14-October 2007 Claygate Foleys V Beaulieu Raiders

After a 0-1 defeat at home last week against Woking Cougars Colts and a 1-3 win away two weeks ago to Hart Saints, this week The Raiders travelled to play Claygate Foleys in leafy Surrey . After a few difficulties in finding the venue, the match kicked-off around midday.

The Foleys took some early chances at goal, but these were seen off with the excellent cover defence by Peter and Timmy with some great saves by Charlie. The Raiders dominated the first half with some good chances produced up front by JB, Lucan and Jack. First half ended 0-0.

The second half again began with The Foleys worrying The Raiders, but with Peter (now in goal) and Miles and Charlie in defence, any fears of a home goal were soon allayed. The game continued fairly evenly matched for some time. Then in the 42 nd minute, after Charlie (back in goal) made a tremendous save and quickly sent the ball back up the field, JB scored the first goal of the game, The Foleys equalised soon after and came close to scoring again but, then in the 48 th minute, Lucan took the ball to the home-side goal and deftly put it in the top-right corner of the net. Even more chances were seen from both sides as the match ran into injury time, but the final score was 1-2.

Charlie was awarded man-of-the match.

28-October 2007 Beaulieu Raiders V Yateley Shields

Beaulieu Raiders match report for 04-November 2007

After a heavy fog in Yateley, The Raiders travelled to a now leafier Surrey to play Woking 's Meadow Youth. For the 11am kick-off the fog had lifted to reveal an unusually warm, bright November morning. The Raiders lost the toss and Meadow Youth opted to attack toward the south for the first half.

From the opening minutes The Raiders dominated the play, with some great passing between the defence, midfield and strikers putting pressure on Meadow Youth. After some superb defensive efforts from Charlie, Timmy and Peter stopping Meadow Youth's first shot at goal, the ball found JB at midfield, who kicked a long through ball to the Meadow Youth goal; the goalie saved, but was unable to contain the ball allowing Mattie to chase down and score the first goal of the match. The following minutes saw Meadow Youth step up their game, with a hair-raising attempt at goal, where the ball skimmed along the full length of the top bar and finally fell out of play. After some evenly matched play, with the referee taking a relaxed attitude to Meadow Youth's continued jumping at throw-ins and the occasional aggressive tackle, in the 17 th minute, the opposing team found themselves with only Peter between the ball and the net, but their hesitation allowed Lucan to sweep in and foil their attack. The remaining minutes of the first half saw more hairy moments at The Raiders goal, but the defensive work of Charlie, Toby and Timmy kept the half-time score at 0-1.

For the second half, the low sun was now directly in the faces of the attacking Raiders (a good tactic by Meadow Youth?) With the pressure turned up by Meadow Youth, the 29 th minute saw them even the score when The Raiders made some defensive mistakes. Stepping up their attack, The Raiders made some excellent attempts at goal; notably Jack making a shot which was just short of the target, and Lucan putting the ball across the goalmouth but just short of Mattie's reach. At the other end of the field, in the 32 nd minutes, Meadow Youth took advantage of more defensive problems for The Raiders and put the ball into the net. Determined to fight back, The Raiders put their all into the attack with some shots at goal which were almost too close not to go in - but they didn't! Notably, a corner for The Raiders found the ball traversing the goalmouth past the feet of three Raiders, who all failed to get a touch. The 41 st minute saw the Meadow Youth goalie handle the ball outside of his box and the referee awarded a free-kick to The Raiders; taken by JB, he managed to put it over the defence wall, but just missed getting it in the top-left of the net.

Overall the second half saw The Raiders dominate their opponent's territory and also saw some nice ball play: good stop and turns from Jack, some spot-on heading from Charlie and good passing by all; lots of chances at goal were set-up, but the finish was never quite there.

The match ended 2-1. Lucan was awarded man-of-the-match for showing good skills in all parts of the field.

Beaulieu Raiders match report for 18th-November 2007

After a week off, The Raiders met visitors Guildford FC2000 Green in a windy and drizzly Yateley for an 11.10am kick-off. Toby was captain and won the toss, choosing to play (the slight) downhill for the first half.

Within the first few minutes, Lucan had a couple of shots at goal, but Guildford were putting up some good defending. With The Raiders maintaining the pressure, the 8 th minute saw Mattie take the ball up the field, passing to Lucan who, navigating Guildford 's goalie, put the ball across the goal allowing Peter to score. The next few minutes The Raiders piled on the pressure with Mattie having two attempts at goal and some tidy passing between Peter and JB who was unable to complete the finish. A melee of players, causing confusion around Guildford 's goal, saw Peter take advantage and score his second goal of the match. Guildford made a strong retaliation, snatching a series of corners which came to nothing due to the stupendous defence of Charlie, Miles, Timmy and Toby. However, the 20 th minute saw three Guildford players with the ball and only Charlie between them and the goal; Guildford 's No.9 neatly put it into the back of the net. The remaining minutes saw some evenly matched play; Guildford had a free kick near The Raiders' goal, which was well defended and the 24 th minute saw a beautiful JB-taken corner which should have given The Raiders their third goal, but the first half ended 2-1.

