DHUFC u-10 Girls

Badgers 9 DHUFC 2

Truly dreadful conditions greeted the young girls on Saturday morning in Swindon when they faced a tough match against Swindon Badgers, who appear to be the form team in the Division.

The team was sadly depleted before kick-off with Hannah and Elenor being unavailable, Sara sparining her ankle, and Katie H sick. This left us with only 7 players.

Team: Katie S (GK), India, Elsie, Ellena, Hazel, Melody & Alison (capt). At kick-off time we only had 6 players, with Melody and her Dad lost in the maze of streets in Old Town, but she arrived within a minute of kick-off. The weather conditions started off absolutely awful and gradually got worse as the match went on - rain, turning to snow, and a cold wind. With our 1st and 2nd choice keepers unavailable, and even possibly our 3rd choice, Katie S was pressed into the position.

In the 1st half after an initial early goal, the girls battled well, and but for some smart saves by the Badgers goalie we could have at least been on level terms if not leading. A 2nd goal just before half time for badgers still slightly flattered them.

In the 2nd half the weather conditions really did begin to take their toll, and with no subs to use the girls were tiring fast. Badgers had 2 subs and worked them well giving their players the rest they needed. Also with some of our players in slightly unfamiliar positions, especially in defence, we were left a bit ragged on a few occassions and the score steadily moved on to 9-1 with about 10 minutes to go, Alison having scored a consolation. We were hanging on at the end hoping to keep the score in single figures when Alison popped up with a splendid second that left their excellent keeper with no chance. The girls dug deep in the last few minutes to keep the score at 9, with Katie playing excellently after she was given a run out in the last 10 minutes or so.

This was a match too far for us this season, our fine unbeaten run was left in tatters, but the score does flatter Badgers a bit, we certainly had a lot of chances, but they showed the value of a top class keeper.

Everyone put in so much effort against the odds in this game, Alison's 2 goals were a reward for a lot of running, especially in the 2nd half. Hazel and Elsie were excellent in midfield, but the heavy pitch proved hard going. Elly showed some excellent positional play at left back, and India similarly at right back against some strong attackers. Melody made a couple of great runs in midfield as well.

However I must award player of the match honours to Katie for sticking it out in goal and making some splendid saves. Katie was a reluctant goalkeeper but gave it everything, and reminded us what we had missed when she got her chance outfield near the end. Thanks also to India who was press ganged into replace Katie, my main concern at the end was the onset of hypothermia, but I gather India (and Katie) were OK soon after.

Although we battled well, I feel our cause was again not helped by an under-sized pitch (not as small as last week but still well short of the proper size). The bigger pitches really do suit our play, and allow all the girls from both teams to play better football with more space.

Thanks to all the players, and of course to the loyal band of parent supporters who also braved the elements. Lets hope for better weather next week for our first match at Springfields School.
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Flames v Calne Town

Flames 5 Calne Town 3 (HT Flames 1 Calne Town 2)
Man Of Match: Ed M

On a very wet and cold morning at BSG the Flames came back three times before eventually out-scoring Calne Town to win 5-3. A hat-trick by Sam C and a brace for Ali E sealed a well earned team victory. The boys showed much determination and effort to ignore the awful weather and continue to close the deficit. A testamony to their commitment and belief.

A good performance alround, justly rewarded by a satisfying scoreline. Well done Flames, great belief and passion to keep going especially whilst Calne were winning.

Dan T
An assured performance in an unfamiliar position. Marshalled the defence well, compressing the play and bringing a number of Calne attacks to a halt through the well executed use of the off-side trap.

Oli P
A great performance in the 'engine room' at the heart of midfield. Worked hard to get up and down the pitch, holding the centre field position well, winning the ball and driving the Flames forward into attack.

Ed M
A second half transformation following a quiet first half. Made the left-hand side of midfield work with some great link play between Oli P in midfield, Adam D behind and Sam C up front.

Sam C
An assured performance of running and finishing. Calmly stroked in two goals past a solid Calne keeper. Worked hard to make space for players running from midfield. Capped a fine morning's work off with a hat-trick goal from close range.

Ali E
Regularly got forward from right wing back to attack strongly down the right hand side. Put in a number of very dangerous crosses to challenge the Calne defence. Was justly rewarded with two goals, both from long-range. Recovered well off the ball to bolster the defence when Calne got forward.

Adam D
Great effort, playing in a number of positions through the defence. Strong tackling, good running and positive passing allowed the Flames to link well from defence to midfield.

The F.A. and Criminal Records Checks

Some of you may have heard announcements in the press recently about an initiative run by the F.A. to ensure that all coaches who have contact with children are screened through the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). This initiative is due to be be rolled out and completed before the start of next season.

I am pleased to inform you that, as an F.A. Charter Standard Club, DHUFC has already had all it's coaches screened through the F.A.'s accredited CRB process.

Once again thanks to the support and commitment of all the volunteers who coach at Derry Hill United, and especially to Celia Stevens, the Club Child Protection Officer, for taking the time to assist the coaches with the necessary documentation and form filling that was required to get everyone through this screening.

