Heigham Park v Poringland at home

Whoops, forgot to give the camera to Rob at the start of the match so no photos and forgot to to hand the team sheet to Carl from Poringland (we can get in trouble with the FA for that you know!).

We were under pressure. Sam, who has has been developing very impressively recently in defence, was not available due to a scheduling error and Aidan, who has been keeping the team solid in midfield so far this season, was sick with a temperature. When the team arrived we were given the news that Arthur, who can always make trouble for the opposition, had a slight recurrence of a knee problem due to an over-enthusiastic trampolining session at the UEA the day before.

Luckily Frankie and Max were on call to make up the numbers and we rearranged the team to suit.

Visually the game resembled the Stoke City v Norwich City tie (red and white stripes against yellow and green) that took place later in the day, and the action was similar with both trying hard for a breakthrough. Luke, Archie R and Felix had some runs upfront and Frankie just missed and opportunity early on. Max and Evie had their work cut out and Ted did a great job keeping a clean sheet for half time.

Arthur and Archie G, who had come on in the first half, stayed on the pitch and Ted came out of goal being replaced by Frankie. The Poringland team were dangerous from corners and their goal finally came from a well placed cross into the melee which came off the goalie and was deflected into the Heigham net.

The team kept at it and soon had a lucky break as a cross from Arthur was deflected past the Poringland goalie for an own goal. Both teams nearly had a late goal, but both keepers made excellent saves to keep it 1 - 1.

That's how it finished, a draw and a fair result. The game was not without incident on quite a few levels. As we move through the age groups with the team, there will no doubt be more situations to deal with both adult and child related. Hopefully, as with Sunday, common sense and friendship will prevail.

Heigham Park v Hillside away

A warm September morning (please let it continue) and the Heigham squad squared up to Hillside FC. Last season and the season before we have only managed to draw against this determined and well organised team.

Following some warm-up stretches and practice shots on goal we set about the task in hand. As usual the team were putting pressure on Hillside from the start and hit the bar early on. The opposition gave as good as they got and found the Heigham defence wanting on a couple of occasions.

Their breakthrough came when a Hillside player broke through and was able to slip the ball past Ted, who got a hand to it, but couldn't save.

The team didn't seem affected by the goal and carried on playing some great open football with Arthur, Archie R, Sol and Aidan taking the game forward.

Arthur's runs on the right were too much for the Hillside defence and he had soon equalised and then put Heigham in front with two deserved goals. Arthur's hat-trick came from a brilliant set up from Archie R and at half time we were 3 - 1 up.

The Heigham defence, Sam, Max and Evie had worked hard in the first half and continued in the second keeping the hard working Hillside attackers at bay.

Frankie had taken over from Ted in goal who had been unleashed on the unsuspecting opposition. A second Hillside goal came from the rebound after a great save from Frankie. As Sam said "we're still in front!".

And so they were, especially when Ted went one-to-one with the Hillside goalie. There was only outcome and Heigham finished the game 4 - 2 up.

Another brilliant display as the side goes from strength to strength.

Heigham Park v Cringleford + Brooke Adventurers

Hurray for the temporary return of some warm weather. It made for a relaxed Saturday morning.

Our first competitive encounter was against Cringleford, an under 9 side who we failed to score against in the five-a-side tournament last week. Heigham kicked off and spent a good deal of time in the opposition's half, but were continually crowded out by the eager Cringleford players. Luke, Archie G, Felix and Fynn all had shots that went just wide (hopefully not too much damage to the parked cars behind the goal!). Evie, in goal for Heiaghm made a couple of crucial saves to keep the slate clean at half time.

The second half produced a similar result with Frankie unable to get behind a shot from the right, Mark bothering the Cringleford attackers and Gabriel getting his hands on the ball when it counted. Still no-one from either side were able to find the net and 0 - 0 seemed a reasonable score in the end.

For the second game we were up against Brooke Adventurers who had been busy practicing corners before we all arrived. Fresh from a 18 - 2 drubbing of Chapelfield (Holy Trinity), they were obviously feeling confident. Brooke are another keen side who made it to the final of the previous week's tournament - they were to prove no push-over.

The play was evenly matched until eventually the Heigham defence was breached and Frankie was unable to stop the goal. The heads went down momentarily but were soon back up as Archie G put away the first of what was to be a hat-rick. By half time the score was 2 - 1 to Heigham through impressive pressure and play from the whole squad.

Gabriel took over in goal while Sam and Mark replaced Max and Evie in defence. The third Heigham goal came from an unlucky goalie fumble that found the net after a save from a long range shot. Then a harsh decision from the referee gave Brooke the chance to pull one back after the ball hit Sam's raised hand in the box. The big Brooke captain stepped up and they were back in the game.

Heigham, not wanting throw away a lead, crowded out the attackers and kept the play flowing in midfield with Archie G getting his final goal in a scramble that resembled a pin-ball table.

4 - 2 to Heigham and a good result against two of the trickier teams in the league. A great start to the season. Well done Heigham.

Heigham Park v Hindolveston

Welcome back to the new season. This year the under 10 squad will be playing games on Saturday and Sunday in two different leagues. This is to make sure that all players get time playing competitive football as we believe this is will help them to develop skills over and above time at training each week.

We started with the first encounter with the Christian League was on Saturday 14 at Bignold School for an introductory, friendly 5-a-side tournament. This gave the team a measure of some of the other squads and the games certainly won't be a walkover. We have games against Cringleford and Brooke - two of the stronger squads next Saturday. We'll have a report about them next week.

Today's match against Hindolveston was always going to be a tough one as they were the only side that beat us twice last year. The pre-match talk was that we could do well if we played well, and happily that's what happened. Excellent passing around the pitch with all players aware of their positions and everyone working hard to frustrate the opposition. The breakthrough goal came from Archie R with a long-range lob over the Hindolveston goalkeeper. That was the state of play at half time when the oranges - a new, healthy half-time arrangement were offered and devoured.

Heigham soon had a second goal within 5 minutes of the restart, a cracking shot from Aidan. The team now had to hang on to this lead - never an easy job! Unfortunately the opposition were able to capitalise on a couple of defensive errors and pull back to 2 - 2. The home side then went behind following a brilliant run and display of skill from the Hindolveston number 6.

But fortune smiled on the Heigham Park players when Arthur's pass was accidentally sent in for an own goal to leave the result 3 - 3.

An excellent start and a great start to the season, only a draw but an inspiring performance. Well played to all - captain Sam, Evie, goalie Ted, Luke, Max and Frankie who, despite a dose of Calpol was not fully fit but played a small part at the start and finish of the game.

They must be listening after all!