Larkhall Kestrels 14 Castle Combe 2

Sunday 28^th October

Venue home (Royal High School)

The kestrels turned in a solid performance at the weekend to beat mid table castle combe 14-2 and consolidate their lead at the top of the table.After exchanging an early goal apiece the kestrels gradually began to get on top. Playing a 4-5-1 formation with Jordan away Daniel was asked to play up front on his own, a job he did a fantastically well holding the ball up superbly and chipping in with 4 goals.With Charlie dropping 

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Trowbridge Town Youth E 1 Larkhall Eagles 4

With only 6 Eagles available on the day and coming up against 7 on the opposition side plus several substitutes on hand, this victory can be described as nothing short of fantastic! A David & Goliath surprise you might say, but that wouldn’t do justice to the skill, effort and spirit of Ryan, Nick, Jack, Joseph, Charlie and Harry.
The reason we won when outnumbered was down to the fact that for 40 minutes we played as a true team… for each other, and with each other.
It would be wrong to single any one player out from this Sensational Six as every player - without exception - ran non-stop, covered back constantly, tackled relentlessly and defended doggedly, but without the cream of Ryan White’s splendid hat-trick and Nick Atwell’s well-deserved goal on this unexpectedly delicious cake, we wouldn’t be celebrating such an unexpected, but highly satisfying win.
Having said that without Harry Williams’ brave saves in the first half and Charlie Bird’s vital stops in the second half, we might have lost despite scoring four!
The first half passing between Nick, (who never stopped running into excellent positions), Ryan (who showed a different class with his awareness, ball-winning and silky dribbling) and Jack Day (who really deserved a goal for his fine, determined attacking play throughout) was outstanding at times; Jack’s magical, mazy dribbling left us breathless; Joseph Bateman’s awareness and marking of the opposition plus his and Harry’s timely last man defending kept us safe in the second half when Trowbridge threatened to come back into the match; and Charlie’s constant running, concentration, infectious enthusiasm and intelligent eye for both a pass and an interception all contributed to a team performance in which the spirit and effort was beyond my expectations.
This was a real team performance, full of running off the ball, battling to win the ball time after time even if at the first attempt it seemed lost and digging deep to find touches of skill that can only get better.
The attitude of all of you was truly first class and that never-say-die approach frequently paid off handsomely with a break and a goal.
Extremely well done boys! You deserve a proud pat on each of your backs for not only succeeding against the odds, but doing so in real footballing style. Russ, I and all the watching parents and family were really proud of you and this fabulous win.

Larkhall Falcons 5 White Horse Juniors 2

A very different - and no less difficult - game faced the Falcons in the afternoon. White Horse had held us to a hard fought draw in the first game of the season and, when allowed, they can play fine, passing football with no shortage of skilful players and good shape to the team, so the Falcons were up for their sternest test yet. And so it proved to be in a very evenly matched first half.
But despite missing several valuable players due to the half term holidays, today it was Larkhall Falcons who showed that they are made of tough stuff too!
With no opportunity for a substitution (unlike the opposition…), a much-wanted win to keep our proud place at the top of the division would call for nothing less than a total team performance just like the Eagles in the morning and the Falcons didn’t disappoint; they were inspired.
Tom Walker led by example, showing a captain’s commitment, running his socks off and getting more involved than I have ever seen him this season. Robbie Cashell was his usual confident cornerstone in goal, his kicking strong and his technique very sound. It took a blistering strike from a White Horse free kick and an unfortunate deflection - which he could do absolutely nothing about - to beat him, but his presence in goal gives the whole team confidence and we mustn’t take him for granted.
Actually, Robbie had much less to do than usual mostly because of the fabulous defensive display by Charlie Aldred, playing out of position for the sake of the team, but cleaning up any threats or long balls immaculately throughout the whole match.
Charlie formed a strong back partnership and excellent understanding with Joe Han-Hauser in the first half when the game could - and did - go either way. However in the second half, Joe moved forward to his preferred striking role and despite a series of frustrating near misses, finished with a superb hat-trick thanks to a pair of brilliant long-range shots and a crucial close-range strike from a lightening low Freddie Isaksen corner which tipped the balance of the match in Larkhall’s favour to 3-2.
Freddie again got on the scoresheet, first giving us the lead with a typically skilful dribble capped by an excellent finish and then a cracking shot from the edge of the box to retrieve the lead after White Horse had equalised.
Saving arguably the best for last, the most improved performance - which absolutely delighted his coaches - came from Alex Pippard. The new-found confidence on the ball, speed surging forward with the ball, great eye for a telling pass and occasional flashes of brilliantly cool skill and control on the ball to beat a player bearing down on him was amazing. Alex played a fabulous match and - like every one of the players - played above his usual ability to surprise and delight everyone watching.
The final score might even have seen the Falcons fly higher, as we missed a penalty and had a number of goalbound shots either headed over or somehow just saved by the White Horse goalkeeper.
Today saw us come up against a good side, meet the often physical challenge and emerge as worthy winners. Very well done to everyone. You grew as individual players and as a team today!

