29/03/08

BUSY TIME AHEAD FOR CITY SCHOOLS
During this season, Nottingham ’s Secondary Schools have had the opportunity of playing in three Central Venue 5-a-side Leagues at U15, U13 and U12 age levels. Nottingham Schools’ Football Association started the first of these competitions at U15 age group in the 2002 2003 season and has been arranging matches at the “Swerve-Turn” outdoor pitches at Harvey Hadden Sports Centre every year since then. The current competition has reached an exciting stage, with only one session of games remaining. This will be played on Wednesday evening with three teams still in contention for the “Swerve-Turn” Trophy.
After playing 18 matches on four previous evenings, Emmanuel School are in pole position with 34 points. The Fairham team is close behind on 32 points, while the Djanogly boys are third with 27 points. Even fourth placed Ellis Guilford could finish top of the league, although their team has missed one of the sessions and has only played 14 matches. Should they win all of their games on Wednesday they could still take the league title.
For the second year running a Year 7 Central Venue league for Under 12 Boys has been organised at two venues – Southglade and Fernwood Sports Centres. After several evenings of exciting football, the top four sides from each league venue went through Finals Night, which was played at Southglade on 4 March. In the ‘A’ team Final, Fernwood beat Farnborough by two goals to one, while Ellis Guilford recorded a comfortable 6-0 victory over Farnborough in the ‘B’ team Final.
A new central venue competition started this season for Year 8 (Under 13 Boys) and was organised in a similar fashion to the Year 7 Leagues. After the league match at Fernwood and Southglade were completed, a Finals Night was held at Southglade on 11 March. This time there was only one outright winner when Bluecoat scored an extra-time winner to beat Ellis Guilford 2-1 to take the trophy back to their school.
Next Thursday, twelve out of Nottingham ’s eighteen secondary schools, have entered teams in the NSFA U14 Girls’ Outdoor 5-a-side Tournament, which will be staged at the Powerleague Soccer Centre. The competition will begin with the teams playing in two leagues of six, with the top two from each league progressing to the knock-out semi-finals. Last year’s Champions were the girls from Hadden Park High School and they will be favourites to retain the trophy after winning the U14 Girls Indoor 5-a-sides in February.
As the end of season approaches for the City Schools representative teams, there are still several important matches to be played. Nottingham’s most successful age group, the U13 Boys, have only lost one of their seventeen matches this season and are in with a good chance of picking several trophies. They have maximum points in the East Midlands “Leicester Mercury” League, with two games yet to play against Leicester and North Leicestershire .
Although their only defeat was at Hull in the ESFA Area D League, Nottingham U13s have won all of their other matches and have only Derby yet to play. However their success is dependant upon Hull ’s other results. The U13s are also involved in two cup finals, both against South Notts . On Monday 14 April, the local rivals will compete for the Derek Pavis Shield at Meadow Lane , while on Wednesday 7 May, the two sides meet again in the County Intermediate Cup Final at the Forest Academy ground.
Nottingham U14s will also be taking on their South Notts counterparts on 7 May at the Forest Academy in the Final of the County Norris Trophy. Although the City U14s still have two East Midlands “Hereward” League games to play against Leicester and North Leicester , plus a final ESFA Area D league fixture with Derby , they have little chance of winning either of these competitions. Their only hope of silverware will be the Norris Trophy.
The City U15s will play their final friendly fixture against Leicester at Highfields on 5 April, but also have an important date at Meadow Lane on Monday 14 April. They will play South Notts in the Final of the County Schools’ Football Association’s oldest competition, The Cobbin Cup.
The last two matches for Nottingham U12s will be in a Junior Star League. Although they have little chance of winning this league, the boys will be hoping to beat Barnsley at home next Saturday and Derby away on 19 April.
Nottingham U11s have already won the County Indoor 5-a-sides and Outdoor 7-a-sides earlier this season and will be hoping to complete the treble, when they meet Bassetlaw in the County “Reprotec” 11-a-side Cup Final. The date for this match is yet to be arranged.
Nottingham ’s only unbeaten side this season are the U11 Girls, who have won seven matches and drawn one. They will be hoping to finish their season in style on Saturday 10 May when they compete in the County Outdoor 7-a-sides at Stanhope Primary School in Gedling.

22/03/08

Nottingham Schools’ had an excellent morning at Highfields last Saturday with three wins and a draw from their four matches against varying opposition.

The Under 15’s and Under 13’s both met Wellingborough and Rushden, the former in a friendly game and the latter in the Leicester Mercury League.

The Under 15’s gave possibly their most polished performance of the season to win 2-0 although they were aided by the fact that the visitors had only ten men for a large part of the game. The City team still had to work hard to capitalise on this advantage.

Both the City goals were scored by prolific striker Lewis Williamson who latched on to two passes from Will Mellors-Blair and Alex Troke respectively but this was an excellent team performance with the defence of the returning George Bacon, Reiss Neill and full backs Craig Beard and Lewis Wheelhouse in solid form while Liam Mitchell was commanding when called upon in goal. The midfield trio of James, Nathaniel Jones and Omar Woodbine-Copeland contributed to the fluency of the City’s display.

In contrast the Under 13 match was rather low-key although Nottingham won 3-1. Nottingham pressed for most of the first half and deserved the 1-0 half-time lead which was provided by Jake Parr with a 22 yard shot in to the top corner after ten minutes.

Four minutes after the break, centre-back Kam Khan scored for the second week in succession, this time with a free-kick from 30 yards but Wellingborough pulled a goal back when Nottingham failed to clear first time from their penalty box.

Nottingham then clinched their victory which maintained their position at the top of the League when good work by Joseph Dodoo created the chance for Ben Rogers to net from close range.

At Primary level, the City Under 11 side had an easy 7-0 win over Gainsborough while the girls’ representative side preserved their unbeaten record though given a difficult match by South Broxtowe which was played in an excellent spirit.

Both teams started positively and had periods or pressure but South Broxtowe were denied an early goal thanks to a smart save with her feet by Mollie Bradley (Robert Shaw) and later in the half only fine defending by Anna Thornton (Fernwood) and Mollie Hatton (Middleton) twice prevented the visitors from taking the lead.

At the other end, Shantay Wright (Fernwood) combined well down the left with Ellie Parr (Hempshill Hall) before hitting a low shot which was brilliantly saved. South Broxtowe took the lead just before the interval from a corner which was knocked in at the near post. There was still time for Gemma Tebbutt ( Portland ) to be denied an equaliser by another fine save by the Broxtowe keeper.

Early in the second half, great combination play by Tebbutt and Rebecca Carnelly (Dovecote) set up Shantay Wright who was again thwarted by the keeper. South Broxtowe continued to trouble the Nottingham defence particularly from corners with Rebecca Carnelly forced to clear off the line on one occasion.

The goal which preserved Nottingham ’s unbeaten record came late in the second half when Wright fell as she shot against the post but quickly picked herself up to hit the rebound into the net with her left foot.

The semi-final stage of the City Schools’ Under 10 tournament supported by Nottingham Forest recently took place at Harvey Hadden Centre. Three preliminary rounds had reduced the initial entry of 19 schools to six with the prize for the top two sides being a place in the final at the Forest Academy Ground on May 7^th as part of an evening of schools’ football which will also feature the City Schools’ Chairman’s Cup, the final of the Nottinghamshire 6-a-sides, the Under 13 County Intermediate Cup and the Under 14 Norris Trophy.

The league based semi-finals were dominated by Fernwood (Wollaton) and St. Teresa’s (Bulwell) with the former topping the table after winning four of their five games and drawing the other 0-0 with Haydn (Sherwood). They finished the evening with 13 points, just one ahead of St. Teresa’s who suffered a 1-0 defeat the hands of the winners. The other teams taking part were Ambleside, Heathfield and Seagrave.

15/3/2008

CITY BOYS TAKE ON THE WOLVES

Four City Secondary representative teams were in action last Saturday morning against their counterparts from the Wolverhampton Schools’ Football Association. The U12 and U13 games were played at the University’s Highfields Sports Ground, while the U15s and U14s travelled to the West Midlands. Nottingham Boys won two of the games, Wolverhampton one and the other was drawn.

In the U12 match, the players had to contend with very strong wind and at first they found the ball difficult to bring under control. However the Nottingham side soon began to have much more of the possession and took the lead after 14 minutes with a well taken goal from Connor Morley (Trinity).

In the second half, playing into the wind, the City Boys produced some controlled football and excellent inter-passing moves. Despite dominating the game, the City Boys failed to score again and had to be satisfied with their 1-0 victory.

Nottingham U14s have lost several key players in recent weeks to professional clubs and had suffered two heavy defeats in the last two matches against East Riding (6-1) and Luton (5-0). However at Wolverhampton success returned with an excellent 2-1 victory.

The game was very close for the first 25 minutes and City goalkeeper, Louis Cook (Big Wood) was called upon to make a great save to keep the score at 0-0. Five minutes before the interval, the deadlock was broken, when Ashleigh Reid (Bluecoat) found space, controlled the ball and lashed it home past the Wolves keeper.

Ten minutes into the second half, the City Boys increased their lead. A shot from Stefan Croft (River Leen) was only parried by the keeper and Alex Woolery (Top Valley) was on hand to fire in the rebound.

The home team produced a fight-back in the latter stages of the match and with ten minutes to go, they made pulled one back. It was then the turn of Nottingham’s substitute keeper, Daniel Turner (Trinity) to leap into action. He produced two fingertip saves to protect his team’s 2-1 advantage until the final whistle.

Sadly at Under 15 level, Nottingham produced a below par performance against a strong Wolves outfit. The home side dominated the early exchanges and scored two quick goals midway through the first half.

The second half was much more open with both sides creating chances. However Wolverhampton always looked the more likely to add to their tally and did so with two further goals to secure a comfortable 4-0 win.

