All fighting fit..!

As promised the Under 15's where back on the field yesterday, putting in an outstanding performance. They played with a clear determination & are now placed 2nd in the league tables 1 point behind leaders Marlow Royals with a game in hand & yet to meet Marlow for both home & away fixtures.

Under 15’s – Division 3

Aylesbury Vale 3 – Loudwater 1


Aylesbury Vale under 15’s continued their unbeaten league match record yesterday, (Sunday.)

Both teams looked for an opening & chance for a break, but it was Vale that made the first real chance. Pat Hurst getting the break down the right side lofted the ball over the Loudwater midfield across to the left side & found Chris Hawes, who lifted the ball left-footed against the crossbar. It was another 10 minutes before Loudwater was able to make a similarly threatening attack at the Aylesbury keeper. The scoring opened for Vale after a squabble amongst the Loudwater defence & subsequent handball in the goalmouth. Luca Forchione neatly slotted the penalty away on the 24th minute. Vale managed to keep Loudwater at bay, despite the best efforts of Loudwater forwards, Hussain & Crane. This held for the first half until 1 minute before halftime. An over-zealous tackle just outside the 18yd box gave Loudwater a free kick that Michael Davies tucked away to level the scores.

Vale came out after the break determined to retake the lead. After the disappointment 1 minute before HT they stole an opportunity too good to miss 90 seconds after the restart. Nathan Scarfe providing the cross to Luca Forchione. Luca took the ball & almost pirouetted before he took the swing that put the ball into the right corner of the goal. The game found its natural tempo again. Loudwater, determined to bring the scores equal again brought pressure on the Vale defence in the 56th minute. With Loudwater front men Aidan Brace, Lawrence Crane & Samad Hussain piling into the box & Vales own men desperate to clear it was a worrying squabble until it was cleared for a corner with nothing made from the set-piece. Loudwater were back again & this time managed to clear keeper, Gary Bidgway, as he lay prostrate on the 6yd line. The sharp response of James Marsh managed to clear from the goalmouth & gave Vale the chance to surge forward again. Loudwater held off the attack & possession changed at an even rate. Vale conceded a corner in the 70th minute & the subsequent clearance gave the Forchione & Scarfe pairing another chance to shine. This time it was Luca that put the cross in & Nathan finished off.
Loudwater came back with the final threat of the match when a powerful strike across the Vale goal had Gary Bidgway at full stretch to palm the ball over the crossbar.

Aylesbury Vale Under 15’s manager, David Hawes, said after the match;
“When the pressure was on and the right result was needed, we pulled out the best all round performance of the season - quality all over - well done young men"

...In fact he actually said " Quality..!!" then built the rest of the statement after some consideration.!

The Under 16's played away to Chalfont Saints. Despite a superb effort were defeated 2-1

Both the teams are at home next week in Cup rounds.

So shall we see you here again, same time next week?

Must be good news..?!?

Doesn't the saying go; "No news is good news"?
Well for the under 15's it must be fantastic..! (& the U16's shouldn't be complaining either)

No football this weekend due to the weather & state of the pitch. As mentioned last week, both the 15's & 16's should have played Cup rounds, these have been re-scheduled for the 3rd Feb.

The UK weather is such a fickle beast, as I type this, the sun is shining, there's a very light breeze & the huge puddle that doubles as a moat around my van has all but ebbed away. However come the weekend, when the notepad gets an airing & we stand for the 80 mins on the sidelines, the full "weather-based apocolyptic wrath of the Gods" will, no doubt, be struck down upon us..!

So, hopefully the boys will be back in action next week, I'll just have to wait & see what Sian Lloyd has to say... (not that it's her decision what precipitation we will have)

Justice Prevails...

For the benefit of those who regularly glance through my ramblings and may have noticed a discrepancy between the match report results & the W&SB league table status:

This is a subject that I haven't touched upon up until now. For many among the team, myself included, we felt a little raw about the decision made by the governing league.
Certainly the "crime" in no way befitted the "punishment".
The under 15's away win at Acorn Raiders on 30th Sept was awarded as a home win to the Hemel Hempstead team.

