The Under 14s kicked their summer tournaments off at
Blackpool on the 14th and 15th
of May.
A great weekend was had by all in a competition
we’ve done a few times now and we don’t really look
to take too seriously. The weekend away is about
everyone enjoying themselves and gives both the
adults and the lads a great opportunity for fun and
a couple of late nights out, with this sometimes
taking its toll on the quality of football.
We all had a great laugh throughout even though the
weather was dreadful, the kids were exhausted, the
adults hung over, and the injury list saw us go from
17 to 12 by the quarter finals, and I spent half my
time at the hotel trying to explain to the owner why
16 young teenagers don’t behave like 19th
century gentleman.
When we arrived I was told that there would be no
entertainment for us as they’d had a group there
last week who had not behaved properly, so I think
the writing was already on the wall there. The
bottom line was that the hotel was quiet and not at
all child friendly and we really could have done
with somewhere a bit livelier and fun, but we
compensated by going out which just meant that our
cash was spent elsewhere and was ultimately their
loss.
The Saturday fixtures saw the lads with a draw, a
defeat, and a good win over Newton Aycliffe Youth
who got the runners up spot in our division this
season and it gave us a look at what we might be
able to expect next year. It was a solid performance
with everyone playing their part which culminated in
a comfortable victory over quality opposition who
had previously proved too strong for us twice in the
season gone.
With the weather on day two even worse than
Saturday, with pouring cold rain to add to the gale
force winds we played our last two group games
against opposition that we could probably have
beaten comfortably, and would have done I’m sure if
we had been at full strength and not so tired.
So despite some huge opposition and one or two teams
who’s top tactic consisted of giving the ball to a
giant who would shoot hard from anywhere on the park
(including kick off) with a gale force wind behind
him, we scraped into the knockout stages with 12 men
left standing, several having to play out of
position, at least 2 walking wounded on the pitch,
and some key players having to watch from the
sidelines after being clattered by teams who could
come up with only one way to stop them.
The quarters were the end of the line for us despite
a brave performance from everyone on the park. The
lads played a determined game from start to finish
and tried very hard to put the bad luck aside and
give our opponents a real run for their money. It
was a shame to go out but I saw enough from our
early games to know that a full strength Rangers
could have gone much, much further in this
competition and if we start next season with the
team we’ve got now, we will have a very good
campaign
next year.
The Rangers at Blackpool were
(Back row from
left to right) Ryan Garnon, Azza Chapman, Robin
Hall, Jake Richardson, Kieran Wade, Ben Simpson, Naz
Stephenson, Liam Neave, Cain James. (Front row from
left to right) Will Hughes, Kyle Bruce, George
Musty, Andy MacNab, Luca Dunn, Joe Abbott, Brad
Bell, and Mark Chambers.
Sunday June 5th 2011
Middleton Rangers Under 14s went along to the annual
South Park Rangers 11 a side tournament and found
themselves in the company of seven other teams, all
much higher placed in the TJFA leagues than
ourselves. To be in the company of Greatham, North
Ormesby A, Cleveland Juniors, Billingham, Leven AFC,
Nunthorpe, and hosts South Park Rangers meant that
we had an uphill task from the off, but to the
immense credit of the team, and much to the
misguided surprise of many of the other clubs, not
only did the boys qualify for semi finals, they won
the group stages.
Rangers had to wait an hour before playing and then
play two consecutive games. We opened our campaign
with a win over hosts and third place finishers in
the TJFA Division 2, South Park Rangers. A well
deserved and ground out victory with the Middleton
boys not prepared to give the hosts any time on the
ball. Rangers closed South Park down at every turn
and the frustration showed as we constantly
interrupted their efforts to play, putting them on
the back foot, pegging them back, before ultimately
taking the lead. Once South Park got over the
surprise of Rangers work rate and determination they
managed to come back into the match a little but
never really looked like taking anything from it.
Straight away came Leven AFC, who currently topped
the group on goal difference due to a 2-0 win over
Nunthorpe. Middleton matched Leven in an end to end
first half but succumbed to two goals mid way
through the second half. It was a shame to lose the
game from our prospective as I thought we matched
the TJFA division 2 runners up in every department
and were unlucky not to come away with a point. We
also thank the Leven manager for his kind praise of
our football after the game.
So with a half hour break we watched hosts South
Park Rangers take on Leven AFC in their last group
game knowing that if Leven were to win, we would
only require a point from our last game to finish
runners up. Leven had looked the stronger of the two
teams and were playing off the back of two wins on
the bounce meaning that South Park had it all to do.
