Sunday 17/3/2007
South Rushden Spartans 3 v 2 Wellingborough Town

This encounter was played in gale force winds and was a real credit to both teams for attempting to play football. It had everything, drama, commitment, heartache, and from a personal point of view a pleasure to be involved in.

The game started with Wellingborough having the gale force wind behind them and they seemed to deal with the blustery conditions very well. They went close on a few occasions but could not find a break through, until up stepped Jacob (the goalkeeper) to provide the opener. He launched the ball up front with a wind assisted kick, it bounced in front of the Spartans goalkeeper but all he could do was help it into the net.

Cue wild celebrations from not only Jacob and the rest of the team but from the hardy Wellingborough supporters who had braved the weather.

The goal seemed to inspire the team who tried everything to build on the lead with Adam going the closest with a fine effort from the edge of the box which was well saved by the Spartans goalkeeper.

Spartans also had some opportunities to score, but the Wellingborough defence marshalled by Thomas held firm to go into half time 1-nil up.

Kieran was replaced at half time after picking up a knock, after putting in a great first half with some strong tackling and tireless running.

The second half kicked off with Spartans throwing everything at Wellingborough to try and get a break through, but the Wellingborough defence stood firm. Then perhaps against the run of play Wellingborough increased their lead. Elliot won the ball in the centre of midfield with a strong tackle he passed it out wide to Alex who played a beautiful ball into space for Elliot to run onto. He then played an absolutely fantastic pass to Ryan on the edge of the box who did the rest and blasted the ball past the helpless goalkeeper who was rooted to spot. Cue even wilder celebrations from the team and the Wellingborough supporters.

This then sparked Spartans into life who scored, they then got another to equalize and then produced the sucker punch to grab the winner with only a minute remaining. It was a cruel blow to Wellingborough who had worked hard to try and get a result with some great closing down, tackling and at times playing excellent football. But battling against a gale force wind and playing a very good side remember earlier in the season this team beat us 10-nil, it was not to be on this occasion.

I was very proud of each and every one of the lads and it was a pleasure to see some of the things that we work on in training pay off

Sunday 19/11/06
Wellingborough Town 0 v 6 Vicarage Farm Blue

After last weeks great performance the Wellingborough Town boys were hoping to continue where they had left off and put in another fine display.

Unfortunately as the score line suggests this didn't happen. Wellingborough started off well enough with Ryan and Josh both going close and producing some great football together. Adam did try and help with some tireless running, but Vicarage Farm Blue's midfield took advantage of the space this created and quickly established a 3 nil lead at half time.

The score line would have been greater if not for the heroics in goal from man of the match Jacob and some great defending from Thomas who really has made this position his own with yet another fine display.

The second half started very much the same as the first with Jacob and Thomas defending well but they alone could do nothing to stem the wave after wave of attack from Vicarage Farm Blue.

Elliot did start to defend a bit better in the second half but ran out of steam as did Adam and they were replaced by Nathan and Kieran. Also Lewis and Oscar were introduced and they tried to play some football, but they could do little to break down a very good and well organised side.

Sunday 12/11/06
Grammarians Youth 0 v 3 Wellingborough Town

This match had to be one the greatest moments in my short managerial career where everything that you work through with the boys in training paid off.

I could not fault any of the boys for commitment and thoroughly enjoyed the whole match. Wellingborough Town started well with Ryan opening the scoring with yet another well taken goal, and another fantastic finish from the lad; he shot across the goalkeeper to give him no chance at all. But it was the build up that pleased me more than anything.

Elliot won the ball in midfield played it out wide to Josh who went past his marker like he wasn’t there and crossed it to Ryan who did the rest. Absolutely marvelous. Adam was very instrumental in everything that Wellingborough produced and this had to be one of his best games for the club.

Elliot dominated the midfield with some fantastic tackling and running, helping out in defence and only limiting the Grammarians to some long range efforts which Jacob in goal dealt with, without any trouble. Thomas played really well in defence but wasn’t really tested as the midfield offered him such great protection. When he was called upon to make a challenge he came up with the goods.

Wellingborough Town went on and scored another two goals through Josh, his 2nd goal was top draw with him scoring from a tight angle high into the roof of the net, but like I have said it was the manner in which they did it which pleased me more, playing some great football along the way. If only I could have given each of the squad a man of the match award as they all deserved it but couldn’t as we only have 1, but on this occasion we didn’t have any.

Please speak to Thomas’s dad Mark for a full explanation!!!!

Sunday 5/11/2006
Wellingborough Town U9 0v1 South Rushden Trojans

Wellingborough Town started this match the better side in all departments with the midfield of Elliot, Nathan and Lewis working well and offering a lot a protection to the defence and goalkeeper.

Thomas played exceptional well in defence and in fact earned himself the man of the match award especially with his second half display where he put in some strong challenges and his reading of the game was fantastic. Ryan did a lot of hard work up front but unfortunately the final ball to him wasn’t quite right. When he did get a chance he was quickly closed down and their defence did a great job in only allowing him some long range efforts.

Wellingborough Town unfortunately fell behind to what turned out to be the only goal of the game, when a shot from a South Rushden Trojans player deflected off one of the Wellingborough midfield players and some how managed to slip through the fingers of Adam in to the goal. It was a cruel blow as both sides hadn’t really stamped any kind of authority on this match.