The City U13s met up with a very competent Wolverhampton outfit and both teams produced a skilful game of football in spite of the difficult windy conditions. Nottingham Boys were delighted to welcome back their central defender, Kameron Campbell (Ellis Guilford) after a long period of absence with a knee injury.

Although playing into the strong wind, Nottingham Boys were 2-0 up by the break. The first was scored direct from a corner by Brendon Haywood (Djanogly) and the second from a great 22 yard shot by centre-back Kamran Khan (Djanogly).

In the second half this very even contest continued, but when the City Boys relaxed their concentration, the lively Wolverhampton team scored two goals to level the match at 2-2. This was a very fair result in a match between two very good sides.

8/3/2008

CITY U13s UNBEATEN RECORD CONTINUES

Nottingham U13s’ impressive season continued last Saturday morning with another victory at Luton. The team has played 15 matches so far this season and won 13, drawn 1 and lost 1. Their only defeat took place at Hull, when they were defeated 5-3 in an English Schools’ F.A. Area D league fixture on November 10^th.

The match against Luton was in the East Midlands “Leicester Mercury” League and the City team had to work hard for their 2-1 victory. Nottingham always seemed the best side on the day, but they also had to cope with a strong wind and a sloping pitch. However the City Boys led 1-0 at half-time, thanks to a cross by Jake Parr (Ellis Guilford), which was deflected into his own net by a Luton defender.

The City Boys’ lead was increased to 2-0 early in the second half, when Brendon Haywood (Djanogly) fired home a powerful shot from about 15 yards. The result should have been put beyond doubt, when the top scorers, Joseph Dodoo and Louis Greenway Tambini (Trinity), squandered several chances.

The Luton team was now beginning to exert considerable pressure on the City defence and eventually scored from a goalmouth melee. In the last ten minutes, the home side laid siege to the Nottingham goal, but the defenders held out. They also have goalkeeper, Oliver Pannell (Trinity) to thank for making two exceptional saves.

The City U13s have now won all three of their Leicester Mercury league games and have yet to play home games with Wellingborough and Leicester and an away game with North Leicestershire to clinch the title.

Nottingham U14s also travelled down to Luton, but with a side weakened by the loss of two of their players to professional club academies. The City Boys battled hard in the first half, but were still 1-0 down at the break. In the second half Luton took charge of the match, scoring four more times for an easy 5-0 victory.

Nottingham U15s also lost to Luton opponents, but this time they were at their home ground of Highfields. The City Boys dominated the first half and went 1-0 ahead with a goal from Lewis Williamson (Big Wood). They should have increased their lead early in the second period, when a penalty was missed.

Luton came back strongly and midway through the half, scoring the equaliser and with the last kick of the match, they snatched the winning goal.

The City U12s manager, Jim Watson, was disappointed at the way in which his side conceded two late goals to Luton in their game at Highfields. With only ten minutes remaining, Nottingham led 3-1, but the visitors scored two similar goals straight through the City defence to level the game at 3-3.

Playing against a strong breeze, Nottingham took the lead after 15 minutes after some good work down the right by Reece Oliver (Trinity). His cross found Connor Morley, who put the ball into the net. Five minutes later, Luton equalised and the score remained at 1-1 until the half-time whistle.

After the break, Nottingham looked much the livelier team and began to create more goal scoring opportunities. Clode Banje (Djanogly) soon restored his team’s lead with a fierce left foot shot and then Montel Nevers (Farnborough) outpaced the Luton defence before firing the ball home for 3-1.

The City Boys seemed to be cruising to victory until defensive slackness allowed Luton to draw level.

The City U11s were taking part in the Midlands Regional round of the ESFA Inter-Association 7-a-side Tournament. As Nottinghamshire 7-a-side winners, they were competing at the Nottingham University Grove Farm site against seven other County Champions.

In their first league match they were comfortable 3-0 winners over South Shropshire, but these proved to be the only goals that they scored in the competition. However despite recording two 0-0 draws against Grimsby and East Warwickshire, Nottingham still qualified for the semi-finals as league winners on five points.

This meant that they faced Solihull, runners-up in the other league, in a very close knock-out match. Two evenly matched teams fought out a goalless draw to the end of normal time, but it was Solihull, who grabbed the winner in the last minute of extra-time.

Solihull went through to the final, where they played East Warwickshire, who had beaten Lincoln in the other semi-final. Once again a single goal settled the outcome, with Solihull taking the glory. As Midlands Champions, they will now play in the Final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 26^th April.

The City Schools’ U10 Indoor 6-a-side competition, supported by Nottingham Forest F.C., has now reached its semi-final stage. From an initial entry of 19 school teams, six have qualified after three preliminary rounds and will compete at the Harvey Hadden Sports Centre next Tuesday evening. The competing schools will be Ambleside, Fernwood, Heathfield, Haydn, Seagrave and St. Teresa’s. The two top teams from Tuesday’s tournament will play in the Final of the competition at the Nottingham Forest F.C. Academy ground on Wednesday 7^th May.

1/3/2008

CITY U11 GIRLS’ GREAT RUN CONTINUES

Nottingham U11 Girls, including a debutante goalkeeper, Hannah Roberts-Cross (Seagrave), added to their impressive run of results with a comfortable 6-2 win at Leeds last Saturday morning.

Nottingham started brightly and almost scored immediately through a shot from Eva Hook (Haydn), which was well saved. The first goal arrived shortly afterwards, when Rebecca Carnelly (Dovecote) passed accurately to Shantay Wright (Fernwood), who scored with a low shot.

Leeds equalised from a free-kick, but some excellent attacking play by Nottingham was rewarded with two goals by Rebecca Carnelly to produce a 3-1 half-time lead.

Throughout the second period Leeds refused to give in although Nottingham continued to dominate the game. A sharp turn and dribble from Ellie Parr (Hempshill Hall) set up Shantay Wright for her second goal and soon after she completed her hat-trick. Although Leeds reduced the deficit to 5-2, Mollie Higgins (Walter Halls) played a ball through to Shantay, who scored her fourth to make the final score 6-2.

The City U11 Boys’ team was also away to Leeds, but the windy conditions and uneven pitch were not conducive to good football. Nottingham had most of the possession during the game, but only came away with a 1-1 draw. Nottingham opened the scoring after 14 minutes, when Cloyden Thorpe (Walter Halls) was put through with only the Leeds keeper to beat. He neatly side-stepped his opponent and slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the net.

Although the City Boys continued to dominate the game after the break, they failed to increase their lead. Eventually in one of their rare forays into the Nottingham half, Leeds snatched the equaliser.

After an even first ten minutes, Nottingham U12s soon began to take control of their game at Leeds. With the strong wind in their favour it was almost one-way traffic up to the break, but after a lot of missed chances Nottingham only managed to score two goals. The first came from a delicate chip over the Leeds keeper by Clode Banje (Djanogly), which found Kwame Thomas (Bluecoat), who added to his increasing total of goals for the season. Darrell Hargreaves (Ellis Guilford) made it 2-0, when his corner kick sailed straight into the net.

Leeds recovered their composure in the second half and with wind advantage soon began to trouble the Nottingham defence. They scored twice before the final whistle to produce a fair 2-2 draw.

It was a similar story in the U13 match, in which Nottingham dominated the first half and Leeds the second. The City Boys started well with Louis Greenway-Tambini (Trinity) scoring in the 13^th minute after a cross by his school-mate Joseph Dodoo.

The home side equalised three minutes later, but Dodoo regained the lead after latching onto a through ball from Brendan Haywood (Djanogly). Just before the interval, a rash challenge by a Leeds defender led to a penalty, which was converted by Haywood for a 3-1 lead.

Four minutes into the second half, Nottingham’s lead was increased with goal from Kamran Khan (Djanogly), but then the Leeds fight-back began. The Nottingham defence was put under considerable pressure and conceded two goals in two minutes. Leeds also hit the crossbar late in the match and the visitors were lucky to return home with 4-3 victory.

At Highfields Sports Ground, Nottingham U15s and U14s were playing East Riding in ESFA Area D league fixtures and found themselves up against strong opposition.

The City U14s were completely overwhelmed by a very good East Riding side, which cruised into a 4-0 lead at half-time. Nottingham’s second half performance was little better as the visitors broke through twice more to make it 6-0. The City Boys did manage a consolation goal late in the second half, when Ashleigh Reid (Bluecoat) scored with a fierce shot after being put through by Jordan Smikle (Hadden Park).

The U15 encounter was a high tempo affair and in a very even first half, few goal scoring opportunities were created. East Riding took the lead midway through the half, when a through ball was neatly driven home.

The second half was just as tightly contested until a defensive mistake allowed an East Riding striker a one-on-one with the City keeper, which he duly converted. Rather than give up, the City Boys continued to press and look for a way back into the match.

Ten minutes from the end, Nottingham was awarded a penalty, which was converted by Lewis Williamson (Big Wood). Although they battled hard for the equaliser, East Riding held on for their 2-1 victory.

On Tuesday evening, the Final of the U16 Girls’ Indoor 5-a-side competition for city schools was also staged at Harvey Hadden Sports Centre. The qualifiers from two preliminary rounds were in action - Ellis Guilford, Top Valley, Emmanuel, Greenwood Dale and Trinity. Sadly River Leen withdrew from the final six at late notice.

The girls from Ellis Guilford dominated the evening’s action and produced a great display of controlled football to win all of their four matches. They were crowned City Champions for the second year in succession, while the runners-up medals went to Greenwood Dale.

23/2/2008

SECOND HALF COMEBACK BY CITY BOYS

The old quotation, “a game of two halves”, is certainly the most appropriate way to describe last Saturday morning’s ESFA Area D league match between Nottingham U13s and their Leicester counterparts. After being 3-0 down at half-time, Nottingham Boys staged a remarkable recovery after the break to win the match by 7 goals to 3.

The home team was first to the ball throughout the first half; while Nottingham’s usual accurate passing game seemed to have deserted them. Whenever the City Boys did create an attack, they were caught by the Leicester off-side trap.