And what heinous crime had been committed??

The match card, (for which W&SB issue sticky teamlist labels) had inadvertantly been completed with an original list, which included a player no longer registered with the U15's. The name hadn't been crossed through (Outrageous!) & Vale was deemed as fielding an ineligible player.

All the stops were pulled out by the Vale management/admin team & an appeal was lodged with the B&B FA. (Hence no word on here, I didn't want to be considered clouding any investigation)
Subsequently, over the following months, it appears several other teams had fallen foul of this also. W&SB have reviewed the situation & on advice, the "full-scale" appeal was dropped & W&SB, (good to their word) have reversed the decision.

I am in no way condoning that the "paperwork" shouldn't be kept fully in order, but, paperwork is not part of the remit of the players. Theirs is to put in the 80 or so minutes worth of hard work each week. They played their part, they brought home the result & anything else was completely out of their hands. Unfortunately, they were the ones who really had to take the consequences.
Needless to say, the stickies have been binned & good old fashioned hand written lists have been resumed.

Anyway, (now I've got that off my chest) All happy now. All minds can now be fully occupied with the task in hand, finish the season with the best result that they can achieve.

After all, as a wise man once said;

"It's not the taking part that counts, it's the winning..!" D Hawes.

(Unfortunately, he's not the wise man either. He only repeated what the wise man quoted to him..!)

And we would have played.....

...If it weren't for those meddling Terns..!

Actually I think the thread below taken from the
AVFC forum is possibly the more likely scenario

Youth Results 13th January 2008

David Hawes, today at 07:31:26
User: David Hawes

The under 15's were off because of the weather and the lack of ambulance cover in the area!

Latest Under 15's news:
After last weeks incident, Chris Hawes was subsequently seen at SMH the following day and although not diagnosed on the day, (infact it was by telephone call 3 days later) has been found to have a fractured collar bone. Chris has been proving himself a man for the last week by playing up to the injury & capturing the sympathy of anyone willing to supply it..!
James Marsh, injured before the Christmas break should be back training this week & will hopefully be upto some level of match-fitness.


The Under 16's however did play, so I took myself & the previously advertised notepad, (removed from sale) to Wooburn Green to follow their fortunes. And I was glad I did, a great game with a great result....

Under 16’s – Division 1

Bourne End JSC 2 – Aylesbury Vale 3

Aylesbury Vale under 16’s took a well-earned away win from their match yesterday (Sunday).

Bourne End set the standard from the start when they rattled the post in the opening minute & were to return more successfully with the touch into goal being awarded to Dean Munday as the stopwatch clicked 3 minutes. Vale was a little slower to get fully into the game but did thwart any further challenges. As the first half continued on Aylesbury switched on and started to even up the goal attempts with close calls from Ben Goody, Lewis Roots & Charlie Cresser. In the 28th minute, with a fast run through the centre of the Bourne End half, Ben Goody equalised for Vale. A minute later, Lewis Roots in an almost identical position, was denied his opportunity as he ran on to a superbly timed forward pass when the ball got just beyond his touch & BE keeper managed to stretch on top of it. The first half closed 1-1.

As the second half kicked off Vale were again slower to bring the match up to pace & Bourne End pushed to retake the lead. Five minutes in & Vale were back up to speed & both sides had equal possession & challenges. It took 17 minutes before the deadlock was broken, Vales Nathan Dowie burying the ball past the keeper. Aylesbury’s attack wasn’t over; 3 minutes later a mini-battle on the 6yd box had Charlie Cresser slot the ball away, but an offside call ended the celebrations. The jubilation only had to wait less than 90 seconds though, Lewis Roots was on a mission, turning left & right to get round the Bourne End defence & facing only the keeper pushed the ball past him. Another five minutes of steady battling on both sides but Bourne End managed to reduce the deficit. A corner neatly lifted over the 6yd box found the head of Phil Pryor who nodded it through the melee of players collected there. Bourne End continued to try & make a convincing break that would at least retrieve a point from the meeting but without success.