Regards,
Alan

Further details of the F.A. announcement can be found at:-

• The F.A. Website
• The BBC News

DHUFC Under-10 Girls v Cricklade YFC

Cricklade YFC 8 DHUFC 10
We had the opportunity for a friendly against "non-league" opposition today, Cricklade Youth FC being a new girls team who were looking for some opportunities to play matches. This was also an opportunity to give full matches to some of the players who have not featured regularly. With several players unavailable we ended up with only 7 players

Team: Sara, Ellena, Katie H, Eleanor, Hannah, Elsie & Alison.

We had played Cricklade earlier in the season in the Devizes tournament where we won fairly easily so were not sure what to expect. The pitch was sadly very small which seriously affects the quality of football, however it was a friendly so no complaints.

The girls quickly stamped their authority on the game and were 2-0 up within a couple of minutes of kick-off. However, we then seemed to switch off and become over-confident and by half-time Cricklade had levelled things up at 4-4. The small pitch was contributing to the high number of goals.

At half time we made a couple of tactical changes swapping Hannah into midfield and moving Eleanor to replace her at left back. This seemed to pay dividends and we opened up an 8-4 lead. Then again the girls seemed to switch off, perhaps due to some of CYFC substitutions, and CYFC again pulled us back to 8-6. Sara then saved a penalty after a handball. The sore moved on to 9-7 and then e scored a 10th goal which looked likely to be enough but Cricklade got another back which left us with a nail biting finish.

Five goals each for Elsie and Alison, with some very good goals amongst them. The girls all put 100% effort in today and although we conceded a lot of goals everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Special mention for Eleanor and Ellie who played full matches today and also to Sara, some great saves, especially the penalty.

Some lessons to learn: We need to move into space more and away from our own players, too often we get in each others way.

All in all an enjoyable match on a nice bright sunny morning (makes a change). Good weekend all round with the U-12s winning 7-3 and Saints beating Pompey 2-1 ;-)

Thanks to all our supporters as usual, its a long trek up to Cricklade.

Next week - away to Swindon Badgers, 10.30 kick-off at Lainesmead School, Swindon.

Jon

Club News (November)

Contents

• Cold Weather Clothing
• Not Only For Winners
• Weblog
• Parking in the Bus Stop
• Reading FC Trip
• Lost Property
• Springfields School
• Club Christmas Party

Cold Weather Clothing
As winter draws in, and the weather gets more inhospitable, please send your children to training with lots of warm, water-proof clothing. Players should bring hats, gloves, track-suit bottoms and sweat-shirts as a minimum.

If the coach considers a child is not appropriately dressed for the session they will not be allowed to participate.


Not Only For Winners
The DHUFC coaching philosophy. Football for children is about fun and participation, not really about winning and losing. Whilst they will eventually consider the result to be a significant part of their participation, these early years are not ones we, as a Club, want to focus on the match result. Matches should only be considered as one of a number of training methods, "part of the package". Matches are not well bounded or controlled so they provide minimal opportunity to repeat and perfect technique and skill, therefore their value to player development is limited.

As a Club we seek to offer every child the appropriate chance to develop within their squad. For some, this will mean more time spent training than playing matches. Coaches are encouraged to rotate players to give them match experience as part of their development, when the time is right. This means coaches will not select the strongest players all the time. So if your child is one of the stronger players in their squad please remember they will need to step aside from time to time to allow others opportunities to participate in a game. This will also provide your child with a better chance to develop their own skills and techniques by attending a training session, which has far greater benefits than continually playing in games.


The result of a game is far less important than the opportunity to take part, have fun and learn through experience.


Weblog
A new facility is available for all Club members, a Weblog, otherwise known by Internet geeks as a Blog. This is simply an on-line notice board available for use by registered users. The committee are trying to encourage the members, coaches, parents and players to tell us about your football experiences and activities, so that the whole Club can see what your squad has been up to.

If you want to write an article or comment on an existing one, you need to register first. Email me on weblog@dhufc.org requesting an invitation if you want to post.


Parking in the Bus Stop
We have noticed an increase in Club members parking in the Bus Stop lay-by recently. Due to the fast speed of the A4 and the blind brow of Black-Dog Hill can I ask that you don't park there. Not only does it restrict your view when pulling out, it also endangers others exiting the ground, whose view of oncoming traffic is obscured by those cars in the lay-by.

Remember, there is additional parking available at the Soho Inn, and I encourage everyone who just drops-off or picks-up, to park at the Soho and walk into the ground, as this reduces traffic volumes into and out of the ground during training. If you do use the Soho, remember to be out by 11:30am


Reading FC Trip
We've had a phenomenal response to the Club trip to train and watch Reading FC on February 19th. There is one seat remaining. If you are interested in joining the 50+ members that are going, contact me quickly.

For full details of the Club programme, visit the Events Calender


Lost Property
Every week we find at least one item of equipment or clothing at the ground. All items are currently stored in the Clubhouse, however we are fast running out of room! If you have lost an item of clothing or equipment over the past 6 months then take a look during your next session. We will be disposing of all unclaimed items during the Christmas break, so be quick!