Against the form guide though, it was the hosts that
emerged victors by a 2-0 scoreline which meant that
Middleton had it all to do, needing a 3-0 win over
Nunthorpe in their last game to pip South Park to
the runners up spot.
The Middleton lads knew it was all or nothing with a
draw or even a 2-0 win not enough to see them
qualify. The boy’s determination was clear pre match
and I wanted to make sure they were under no
illusions about their task. Nothing but total focus
and grit was going to get us the result we needed,
but there was something about the way they listened
and prepared for the game that let me know we had
every chance. They wanted it…..and it showed.
Nunthorpe made their intentions clear before the
game had even kicked off when they tried in vain to
hijack the end of the field the Middleton lads were
waiting in, and then one or two of them tried
talking a good game, trying to unsettle and wind
Rangers up. If they thought that it was going to do
them any good however, they were very wrong.
The game kicked off with Rangers pushing on and
putting Nunthorpe under pressure right away and it
was not long before they had the lead. With more
mouth movement, shirt pulling, and some nasty kicks,
Nunthorpe came back at the lads, but no one was
biting. A penalty gave Athletic a way back into the
game but Rangers keeper Andy MacNab put an end to
their celebrations with a fantastic double save,
getting down to his left to save the penalty and
then pushing the rebound around the post.
Andy’s fantastic penalty save spurred on the Rangers
and there was no looking back after that. 2-0, 3-0,
and then 4-0. The final whistle meant that not only
had Rangers qualified, but had overtaken Leven AFC
to take first place in the group.
At the registration tent our first place was
confirmed along with several congratulations from
tournament officials and coaches, and we thank
everyone who expressed their best wishes to us, it
was a nice thing to do and we appreciate it.
Our semi final against first division Greatham was
confirmed but unfortunately the previous game had
taken its toll on several key players and we were
forced to change the formation quite drastically
along with the positioning of some players due to
injuries.
Our forced changes interrupted the flow of our
football and we were behind quite early in the game
to an exceptional Greatham side. We went on to lose
the game 4-0 but matched greatham in the effort and
determination department all the way despite our
injured players on the sidelines. To be honest, I am
not sure that a full strength Middleton would have
been enough to take Greatham who I thought were
quite brilliant in both their passing and their
movement off the ball. The great football being
played meant that the Rangers had to keep working at
100 percent despite the fact that a defeat was
inevitable, and all of them did just that. We
deserved at least one goal from the game and I was
absolutely gutted for Aaron Chapman that his over
head kick was cleared off the line after leaving the
Greatham keeper stranded, not to mention his forty
yard pile driver that shaved the bar.
Today showed what we are capable of. We were the
lowest placed TJFA team in this tournament by a long
way but that statistic turned out to mean nothing.
If we stick together, stay focussed on our football,
and leave the distractions behind that have thwarted
us in the past, we can have a very successful
future.
Andy MacNab in the Middleton goal had a brilliant
tournament, making some great saves, including a
fantastic penalty save. Kyle Bruce, Robin Hall,
George Musty, and Ryan Garnon were rock solid and
worked very hard under pressure. Cain James and Jake
Richardson dominated the centre of the park with
wingers and forwards Kieran Wade, Will Hughes, Brad
Bell, Luca Dunn, Joe Abbott, Liam Neave, and Aaron
Chapman caused no end of problems for the opposition
defences until we were forced to make the drastic
changes in the semi final. Well done to new signing
Liam Neave for taking over the full back role when
called upon. Liam has not been with us for long and
has demonstrated his willingness to play out of
position when our backs are against the wall on two
occasions now.
18/06/11
Mount Pleasant Rangers Tournament
Due to my commitments with the Mini Rangers , Lee
and Les very kindly agreed to take an Under 14s team
each in this tournament and by the time I was able
to get there both Middleton A and B were very
comfortably through to the quarter finals. So I
wasn’t missed
J
Middleton B came up against Spraire Lads in their
quarter final and Middleton A also found themselves
facing a second Spraire team in their match. Quarter
finals turned out to be honours even between the two
Darlington clubs with a win each. Middleton A played
a fantastic game and were desperately unfortunate to
lose by a single goal in what was a very close and
extremely entertaining match, whilst Middleton B put
three past their opponents to take them into the
semi finals.
The Semi final brought on Allstars Red and another
very entertaining match that was won by Rangers by a
single goal of the finest quality. So it was into
the final for the second year running for Middleton.
Rangers opponents in the final were the strong
favourites of the tournament, a Spraire Lads team,
and consisting of some very fine players indeed, and
I heard Les assure the Middleton boys that whatever
happened now could be considered secondary to their
fine efforts and performances so far..we were the
underdogs without doubt so the pressure was on our
opponents.
