Heigham Park ups and downs...

Saturday 26 October against Surrey Chapel & Cringleford

Another chapter in the Christian League played out in changeable conditions ahead of the impending storm. The Heigham team played in yellow bibs against the red of Surrey Chapel. It soon proved that the boys were going to be using this as an opportunity for training as the score was soon at 3 - 0 with Fynn bagging a couple and Archie G on his way to another hat trick.

In fairness to the opposition, we fielded 6 players instead of seven, but the final score line still ran to 11 - 0 with one from Max, another from Luke and six from Fynn whose dad, Martin had (foolishly) offered him a fiver a goal (ouch!). 

Well done to Surrey Chapel who carried on regardless of the score. The result leaves Heigham Park second in the Christian League only on goal difference.

The second match (a friendly) against Cringleford would prove more difficult as they're a more experienced and well drilled side. 

It took a bit longer to get the first goal, but we were soon on the way to a 5 - 1 win. The defence of Mark and Frankie kept the Cringleford forwards at bay, although they did get through occasionally and managed to get one past Gabriel who had a good spell in goal for both games.

Saturday 27 October against Firside Athletic

With many player unavailable for this clash, we were fielding much the same team as the Saturday games with the addition of Sam and Sol. We were up against from the start with a small pitch, muddy conditions, high wind and a pitch on the slope! Excuses out of the way - we know it's the same for both teams. 

Captain Frankie opted to shoot downhill with the wind for the first half, and the boys did a great job with several close attempts only stopped by the nifty Firside keeper.

Max had a couple of good chances from distance that went high due to the wind, he nearly put a corner away with great header that just went wide. 

Sol, in goal wasn't bothered to much in this half, although Sam and Frankie had to keep their eye on the big number 5 whose job seemed to be to hang around the Heigham goal. When danger threatened, the defence were able to dispossess him each time.

Fynn, Luke, Felix and Archie G were rotated in attack and it soon became clear that the ball would not go in the net. Luke hit the post and the goalie dealt very effectively with every shot sent his way.

At half time we cleaned as much mud off of boots as we could before we faced the uphill struggle and wind-in-the-face second half.

The play now switched with the Heigham goal under pressure. The boys were finding it hard on the cramped pitch to get some passing linked up and keep possession. When they did link up, they found themselves out playing the opposition and were straight in front of goal - unfortunately the Firside keeper awaited them.

A series of Firside corners resulted in the only goal of the game, a cracking header that found the Heigham net.

The team battled on, but as we had told the players at the start, this team needed a win in the league and this was their opportunity. We finished with a couple of good runs and a final chance as Fynn received the ball from a quick fire passing sequence, had a clear shot on target only to find that keeper waiting again.

So 1 - 0 to Firside, but despite the score, the players did really well under the circumstances showing a great improvement. On a bigger pitch their passing skills would have been more fruitful as there were many times when we should have scored, only for the ball to get deflected or just go the wrong side of the post. Or over the bar.

Shame about the score as we would have been second in this league too. Not to worry, a few tears were shed - mainly from the adults. Onwards and upwards!

Heigham Park v 3 black & white teams in one weekend

Remarkably, all the opposition this weekend - Chapelfield and Heartsease in the Christian League on Saturday and Dereham in the under 10s cup on Sunday all wear black and white striped strips. And the Heigham sides beat them all!

The photos are from Sunday as I forgot to charge the camera battery for Saturday. Thanks to Rob for taking the action shots and Mike Derbyshire for refereeing what could have been a lively clash on Sunday.

Saturday 19 October

So the first game was against Chapelfield. It soon became clear that the Heigham side would have the better of the game here, although for much of the first half, they made a meal of it and it was some time before Archie G netted his first of the day. By halftime the score was 4 - 0 with the opponents not looking like getting back into the game.

This was an opportunity for the players to work at developing their game and using the back pass and switching across the pitch. This they did well with only one goal from the Chapelfield side - their handy number 8 who had a mighty kick, almost worth making enquiries there. With goals from Sol. Luke and Felix and a few more from Archie G the score finished at 7 - 1.

The second game was much in the same vein but with less resistance. The inexperienced Heartsease side battled valiantly but to no avail. Multiple goals from Archie G and Evie as well as strikes from Max, Gabriel and Frankie saw the game end at 13 - 0.

Sunday 20 October

The Under 10s Cup and we were drawn against Dereham - a team from division U10A with a reputation! Despite this the managers and parents were a pleasant bunch, hopefully helped by our warm welcome (even in the rain) and self-deprecating manner.

So this was a knockout game and all to play for. The tactics were to use the pitch, not just run at them. It all seemed to work quite well as all the play was at the Dereham end for about the first 10 minutes, so much so that we were concerned Ted might nod off in goal.

Arthur, always dangerous if you let him run, soon had the first goal, many other shots from Aidan and Archie R were on target, but the away side had a very effective goal keeper.

There were plenty of occasions where Ted was awoken and following Arthur's second goal, a penalty (a soft penalty) was awarded to Dereham after Sam (accidentally) touched the ball in the goal area. Ted tried his best but Dereham were now back in the game. Not for long as Arthur found the net for the third time before half time, all three of his goals being set up by Archie R.

The opposition brought themselves into the game more in the second half, but an unfortunate own goal set the score line at 4 - 1. Dereham pulled another back, not long before another semi own goal occurred (claimed by Aidan). At 5 - 2 time was running out for the away side, but another strike gave them hope.

This again was dashed as Felix was brought down on the left and awarded a free kick. A deft touch to Aidan and a long range shot found the net to finish the score at 6- 3.

