately though, the boys had run out of steam, seemed to freeze at the vital moment, and despite all of our efforts we lost 1-0 and didn't play anything like how we had done all morning. The boys were really disappointed and down that the chance had gone, however as we all said to them afterwards they had produced another stunning tournament performance that has raised the bar yet again, and that maybe next time we won't mention semi-finals as it seemed to affect our game. Player of the Tournament went to Charlie Busby for his incredible workrate and commitment all morning, and overall a really enjoyable morning of quality football from the players. Played 4 - Won 1, Drawn 2, lost 1 - scored 3, conceded 2.

Next up is Tournament 4 next weekend - Polegate Grasshoppers Tournament for the other half of the squad - details to follow on Tuesday evening as always...

Tim Brown - Head Coach

Tim Brown -

16 May 10 - 23:14Sun 16th May '10 - Eastbourne Borough Tournament

"Group of Death, tamed by Mighty Warriors"...................

With the league season now over and one to be proud of, the boys had a weeks rest from any competitive football. The coaches decided to split the lads into 2 teams so that each player would be playing in the same amount of tournaments. First up was the Eastbourne Borough Tournament, always traditionally a competitive affair with 2010 being no different.

This weeks team was: James Woodroofe, Ben Skinner, Josh Ingram-Chorley, Ryan Marston, Andrew Goswell, Ryan Angear, Max Stapley and Charlie Busby

With our Head Coach and Captain having being down at pitch side on Saturday watching and helping the U10's it was discovered that there were 18 teams entered in 3 groups of 6, with our boys pitched in the "Group of Death", playing the likes of A League teams Crowborough Athletic (League and Cup winners this year), Glenco (B League Champions last year), Sedlescombe Rangers and 2 Eastbourne Borough Youth sides. The reality of playing such sides was that the expectations from the coaching staff (without telling the boys or the Warriors Barmy Army) was that if we could get 2 draws then the boys would have done themselves proud in such a difficult group.

Tim and Alistair fired the boys up for their first game against the Eastbourne Borough - Yellow team, with boys obviously not reading the script that we should finish bottom of the group, were playing wonderful attacking football, with controlled defence. Charlie Busby set the scene by scoring a wonderful opening goal, 1-0 to the Warriors, was this the stuff dreams are made of. A minute or so later Eastbourne managed an equaliser in bizarre circumstances with a ball landing on the heel of James Woodroofe, without him realising and rolling into the net giving Ryan Marston no chance at all, 1-1. With the boys playing some great football and believing in themselves Josh Ingram-Chorley stroked in a great shot into the corner of the net, 2-1 to the Warriors. Eastbourne Borough applied terrific pressure in the closing minutes with Ryan, Woody and Ben Skinner all making last ditch saves, to close out the game 2-1 winners. Unbelieveable.

Next up were the Group and Tournament favourites Crowborough Athletic. Having gone 1-0 down early on the boys were not to be outdone and fought really well for the rest of the match putting in some crunching tackles, and getting in the faces of the Crowborough boys who didnt like it all. Andrew Goswell having a great time down the left and really getting stuck into their right midfielder who didnt like the fact that Andrew was getting the better of him (nice one Andy). Ryan Angear was also making a real terrier of himself in the centre of midfield. The game ended with a narrow 1-0 defeat but with boys now believing that perhaps this wasnt the "Group of Death" afterall.

3rd game was against Sedlescome Rangers who had beaten us 3 times this season. Yet again Tim and Alistair had the boys roaring to go and again the boys were playing great football. After a few minutes and a clearance from a corner Josh Ingram-Chorley crashed an unstoppable shot past the keeper into the top left hand corner, 1-0 to the Warriors,, cue wild celebrations by the boys. Hopes were dashed as Sedlescombe equalised within a minute from a well taken goal from their centre forward, 1-1. With only a couple of minutes left Sedlescombe had a free kick awarded on the edge of the box with the result being a thunderbolt shot into the net, 2-1 to Sedlescombe and they closed out the game.