His words definitely took hold and the Middleton
boys started the final very strongly, possibly
taking the opposition a little by surprise, and very
deservedly took the lead early on. Many watching
might have thought that this would spur on the
favourites and that Rangers might be put on the back
foot, but this was not to be the case with Middleton
continuing to press for another and going painfully
close on several occasions.
Half time came and Middleton were good value for
their lead, but we knew the game was far from over,
quality opposition and a tough second half beckoned.
Spraire came out second half with a little more
urgency and came close to levelling things up on a
few occasions but the Rangers looked strong at the
back and in no mood to give up their advantage. The
game got more and more competitive as the final
whistle drew closer and I must confess to allowing
myself to believe the lads had done it, especially
when I heard the ref tell one of the boys we were
into added time.
However, deep into the time added came a goal of
real quality to break Middleton hearts. An overhead
kick into the corner that was quite simply
undefendable. The goal was a devastating blow to
Rangers but was undeniably a fine effort and worthy
of evening up any match.
Extra time brought no further goals so we all
settled into the dreaded penalty shoot out.
Rangers lost the spot kicks by the closest possible
margin with penalties going right through both
teams, all the way to the seventh man. The closeness
of the shoot out complemented what had been a truly
great game of football and despite our
disappointment at losing out we congratulate our
opponents on taking the spoils under the tough
pressure of a penalty shoot out.
A great tournament that culminated in a brilliant
final fought out between two fantastic and
competitive football teams and two great Junior
Football Clubs.
The Middleton Rangers Under 14s at Mount Pleasant
were Andy MacNab, Conner Pearce , Robin Hall, Cain
James, Kyle Bruce, Ryan Garnon, Jake Richardson,
Brad Bell, Liam Neave, Naz Stephenson, Azza Chapman,
Joe Abbott, Matty Anderson, Kieran Wade, Jack
Kirtland, Will Hughes, and Luca Dunn
The only thing that spoiled it slightly a little for
me was being told at the end of an incident by a
couple of players and several parents affiliated to
both clubs who had heard some grown man on the
sideline throwing quite nasty and personal verbal
abuse towards at least one player during the final.
Now I did not see or hear any of this but it must
have been pretty bad as several people took the time
to express their disgust at what had happened.
I have no idea who this person was but I was told
that he has no affiliation whatsoever with our hosts
or with either of the fine football clubs that made
this tournament such an entertaining one.
Whoever you are fella..try to have a bit of respect
for yourself.
Saturday
02/07/11 Under 9s at Spraire
Lads Tournament
Middleton Rangers U9's
entered the Spraire Lads &
Lasses Tournament over the
weekend with all the squad
playing an important part &
after battling through the group
stage they beat Darlington All
Stars 1-0 in the Semi.
In a great final Mount Pleasant
went one up early in the game
only for Toby Richardson to
equalise for Rangers soon after,
Rangers got another to take the
lead just before half time. In a
2nd half that was end to end
with chances for both teams
Rangers worked their socks off
to keep Mount Pleasant out,
which was capped off with a 2nd
goal for Toby Richardson to make
it 3-1 just before the final
whistle.
Saturday 02/07/11
The
Under 14s went to Greatham to compete in an 11 a
side tournament with some of the finest teams in the
North East of England and came away with smiles and
dignity well and truly intact, finishing in fourth
place in the group of six. Fourth place was not
enough to give the lads a place in the Semi finals
but some battling performances against some quality
opposition gave us assurances that we are capable of
competing with the best. The performance was
particularly pleasing in that we were a few players
short due to holidays and injury.
The
Under 14 Rangers at Greatham were Andy MacNab, Kyle
Bruce, Cain James, Nath Stevenson, Robin Hall, Brad
Bell, Will Hughes, Kieran Wade, Liam Neave, Luca
Dunn, Ben Simpson, Joe Abbott, Aaron Chapman, and
Luca Dunn
Sunday
03/07/11
The Under
14s entered the Darlington Spraire Lads tournament
and got all the way to the semi finals before being
knocked out by The 21st Allstars who went on to win
the competition. Both teams entered came through the
group stages in good form finishing first and second
respectively. Both teams unbeaten and without
conceding a goal between them.
The
quarter finals saw Middleton A narrowly beaten on
penalties by Spraire Kestrals and Middleton B come
out 2-1 winners against Allstars Yellow. The Semis
put them up against Allstars Red who had previously
won the group but it was not to be Ranger's day.