Now for an entertaining Cup game at Bradford next Saturday. Good luck and good shooting!

Best wishes, Otto Hauser Under9s coach

On the 14th October Larkhall girls played Melksham girls at the Christie Miller sports center playing fields. The line up was Ellie, Romany, Francis, Freya, Rebecca, Stacey and Rebecca with Emilie and Laura starting on the bench. Larkhall kicked off and straight away played a good passing game in the first 5 minutes. Ellie dribbled the ball down the right wing and shot at goal to score with the help of the goalkeeper’s fingertips to make it 1-0 to the Larks.
Soon after the start, Frany and Ellie passed the ball between each other to go well into Melksham’s area and cross the ball to the back post for Romany to touch home for the second goal. Larkhall dominated the play in the rest of the first half and came close to scoring on several occasions. Although Melksham tried hard, they found it difficult to make any progress thanks to some great marking and tackling by Laura, Beccy Kersey, Beccy Sartin and Freya, with the girls often producing good passes to team mates after winning the ball. Stacey in the Larkhall goal had little to do thanks to her defenders playing well, but handled well when called upon to do so and made some veruy good clearances.
Melksham kicked of in the second half Ellie tackled a player and ran down the wing with the ball, she then crossed the ball to Romany who controlled the ball and turned and chipped the ball over the keeper to make the score 3 -0 . Soon after the goal Larkhall lost possession of the ball and Melksham scored to make it 3-1.
During the next five minutes Freya and Rebecca did some excellent defending. The ball broke away down the right wing and Ellie beat three players and put it away to make it 4-1 . Soon after the kick off, Melksham came up the pitch and unfortunately Larkhall girls scored an own goal to make the score 4-2 . The fifth goal was scored by Ellie from an amazing header . Larkhall soon took control of the game and played some great football. Ellie then went on to score her fourth goal after some good link up play with Frany . From the kick of, Frany won the ball and then beat two players to have her shot deflected by Emilie and then scored on the rebound.
Overall, another great team performance, in which every one of the girls played really well.

Match report by Romany Lowe

The current status of fixtures (as at 20 October 2007) can be viewed by clicking this link www.layfc.org.uk//wp-content/uploads/file/under 12 kestrels fixtures.pdf

Best wishes,  Alan and Batty U12 Kestrels coaches

As next week is half-term, there will be no training at Ralph Allen School for the U8s (or younger children).

Training will resume on Wednesday, 31 October (from 6.00 to 7.00).

But please remember the U8s’ matches on 27 October, away to Marlborough. See separate posts on this website for further details on that.

Best wishes, Tony Day Co-chairman LAYFC

After three previous losses, Larkhall U15s won their first game of the season 9-1 against Melksham Town Youth Red at home on Sunday, 14 October.

After losing narrowly to both Castle Combe (4-3) and Westbury Youth (2-1), followed by an under-par performance against Melksham Town Youth Blue in their last match (losing 7-1), the U15s were keen to get some points "on the board" and produced a very committed performance, which brought its rewards. 

All 13 players made important contributions to the game and, though Melksham played some good passing football at times, Larkhall players were quick in the tackle and so managed to limit Melksham’s goal scoring opportunities. Up front, for Larkhall, Chris Day’s pace was important and enabled him to often out-sprint the defence. Chris had a great game, converting many of the chances that came his way, finishing with 6 goals. Connor Lynch also profited from the possession the team had, scoring a well-taken hat-trick.

In defence, Joe Payne competed very well for all the high balls, as did Joe Pilgrim in midfield. Will Neergaard-Tedder made countless tackles and important interceptions and was backed up by good performances by Joe Stroud, Jake Horwood and Russell Forster in goal, who was quickly off his line to collect through balls and made several good, important saves.

Partnering Chris up front in the first half, Nathaniel Osborne played well and showed an increasing ability to hold up the ball as well as harassing defenders and making good, effective passes.

In midfield, the guys started to get their passing going, which resulted in a big improvement, compared to previous games, in the team’s ability to retain possession and make chances. Josh White, Joe Pilgrim, Connor Lynch and Matt Owen all showed some good touches and all competed well for the ball. Steve McGill, making his debut for the U15s, showed some very neat midfield play and peformed well when he came on as did Cai Reiach, who played with his usual high level of motivation.

All round, a very good team performance, which gives the guys something to build on for the rest of the season.

Many thanks to all the parents who came along to support the boys and to Gary for running the line.

          Best wishes, Tony Day & Steve Horwood U15s coaches

Squad: Russell Forster, Joe Stroud, Joe Payne, Jake Horwood, Will Neergaard-Tedder, Cai Reiach, Joe Pilgrim, Connor Lynch, Chris Day, Josh White, Matt Owen, Steve McGill, Nathaniel Osborne

After a third straight win, 7-2 away to Melksham Town, Larkhall U12 girls strengthened their position at the top of their Division. Well done to all the girls - every one of you played really well. The current league standings are: