Fellow Dragons
As winter creeps up the Dragons resilience will show though. It is time to stiffen the sinews:
The new Girls section has started training sessions on Friday evenings with other girls joining in with the younger boys on Saturday mornings. Any girls interested in playing football should reply to this email.
The new U11s were beaten by FC Real at home. The Dragons know that learning to lose is the first important lesson so are having a crammer course. Gradually it is dawning on the Dragons that shape, fitness and resilience matter.
The U12s beat London Eagles 3-1 away in a brilliant performance. An effective tap put the Dragons 1-0 up at the half. Ten minutes after the restart they scored a world class free kick which left the keeper baffled and then before the end scored a spectacular left foot curler into the top corner. The Dragons were resilient, industrious and played top class football to deserve their win.
The U13s drew 2-2 at home to Forest United in a spectacular turn around as they had been beaten 2-9 in their first encounter. Both teams were tested to their limits and it needed an amazing goal line clearance to save the day for the Dragons to earn a well-earned point.
The U14Bs beat Venceremos 4-3 at home. The Dragons were 2 nil up and controlling the game when they gifted Venceremos a goal and then conceded from a free kick. Failure to deal with another set piece saw the Dragons 2-3 down facing their first league loss of the season but they showed real character, dug deep and fought back to preserve their 100% record.
The U14As drew 2-2 with Wealdstone away in their toughest game of the season. The Dragons went one up midway through the first half from a sublime piece of play but Wealdstone were very tough defensively, with big physical players and kept the Dragons from scoring again before punishing with a quick counter to equalise. The second half was a repeat of the first with the Dragons pulling 2-1 ahead only for Wealdstone to equalise towards the end.
The U15s lost 0-4 to the Spartans. The Dragons were missing 8 players from injuries and then early on another injury reduced them to 10 players. Although the overall performance of the Dragons team was good they conceded 3 goals in the first half. The players showed their willingness and attitude to play football, but still need to work on coming back into defence. The 4-4-2 formation seemed to work well and the Dragons made some brilliant attacks but unfortunately were unable to put the ball in the back of the net.
The U17s will be awarded 3 points as London Tigers pulled out 45 mins before the kick off
The U18s drew away to Kodak 0-0 in a very disappointing performance & result
The Reserves lost 0-3 away to the higher division Lampton Park in the cup. The Dragons showed a good attitude and positive mentality which alas was not enough to beat Lampton.
The First Team lost away to Deportivo. The Dragons were subjugated to wave after wave of attacks leading to some great goalkeeping saves. The Dragons lost possession inside the centre circle after a counter attack broke down and with the goalie 16 yards from goal were chipped. The Dragons battled on but their shape and organisational play was not of the quantity to cause Deportivo to falter as they attacked down the left to make it 2-0 and then 3-0 at the half. The Dragons pulled one back early in the second half and with it confidence returned to create four good chances before a Deportivo capitalised on a short corner with a fine strike. Overall the Dragons were poor in the first half but looked like a team in the second half,
The new U10s continue to train in preparation to joining the League.