The
Middleton Rangers at Spraire were Andy MacNab, Will
Hughes, Cain James, Jake Richardson, Robin Hall,
Matty Anderson, Ryan Garnon, Kyle Bruce, Brad Bell,
Ben Simpson, Kieran Wade, Liam Neave, Aaron Chapman,
Deck Brown, Joe Abbott, Jordan Robson, and Luca Dunn
Saturday 09/07/11 Settle United Tournament
The Under 14s made the journey to Settle for their
annual tournament with around half the team electing
to camp overnight with the others making the journey
early in the morning. Injuries and unavailability
took it’s toll and the squad found themselves a man
short on the morning. After much effort and several
dead ends we were able to secure the services of
Hugh, a Settle United player who very kindly agreed
to play for Rangers for the day, so our thanks go to
Hugh and his Dad who so kindly helped us out.
We split into two seven man teams (worked out
quickly in the line of the registration tent) and
took our place between pitches 14 and 9 to await our
first fixtures.
Rangers found themselves up against teams from
Carnforth Rangers, Settle United, Highgrove Colts,
Highgrove Juniors, Ilkley, Kendal United, Heathwaite
United, and Lune Valley.
Middleton A enjoyed 2 wins and a draw but it was not
enough to qualify for the semi finals but Rangers B
managed four wins and only one defeat and qualified
comfortably into the last four, progressing with a
1-0 win over Carnforth Rangers to propel them
deservedly into the final of the tournament.
Unfortunately it was not quite to be our day and the
boys were narrowly beaten 1-0 in the final to pick
up the runners up spot.
A great day and a lot of fun camping was had by
everyone. The Rangers at Settle were Will Hughes,
Andy Macnab, Mitch Armin, Kyle Bruce, Ryan Garnon,
Matty Anderson, Jordan Robson, Brad Bell, Kieran
Wade, Joe Abbott, Danny Simpson, Azza Chapman, Liam
Neave, and not forgetting Hugh of Settle United.
Some
of the lads at Settle
16th July 2011 Middleton Rangers 2nd
Annual Tournament
The Under 14s split into two teams for the 2nd
annual Middleton Rangers Tournament and hopes of a
successful day were high all round despite some
seriously strong opposition in two very difficult
groups.
Middleton 2 put in some great performances and were
desperately unfortunate to lose their opening game
by a single goal despite dominating possession,
losing their concentration only once in a match that
saw the opposition take full advantage of a single
goalscoring opportunity.
Two draws followed, leaving Rangers needing a win
over a strong Cadisports FC, who had made the trip
all the way from Manchester bringing with them
aspirations of the trophy, so it was always going to
be a tough game for the lads.
Unfortunately Middleton 2 were beaten but most
certainly came away with their pride intact against
a team that were looking more and more like
favourites with every match that passed. The result
meant that Cadisports qualified for the semis as
comfortable group winners, and they were going to
take some stopping.
Middleton 1 opened their group games with two
goalless draws against a very strong Spraire Lads
and another Division 2 team in Ferryhill. Ranger’s
next game saw the lads burst into goalscoring form,
coming away with a 6-0 win over Darlington RA. The
result left the boys top of the table and meant that
Spraire and Ferryhill had to take penalties to
decide the runners up spot in the group with Spraire
narrowly coming out on top of the shootout.
So with the semis decided, Middleton took on the
second RA team and Spraire were left to face
Cadisports of Manchester. Spraire Lads put in a
valiant performance against the Manchester side but
were narrowly beaten by a single goal to nil to see
Cadi through to the final and awaiting the result of
the other semi with anticipation.
The RA were put under immense pressure right from
the first whistle from a very strong Middleton
Rangers but continued to defend as if their lives
depended upon it, frustrating Rangers at every turn.
With penalties looming, it took a moment of pure
brilliance from Azza Chapman to break the deadlock,
deep in the second half of extra time. Azza won
possession and advanced with the ball at his feet,
turning three defenders inside out before unleashing
an unstoppable shot that nearly broke the net to see
Middleton into the final and break RA hearts who had
defended so brilliantly.
So with Rangers through to their third final of the
tournament season, it was hoped that it would be the
proverbial “third time a charm” but we knew it was
likely to be our toughest test of the summer yet.
However, confidence was high, and rightly so.
Middleton took the game to their opponents and
simply refused to let them play, giving them no
time, and no room on the ball. This seemed to
frustrate Cadi who had been used to a more
comfortable game thus far and they were soon arguing
with each other, trying to dig deep and raise their
game to the standard they would need to conquer the
Rangers. However, Middleton had other ideas and were
soon a goal up, making Cadi chase the game, an
experience they had not yet had to face.