Five minutes into the game a quality strike from the right opened the scoring and the Leicester Boys increased their advantage when they broke through the Nottingham defence from the left flank. Just before the break, the City defence did not challenge a free-kick, which was volleyed home to give Leicester a commanding 3-0 lead.

Manager Steve Murray made several changes to his line-up for the second half and almost immediately the pattern of the game changed. Top scorer Joseph Dodoo (Trinity) soon made his presence felt as he skilfully broke through the Leicester defenders to score. Four minutes later he made it 3-2 with another great individual effort.

Louis Greenway-Tambini (Trinity) added two more goals in quick succession before Dodoo completed his hat-trick. It was now almost one-way traffic and Malachi Lavelle-Moore (Trinity) hit a superb strike, which went inches wide of the upright.

Joseph Dodoo then dribbled through the Leicester defence and crashed a powerful shot against the post. The ball rebounded to Brendon Hayward (Djanogly), who calmly volleyed it into the net.

The final goal came from a delicate cross into the box by Kamran Khan (Djanogly), which was headed home by Kyle Dixon (Bluecoat) for a 7-3 victory and three valuable league points.

Leicester Boys knocked in the first goal in the U14 game, but 5 minutes later Daniel Jackson (Big Wood) levelled the score with an excellent strike from the edge of the penalty area. Five minutes from the end of the first half, Jordan Smeikle (Hadden Park) hit a powerful shot, which struck the crossbar, but in the next attack, the same player hit a clever looping shot over the keeper’s head and this time it sailed into the net. Two minutes later Leicester Boys drew level, when poor defending allowed them to scramble home the equaliser.

Nottingham soon began to take command in the second half and it wasn’t long before Alex Woolery (Top Valley) battled his way through the home defence to put his team back into the lead.

Woolery then used his pace and strength to run onto a through ball, before calmly firing his shot into the bottom corner of the net. Four minutes later a corner by Jake Wholey (Bluecoat) was hammered home by Jack Sheldon to give his side a 5-2 win.

Harvey Hadden Sports Centre has been this week’s venue for two indoor 5-a-side competitions for individual schools. On Tuesday evening, four teams took part in the second preliminary round of the U16 Girls’ 5-a-sides, from which three sides would qualify for the Grand Final.

Last season’s champions, Ellis Guilford tied for first place with the River Leen team, having both recorded 5 points from one win and two draws. Top Valley took third place on 3 points, just one point ahead of Hadden Park High.

The three qualifiers will play in the Grand Final next Tuesday also at Harvey Hadden Sports Centre, where they will be joined by three sides from the first preliminary round – Emmanuel, Greenwood Dale and Trinity.

On Thursday evening, the first of three preliminary rounds in the U10 “Forest” Indoor 5-a-side competition saw teams from seven schools produce some exciting and enthusiastic football. This competition, which is organised by Nottingham Schools’ F.A. in conjunction with Nottingham Forest F.C., has been a favourite with schools for 14 years.

The schools were fighting for the top two league places, which would qualify them for the semi-final stage to be held at Harvey Hadden on Thursday 13^th March. The league positions were not settled until the final matches of the evening, when Fernwood and St. Teresa’s recorded their fourth victories. They finished level with 14 points each having won 4 and drawn 2, just ahead of the unlucky Greenfields team, which had notched up 12 points from four wins and two defeats.

Twelve more school will compete in the two remaining preliminary rounds over the next fortnight and will be hoping to join Fernwood and St. Teresa’s in the semi-final. The top two teams on that evening will take part in the final of the competition, which will be played at the Forest Academy Ground on Wednesday 7^th May.

16/2/2008

TEARFUL DEFEAT FOR NOTTINGHAM U11s

There were a few tears shed last Saturday morning, when the Nottingham U11 team was knocked out of the “Green-Un” Cup by their Hull counterparts in the worst possible fashion – by a penalty shoot-out.The two teams met in Hull to replay their quarter-final tie, after they had battled to a 1-1 draw two weeks ago at Highfields. The home team began brightly and kept the Nottingham boys camped in their own half for the first fifteen minutes. Hull took a deserved lead after only 8 minutes and not long afterwards increased their advantage, when their right winger outpaced the Nottingham defender before pulling the ball back to a colleague for an easy conversion.After this setback, the Nottingham side began to look much stronger, were quicker to the ball and gained much more possession. However they failed to convert their increasing dominance into goals and it was not until the 14^th minutes of the second half that they finally made the breakthrough. After a period of sustained Nottingham pressure, Mohammed Adem (Northgate) beat the Hull keeper to give his side hope. The City Boys laid siege to the Hull goal and with 8 minutes remaining they were rewarded with the equaliser, which was stabbed home by Dominic Furniss (Jesse Boot).Even after a period of extra-time, no more goals were scored and the outcome of the game had to be settled with a penalty shoot-out. All of the first ten penalties were scored efficiently. The first sudden death penalty was put away by Hull, but the Nottingham player’s shot hit the crossbar and the game was lost.However the team’s spirit was lifted on Thursday morning, when they beat the Nottingham Forest Academy U11s by 3 goals to 2, after a very hard fought contest.Nottingham U13s and U12s also travelled into Yorkshire, where they faced their Wakefield counterparts and returned with two victories. The U13s won their tenth game of the season by 3 goals to nil, while the U12s were 2-0 victors. The City U13s took a while to get into their stride and it was not until the 22^nd minute that the first of three first half goals was scored. The ball was headed goalwards by Joseph Dodoo (Trinity) and scrambled into the net by Kyle Dixon (Bluecoat). Two minutes later Malachi Lavelle-Moore (Trinity) cut in from the left wing and crashed the ball home from 15 yards. Shortly afterwards Malachi became the provider, when his cross was headed in by Joseph Dodoo.The Nottingham Boys continued to dominate during the second half, but could not increase their lead. Wakefield should have pulled one goal back, but City keeper, Oliver Pannell (Trinity) dived bravely to take the ball from the feet of an oncoming forward.The City U12s were always on top, had lots of possession but found it difficult to score. However the pace of Clodi Banje (Djanogly) soon began to cause problems for the Wakefield defence and 10 minutes from the end of the first half, he scored the first goal. It was a similar story in the second half, with the City Boys in charge of the game, but it was not until 5 minutes from the end that Banje beat the home keeper for the second time.Nottingham U11 Girls showed enormous spirit and footballing quality to emerge 4-3 winners at Highfields in their toughest game of the season against an excellent Gedling side.Despite early pressure, Nottingham failed to create any clear cut chances and as the game progressed they found themselves in the unusual position of falling two goals behind. Gedling’s two goal advantage remained until the interval.The City girls then demonstrated their ability and fighting spirit. Playing good passing football, they drew level with two goals from Rebecca Carnelley (Dovecote), the second an unstoppable shot into the top corner from a tight angle. Almost immediately Gedling responded with their third goal to retake the lead. However the Nottingham girls refused to be beaten and their persistence was eventually rewarded. Twice Rebecca Carnelley was able to break through to score, capping an excellent four-goal performance.The City U10 squad also played two games against Gedling. The Nottingham Green team won their contest 3-1, while Gedling beat the City Yellow side 2-1.Two Nottingham Schools’ F.A. Indoor 5-a-sides competitions were concluded just before half-term with the finals taking place at the Harvey Hadden Sports Centre. Six teams took part in the Final of the U14 Girls’ 5-a-sides, with Hadden Park High School dominating the event. They won all five of their games to finish with a maximum of 15 points. Ellis Guilford took the runners-up medal, having recorded 10 points.In the U14 Boys’ 5-a-side Final, it was the Bluecoat team, which took home the trophy. Although they drew their first game 0-0 with William Sharp, the boys went onto to register 13 points after winning their four remaining matches. In second place was Top Valley on 10 points, just ahead of William Sharp.

9/2/2008

CITY GIRLS UNBEATEN RUN CONTINUES

The Nottingham U11 Girls’ team maintained their one hundred per cent record with a 2-0 victory over South Broxtowe at Highfields. On a bitterly cold morning at the University’s Highfields Sports Ground, the girls made a perfect start to the game by taking the lead within the first two minutes. A decisive break, following a South Broxtowe corner, lead to Shantay Wright (Fernwood) combining well with Rebecca Carnelly (Dovecote), who scored from the rebound after her initial shot had been saved. Rebecca was playing her first match for the City team and using her pace and skill, she threatened to increase Nottingham’s lead. However it was Shantay Wright, who made it 2-0, when her shot from the edge of the penalty area squirmed through the legs of the unfortunate South Broxtowe keeper.No further goals were scored in the match as Nottingham continued to press and enjoy the majority of possession. However they were met by strong resistance from a spirited South Broxtowe team. During the second half a fierce shot from Molly Higgins (Walter Halls) smashed against the post, but that was the closest either side came to adding to the scoreline.The City U10 squad also faced South Broxtowe opponents, but sadly there were several players missing. The boys played four 7-a-side matches, but in two of these the City teams had one less player than their opponents. In their first match, the Nottingham Yellow team were reduced to six players, and lost 2-1, with Aston Morgan scoring his team’s goal. In their second game, they were back to full strength and another goal by Aston Morgan gave them a 1-0 victory. Sean Cambell and Dion Johnson gave an excellent defensive display in both matches.The City Green team won their first match convincingly by 5 goals to 3, thanks to a brilliant hat-trick from Toby Guy. In their second contest, they only had six players, but nevertheless just narrowly lost 4-3. Danny Higgins gave a superb all action performance, but the goal of the game was scored by Euan Elliott.South Broxtowe gave the City team a shock as they dominated the first ten minutes of the U11 match. The Nottingham boys were pinned into their own half, but the defence held firm. Gradually the contest became much more even until 5 minutes from half-time, when South Broxtowe took the lead. From Nottingham’s last attack of the first half, Kasheem Walton (Seely) hit a powerful shot straight at the keeper, who could only parry the ball to Kasheem’s feet for an easy tap-in.The Nottingham goal was once again under sustained pressure at the beginning of the second period, but South Broxtowe failed to take advantage of their possession. The Nottingham team soon began to look much more dangerous especially down the wings and midway through the second half Offrande Zanzala (Scotholme) restored his side’s lead from close range. It was now the City team’s turn to control the game and they finished in style, with Mohammed Adem (Northgate) scoring a hat-trick to give Nottingham a 5-1 victory.Nottingham U13s have played ten games this season and won nine of them, but last Saturday they were tested by a strong Worksop and Retford side in an E.S.F.A. Area D League fixture. A very even first half finished goalless, but after the break, the Nottingham Boys began to dominate proceedings and scored two goals in quick succession. The first after 5 minutes was scored by Brendan Haywood (Djanogly), who cut in from the left wing before firing the ball home from a narrow angle. Two minutes later, Kyle Dixon (Bluecoat) scrambled the ball over the line from close range after a neat back header from Louis Greenway-Tambini (Trinity).However the home team would not give in and soon fought back to put the City defence under pressure. Ten minutes from the end, Worksop made it 2-1 and then with only 60 seconds to go, they snatched the equaliser to record a 2-2 draw.The City U14s travelled south to take on their Cambridge counterparts in an East Midlands “Hereward” League game and they found themselves facing a side with an unbeaten record this season. The home team had the better of the early exchanges, but were held at bay by a solid defence and two excellent saves by Nottingham keeper, Louis Cook (Big Wood). Despite the Cambridge pressure it was Nottingham, who scored the first goal, knocked in by Jordan Smeikle (Hadden Park). However the home team equalised just before the interval.When Daniel Jackson (Big Wood) scored two goals for Nottingham in the first ten minutes of the second half, it looked as though Cambridge’s unbeaten record was in danger. However the home side battled back into the game and scored three times to win the match 4-3.