4th game was against Eastbourne Borough - Green team. Determined to make amends for 2 narrow defeats, the boys tore into the opposition and were camped in their half for most of the 1st half. Charlie Busby working his socks off up front and chasing everything took on 2 defenders, beat them and fired a low shot at the goalkeeper who didnt get down in time and it rolled into the net through his legs, 1-0 to the Warriors. With the WARRIORS BARMY ARMY in full voice the boys continued to play great football. Midway thorough the second half Ryan Marston made a wonderful finger tip save to keep the boys 1-0 up. The momentum with them the Warriors took the game to the opposition with Max Stapley rifling home a shot to make it 2-0 and secure the points. Won 2, Lost 2 with 1 to play.

5th and final game saw us play Glenco. Could we make it 3 wins out of 5. The belief within the boys was clear to see and once again took the game by the scruff producing lovely flowing football. Once again Charlie Busby put us 1-0 up threw sheer persistance and hard work and got his 3rd goal of the tournament (wonderful stuff mate). Amazingly Glenco equalised with a goal that belongs on "Question of Sport" in the "What happened next category". Max having worked hard in midfield came in with a wonderfully timed sliding tackle, the ball crashing against the Glenco players leg and rocketing into the net. The Warriors stunned as to, where did that come from.... didnt want to finsh with a draw, picked themselves up and with 2 mins to go Max Stapley got his reward with a very coolly taken goal on volley to make it a 2-1 win.

So with expectations being pessimistic at the beginning of the day the Warriors surpassed the Coaches, Parents and themselves to finish 3rd in the group having played 5, won 3, lost 2, scored 7 goals and conceded 5, for long periods playing wonderful pass and move stuff. There was no Man of the Tournament this week as the Coaching staff couldn't pick out one individual as all the boys to a man had played brillantly. The bar has been set boys, lets hope it can continue, see you all next week at our World Cup Fun Day.

Ross Maguire - Junior Assistant Linesman

Tim Brown -

03 May 10 - 16:30Sun 2nd May '10 - Jarvis Brook 3 - Broad Oak Warriors 2

"Dreadful start, but what a battling performance of determination and character from then on ......."

Tim Brown -

26 April 10 - 01:29Sun 25th April'10: B.Oak Warriors 3 Tonbridge 1 "Warriors Win Final Home Game..."

Our last home match of the season saw the Warriors play Tonbridge Juniors C team on a rock hard pitch that tested the control and first touch of every player. With most of the possession the lads made very heavy work of trying to string some passing combinations together, as most of the time the ball was to be seen in the air rather than played on the floor. Nevertheless, as the game wore on our pressure turned into goals to see the lads bag another useful 3 points in front of the home fans for the last time this season.

With a squad of 14 players the Warriors were at near full strength this weekend. Daniel Little came into the midfield for a fine performance on the right hand side, and Andrew Goswell also returned to the left side of midfield to also raid down the wing with brilliant effect. His strength, determination and link up play with Josh Ingram Chorley saw him claim A Man of the Match award and with it a stunning long range goal that flew over the keeper following good work on the left from Charlie Busby. Charlie also bagged a goal for himself in the second half, receiving a through ball from the impressive Callum Brown before advancing towards goal, rounding the keeper and firing into an empty net for a great finish and a Man of the Match trophy too. Clearly the new boots worked! However it was the ever impressive Josh who got us off to a great start with our only goal of the first half - a towering header from a superb Max Stapley corner that flew past the keeper - superb stuff Josh! If we had only strung more passes together, learnt to cope with the hard surface by controlling the ball with a better first touch on the floor, and taken advantage of the countless chances we had to put the game beyond their reach then we would have won far more convincingly. As it was, a late penalty gave them a consolation goal and if it wasn't for a superb last ditch tackle by Josh and a brilliant full length save by Ryan Marston then the score could have been alot closer. A 3-1 win at home was a great way to sign off in front of our home support, so the boys should be very proud of their efforts today.

Next up is Jarvis Brook away next Sunday, our last match of the season before we tackle the 6 tournaments we have lined up for our Warriors...

Tim Brown - Head Coach

Tim Brown -