13 July 10 - 11:24AGM: Wed 14th July
The Broad Oak AGM will take place tomorrow night, 14th July at 7.30pm at the clubhouse. All welcome.Ollie -
05 July 10 - 22:01Under 9s/8s Coaching Day
Hi all,On Tuesday 27th July we will be hosting a coaching day at Horam from 9.30am until 3.30pm. The cost is £15 per player which will raise funds for our pitch drainage scheme. There will be a variety of activities with a variety of coaches and will be all good fun. If you could let me know interest my the end of this week so we can fully plan the sessions that would be helpful.
Thanks,
Ollie
Ollie -
30 June 10 - 18:44Presentation Evening/Registration Forms/Parents Meeting
The details for the presentation evening are as follows:Address : Kings Centre, 27 Edison Road, Eastbourne, BN23 6PT
Start time : 6.30 arrive / 7pm start / 8.30pm finish
A reminder that it is ticket only, £1 adults, 50p kids, these are available from me.
Any completed registration forms (with one passport sized photo and fees £90 first child, £60 second) need to be returned to me at 11 Elm Way, Heathfield, TN21 8YH, any people without forms or tickets can collect them from me or I can deliver them upon request.
Details of the parents meeting held last Saturday... if all players re-sign then we will be fielding three teams next season, Cobras, Vipers and Pythons, we have decided to select the 8 most able players who will compete as a single team (not paired with another Broad Oak team but another team from the league), the other 16 players will be split into two teams of equal ability and will be paired together on matchdays. The teams will not be fixed in that if players improve then there is the opportunity for them to move up, although we will strive to get the balance right between flexibility and consistency in team selection. It should be emphasised that we will be training as a whole squad and no individual squad or player will recieve preferential treatment in terms of coaching. The coaching structure for next year will be confirmed at a later date along with when we wil re-start training. If anyone has any queries/suggesttions/feedback then please contact me.
Ollie
Ollie -
07 June 10 - 19:23Langton Green Tournament Report
Our latest tournament was on Saturday at Langton Green. This was always going to be a tough task for our team with 30 teams and three groups in our age group in addition to very hot weather!! Unlike last week at Uckfield we didn’t get off to best start, losing our first game 1-0 having dominated the majority of the game. This made it very hard for ourselves as we were always chasing other teams from this point. It was a day that promised much more, with us drawing no less than five of our nine games, if we had got a few wins in these it may have been different. Nevertheless, we got a very creditable 0-0 draw against Wadhurst, the only points they dropped in the group stage. It took us until our penultimate game to really get going when we crushed Langton Green and beat them 2-0 with all the team playing to their potential. One win, five draws and three loses was our record on the day. Overall, not our best day, but still a vast improvement compared to this time last year, all the teams at the tournament had their strongest squads and no-one out-classed us. Unlucky boys, lets go and win our own tournament now!!!Ollie -
01 June 10 - 13:27Uckfield Tournament Report
This Sunday 2 Broad Oak teams travelled to Uckfield for our latest tournament.The ‘Youth’ team were able to call upon Toby after his return from a finger injury and Matt after Ben was ruled out due to a tendon injury. We started well in our first game and held eventual semi-finalists Wadhurst until the second half when they grabbed a counter-attack goal. We deserved a draw out of this game and it was our best performance of the tournament. Elliott Gore and Tom Barham made for a very good partnership in defence, with one always covering the other and thwarting any Wadhurst attacks. We had two Rory Delap throw in experts on Fynn and Toby who continually launched the ball into the oppositions box all day. Harry Baird and Matt interchanged up front but both struggled to make an impact on strong defences, but their effort was always there and they toiled away all day. Zak and Sam alternated as goalkeepers and both had solid performances. Sam especially, his display in goal against Uckfield was fantastic, he got his body in the way of every shot and helped us to a creditable 0-0 draw. Overall, not a bad day, you gave it your all, but every player must keep to their positions if we are to compete.