2/2/2008

DOVECOTE GIRLS RETAIN THE TROPHY

Nine teams took part in the third and final preliminary round of the City Schools’ U11 Girls’ Indoor 5-a-side competition at Harvey Hadden Sports Centre on Tuesday evening, just two days before the Final. The league was totally dominated by last year’s winners, Dovecote Primary (Clifton) the league, who finished with 22 points after winning seven matches and drawing one. In second place was Haydn with 17 points and third was Highwood Player on 14 points.On Thursday evening, they were joined at the same venue by the six other qualifiers from the first two rounds – St. Teresa’s, Bentinck, Fernwood, Robert Shaw, Burford and Old Basford. As the league competition drew to a close, two teams were vying for the top position. Dovecote and St. Teresa’s had both played and won six of their eight matches. Their seventh match was against each other and this ended as a 0-0 draw. However in their final matches, Dovecote recorded an easy 6-0 win over Old Basford, while St. Teresa’s could only draw 0-0 with Fernwood. This meant that the Cup went to Dovecote Primary School for the second year running. They had played 8 games, won 7 and drawn one to achieve a magnificent total of 22 points. In doing so they had scored 16 goals and had conceded none. The U11 Girls’ Indoor 5-a-side Cup was presented to the Dovecote team by Paul Douglas from the City Council’s Sports Development Unit. He also handed out medals to the winners and runners- up, St. Teresa’s, who had finished on 20 points. Third place medals went to Fernwood on 15 points and fourth place medals to Haydn with 14 points.

Last Saturday morning, Nottingham Schools’ Football Association was delighted that for the first time since December 1^st last year, the City representative teams were able to play on grass. In fact six of the seven squads were in action at the University’s Highfields Sports Ground; the Secondary teams playing their local rivals, South Notts, while the U11s and U10s entertained teams from Hull Schools’ F.A.Nottingham U15s staged a remarkable comeback to beat South Notts in an E.S.F.A. Area D league fixture. The visitors led 2-0 with only fifteen minutes remaining, but three late goals gave the City Boys the points.

In a very even first half, both sides attempted to play football despite the difficult blustery conditions. It was midway through the first period before the deadlock was broken, when a neat through ball put Nathan Dove (Carlton-le-Willows) clear on goal. He rounded the City keeper and finished coolly to give South Notts a 1-0 lead. Minutes later he doubled his tally, when converting a penalty.The City Boys had the chance to get back into the game also from the penalty spot, but the South Notts keeper, Jake Want, saved the shot from Lewis Williamson (Big Wood).After the break, Nottingham pressed hard to force their way back into the match. However the South Notts defence was well organised and with their keeper making several very good saves, they preserved their lead, while at the same time looking dangerous on the break. The City Boys were thrown a lifeline midway through the half, when they were awarded a fortunate penalty, which was converted by Jordan Plummer (Bluecoat). From that moment, the City team always looked as if they would score more goals. The equaliser came ten minutes from the end, when a free kick from George Bacon (Djanogly) was headed home by Lewis Williamson. Just as the game seemed to drifting into a draw, some clever work by Williamson set up Nathaniel Jones (Bluecoat) who knocked in a dramatic last minute winner.

In the U14 ESFA Area D league game, Nottingham was on the defensive for most of the first period as they faced lively opponents and a very strong wind. South Notts hit the post a couple of times and City keeper Louis Cook (Big Wood) made a great save to keep the score at 0-0 by the interval. South Notts coped much better against the wind in the second half and opened the scoring after ten minutes, thanks to a headed goal by Joe Wells (Holgate) after a cross by Nicoletti ((Kimberley). Five minutes later they increased their lead with another headed goal; this time it was Nicoletti, who nodded home a cross from Paul Morris (Kimberley). Nottingham then woke up and began to press forward. In the 19^th minute, Jevin Seaton (Trinity) scored direct from a free kick from just outside the penalty box. The City Boys continued to press forward in search of the equaliser, but they missed several good chances and were thwarted by an excellent goalkeeping display by keeper, Luke Cutts (Wheldon). Another South Notts goal in the closing stages sealed their 3-1 victory. Reports of the Nottingham v South Notts matches at U13 and U12 level can be read in the County Schools football section.

Unfortunately a very strong wind made good football almost impossible as the City U11s played Hull in the second round of the Sheffield-based, “Green-Un” Cup. Nottingham scored first after 15 minutes with a goal from Oscar Ossue (Milford). With the wind at their backs the City Boys were well on top, but failed to increase their lead. Just before half-time, the visitors broke away to score their equaliser. No further goals were scored in the second half and the teams will have to replay in Hull on February 9^th. The U10 squad played two 7-a-side matches against their Hull visitors. The City Green team drew 0-0, while the Yellow team lost by a single goal.

26/1/2008
CITY BOYS WIN COUNTY 5-A-SIDES

Once again the persistent January rains have caused havoc to the Nottingham Schools’ representative team fixture programme. Last Saturday, five teams should have been playing matches against their Barnsley counterparts, but due to waterlogged pitches this was not to be. It has now been nine weeks since any City team has played an outdoor fixture. Hopefully six teams will take to the field this morning against opponents from South Notts and Hull.
However the Nottingham U11 squad saw some indoor action on Wednesday evening in the County Primary Inter-Association 5-a-side Tournament, which was staged at the North Nottinghamshire Arena in Worksop. Six teams took part in what proved to be a very exciting tournament.
Nottingham, Gedling and Bassetlaw had each provided two sides to play in this league-based competition. Bassetlaw “A” got off to a great start with two victories over Gedling “A” and Gedling “B”, but in their third match they went down by a single goal to Nottingham “B”. The City “A” team had already recorded three victories over the two Gedling teams and Bassetlaw “B”. Their “B” teams win now made them favourites to take the trophy and the “A” side confirmed their superiority by winning their other two games. They finished with a maximum of 15 points to take home the “Reprotec” 5-a-side Shield for the third year running. There was a tie for second place with Bassetlaw “A” and Gedling “A” both gaining 9 points. However the Gedling boys received the runners-up medals because they had a better goal difference than their Bassetlaw rivals.

There have also been two indoor 5-a-side events for individual schools last week. On Tuesday evening at the Harvey Hadden Sports Centre, eight city primary school teams took part in the second of three preliminary rounds in the N.S.F.A. U11 Girls’ 5-a-side competition, supported by the Nottingham City Council’s Leisure and Community Services Department.
Each side enjoyed seven matches and after a keenly fought tournament, three schools qualified for the final. The girls from Robert Shaw dominated the event to take first place with 19 points from their seven games. They had recorded six wins and a 1-1 draw with Old Basford. In second spot was Burford on 16 points and third was Old Basford, just one point ahead of the unlucky Highbank team.
The three qualifiers will play in the Grand Final, also at Harvey Hadden Sports Centre on Thursday 31^st January. They will be joined by the top three teams from the first preliminary round, St. Teresa’s, Bentinck and Fernwood and three more teams from next Tuesday’s third round of qualifying matches.

On Thursday evening, the action moved to Nottingham University’s new Jubilee Sports Centre, where four teams competed in the first of two preliminary rounds in the U16 Girls’ Indoor 5-a-sides.
The teams played each other twice and after all of the games had been completed the top three qualified for the Final on Tuesday 26^th February at the Harvey Hadden Sports Centre. The Emmanuel Girls took first place with 13 points from four wins, one draw and one defeat. In second place was Greenwood Dale with 9 points and third Trinity on 8 points. The unlucky team was Fairham, who managed to collect only 4 points. The second preliminary round will be held at Harvey Hadden Sports Centre on Tuesday 19^th February, when six more schools will be competing for the remaining three qualifying places.

19/1/2008

Due to heavy rainfall, all of the City schools matches and coaching sessions, scheduled to be held at the University’s Highfields Sports Ground, had to be cancelled. This means that there have been no Nottingham Schools’ representative fixtures since Saturday 1^st December. However one City squad did manage to see some action, when two Under 11 Girls’ teams took part in the Nottinghamshire Inter-Association Indoor 5-a-side Tournament, supported as usual by the Colwick based firm, “Reprotec Office Solutions”.