Under 16's news:
Although I haven't heard officially, I have been led to believe, the reconstructive surgery to Aylesbury Town (& former Vale team member) Dean Broomhead went well. Again I wish Dean a full & swift recovery. (where I am able to keep advised of Deans progress I will, any update can be posted via the comments page & I will post accordingly)

I'm having the paramedics on speed-dial..!

After the excitement at the Under 15's Cup round (see 17th Dec) I think I shall have to put the ambulance service on my Christmas card list too..!

AVFC under 15's & 16's both played at home this weekend and eventful matches they were too, even if the scores weren't quite so exciting...


Under 15’s – Division 3

Aylesbury Vale 3 – Acorn Raiders 3

Aylesbury Vale started the New Year with a close fought match against Hemel Hempstead team Acorn Raiders.
The opening minutes saw Luca Forchione awarded a penalty after a foul by the Raiders keeper, Charlie Ball. Luca had no problem putting the ball past the keeper to give Vale an early lead (8). No real drama’s played through the following 20 minutes, although Luca narrowly missed out on his second goal of the match when he ran in on a ball from the left of play only to have his strike rattle off of the near post. Teammate Durelle Palmer also managed to rattle the post, this time on the far side 3 minutes later. Acorn Raiders were less than rattled though, they responded with a goal from Lee Mansfield to level the scoring in the 28th minute. From the restart Durelle Palmer got into a superb position to receive a well-lofted ball over the Raiders defence & only the very fast reactions of keeper Charlie Ball prevented the home team going ahead once more. Vale did however. Luca Forchione again finishing off in the 39th minute.

The second half saw another early goal from Vale. Pat Hurst pushing a ball out to the right and onto the feet of Chris Hawes, who swung the ball across & into the net with less than 5 minutes played. A free kick awarded to Acorn was not capitalized on when the ball was dispatched over the wall & waiting forwards into the hands of Vales new keeper signing Gary Bidgway. But Raiders weren’t going to miss another opportunity should it arise. They battled at every chance they had & when they did get through in the 63rd minute Daniel Perry finished off for them. 3 minutes later & Lee Mansfield supplied the equaliser. Aylesbury weren’t going to give away any more chances. A thrilling tussle just outside the Raiders 6yd box, 3 minutes before final whistle left Vale not only short of a winning score; but also with Chris Hawes lying on the ground. With what might have been a serious shoulder injury after an awkward landing, Paramedics were called to treat him on the pitch and with time all but played out, the final whistle was blown.

(Chris Hawes, after being checked on the pitch & then assessed more fully in the ambulance, was subsequently considered fit enough not to require hospital attention.)



Under 16’s – Division 1

Aylesbury Vale 2 – Aylesbury Town 2


A local derby between Aylesbury Vale & Aylesbury Town kicked off with Town applying pressure on the Vale defence from the whistle. With only 5 minutes played Town took the lead, courtesy of forward, Frankie Picciano. Vale reset but a very heavy collision between two opposing players left Towns Dean Broomhead requiring paramedics attendance on the pitch. Dean was taken to nearby Stoke Mandeville Hospital for further attention*.

(The game continued after some discussion between coaches & referee.)

Play restarted with a Town free kick; and play was tentative throughout the first half. Both teams having chances but it fell to Vales Mo Waqar to supply an equaliser in the 28th minute.

The second half was still a little tentative, Town pushed forward a few times & Vales keeper, Nathan Davis, did well to punch one danger ball to safety. Town did go ahead again in the 68th minute with Adam Beckett supplying only to have the scores levelled again 90 seconds later by Jason Street. Vale made another serious challenge at goal; Towns’ keeper, Tim Paggett, fumbled the ball leaving it loose for another attempt. Quick reactions of the defence managed to clear the ball for a corner that Vale weren’t able to convert.


*Everyone at Aylesbury Vale FC (youth) would like to wish Dean a speedy recovery from his injuries.

I have been advised that Dean has a multiple leg fracture & dislocated kneecap. He is to undergo surgery today.

Take care Dean & get fit soon.

Happy New Year....

...I think the title pretty much covers it.....


(oh, OK then..)


Wishing you all a

Prosperous & Happy

2008

.........from the sidelines



.... back to the reports next week