Fellow Globe Trotters
Despite the rain on Saturday the Sunday was verging on glorious:
The U11 Girls drew 3-3 with Vicky Park Rangers at home. The Dragons KD started slowly and within minutes were 0-1 down. Worse was to follow as they lost concentration to let Rangers score again and then yet again to leave the Dragons 0-3 down at half time. After an inspirational half time chat, encouraging the Dragons to be honest with each other and work as a team, not as individuals, they showed amazing determination to come back to 3-3 from three well worked great goals .
The U11 Boys lost 2-4 against Kodak away. The Dragons toiled up the steep hill in the first half, conceding a few goals, in the expectation of romping down the hill in the second half peppering in goals. Unfortunately Kodak had not learnt their lines and toiled up the hill to passible effect denying the Dragons a deserved win.
The U12 Boys just lost 2 – 3 to Whitewebbs Eagles in the Middlesex Cup at home. The Dragons were unlucky to concede the first goal, against the balance of play, but then pulled back to 2 – 2 before being denied a clear goal from a hand ball. Whitewebs were then lucky to score the deciding goal .
The U13 Girls had no match
The U13 Boys just lost 4-5 at home in their most intense match to date against undefeated, top of the league Hanwell. The Dragons began a series of replies coming back from 1-2 down, then 2=3, then 3-4 to pull even at 4 – 4 with just a few minutes to go, only for a conceded penalty to be put away by Hanwell to claim victory at 4-5. The Dragons fans were exhausted as they reflected on the two incredible goal line saves by their keeper and some of the best passing sequences of the season by their front five.
The U14s beat Explorers 4-0 at home in the Cup. The Dragons demanded 100% from themselves and 100% from their team mates and they succeeded. The Dragons were back to their best: confident, determined, skilful and hardworking to score two brilliant goals towards the end of the first half. There were dangers of over confidence in defence but the Dragons keeper was on full alert and made outstanding saves. The Dragons kept up the tempo and were rewarded with two more magnificent goals
The U15s lost 1-3 to Hayes and Yeading in the Middlesex Cup in what felt like a victory – the last time they met the Dragons had lost 0-16. This time the Dragons came ready to fight and, despite Hayes and Yeading having legions of substitutes, they took the flight to them from the kick-off. In the second half momentary lapses of concentration gave Hayes and Yeading a couple of goals before the Dragons scored their own. The Dragons were very happy at the end and take confidence into their next match.
The U16 Reds lost 0-2 at home in the Middlesex Cup to Witton Wanderers, a Premier division team in the Surrey League. The Dragons started on the back foot, conceding early, but a quick change of formation slowly saw them back into the game. The Dragons created some chances before half-time, but nothing that challenged the opposing keeper. In the second half, they had two great opportunities at the start and the end. If only they had scored any they would have had a path back into the game, but it wasn’t to be and Witton grabbed their second and decisive winner.
The U16s Whites lost 0-3 away to Magix in the Cup. The Dragons knew it was going to be tough playing the Premier League leaders who have only dropped 2 points this season. The Dragons held on for most of the first half, conceding 2 minutes before the break. In the second half it was much of the same, but with some key players coming off injured, it became a damage limitation exercise towards the end. Losing 0-3 was not such a bad result from the Dragons.
The Firsts drew 2-2 with Tottenham at home. The Dragons played well in the first half, controlling the game to place the ball in Tottenham’s net twice. The Dragons then went to sleep in the second half in the heavy rain which complicated the match. Tottenham scored from a corner kick just 15 min before the final whistle but it still looked like a Dragons narrow win before disaster struck, 10 seconds from the final whistle, when Tottenham won the ball in the middle and their midfielder struck a fantastic goal to force a draw. Frustrating.
The Reserves lost 1-5 to London Titans. The Dragons started well and Titans didn’t look like scoring before they were gifted a goal to take the lead and then moments later the Titans scored twice more following defensive errors. The Dragons were two men down so did well to pull one back.
The U10s trained in preparation for joining the league next season