Early minutes of the second half saw more evenly matched play, with shots at goal by Guildford and with Jack creating a good chance at goal for Miles. After JB came off injured, a free-kick in the 36 th minute, due to Guildford 's goalie handling the ball outside of his area, was taken by Mattie who missed the top right-hand corner of the goal by a whisker. Further close action from Jack and Lucan at the Guildford end, but with no goals forthcoming, had The Raiders' supporters going ape. The frustration from The Raiders allowed Guildford to take the ball up the field and make the score 2-2 in the 41 st minute. After this, however, The Raiders dominated the game; they had two corners which were well set up but the goals were never realised; and JB took a cracking free kick which smacked into the top bar of the goal. In the 44 th minute, Jack had a shot at Guildford 's goal which the goalie stopped unceremoniously and unable to contain it, allowed Lucan to finish the manoeuvre making the score 3-2. The Raiders continued command of the game saw a further goal, made by JB (with some unusual passing by him) in the 47 th minute. The final minute saw Guildford with a corner but it was never allowed to come to fruition by The Raiders top defence.

The match ended 4-2. Peter was awarded man-of-the-match for scoring 2 goals, great defending at his turn in goal and for wearing the trousers (you had to be there).

Raiders Cage The Panthers

02-December 2007 Beaulieu Raiders Vs Lyne FC Panthers

Despite the miserable wet and windy weather, there was a good turn-out to see The Raiders play bottom of division Lyne FC Panthers; Mattie was captain this week and the first half saw Peter in goal.

After 5 minutes, two early corners for The Raiders and one attack from The Panthers, Jack put a shot across the Panther's goal for Mattie to score the first goal of the match. Soon after Jack was fouled near The Panthers' box; the free kick was taken by JB who shot at goal, but it was well defended by The Panthers. In the 8 th minute The Panthers took the ball to the Raiders goal making an excellent chance but the shot hit the top bar and was well recovered by Peter. The following minutes saw scrappy play from both teams, until the 12 th minute when The Panthers' goalie was unable to cover the ball and Lucan made the score 2-0. The Panthers fought back, but with no attacking support, a lone striker's shot at goal was saved by Peter. The Raiders regrouped and took the action to The Panthers goal, with the 19 th minute seeing Mattie make the score 3-0 and soon after, a nice shot across the goal from Jack almost gave the Raiders their next goal. Fighting back, The Panthers made a worrying attack, with two strikers, against Peter who dashed their hopes of a first goal. In the last few minutes of the half, The Raiders dominated with Jack again taking the ball up the field, shooting across the box and giving Mattie his hat-trick, ending the half at 4-0.

With Charlie replacing Peter in goal, the second half kicked-off to driving rain, but with The Raiders in a positive mood and enjoying the lion's share of the possession, they made lots of good chances from corners taken by JB and Lucan, one of which resulted in a deflection from a Panther defender into their own goal in the 28 th minute. In the next few minutes more sustained attacking from The Raiders saw JB score their sixth goal of the match and then minutes later saw Peter by-pass some poor defence to score yet another goal. So far, most action in this match was seen in The Panthers' half, giving The Raider's defence little to do. With The Raiders team swapped around, and the usual defenders on the offensive, some great tackling and striking work was seen from Timmy; Toby found an opportunity to shoot at the goal, but the ball was secured by The Panthers' keeper. However, the change around allowed The Panthers to pull together and their No.10 was allowed to take the ball into The Raiders half on two occasions, but with little support from his team members, his shots across The Raiders goal were fruitless causing little concern for Charlie. The final five minutes again saw most action around The Panthers goal and a few chances were made by Lucan and Timmy, but the final score remained 7-0.

Throughout the match, The Raiders team members seem to be fighting each other to get the ball at times, but overall they showed good team work with some fantastic passing and tackling and they are becoming a much more cohesive group of players.

Jack was awarded man-of-the-match for great passing and assisting in the goals scored.

Too much Xmas pud?

06-January 2008 Woking Cougars Colts Vs Beaulieu Raiders

On this frosty, bright Sunday morning The Raiders travelled to the outskirts of Woking to play top-of-the-league, unbeaten Woking Cougars Colts. This was The Raiders' first game in over a month, due to the Christmas holidays and the previous hard weather; today Lucan was nominated captain and a new squad member was present in the form of Max who had joined as defender.