The five teams produced some excellent and energetic football in this league-based event, which was staged at the North Notts Arena in Worksop on Wednesday evening.

The final league positions were not decided until the final game between the two leading teams, Bassetlaw “A” and Nottingham “A”. The City girls needed to win the match to take the trophy, while for the local side a draw would be sufficient. After a very closely fought encounter, between two evenly matched teams, Bassetlaw scored a late winner to finish with a maximum of 12 points, thus retaining the Reprotec Trophy for the fourth consecutive season. The Nottingham “A” team had to be satisfied with the runners-up medals after they recorded 7 points. Gedling also acquired 7 points, but the City girls had a better goal difference. In fourth place was the Nottingham “B” side, while Bassetlaw “B” finished fifth.

Trinity School from Aspley added another trophy to their cabinet on Thursday evening when they won the U16 Boys’ Indoor 5-a-side Tournament at Nottingham University’s Jubilee Sports Centre. Six school teams took part in the event, after qualifying from two area preliminary rounds.

The Trinity boys started well with two victories over Top Valley and Bluecoat, but in their third game they were held to a 0-0 draw by Ellis Guilford. After beating Greenwood Dale 1-0 in their penultimate match, Trinity faced Fairham in the final league game. The winner of this contest would take the trophy back to their school. After an extremely hard fought game, the Trinity boys were the winners by 2 goals to 1. The school has now won this competition for four seasons in a row.

12/1/2008

Eight City Primary School teams gave a tremendous display of skilful football on Thursday evening, when they took part in the Final of the U11 Indoor 5-a-sides at the Harvey Hadden Sports Centre. This competition has been supported by Reprotec Office Solutions for the last nineteen seasons.

The eight sides had battled through from four preliminary rounds, which were held last term. The East Nottingham representatives were Nottingham High Junior and Seely Junior, while from the North Nottingham area were Rufford and St. Augustine’s Primary Schools. Representing the west of the City were St. Teresa’s and Old Basford and from the South, teams from Dovecote and Milford.

The action began with the teams playing in two leagues of four, with the top two going through to the knock-out stage. There were outright winners in each league – Seely in Group One and Milford in Group Two won all of their three games to secure first place. Taking second position in Group One was Rufford with 6 points and in Group Two was Old Basford on 4 points.

The semi-final line-up saw Seely face Old Basford, while Milford played Rufford. The league winners showed their quality in both semi-finals. Seely won 2-1 and Milford 1-0, setting up a thrilling final between two very evenly matched sides.

Milford took the lead after only two minutes, but Seely equalised straight from the kick-off with a long range strike. Milford regained the advantage when a well taken free-kick crashed straight through the Seely defence. They went further ahead when an unlucky Seely defender scored an own goal. However once again, Seely scored immediately after the kick-off to make the score 3-2. After a frantic last minute of play, Milford managed to hang onto their lead to take the trophy.

The two finalists have been invited by Notts County’s Football in the Community Scheme to play against each other at half-time of the club’s, League Two game against Bradford at Meadow Lane on Saturday 23^rd February. The winner of that contest will then represent Notts County in the Midlands regional tournament of the National Community Cup competition. Should they be lucky enough to win this tournament, they will be competing in the National Final at Wembley Stadium.

Two days previously, Harvey Hadden Sports Centre was also the venue for the first of three preliminary rounds in the U11 Girls’ Indoor 5-a-side competition. Eight Nottingham Primary School teams were in action in a league-based programme, which eventually produced three qualifiers for the Grand Final.

After a series of twenty-eight lively and enthusiastic matches, St. Teresa’s remained unbeaten to take the number one spot with a total of 17 points. They had won 5 of their seven games and drawn the other two, scoring 12 goals and conceding only one. In second place was Bentinck, only one point behind on 16 points. The final qualifier was the Fernwood team, which had won the City Schools’ Outdoor 5-a-sides in October. They recorded 12 points just ahead of the unlucky Berridge girls, who failed to reach the final for the first time for several seasons.

St. Teresa’s, Bentinck and Fernwood will meet again in the Grand Final, also at Harvey Hadden on Thursday 31^st January. They will be joined by six more qualifying schools from the next two preliminary rounds, which are scheduled to be played at Harvey Hadden on the 22^nd and 29^th of January.

22/12/2007

CENTRAL VENUE LEAGUES DOING WELL

In its first season, 1891-92, Nottingham Schools’ Football Association organised one competition, in which thirty-two schools took part. The teams were divided into eight leagues of four, with the top two going through to the knock-out rounds. In the final played on April 23^rd 1892 at the Town Ground, All Saints of Radford beat the Lenton Board School by 2 goals to nil.

Since that first season, the number of competitions on offer to Nottingham’s school children has increased year by year. In the current football season, 82 schools have affiliated to Nottingham Schools’ F.A. and boys and girls from between the ages of nine and sixteen are able to play in no fewer than 37 indoor and outdoor competitions.

The most recent innovation to the schools’ football programme has been the introduction of Central Venue outdoor leagues, where a group of teams meet on pre-arranged evenings throughout the season. These events are usually small-sided, since they need to be staged after school and at a venue with several pitches and with floodlit facilities. However they seem to be growing in popularity, as teachers can more easily organise their football activities into their busy school timetable.

The first of these competitions was the U15 Boys’ Wednesday 5-a-side League, which began in the 2002-03 season. It is played at the Swerve-Turn courts at the Harvey Hadden Sports Centre.

The Government Schools’ Sports Coordinator programme is now up and running and the Partnership Development Managers in the city have been working closely with the Schools’ Football committee to organise several new central venue competitions.

Last season, an U12 Boys Central Venue League was established at two venues – Southglade Sports Centre and Fernwood Sports Centre. The event was so popular that this season leagues are being organised at the same venues for both U12 Boys and U13 Boys teams.

Southglade Sports Centre is also being used as a central venue for ten primary schools from the north area of the city to complete their league programme. This league is being organised by Keith Smith, the school sports co-ordinator based at Top Valley Secondary School.

15/12/2007

DERBY GAMES WASH-OUT

Last Saturday morning, four Nottingham Schools’ representative sides should have been playing their Derby counterparts, but the pitches at King George V Playing Fields in Littleover were called off due to waterlogged pitches. The final matches of this year for Nottingham Schools’ F.A. are taking place this morning at Highfields Sports Ground, where the City U11 Boys, U11 Girls and U10s have matches against South Broxtowe. All of the city players will now enjoy a long Christmas break until January 12^th, when Nottingham U13s travel to the north of the county to play Worksop & Retford in an ESFA Area D league fixture and the U11 Boys take on Hull at Highfields in the Green-Un Cup competition.

Nottingham Schools’ Football Association not only organises representative football for seven teams, but provides a vast programme of indoor small-side events from the City’s school children during the dark winter months.

The first indoor 5-a-side final was played on Tuesday 4^th December, when Trinity won the U12 Girls’ 5-a-side Trophy. However numerous preliminary rounds have been played during the Autumn Term in competitions, which will reach their final stage after the Christmas holidays.

On Tuesday 10^th January, eight school sides will be competing at the Harvey Hadden Sports Centre for the U11 “Reprotec” Indoor 5-a-side Cup, which has been won for the last two seasons by St. Augustine’s Catholic Primary School (Mapperley). A St. Augustine’s team has once again qualified for the final, but will have some tough opposition from Fernwood, Bentinck, Rufford, Old Basford,St. Teresa’s, Milford and Dovecote.

The U16 Boys’ Indoor 5-a-side Final should also produce some lively entertainment, when the six qualifiers meet at Nottingham University’s Jubilee Sports Centre on Thursday 17^th January. Trinity dominated the first preliminary round winning four matches and drawing the other, while the second and third qualifying places went to Bluecoat and Fairham. The Ellis Guilford boys were even more impressive in the second preliminary round winning all of their games to take first place, followed by Greenwood Dale and Top Valley.

Two preliminary rounds have also been completed in the U14 Boys and the U14 Girls Indoor 5-a-side competitions. The Girls’ Final will be stage at Harvey Hadden Sports Centre on Tuesday 5^th February with the Boys’ Final being played two days later at the same venue. Teams representing Djanogly, Emmanuel, Bluecoat, Hadden Park, William Sharp and Ellis Guilford will take part in the U14 Girls’ Final, while the line-up for the Boys’ Final will be Bluecoat, Elliott Durham, Fairham, Top Valley, William Sharp and Djanogly.

Kicking off the indoor action next term will be first preliminary round in the U11 Girls’ 5-a-side competition, which is supported by the City of Nottingham Leisure & Community Services. This event will be staged at Harvey Hadden Sports Centre on Tuesday 8^th January with ten teams battling for places in the final The other two qualifying rounds will be played on the 22^nd and 29^th of January at the same venue. A total of 28 teams have entered this competition and will be trying to win through to the final, which also takes place at Harvey Hadden on Thursday 31^st January.

8/12/2007

GREAT MORNING FOR CITY TEAMS

Four Nottingham Schools’ representative teams were in action last Saturday morning and produced some excellent football, which resulted in four victories. Nottingham U15s travelled to the West Midlands and beat Brierley Hill & Dudley 3-1. The other teams were playing at Highfields, where the U13s trounced their York counterparts to win 10-2 and the U12s gained their first points in the Junior Star League, when they beat York 4-2. Meanwhile the two City U11 sides were taking part in the County Inter-Association 7-a-sides and the “A” Team finished as County Champions for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.

After a run of three defeats, Nottingham U15s were delighted to record a 3-1 victory away to Brierley Hill & Dudley. The game started well for Nottingham, when they took the lead within two minutes. A well worked passing move ended in Ilya Ymeri (Djanogly) finding the back of the net from just inside the penalty area. The City Boys continued brightly and could have added to their lead, but for poor finishing and good goalkeeping.

Just as it looked to be getting to easy, the home team began to slowly get back into the game. Although there were not many chances created by the hosts, they did dominate possession for a spell.