The match was a close fought contest, physical, and
with some great football from both teams, but the
Rangers were just too strong for the lads from
Manchester, and the game finished 1-0 to Middleton.
The Champions at the Middleton tournament were Andy
Macab, Will Hughes, Matty Anderson, Ryan Garnon,
Robin Hall, Danny Simpson, Jake Richardson, Kieran
Wade, Jordan Robson, Jack Kirtland, Azza Chapman,
Liam Neave, Luca Dunn, Brad Bell, and Joe Abbott.
Day 2 of the Middleton Rangers 2nd annual
tournament was unfortunately ruined by non stop
torrential rain. The day started well for a
Middleton Under 14 team that had decided to test
themselves in the Under 15 section and the lads had
qualified for the quarter finals before the pitches
became ankle deep in surface water and the officials
were forced to abandon proceedings. The Under 14
Rangers who tested themselves against the bigger and
stronger Under 15 opposition were Andy Macnab, Ryan
Garnon, Matty Anderson, Luca Dunn, Jordan Robson,
Brad Bell, Danny Simpson, Joe Abbott, and Liam Neave.
Apart from doing enough to qualify for the quarters
(had they gone ahead), the highlight of the day was
most definitely a screaming goal from defender Ryan
Garnon against the Allstars. The ball was cleared up
field by an Allstars defender only to be met on
volley at the half way line by Ryan who smashed it
into the net. It was probably one of the sweetest
hit volleys I have ever seen, and despite the
distance, it gave the Allstars keeper no chance
whatsoever. So good was the goal that I had to
apologise to my opposite number for “over
celebration” after the game, but the Allstars coach
was very gracious and accepted with good nature.
Well done lads on some good performances, and in
particular to Ryan who had a fantastic tournament
over both days.
Some of the 14s at the Middleton
Tournament with the trophy
04/09/11
Bishop Auckland and St Mary’s tournament
Middleton Rangers lined up for some pre season 11 a
side preparation at the Bishop tournament today with
no less than 16 players all keen to play. Having
that many players can sometimes be a luxury for a
league fixture but can also cause dilemmas when you
want to give as much football as possible to as many
lads as you can, but also want to try and gauge
what is likely to be your strongest formation and
starting eleven.
Ranger’s first fixture brought them up against TSC ,
and a game that Middleton dominated for the most
part. The game finished all square due to some
defensive errors but demonstrated a competent 4 4 2
formation and a focussed attitude for the most part
from everyone.
Middleton then took on Coulby Newham who we will be
up against in the TJFA this coming season. I opted
for a very attacking shape which appeared to be
giving us the edge but we were failing to turn our
possession supremacy into any real chances in front
of goal. Coulby did very well to limit our
opportunities and then hit us on the counter when we
were stretched, a tactic that resulted in a one nil
victory to our opponents.
I thought the formation chosen would cause Coulby
problems and see us create a lot of chances for
ourselves, but I was wrong, and it ultimately cost
the lads any further progression in the competition.
So with little to play for we faced 1st
division high flyers Boro Rangers, in what was
always going to be an uphill task. The match was to
run away from us but I was very happy to see every
Middleton Ranger give one hundred percent right to
the bitter end and take the harsh outcome on the
chin.
Apart from the tactical error I made for our second
match, just one other aspect soured things a little
for me. In our final match I thought one or two of
our opponents set out to kick Aaron Chapman off the
ball at every opportunity, resulting in the
inevitable verbal retaliation. I was disappointed
that the referee appeared happy to let this go on
and then lecture Azza when he protested. One
incident in particular that somehow ended up with a
free kick to our opponents and a telling off for
Aaron came from him having to leap out of the way of
a two footed challenge followed by some verbal
grief. This was ignored and play continued until an
advantage to Boro did not materialise, was then
brought back for a Boro free kick, and a lecture for
my player on attitude. I’m still not sure how this
came about...but there you go...and despite my
frustration at this, I should not have lost my
temper the way I did.
Anyway…a lot to think about. Mistakes, hesitation, a
focussed attitude, and a positive mentality for the
most part. We demonstrated both good and bad today.
We clearly have flaws that will need addressing if
we are going to fulfil our full potential, but there
was also much today that was positive and I know we
will all work hard to be ready for the new season
next week.
The Rangers today were Andy MacNab, Ryan Garnon,
George Musty, Kyle Bruce, Jack Kirtland, Will
Hughes, Brad Bell, Joe Abbott, Jake Richardson,
Aaron Chapman, Kieran MacArthur, Liam Pollock, Liam
Neave, Danny Simpson, Zak Allan, and Luca Dunn.
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