The ‘Colts’ team had Will unavailable but were still able to field a competitive team. We qualified from the group stage with great style and efficiency. Our strength was based on a very solid defence, with Tom Evans and Brogan interchanging alongside Harry Laddiman, indeed we only conceded one goal in the group stage, this being a penalty. Elliot Osborn was awesome throughout the whole tournament in goal, making some key saves at important times. We had wins over the eventual finalists Mid Sussex Blues (2-0) as well as South Malling (3-1) and Uckfield (3-0) in addition to draws against Ringmer (0-0) and Hailsham (0-0) in the group with the goal of the day coming from TJ who right foot half volley was smashed into the top corner from a long way out. AJ was the midfield general, time after time he was able to break up attacks and move the whole team forward. Oliver and James worked tirelessly up front, they held up the ball well and brought our midfielders into the game. Having qualified from the group, we played the other Hailsham team in the semi-final. It was a close and nervy game, but I thought we generally dominated the play but just couldn’t take our chances. Into extra time...both teams tired a bit, with us still dominating, as the final whistle went no-one was sure who had won. Thankfully due to our superior goal difference (Broad Oak +7, Hailsham +6) we made it through to the final, a wonderful achievement in itself. The final was against Mid Sussex Blues who we had beat 2-0 in the group. Again, it was a close game with neither side dominating the game and both defences looking very strong. Into extra time again...start the confusion!!! We were told we were ahead on goal difference (Broad Oak +7, Mid Sussex +6) but at half time in extra time it appeared we were behind as Mid Sussex scored 2 goals in their semi-final, hence they were on +8. We knew we had to score or we would go out on goal difference, we had to leave gaps at the back and Mid Sussex took advantage by scoring in the last minute. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful achievement to reach the final and every player should be very proud of themselves. Each of you gave us everything you had and we couldn’t off asked for anything more. I hope this serves as an incentive to go and win the tournament at Langton Green next week, we don’t want this feeling again. Great stuff lads, well done.
Ollie -
20 April 10 - 12:00Presentation Evening
The Broad Oak presentation evening will take place on Thursday 8th July ...7pm - 8.30pm.And we've found a new venue : kings Hall in Eastbourne. It's a fantastic venue which will cost much less than the Winter Garden. The parking is better and its easier to get to than driving into the middle of Eastbourne. It has a licensed bar - which is always a bonus - and a state of the art PA system with a 12ft floor to ceiling screen on the stage (which will make those photos stand out even more!) It holds 700 people, which is just about the right size.
In order to cover the costs (although reduced they're not insignificant) and also to guarantee that we dont go over our maximum numbers (its a health and safety thing) we will be allocating tickets on a first come, first served basis and these will be charged at the nominal fee of £1 for adults and 50p for children.
Look forward to seeing you all there.
Ollie -
20 April 10 - 11:38Saturday 17th April: Match Report, Pythons Vs Ridgewaye Girls
Hi all,What can I say? This was a good performance. It was great fun to watch from the sideline as the team put into practice most of what we have been working on training ground. The first few minutes were quite exciting with the boys going straight in for the win. Ridgeway took several minutes to work out what had hit them when Toby got his first goal of the match. The ball landed at his feet and he curled an accurate right foot shot into the goal from outside the box, a quality goal! From this point we never looked back and played with great confidence and quality. Ryan continued his good form as he grabbed a hat trick of goals, and was joined by Harry with a hat trick of goals. They both showed wonderful composure as they were put through on goal. The keeper never had a chance, each shot became more powerful and well placed. Toby then lobbed one from the edge of the area, over their heads, just skimming the underside of the cross bar for yet another goal. Sam kept things tight in goal, although one shot was just out of reach giving Ridgeway their only goal, a little while later Sam joined the others out on pitch as he just wasn’t getting to touch the ball in goal!!!! Dylan was fantastic again in the midfield, he thundered into tackles and picked out some great passes, and was determined that if the girls want to play football they would have to get passed him first. Even when he was pulled off through a muscle sprain he constantly trying to prove he was not limping and should be back on the pitch. Overall, eight goals, with two hat tricks, and a wonderful team performance. Fantastic!!!
To Kev Pearce thanks for providing teas and coffees for the parents on the side lines and to Neil Beeney for introducing Jack to our team, can you please point him out to the coaches because you were telling Sam to pass to him and maybe we could have had another goal or two!!!!
You might remember we played the girls before and held them to a 1-1 draw but wow not this time what a great improvement.
Results:
Pythons 8-1 Ridgeway Girls (Man of the Match – EVERYONE!!!)
Well done,
Ollie
Ollie -
29 March 10 - 13:53Saturday 20th March: Pythons Vs Tonbridge
Hi all, Mark apologises for the late match report, he has had internet connection problems!!!!The Pythons were at home for change last week, playing Tonbridge What can I say? We were two men down so the six a side game was going to be tough with no subs and one less man on the pitch than we are used to. Tonbridge were a strong team and well organised. This was one of the toughest games we have played. All of the team made it as hard as possible for Tonbridge with Elliott performing well in defence and Dylan running around everywhere to make up for being a man down. Toby played the second half in goal to allow Zak a chance out on pitch. Zak managed to make a run with the ball through four players to score our only goal. Zak continues to impress out on pitch by making some terrific contributions to the team. Ryan was in prime position to receive the passes then to shoot but Tonbridge foiled our attempts to get the ball to him.
Well done Pythons it was tough but maybe an early night before matches would of gave you the extra boost we needed to hold them at bay!!!!