However shortly before half-time, Lewis Williamson (Big Wood) latched onto a through ball and finished in style to give his side a 2-0 interval lead.

The second period saw Nottingham dominate and create numerous goal scoring opportunities, only to be thwarted by a fine goalkeeping display. Midway through the half and against the run of play, the City Boys gifted their opponents a goal. A poorly taken free kick, allowed the home team to shoot from at least 40 yards into an empty net.

The City Boys recovered from this setback and soon restored their two goal advantage, when Jordan Plummer’s solo run was finished with a neat drive, which went in off the post.

As the 10-2 scoreline suggests, Nottingham U13s totally overwhelmed their York opponents, with five goals being scored in each half. Joseph Dodoo (Trinity) opened the scoring after 2 minutes and four minutes later they were further ahead with a goal from Malachi Lavelle-Moore (Trinity), who was playing his first match for the City team after a brief spell at Derby County. Malachi cut in from the right wing and neatly placed his shot just inside the far post. Two goals by Louis Greenway-Tambini (Trinity) and another by Dodoo completed the first half tally.

The second half continued in the same vein with yet another Trinity boy, Jovan Mullings increasing his side’s advantage to 6-0. Joseph Dodoo then added two more goals before the visitors proved that they had not completely lost heart, when they hit the target twice.

However when Greenway-Tambini completed his hat-trick and Mullings scored his team’s tenth goal, this one-sided contest was finally over. Nottingham U13s have now won 8 of their 9 matches this season.

Nottingham U12s achieved a hard fought 4-2 victory over a previously unbeaten York team, although they went 1-0 down in the first five minutes. Despite playing against a strong wind in the first period, the Nottingham Boys battled strongly and were soon back on level terms. The equaliser came from the team’s leading scorer Kwame Thomas (Bluecoat), who outpaced the York defenders down the left flank, before cutting in to hit a great shot past the keeper.

The City side went 2-1 ahead, when a free-kick from Tyler Guy (Ellis Guilford) fell to Montel Nevers (Farnborough), who calmly poked the ball in off the post from close range. Just before the break, York drew level after their speedy striker, raced onto a long ball down the middle of the pitch to score.

In the second half, both teams engaged in a tough battle for superiority, but finally it was Kwame Thomas who hit home a great left shot to put Nottingham back into the lead. Ten minutes from the end, Thomas crossed the ball from the left wing to Conor Morley (Trinity), who side-footed it into the net to complete the 4-2 success.

On Tuesday evening, Harvey Hadden Sports Centre was the venue for the Final of the NSFA U12 Girls’ Indoor 5-a-side competition. Six school teams had battled through to the final stage from two preliminary rounds. The event was organised on a league basis, which meant that each team played five matches. The Trinity girls played some skilful, controlled football to become City Champions after winning all of their matches, as well as scoring 13 goals and conceding none. However there was a close fight for the runners-up medals, when Djanogly and Greenwood Dale both finished on ten points. However Djanogly’s 5-0 victory over Big Wood in the last game meant that they were awarded second place with a better goal difference than Greenwood.

1/12/2007

MIXED FORTUNES FOR CITY TEAMS
Nottingham’s first ever Inter-Association match at schoolboy level was played on Thursday 21^st April 1892 against Sheffield and since that date games against Sheffield have been played annually. Last Saturday, four City teams took on their Sheffield counterparts, but sadly there was only one success.
Nottingham U14s stretched their unbeaten run to 6 games with an excellent 5-2 victory. Curtis Thompson (Elliott Durham) opened the scoring for the city team with a 20 yard shot after ten minutes of play. When Jordan Smeikle (Hadden Park) and Jake Wholey (Bluecoat) added further goals before half-time, it seemed that Nottingham was cruising to victory. However in the opening stages of the second half, Sheffield hit back hard and managed to reduce the deficit to 3-2. The City Boys soon regained their composure and Jake Sheldon fired home from a narrow angle to make it 4-2. Victory was confirmed when Jevin Seaton (Trinity) scored the final goal with an acrobatic bicycle kick.
In the U15 match at Highfields, two very evenly matched sides produced few clear cut goal scoring chances. Sheffield took the lead midway through the first half, when a corner was headed home. Nottingham responded by gaining a rather fortunate penalty, which was dispatched by Lewis Williamson (Big Wood).
In the second half, the City Boys took the command of the game, but against the run of play, the visitors regained the lead with a clever lob over the keeper. Nottingham pressed hard for the equaliser, but it wasn’t to be and the final score was 2-1 to Sheffield.
Nottingham U12s and U11s travelled to Sheffield, but both teams produced poor performances and were well beaten. The U12s had several players missing from their squad, but still took the lead after 2 minutes, when a corner by Darrell Hargreaves (Ellis Guilford) was headed in by schoolmate, Tyler Guy (Ellis Guilford).
Eight minutes later, Sheffield drew level, when their speedy striker outpaced the Nottingham defence. Nottingham regained the lead shortly afterwards, in similar fashion to their first goal, when another well-taken corner by Hargreaves was helped over the line by another Ellis Guilford boy, Mason Frizelle. From then on the home side dominated the game. They scored two goals to produce a 3-2 interval lead and two more in the second half for a 5-2 victory.
Nottingham U11s gave a below par performance on a very cold and damp morning. Although they faced a rather poor Sheffield side, they still lost 3-0.
On a bitterly cold morning at Stanhope Primary School, Nottingham U11 Girls recorded their fourth win from four games, when they beat their Gedling opponents 5-2. The game started slowly with neither side able to keep the ball and exert any real pressure, Gradually, Nottingham improved their quality of play and were rewarded when Ellie Parr (Hempshill Hall) finished off a good passing move. The lead was doubled not long after when Shantay Wright’s (Fernwood) left foot shot found the corner of the net. Gedling got themselves back into the game after the City defence failed to clear and their centre-forward raced onto score. Towards the end of the half a direct ball from goalkeeper, Mollie Bradley (Robert Shaw) sent Molloy Higgins (Walter Halls) free to make the half-time score 3-1.
During the second half, the Nottingham girls continued to pas the ball well, but an excellent performance by the Gedling keeper frustrated several attacks. However Anna Thornton (Fernwood) increased the City’s lead to 4-1. Gedling scored another goal, before Shantay Wright sealed a comfortable 5-2 victory for Nottingham.
Nottingham U10s fielded two teams against Gedling at the same venue. The Green team came from 2-1 down to draw 2-2, with some excellent saves from goalkeepers, Monty Parkes and Jordan Oliver. The defensive partnership of Luke Hughes and Harry Hodgkinson played well at the back and Euan Elliott had competent game up front aided by Elvis Appleton.
After being 2-0 behind a half-time, the Yellow team went on to lose 7-0. Although Aston Morgan and Mackenzy Henson linked up well the midfielders on several occasions, the Gedling defence proved to be too strong.
The fourth and final preliminary round of the U11 “Reprotec” Indoor 5-a-side competition was staged at the University’s Jubilee Sports Centre on Tuesday evening with the ten teams producing some exciting and skilful football.
The action began with the teams divided into two leagues of five, with the top two going through to the knock-out stage. In Group One, there was a tie for first place with Blessed Robert Widmerpool and Dovecote both finishing on 7 points. However Dovecote was awarded first place because they had a better goal difference, which meant that they would play the runner-up from Group Two in the semi-final. Milford dominated Group Two with 10 points from three wins and a draw, while Whitegate came second on 9 points.
In the two semi-finals, Dovecote beat Whitegate 3-1, while Milford had a comfortable 4-0 win over Blessed Robert Widmerpool. The two winners will now join the six other qualifiers, Nottingham High, Seely, Rufford, St. Augustine’s, Old Basford and St. Teresa’s in the Grand Final on Thursday 10^th January 2008 at Harvey Hadden Sports Centre.

24/11/2007

LATE EQUALISER SHOCKS CITY U15s

Nottingham U15s were unlucky not to go through to round four of the English Schools’ Trophy at Highfields on Saturday, when their opponents, Wolverhampton, snatched a late equaliser and a goal in extra-time to secure a 3-2 victory.

In a very even first half, goal scoring opportunities were few and far between. However, Nottingham capitalised on their first real chance of the game, when Lewis Williamson (Big Wood) latched onto a through ball and rammed the ball home to give his side the lead.

At the start of the second period, the visitors came out strongly and after a spell of sustained pressure, grabbed the equaliser. Just as Wolverhampton looked to be gaining the upper hand, Nottingham suddenly sprung into life and enjoyed their best spell of the game. They hit the crossbar on three occasions and had one effort cleared off the goal line, all within ten minutes. Just as it seemed that luck was going against them, the City Boys were rewarded for their dominance, when Romario Bryant (Elliott Durham) poked the ball home to regain the lead with only ten minutes to go.

Just as the tie looked to be settled, Wolverhampton grabbed the equaliser with two minutes remaining to force extra-time.

There were plenty of tired legs in the period of extra-time, but very few goalmouth incidents. Just as a replay looked to be on the cards, Wolverhampton pounced on a defensive mistake and scored an unexpected winner.

There were four other games at Highfields last Saturday, when Leeds Schools’ F.A. provided the opposition. Nottingham U13s recovered from the previous week’s defeat at Hull and revived their excellent goal scoring form to beat their Leeds counterparts by 5 goals to nil. They have now played eight games and won seven.

Chances fell to both sides in a close first half. Leeds hit the post in the early exchanges, but it was Nottingham’s Joseph Dodoo (Trinity), who scored the first goal. After ten minutes, Joseph burst through the Leeds defence and stroked the ball neatly into the bottom corner of the net.

The City Boys dominated the second half, with Louis Greenway-Tambini (Trinity) scoring a hat-trick, while Dodoo completed a comfortable 5-0 victory.