The second half started very much as the first had finished with both sides going close, but there were no clear cut chances as both sides tried to play football in the difficult blustery conditions. Ryan and Nathan were replaced by Connor and Oscar who both put in fine displays but despite their efforts they could not turn the match in Wellingborough’s favour. A special mention must be given to Adam who played in an unfamiliar role as goalkeeper and performed very well and was very unlucky with goal .

Sunday 29/10/2006
Wellingborough Town 1v 1 Volta FC

After last weeks heavy defeat, the Wellingborough Town boys were in confident mood to try and put right some of the mistakes they had made. And after only a few minutes this was pretty much in evidence as Volta FC struggled to match a more determined and rejuvenated Wellingborough Town. With the midfield been dominated by Elliot, Josh and Adam the ever improving Ryan was been supplied with a steady stream of chances to put Wellingborough into the lead.

This eventually happened after 5 mins when an absolutely fantastic pass from Josh found Ryan on the edge of the box and he fired home with a shot that could only be described as top draw. Further chances fell to Ryan and notably a great effort from Josh which just went over the bar. If this chance had gone in I am sure Wellingborough Town would have went on and won this match

With Kieran having another great game in defence and Jacob in goal dealing with everything that Volta FC could throw at him the boys went into the second half 1 nil up.

The 2nd half started very much like the 1st half with Wellingborough Town dominating in every department but unfortunately they couldn’t capitalise on the chances they created. Slowly Volta FC started to grow in confidence and they equalised to make it 1-1.Both sides could have won this match and in fact Lewis went very close with a great shot which the goalkeeper did well to turn around the post, but a draw was a fair result and a great result for Wellingborough Town especially after last weeks heavy defeat.

The boys showed they can play some nice football when they want too and I was very pleased to see a lot of the things that we had worked on in training starting to pay off.

Sunday 08/10/2006
Wellingborough Town 2 - 2 Raunds Tigers

After last weeks defeat the Wellingborough Town boys were keen to put things right and hopefully get a win under there belts. Unfortunately they fell behind to an early goal from Raunds Tigers who made all the early running.

Wellingborough Town must have feared the worst but they started to play some nice football with man of the match Josh putting in some nice work on the left hand side of midfield. It was his pass that led to the equalizer half way through the first half. A nice pass found Ryan who finished in great style with a shot across the goalkeeper in to the far corner.

The 2nd half started with both sides going close. The returning from holiday Jacob had been the busier of the 2 goalkeepers; in fact he made some important saves to keep Wellingborough Town in the match. Unfortunately he could not do anything about the Raunds Tigers 2nd goal as Wellingborough Town pushed forward to get their noses in front they left him horribly exposed at the back and they scored. With the score 2-1 Wellingborough Town again went in search of an equalizer.

Elliot and Adam put in a fine display in midfield with both of them working hard to close the play down. And Kieran put in some strong tackles to break up the attacks from Raunds Tigers. All their hard work finally paid off as they were rewarded with an equalizer. The ball was played into the box .Raunds Tigers could not clear the ball and up popped Connor to rifle the ball home from 6 yards.

Wellingborough Town held on at the end to secure a very well deserved draw. The celebrations by the watching parents at the end were marvelous and you would have thought we had won the cup judging by their applause.

Sunday 10/09/2006
Earls Barton Yellow 2 - 1 Wellingborough Town

After last weeks result the boys were in confident mood to put in a good display and hopefully get a win under there belts. Wellingborough Town started off really well with the midfield of Elliot, Nathan and Connor closing down the opponents very well and getting in some solid tackles, and giving Kieran and Jacob some protection. This was something that just didn't happen last week.

Unfortunately Earls Barton Yellow scored against the run of play and then they got another to make it 2-nil.The boys may have feared another 8-nil score line but they played some nice football at times and kept plugging away and were finally rewarded for there hard work with a well taken goal from man of the match Thomas O'Key.

A nice ball was played down the wing by Connor after Elliot had won the ball on the edge of the box for Thomas to run on to and he finished in great style. The half time whistle came too soon for Wellingborough Town who were starting to take control of the game.

The second half started with Wellingborough going close on a few occasions notably a fine effort by Oscar who just narrowly fired over from a well worked corner by Lewis. Jacob pulled off some fine saves and Kieran battled away only to take a knock and was replaced by Josh who put in a fine display in an unfamiliar role.

The equaliser didn't come but it was a much improved performance by the boys and a lot of pluses came out of the game.
Ian

Sunday 10/09/2006
Wellingborough Town 0 V 8 Higham Colts

This was the first game for the newly formed Wellingborough Town Under 9 team and a lot of positives were taken from the game.

Wellingborough did well in during for the first 5 minutes and competed quite well until Higham, a team that has played together for two whole seasons found their stride.

Many of the Higham Colts goals were down to Wellingborough Town midfield not understanding where they should be playing and what was expected of them. This will come with experience. During the first half Kieran, who had a fantastic game, was left exposed at the back and did his best to protect Man of the Match Keeper Jacob. Half time 0 - 5.

The second half display was a lot better, the midfield of (in rotation) Josh, Elliott, Oscar, Nathan and Lewis did well to track back and help out the defence. Unfortunately Thomas had little to do up front apart from close people down which he did very well.

Jacob was fantastic in goal and made many great saves. The second half saw two more Higham goals which just goes to show how much better the boys played.

Well done boys, I know we will see a huge improvement over the season.

Martin

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