Result:
Pythons 1-9 Tonbridge
Thanks,
Ollie
Ollie -
22 March 10 - 16:30Saturday 20th March: Match Report Vs Saint Hill
Hi all,This Saturday the Cobras and Vipers had another long away trip to Saint Hill. Do we ever play home games anymore??!!??!! Saint Hill could only field one team due to a sickness bug in their team, and the Cobras and Vipers were down to the bare bones too.
The Vipers were first up. Their defence was depleted with Tom Barham and Tom Evans both unavailable and as a result we called upon the under 8s for a replacement in the shape of James Murray. James was awesome, putting in a very solid performance and not putting a foot wrong all day. He looked composed throughout and kept things very tight at the back. A big thank you to Dave Haffenden of the under 8s for letting us borrow James at such short notice. To the game... Saint Hill were by far the best team we have played this season. Their passing and movement style was a joy to watch. Although, over the last few weeks we have seen the Vipers emerge with a never give up attitude which makes for a great team spirit and makes us very hard to beat. All the players held their positions well which meant that even Saint Hill, with their wonderfully expansive style of football, could not break us down. It was a game of very few chances, with both defences well on top. Both wingers Oliver and Ben worked tirelessly to give an attacking option to James, as well as tracking back and following their men whilst defending. AJ, playing in defence, had a good game as he tried to mark their best player and keep him out of the game. The only goal came soon after a slightly dubious refereeing decision, but for once we let their player run free and he was able to score with barely 5 minutes left. Unlucky Vipers, but a very encouraging performance.
The Cobras were next up to play a tiring Saint Hill team. They were without their tough tackling defender Charlie who was rested having been injured. Harry Laddiman took the place of Charlie in defence. The Cobras continued their recent good form and matched Saint Hill in all areas. It was another game with the defences on top and not many chances being created. The only goal of the game seemed to be a total fluke. Their right winger picked up the ball and attempted a cross which sailed into the top corner leaving Matt with no chance. The Cobras picked themselves up and put pressure on Saint Hill and pursued an equaliser. TJ showed some great technical touches which impressed the opposition’s manager, his twisting volley went just wide. Taran started to get a foothold in the midfield, he was able to break up their attacks and move the ball to our creative players with style and efficiency. Matt was solid in goal, showing great commitment by diving at the feet of their striker and taking a nasty knock to his ribs. The Vipers goalkeeper Elliot deputised for a while but Matt was soon recovered and wanted to re-take his place. As I have said, Saint Hill are the best team we have played this season and to lose 1-0 to a lucky goal shows how far the Cobras have come and how they are able to compete with the best.
The Cobras and Vipers then had quick friendly against each other, again the defences were on top as they drew 0-0. Both teams had chances but the ball would just not go in the net.
Results:
Cobras 0-1 Saint Hill (Man of the Match – Taran)
Vipers 0-1 Saint Hill (Man of the Match – AJ – James Murray was a close second!!!)
Cobras 0-0 Vipers
Well done all,
Ollie
Ollie -
14 March 10 - 16:04Match Report: Saturday 6th March, Pythons Vs Langton Green
Last week the Pythons travelled to Langton Green for their latest game.What can I say? This was one of the best performance I have ever seen by a Broad Oak team. It was an absolute pleasure to watch from the sideline as the team put into practice everything we have been working on training ground. The first few minutes were quite even with Langton putting a bit of pressure on us, but this was lifted when Toby got his first goal of the season. The ball landed at his feet and he curled an accurate right foot shot into the top corner from outside the box, a quality goal! From this point we never looked back and played with supreme confidence and quality. Ryan continued his good form as he grabbed a hat trick of goals, all showing wonderful composure as he was put through on goal. The keeper never had a chance, each shot was superbly placed into the corner, that is five goals this season for Ryan. Harry was excellent in the midfield, he got stuck in and halted any attacks and moved the ball forward quickly. He got a deserved goal when the ball fell at his feet in the box and he riffled a shot into the top corner, his third goal of the season. Our two goalkeepers Zak and Sam kept things tight at the back, any saves they had to make they did with confidence which allowed us to continually keep Langton Green on the back foot. Zak also showed great skill on the pitch, every time he got the ball he dribbled past two or three players and set up an attempt on goal. His turn and back heel in the first half was sensational and confused all their defenders. Zaks goal was what he deserved, another top quality performance. Dylan was fantastic again in the midfield, he thundered into tackles and picked out some great passes, his goal was another example of performing skills under pressure as he threaded the ball into the corner. The two unsung heroes of the game were Elliot and Fynn. They kept things tight at the back and ensured we could continually be on the attack. Their contribution to the win was as big as anyone. Overall, seven goals, a clean sheet, a hat trick, and a wonderful team performance. Fantastic!!!
Results:
Pythons 7-0 Langton Green (Man of the Match – EVERYONE!!!)
Well done Pythons,
Ollie
Ollie -