Nottingham U12s made a good start to their Junior Star League fixture against a good Leeds side. They could have been 2-0 ahead, when shots from Darrell Hargreaves (Ellis Guilford) and Kwame Thomas (Bluecoat) hit the woodwork. However poor defensive marking allowed the visitors to take the lead. This did not last long as speedy Kwame Thomas raced through the Leeds defence to score the equaliser.

Eight minutes into the second half, Thomas repeated his earlier effort to record his ninth goal in six matches.

Leeds equalised with a lucky shot that rebounded off their centre-forward’s head into the net and then sneaked a 3-2 victory with the winner coming in the dying minutes of the match.

Nottingham U11s had at least 70% of the possession in the first half, but were kept at bay by a brilliant display from the Leeds goal keeper. Against the run of play, the visitors gained a 1-0 half-time lead with a goal in the 20^th minute.

Eight minutes after the interval, Offrande Zanzala (Scotholme) raced through the Leeds defence to equalise, but a defensive mix-up soon allowed the visitors to regain the advantage.

The Leeds keeper continued to thwart the City Boys efforts, but with 4 minutes remaining he dived bravely at the feet of a Nottingham forward and had to be carried off with a head injury. With only two minutes to go, Zanzala hit the target again to give his side a well deserved 2-2 draw.

Nottingham U11 Girls continued their good start to the season with a hard fought 3-2 victory over Leeds, thanks to goals from Molly Higgins (Walter Halls), Gemma Tebbutt (Portland) and Eva Hook (Haydn).

The City Girls were twice ahead in the first half, but each time the visitors managed to equalise. In the second half, Nottingham began to produce some good, passing football and had period s when they dominated the game, forcing a number of excellent saves from the Leeds keeper. Eventually the winning goal came from Eva Hook, who dribbled straight through the opposition defence, before striking the ball low and hard into the net.

The second preliminary round in the City Schools’ U12 Girls’ Indoor 5-a-side competition was staged at the University’s Jubilee Sports Centre on Tuesday evening. Five teams were in action, with three qualifiers needed for the Grand Final at Harvey Hadden Sports Centre on December 4th. Djanogly were easily the best side on the evening and finished first with a maximum 12 points from four comfortable victories. In second place was Hadden Park Hugh on 6 points, while the third qualifier was Big Wood with 5 points. In the Final, these three schools will meet with the girls from Trinity, Greenwood Dale and Bluecoat, who qualified from the first round of matches two weeks ago.

17/11/2007

CITY BOYS LOSE UNBEATEN RECORD

The four Nottingham Secondary School representative teams were in action last Saturday against their counterparts from Hull and found themselves up against formidable opponents. During the previous five weeks, the City teams from U10 to U15s, had played 22 matches and had recorded 18 victories, three draws and only 1 defeat.

The City U15s, U14s and U13s travelled to Hull to play E.S.F.A. Area D league fixtures, but sadly suffered two defeats and a 3-3 draw. The City U12s fared no better, when they met Hull in round one of the Michael Dale Trophy at Highfields, when they lost 5-4.

Nottingham U12s had played four and won four before they took the field against Hull to defend the Michael Dale Trophy, which the city won last season. However they were shocked in the first minute when the visitors took the lead. An excellent corner was pushed out by keeper, Ross Durrant (Fernwood), but the ball was then hammered past him into the bottom corner of the net. Although they were up against a very strong side, Nottingham fought back and soon drew level thanks to the pace of Kwame Thomas (Bluecoat). Thomas then bagged two more goals to give his side a 3-1 advantage at half-time. Soon after the interval, Nottingham increased their lead, when Montel Nevers (Farnborough) crashed a powerful shot into the roof of the Hull net, after receiving a pass from Thomas.However the visitors made a spirited recovery and were soon attacking with pace and power. Their efforts were rewarded with three goals to make the score 4-4 and to force extra-time. Both teams had chances to score, but it was the Hull side that progressed to the next round with a goal in the last minute.

With an even better record of six wins from six matches, the City U13s also met their match at Hull, where they faced a very good passing side, with speedy forwards. The home team went into a 2-0 lead by the break and then made it 3-0 in the second minute of the second half. Louis Greenway-Tambini (Trinity) reduced the deficit five minutes later and then scored again almost immediately. The City Boys enjoyed a period of dominance, but in the 22^nd minute, Hull made it 4-2. A well-taken free-kick by Joseph Dodoo (Trinity) kept up Nottingham’s hopes at 4-3, but when the home side scrambled another goal 4 minutes before the end, the game was won at 5-3.

Nottingham U14s came away from Humberside with a 3-3 draw, but it should have been a victory and three league points. They were 3-1 ahead with eight minutes remaining, when the home side staged a comeback. Hull had led at half-time, but the second period was dominated by Nottingham. Matthew West (Fernwood) slammed home goal number one and this was followed by a volley from the edge of the box by Jamie Ball (Trinity). When Asher Pythian (Trinity) received a pass from Jordan Smeikle (Hadden Park), he coolly lobbed the ball over the keeper’s head.

However two quick goals from the powerful Hull centre-forward meant that the points were shared.

The final match of a disappointing morning saw Nottingham U15s go down by 2 goals to nil at Hull, after they gave a poor performance against weak opposition. Neither side produced any quality football in a goalless first half.

Shortly after the break, the home team took the lead, but this seemed to stir the Nottingham Boys into action. However a period of pressure did not produce the equaliser and Hull exposed the space with a breakaway goal a few minutes before the final whistle.

10/11/2007

CITY BOYS ON TROPHY TRAIL AGAIN

Last Saturday morning, Nottingham U15s beat Solihull 2-0 in round two of the English Schools’ Trophy and will now face Wolverhampton in the next stage of this national competition on Saturday 17^th November at the University’s Highfields Sports Ground. Last season’s City U15s made history by becoming the first Nottingham team ever to reach the semi-final. Unfortunately they lost in the replay to Poole & East Dorset. Perhaps this year’s team can go one step further!

The game at Solihull started very evenly with both sides competing fiercely in a very open game. Midway through the first half, Lewis Williamson (Big Wood) pounced onto a sloppy goalkeeping error to give Nottingham the lead. Moments later a quick bit of skill and a shot from an acute angle gave Williamson his second goal and doubled his side’s advantage.

Shortly before half-time, good work by Jordan Plummer (Bluecoat) resulted in Williamson being dragged down in the penalty area. The resulting spot kick was neatly dispatched by Williamson, but his hat-trick was denied, because players had encroached into the area. The retaken penalty was blazed over the bar and this seemed to give the home team a boost and they began to put the Nottingham goal under pressure. The City keeper, Matthew Peck (Fernwood) had to make a brave save to maintain his team’s lead going into the break.

Solihull came more into the game in the second period, but the Nottingham defence held strong. In fact the City Boys looked the more dangerous side on the break and had a goal disallowed for offside.

Nottingham continued to defend bravely and ran out worthy winners after a very competitive game, which had produced one of their best performances in their four years together.

Meanwhile three other Nottingham sides were playing at Rushcliffe School and each of them recorded victories over the neighbours, South Notts.

After a very even first half in the U14 Hereward League fixture, South Notts scored the first goal 4 minutes before the interval. However two goals in ten minutes during the second period, both knocked in by Jordan Smeikle (Hadden Park), gave the City team three league points.

The U13 Leicester Mercury League fixture was a high scoring affair, which finished 6-3 in Nottingham’s favour. Once again the home team opened the scoring after only 5 minutes, when centre-back Kameron Campbell (Ellis Guilford) made an uncharacteristic mistake, which allowed his opponent to break free and score. However the City Boys soon took control of the action and by half-time they had surged into a 4-1 lead, thanks to two goals each from the Trinity pair, Joseph Dadoo and Louis Greenway-Tambini.

Four minutes after the break, Dodoo completed his hat-trick with a superb volley after a cross from Brendan Haywood (Djanogly). South Notts replied with two goals to make the score a more presentable 5-3, but Tambini added a final goal for the City and completed his hat-trick with a well–placed header.

Nottingham U12s were meeting their South Notts counterparts for the second time in three weeks. Although the City Boys had won the first encounter 5-0, they were made to fight hard for their 3-1 victory.

After very closely contested first half, the City Boys managed to score just before the break. David Teague (Farnborough) provided the cross from the right, which was hammered home by newcomer, Jacob Gunn.

Despite a lot of hard work by South Notts, Nottingham added two more goals from Kwame Thomas (Bluecoat) and Montel Nevers (Farnbrough). The home side scored a consolation goal in the final two minutes.

At the University’s Highfields Sports Ground, Nottingham U11s and U10s were playing Rother Valley. In the U11 game, the City side had to work extremely hard before they completed a 2-0 win over a strong visiting South Yorkshire side. Mohammed Adam (Northgate) tucked away the first goal after a skilful move involving Gino Kelleher (St. Teresa’s) and Oscar Ossou (Milford).

Victory was sealed with an excellent second half goal from Alex Ejezie (St. Patrick’s). After receiving a pass from Offrande Zanzala (Scotholme), Ejezie rounded two defenders, before firing a great shot into the top left hand corner of the net.

The Nottingham U10 squad faced a daunting prospect of facing a Rother Valley team, which was a year older. However in their two games against the Rother Valley U11 “B” team, they fought bravely to record two 0-0 draws.

The City U11 Girls played the Kimberley based side, Priory Celtic, in a hard fought game which was played in tremendous spirit. The only goal of the match was scored by Molly Higgins (Walter Halls) after some good work down the right by Shantay Wright (Fernwood), to give Nottingham their second victory of the season.

3/11/2007

INDOOR ACTION FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Nottingham’s Primary School footballers have been showing off their skills at the Harvey Hadden Sports Centre in three preliminary rounds in annual U11 Indoor 5-a-side competition, which is supported once again by “Reprotec Office Solutions”. Each of the events was organised on a league basis, which meant that the teams all played each other, with the top two going forward to the Grand Final after Christmas.