If the side can reproduce performances like that each game, we'll all be happy.

Heigham Park Rangers v Norwich Corinthians at home

On a wet Sunday morn we welcome the league leaders to Recreation Road for what always proves a prickly encounter. Suffice to say we weren't expecting many points from this match even though we were one of the only teams to beat them last season.

So a short match report and some pictures to look at  - thanks Rob.

Heigham started off well and gave the Corinthians defence something to think about. It was an evenly matched half with both sets of supporters clearly enjoying the action. Eventually the opposition bagged a great goal from an overhead kick which was finished off by a slick header home.

So at half time it remained 1 - 0, not a bad score considering.

After the oranges and cookies we were back out into the action. The Corinthians had stepped up a gear and a lot of the action was now in the Heigham half with much defending to do.

It wasn't long before we were 2 - 0 down, but credit to the home side, they kept their heads up and carried on.

It would have been nice to get one back and we nearly did on a couple of occasions, but unfortunately the away side got a late one to end the game with a score at 3 - 0.

A great performance from the Heigham players wasn't enough to beat this hand-picked and carefully assembled side, but the Heigham squad are a true team whose core values are centered around friendship and fun, and you can't buy that!

Well done Ted, Arthur, Aidan, Archie R, Evie, Max, Luke, Sam, Felix and Frankie. And well done Jez for refereeing.

For the stats fans, although we're fourth in the Under 10B division, we are also the only team that has played all five other teams in the top six!

Heigham Park Rangers v Wymondham Hawks away

Yet another unseasonably sunny day for a wonderful match of football. The wet or frosty mornings are just around the corner, unless global warming has really advance further than we thought.

Wymondham are a big established club so we were not expecting an easy game. We shouldn't expect any easy games in this league, as has been proven so far.

The team donned the white away strip and had the kick off. They were under instructions to get straight into the game and not gradually get up to speed. Something we said must have sunk in as they immediately went forward with a series of passes - Aidan to Arthur to Archie R who slid the ball into Sol's path in front of goal. This is usually where, as the opposition demonstrated on a couple of occasions during the match, the ball is sliced, shot over the bar or wholloped wide. Luckily none of these happened and Sol bagged a goal in the first 30 seconds with a deft touch.

Obviously an early lead can have a detrimental effect on the team as it's easy to think the rest of the match will follow suit. Indeed not. The Wymondham team were straight back at us and were unlucky on three occasions in the first half to hit the bar. The Heigham side were moving well, passing and looking for space and the defence of Sam and Max (replaced by Frankie halfway through the half) did their a great job of keeping the skillful forwards from turning them and getting shots away. Luckily several shots on target were blocked and Ted did well to collect any that got through.

Constant Heigham pressure produced another goal, this time from Arthur to leave the score at halftime 2 - 0 despite Wymondham having an open goal shot from close range. Luckily it went wide.

2 - 0 is an easy score to lose and the players were made aware that they would need to keep their wits about them. Luke came on for Sol on the left and the game carried on very evenly matched. There was some tiredness in the legs towards the end when the Wymondham number 11 sent the ball across the goal for an easy tap-in. 

There was now a sense of danger in the Heigham side as the organised play began to flounder and a couple of errors were made that nearly brought about an equaliser. Just in time the final whistle blew and three point were in the bag.

A great game against a really pleasant side, both adults and children. Definitely a side for friendlies in the

future.

Heigham Park Rangers v Stoke United + ENYP

The next instalment of the Christian League on a sunny Saturday morning. The squad were missing Fynn and Archie G, but Sam and Luke brought in to cover.

Heigham Park Rangers v Stoke United

The first game was against Stoke United who are a very well drilled team and a real prospect for league winners. The Heigham Park team maybe didn't realise that they would need to be on their guard for this, but they soon were. Unfortunately your correspondent forget to get the camera out again so no pictures of the match, only the second.

This is how it went. The team (Evie in goal, Max and Sam in defence with Mark coming for Max, Frankie in midfield, Felix and Sol left and right and Luke up front) made the job hard work. The pitches in this league are generally smaller than what they're used to, so playing in position and accurate passing is a must if the team want to get a result. The play was a bit chaotic and rather 'ping pong' like much of the time with neither team able to dominate. Luckily Heigham Park hung on to 0 - 0 until half time.

Unfortunately the eager opposition soon had a goal in the second half. Although both sides were pretty equally matched, the final scoreline of 3 - 0 to Stoke didn't really represent the run of play, let's say the other goals could have easily been avoided and were slightly gifted to the opposition. We're still not sure about the Stoke aftermatch song though (you had to be there).

ENYP v Heigham Park Rangers

A chance for the Heigham Park side to redeem themselves here. Gabriel played the first half on the right with Frankie in goal. Mark and Sam maintained a solid defence and Max moved to midfield. The side played with more confidence in this match with Gabriel making some useful tackles and passes and the whole team spreading out and using the limited space.

Felix was first to score followed by Max. 2 - 0 at half time meant we almost had the game in the bag, but as we know, these scores can soon get turned around. For the second half, Luke replaced Sol on the left, Frankie swapped places with Gabriel and took the right wing and Evie and Max swapped right defence for midfield.

Three more goals were to had here with Frankie getting a rebound shot, Evie (playing slightly up the pitch for midfield - but having an eye on bagging a goal) bagged a goal, and Sam (with a similar view to Evie) found the net for the fifth time.

So, lost one, won one, but some lessons to be learned for the next encounter on Saturday 19 October.