From the outset, it was clear The Colts were going to be tough to crack; their great ball-skills and impressive passing immediately put the pressure onto The Raiders, with a number of shots at goal in the first few minutes; these were well dealt with by Charlie, Timmy and Max. The Raiders fought back, winning two corners and some attempts at goal by JB. There was some good end-to-end play with The Colts glancing a shot off The Raiders' goalpost, followed by The Raiders making The Colts goalie having to make a startling dive for the ball. However, in the 16 th minute, with The Raiders' defence fighting over the ball, The Colts No.9 was allowed to score the first goal of the match with a powerful shot from outside the box. Two minutes later and more confusion in The Raiders' defence allowed The Colts No.9 to score his second. The Raiders fought back and made a great chance in the 21 st minute, but (criminally) missed an open goal, while The Colts' goalie scrabbled about on the ground. The 23 rd minute saw The Colts No.9 score his hat-trick as The Raiders were unable to clear the ball away from the goal area, ending the first half 3-0.

The first seven minutes of the second half saw two goals scored by The Colts No.3, which could have been more, but for the saving efforts of Peter. In the 37 th minute, after a fruitless corner from The Raiders, the ball was taken down the field by an unhindered Colt, but he was unable to make the finish. The next few minutes saw The Raiders' best chances of the match which some good efforts from Lucan, JB, Jack, Mattie, Miles and Charlie, but no elusive first goal for The Raiders. The last ten minutes saw The Colts score another three goals, bringing the final score to a crushing 8-0.

Charlie was awarded man-of-the-match for some great all-round play: attacking, defence and good passing.

They Think It's All Over…

13-January 2008 Cup Match: Feltham Greens Vs Beaulieu Raiders

Set against the backdrop of jumbo jets landing at Heathrow, a Raiders' squad of seven only travelled to Feltham on a deceptively cold, windy day for their First Round Cup match.

Charlie was captain and The Raiders were off to a great start with Mattie making the first attempt at goal. Possibly the best shot of the match (even though it didn't go in) was seen from Timmy in the 6 th minute: from well outside the penalty area, he lifted the ball over everyone's heads, just narrowly missing the top of the goal. The Greens' first real chance at goal came in the 10 th minute, but it was well defended by Charlie; a similar chance came in the 14 th minute, but the Raiders defence of Timmy and Toby were on form. The next five minutes showed The Raiders dominating making some good chances, especially from Peter whose passing in attack made some good chances. After a free-kick was awarded to The Raiders in the 17 th minute, The Greens were then awarded one soon after, making good chances themselves. With nail-biting end-to-end play, it was only a matter of time before the first goal came, and the fans had to wait until the 24 th minute when Jack passed the ball to Mattie, and with only the keeper between him and the goal, he ended the first-half 0-1.

The second half started with a big push from The Greens. Within minutes a mêlée in The Raiders' box, and the defence not able to dispose of the ball, allowed The Greens to make the score even. Minutes later, with The Greens not letting up and more defensive errors from The Raiders, the ball spun slowly into The Raiders' goal. The Raiders retaliated; Jack made a spectacular solo run up the field and tried a shot at goal; and then Lucan had a great shot at goal, but The Raiders were still unable to match the score. The final minutes saw more thrilling end-to-end play, but another error left two of The Greens running on to The Raiders' goal; by now, the pitch had been invaded by a flock of seagulls (not the 80's pop group with the weird hair)…. they thought it was all over? The Greens scored ending the match 3-1 (…it was now).

Peter was awarded man-of-the-match for some great passing and showing good attacking skills.

Time Peter, time…

03 February 2008 Beaulieu Raiders Vs Woking Meadow Youth

Beaulieu Raiders met Woking 's Meadow Youth for the second time this season, this time in Yateley, for an early kick-off on a bright sunny day with a biting wind chill.

Timmy was captain and for the first quarter of an hour there was good end-to-end play but with few chances made by either side. Then Jack took the ball to the Meadow Youth area, passed across the goal to JB who, fighting off Meadow Youth's defence, had to pass to Mattie on the left wing; he passed back to Peter, centre, outside of the box, who timed a neat high lob into the Meadow Youth goal. In the 18 th minute Timmy, on the right-wing, passed the ball to JB who made a great pass to an unmarked Peter, who again had time, allowing him to score his second goal. Meadow Youth made an immediate retaliation which looked like trouble for The Raiders; however the nerve-racking attack from their No.6 was no match for Charlie's goalkeeping. The first half ended 2-0.

The second-half started with Meadow Youth upping their game, requiring Peter (now in goal) to make some great saves. The next few minutes saw The Raiders win two corners which were well defended by Meadow Youth. The away side's subsequent attack was nicely shielded by the combined efforts of Lucan, Max and Timmy; this allowed Charlie to take the ball all the way back down the field and making a decent solo attempt at goal. Into the last 15 minutes: The Raiders had further chances with a corner and free-kick (particular mention to JB's powerful kicking!) but generally, the last 10 minutes showed no sparkle from either side with everyone chasing after the ball and no-one finding the space needed to make the chances. The last minute saw Meadow Youth's No.9 produce a good run at goal, but this was arrested by Miles and Charlie, leaving the final score at 2-0.

Peter was awarded man-of-the-match for making 2 goals and good goalkeeping