The East Area preliminary round was played just before the half-term break and involved nine teams and produced some exciting football with a close battle for the qualifying places. When the points were added up, Nottingham High Junior School finished top of the table with 20 points after being undefeated. They had won six games and drawn their other two. In second position was Seely Junior School (Sherwood) on 18points, just one point ahead of unlucky Walter Halls Primary School (Mapperley).

On Tuesday 30^th October, it was the turn of the North Area teams to enjoy their competition. Once again nine schools took part in what proved to be another fast and furious competition. As the league competition came to the end, it seemed that the early leaders, Glade Hill (Bestwood) and St. Augustine’s (Mapperley), would be going through to the final. However when Glade Hill lost their final match to Rufford (Bulwell), the final positions rested upon the results of the last two games. Rufford concluded an excellent performance to beat Hadyn (Sherwood) 2-0, while St. Augustine’s lost 3-2 to St. Mary’s (Hyson Green). This meant that Rufford leapt into first place with 17 points after 5 wins, 2 draws and one defeat. St. Augustine’s just managed to grab the second spot with 16 points, just one ahead of Glade Hill.

St. Augustine’s Primary School has now reached the final of this competition for the third season in succession. In fact, they were City 5-a-side Champions for the last two years and also went onto to become twice County 5-a-side Champions. It would be an incredible achievement if they could repeat these successes for the third year running.

Two days later, seven more school sides were competing to decide which of them would go on represent West Nottingham. A very high scoring league tournament (87 goals were scored) resulted in a very close finish with Highwood Player (Bilborough) on 10 points and Fernwood (Wollaton) on 12 points just failing qualify. In second place was Old Basford with 13 points, while the winning team was St. Teresa’s, who notched up a total of 14 points from 4 victories and 2 draws.

Nottingham High, Seely, Rufford, St. Augustine’s, Old Basford and St. Teresa’s will now meet in the Grand Final on Thursday 10^th January 2008 at Harvey Hadden Sports Centre. They will be joined by two more teams from the South Nottingham preliminary round, which will be staged at Nottingham University’s Jubilee Sports Hall on Tuesday 27^th November.

27/10/2007

GREAT DAY FOR CITY BOYS

Last Saturday morning, there were five matches for the Nottingham Schools’ Football Association’s representative teams and each one ended in victory. The City U15s, U14s and U13s were hosting teams from Grimsby in English Schools’ F.A. Area D league fixtures at the Highfields Sports Ground, while the U12s and U11s were away to Wolverhampton and Gainsborough respectively.

The U15 game was very closely contested in the first half, with few goal scoring chances being created by either team. Nottingham managed to force a couple of good saves from the Grimsby keeper and the visitors hit the post once.

The second half burst into life with the City Boys taking the lead thanks to a shot from a very acute angle by Lewis Williamson (Big Wood). The game was still very tight and it seemed that one goal would be all that would separate the two sides.

However midway through the half, Nottingham self-destructed by conceding two goals inside two minutes. Firstly, poor marking at a free kick situation allowed a Grimsby striker to head home and then sloppy defending allowed the visitors to take the lead with a simple tap in at the far post.

Nevertheless the home side did not give up and Williamson brought the score level with a fine strike. Moments later, he completed his hat-trick and an excellent display with a sharp turn and shot. The Nottingham team was delighted with their 3-2 victory, their first win of the season.

Although they won by only a single goal, Nottingham U14s totally dominated their contest with Grimsby and their defence was never troubled. The winning goal came after 20 minutes of play, when a corner by Jevin Seaton (Trinity) was knocked in by Jake Wholey (Bluecoat).

The pattern of the second half was much the same, with the City Boys in control. They did manage get the ball into the back of the Grimsby net once more, but the shot by Daniel Jackson (Big Wood) was cancelled out by an offside decision.

Nottingham U13s extended their 100% record with their fifth victory of the season by 5 goals to nil. They were 3-0 ahead at the break, thanks to two goals from Louis Greenway –Tambini (Trinity) and one from Ben Rogers (Bluecoat).

However they didn’t have it all their own way, especially in the first half, when a lively Grimsby forward line tested the City defence on several occasions. Nottingham’s keeper, Ryan Swift was in great form to prevent the visitors from scoring with some outstanding saves, including one from the penalty spot.

Early in the second period, Jake Parr ((Ellis Guilford) lobbed the Grimsby keeper to make it 4-0. Finally, Greenway-Tambini completed his hat-trick and the team’s 5-0 win with an excellent individual goal, creating space for himself before shooting through a mass of Grimsby defenders.

Nottingham U12s recorded their third victory in three games with an excellent performance at Wolverhampton. The City Boys started very competently, but it was the home team, who took the lead with well taken goal after 25 minutes. The response was immediate – a great passing move down the right flank was finished off by a brilliant goal from full back, Montel Gatland (Trinity).

In the second half, Wolves squandered several good chances, when they strayed offside. Ten minutes from the end, the Wolverhampton keeper mishandled a cross by Tyler Guy (Ellis Guilford) and Joe Matthews (Top Valley) nipped in to score the winner. Wolverhampton had a least two good opportunities to level the score, but Nottingham’s keeper Ross Durrant (Fernwood) was in great form. First he made a superb save, diving full length to a stop low drive and then a minute later he tipped a high shot round the post.

The U11 match was played on Gainsborough Trinity’s ground, which was a great surface but rather too big for this age group. The City Boys took advantage of the space and had most to the possession throughout the game, which they won by 5 goals to one.

Gino Kelleher (St. Teresa’s) opened the scoring for Nottingham after ten minutes with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area. Just before the interval, Gainsborough levelled the score, helped by some very careless defending.

Eight minutes into the second half, Mohammed Adam (Northgate) fired in goal number two from close range and soon afterwards Kasheem Walton (Seely) made it 3-1 with a precise finish

A handball decision resulted in a penalty for Nottingham, which was neatly converted by Oscar Ossou (Milford) and Tom Ramshall ((Blessed Robert Widmerpool) made the final score 5-1 when he dribbled along the baseline before skilfully squeezing the ball past the keeper.

20/10/2007

NATIONAL HONOURS AWAIT CITY SCHOOLS

Two Nottingham Primary School teams have taken their first steps on a ladder, which could lead them to national honours. Whitegate Primary School (Clifton) won the U11 Boys’ Karnival 7-a-side Tournament at Highfields on Thursday 11^th October and will now compete as the City’s representative in the Nottinghamshire round of the ESFA 7-a-side competition on November 10^th Highfields. On Wednesday 17^th October, Fernwood Junior School (Wollaton) became City U11 Girls champions and will play in the County round of the ESFA 7-a-sides at Stanhope School in Gedling on Saturday 17^th November.

The annual Karnival 7-a-sides saw over thirty City school teams in action, beginning with four area league competitions. The area winners, who were Jesse Boot (East), Fernwood (West), Cantrell (North) and Whitegate (South), then took part in the knock-out stage to decide who would be the Karnival Champions. The first semi-final needed a penalty shoot-out to decide the outcome, with Jesse Boot being successful over Fernwood. Their opponents in the final were Whitegate, who had recorded a 1-0 victory over Cantrell in the other semi-final.

The final also needed a penalty shoot-out to produce a winner after the two sides drew 1-1 after extra-time. In the end, the Whitegate Boys were successful and will represent their city in the County tournament.

Eleven teams took part in the Girls’ event, which was staged at Harvey Hadden Sports Centre. The two league sections produced two winners, who met in the Grand Final. Having won all of their matches in league one, Fernwood, last season’s champions, looked confident to retain the trophy. However they faced a tough task against league two winners, Bentinck. After a very close final, Fernwood eventually scored the only goal of the match with only a minute to go.

Last Saturday morning, four City Boys’ representative teams were playing in away fixtures and their managers were delighted with their performances. A very successful morning resulted in three wins and a draw.

Nottingham U12s were playing their second match of the season against neighbours, South Notts at Rushcliffe School and recorded a comfortable 5-0 victory. The home side was unable to cope with the pace of the City Boys, especially Montel Nevers and (Farnborough) and Kwame Thomas ((Bluecoat). Thomas scored twice in the first half with Nevers and Connor Boden (Ellis Guilford) added two more for a 4-0 half-time lead.

The second half was a little bit more even, although Nottingham’s lead was increased to 5-0 by an accurate free-kick from Tyler Guy (Ellis Guilford).

Nottingham U13s travelled north to take on their Bradford counterparts and continued their 100% record with their fourth victory of the season. During the first half of the game, the City Boys were first to the ball and looked very dangerous on attack. Joseph Dodoo (Trinity) opened his team’s account after 10 minutes, when he lobbed the keeper from 20 yards out. Seven minutes later Dodoo broke through a static Bradford defence to make it 2-0. Shortly afterwards Dodoo turned provider when his neat header allowed Javan Mullings to race free and slam his shot past the keeper.

Within two minutes of the restart, Joseph Dodoo had put the result beyond doubt when he scored his hat-trick and his side’s fourth goal. The home team then began a brave recovery and started to threaten the City defence. They managed to score two goals to make the final result a much more respectable 4-2.

The City U14s and U15s also journeyed into Yorkshire, where their opponents were representing Leeds Schools’ F.A. In recent years, Nottingham teams have struggled against their Leeds counterparts, but this time the U14s won 3-2, while the U15s drew 3-3.

The opening exchanges were very even in the U14 game, but after 7 minutes, Daniel Jackson put Nottingham into the lead with a powerful low shot. Ten minutes later Jackson gave a repeat performance, once again firing his shot neatly past the Leeds keeper. The City Boys were well on top for the rest of the half, but the home side managed to reduce the deficit after a rare incursion into the Nottingham half.

Eight minutes into the second period, Jordan Smeikle (Hadden Park) scored with a very powerful volley to put his side into a 3-1 lead. Nottingham continued to dominate the game and hit the Leeds crossbar once and the upright twice. However in the closing minutes, City keeper, Daniel Turner, made a fine reaction save, but the referee thought that the ball had crossed the line and awarded Leeds a rather fortun