Springfields School
It gives me great pleasure to tell you that DHUFC has recently secured access to some of the playing and changing facilities at Springfields School, Calne. We are very pleased with this arrangement and hope that it will develop into a long term relationship between the Club and
Springfields as it moves forwa rd with it's proposal to become a Sports College. This is a very important relationship for DHUFC as it is essential we secure additional match venues as our membership grows.

Whilst we intend to retain BSG as the home of DHUFC, some squads will be using Springfields for matches to address the overcrowding, car-park and pitch wear issues that we have. Please support this endeavour and when using Springfields always treat the venue and facilities with respect and care.


Club Christmas Party
A quick reminder that Christmas is fast approaching and so is the Club Party. This year it will be held on the afternoon of Saturday 11th December. You will shortly see a mail with details of the event and how to obtain tickets. If you interested in helping with the organization please get in touch with Karen McCormack.

DHUFC Under-10 Girls

Under-10 Girls
Great result today for the under-10s, 2-1 at home to Keynsham. I think everyone watching will admit we were outplayed today, but the girls stuck at it and gave 110% effort and scored two goals against the run of play. Not our best game, but to beat the league leaders and maintain our 100% record is very pleasing. It was also excellent to see all the girls thoroughly enjoying themselves in a tough match - smiles all round despite my ranting and raving from the touchline ;-)

Goals from Elsie and Alison made the difference but this was a real team effort, helped by great support from all the parents.

Team: Sara (GK), Katie S, Katie H, Hannah, Alison, Hazel, Elsie, subs Ellena and Melody.

Next week Cricklade away in a friendly, kick-off 10.30 at St Sansoms School. For directions and information about Cricklade Youth FC follow the links below:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john_r.simmons/CYFC_WEB/
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john_r.simmons/CYFC_WEB/map.htm

Club Merchandise

Deadline For Christmas - Monday 15th November
As you know we have a range of clothing and other items with the Derry Hill United logo, available for adults and children. These have been popular Christmas gifts in previous years. In order to allow time to get these items from suppliers, and include the Club branding, I need orders for Club merchandise by Monday 15th November.

Items include:

• Sweatshirts
• Fleeces
• Rain Jackets
• Caps
• Jogging Bottoms
• Boot bags
• Wallets
• Holdalls
• Knitted Hats*

* The knitted hat is not featured in the catalogue but can be ordered at £6 per hat.

All items except for the jogging bottoms include the DHUFC logo. In the case of the knitted hat and the fleece tops these are embroidered (on other items they are heat sealed like the football shirts). All items come in navy except for the white/navy women's t-shirt.

Fleeces also carry the option of additional embroidering, at an extra cost, to include the player's name or team name. This is available in several options, so please speak to me if you want to add this to your order.

You will find the catalogue of merchandise on the DHUFC website, or on display, on the wall, in the Clubhouse.

You can place orders, either by email, or by completing an order form (available in the Clubhouse, in the small grey drawers, by the notice board) and posting it to me. Payment is due with the order, so if you email your order please send on a cheque made payable to DHUFC for the full amount.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact Wendy Crocker

Mini Soccer rules for backpasses

Mini Soccer and back-passes to the Keeper

During the Girls u-12 game at Swindon on Sunday the ref awarded us a free-kick following a backpass to the keeper. Mike Buckland and myself were a bit puzzled where the ref decided the free kick should be taken. Consequently I have done some research so that I fully understand the rule. It looks as though the ref probably got it wrong, though I don't imply this was deliberate, merely that it is an interesting point. I certainly couldn't remember at the time what the rules actually say.

The rules, according to the FA Handbook 2004-5 are as follows:

Law 12

In Mini-Soccer all free kicks are direct

A free kick is awarded to the opposing team if the goalkeeper:
Touches the ball with his/her hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him/her by a team mate.
For this offence, the free kick should be taken from the penalty area line, parallel with the goal line, at the nearest point to the offence.

Note: this last section is under Law 12 but immediately follows the heading Penalty Kick, which is a bit confusing.

It appeared that the ref may have innocently made two "errors". He gave (a) an indirect free kick, instead of a direct one, and (b) he gave the kick outside the penalty area. I found a reference earlier somewhere that I can now not find again that said the kick should be 1.5m outside the penalty area, but I suspect this was for Futsal or some other small sided soccer variant. Alternatively maybe he gave it where he did thinking the offence is committed by the player passing the ball back to the keeper, not so.

So there you have it. If this arises again, or if you are refereeing a match, the rule is reasonably straightforward. Direct free-kick from the penalty area line (parallel to the goal line) at the nearest point to where the keeper picks up the ball. It would be worth reminding our refs about this (don't mean to be over-officious about this, just to clarify).

Its also worth remembering that technically there are 3 other offences that the goalkeeper can commit with the same result:

(1) Takes more than 6 seconds to release the ball from hands (hope no-one ever invokes this one, many of our keepers take an eternity to get rid of the ball)
(2) Touches the ball again with hands after released from possession and has not touched another player
(3) Touches the ball with hands after received directly from a throw-in taken by a team-mate

Hope this is helpful.