Financial Appeal & Results W/E 25 October 2020

Help!  It costs £100,000/year to run the Dragons – hiring pitches, buying equipment/kit and paying coaches’ expenses etc. It costs £250/year for each player. The Trustees and Managers are all voluntary. There is no charge to join the Dragons as it is not fair that youths should be stopped from playing because they cannot afford it. We rely on voluntary donations from parents and players, our small group of anonymous Patrons making substantial contributions, and applying for grants –  recently from the John Lyon’s Charity and Grenfell Fund.   We provide around 30,000 person contact hours/year through our 14 teams. We are good value but we do need funding. Certainly if your son or daughter plays please think about making a contribution  – however small or large – by clicking on the Donate button.  If you would like to discuss becoming a Patron please email Chris Shirley –  one day you would be invited to the Patrons Dinner……… when such delights return.

On to the Results – the honours must go to our Girl’s teams this last weekend:

The Firsts beat PFC Victoria 2-0 away in the Premiership in another good display

The Blues beat Wiseman West 2-0 at home to record their first clean sheet. This was another sound performance from the Dragons who are shaping up to be a strong team

The U11 Girls beat Acton Ealing Whistlers 3-1 at home. What a turn around from their first ever match only a couple of weeks ago! The first Dragons goal came from the right flank whilst the second started from staunch defending . The Whistlers were not to be outplayed and were only thwarted by the Dragons formidable keeper. The Whistlers started strongly in the second half and from fine play made it 2 – 1. The Dragons however ended the match unstoppable as their very own sharp-shooter banged in their 3rd goal.  Well done the Dragons.

The U11 Boys beat London Athletic 5-2 away. The Dragons started well and were unlucky to go 0-1 down early on but soon pulled back to 1-1. The Dragons then dominated with LA  barely troubling their keeper, mainly due to excellent defending, until they did! –  to score after another unfortunate OG. The Dragons pushed on to make it 2-2 at HT. The 2nd half was again dominated by the Dragons as their defence shut out LA’s attacks; whilst they constantly troubled LA’s defence. It was not long before the Dragons took the lead and  drew ahead to 5-2 for their first away win.

The U12 Boys lost 2-5 to Hanwell Town away. The Dragons will learn from this match as they went 2 goals up before becoming overconfident letting Hanwell come back to 2-2 in the first half. Alas the Dragons collective heads went down as they were second to every ball, allowing Hanwell to score more than they deserved.

The U12 Girls beat Kinja at home 5-2. The Dragons demonstrated excellent ball control in the first half with a strong defensive strategy, putting  Kinja under constant pressure to make it 3-0 at half time. They had to regroup in the second half, after a slight loss in focus saw Kinja score, before the Dragons scored their fourth. The teams then scored one more apiece, with the Dragons piling on the pressure in the last few minutes to maintain their lead.

The U13 Girls had no game

The U13 Boys played a friendly v Hendon

The U14 Boys did not play

Under 15 Girls lost 1-3 at home in their first match to previous League Winners, AFC Stoke Newington. Chances came and went but in the 4th minute the Dragons made the breakthrough and then came close to taking a 2-0 lead 5 minutes before the break as a 20-yard cracking shot hit  the crossbar. The second half continued with end-to-end action. The Dragons were always vulnerable as AFC fought back like a boxer trapped on the ropes to inevitably score and draw level with 17 minutes left. Five minutes later  AFC scored from a corner. With 5 minutes left there was still all to play for. A guilt-edge chance broke to the  Dragons striker as she found herself with a one-on-one with Kinja’s keeper, only to blast the ball high over the bar. On added time SFC drove a dagger into the Dragons heart with a third goal, via a scrap in the 6-yard box, and there was no way back.

The U15 Boys beat previously undefeated top of the division AP Stars 3-1 at home. The Dragons had trained and planned around being organised and it showed. AP had no time on the ball and, after a goalie error, conceded the first goal before the Dragons put another away from a beautiful cross pitch pass culminating in a powerful strike to lead 2 – 0 at halftime.  The teams traded goals in the second half for a solid 3 – 1 Dragons victory.  Fitness levels and organisation shined through with the Dragons making it clear that opposition goals will not come easy this season.  

The U17s  lost 1-5 away against Hendon. The loss was due to combination of circumstances including just bad luck

The U18s lost 2-6 away against Magix.  The Dragons were playing with a depleted squad due to 6 injuries and then lost their keeper the night before from another injury. They went 0-2 down but fought back to bring it back to 2-2 before half time. The second half saw the Dragons lose their momentum.

The U10s trained