It was a mixed, grey weekend with our senior Girls’ sides leading the way with huge wins:
The U16 Girls smashed Alexandra Park out of the Cup with a 7-1 win at home. The Dragons started slowly, conceding early before picking up their pace to score a wonderful solo goal. From there on the Dragons looked unstoppable, putting in the tackles and working hard. Alexandra Park created opportunities but the Dragons defence proved too strong. A glorious afternoon and a glorious result.
The U14 Girls had a score to settle with local rivals Actonians, winning 7-2 at home. The first half was the best the Dragons have played this season, even if the score line didn’t reflect their dominance. The 2nd half saw the Dragons start sluggishly, whilst doubling their lead, only to concede a scrappy goal. The Actonians were now breathing down the Dragons collective necks. Cometh the hour cometh the girl, the League’s top scorer discovered her shooting boots and hit 4 unanswered goals to put the Dragons firmly in control. A great result.
The U13 Girls just missed progression in the Cup, by a late goal in extra time, to lose 3-4 to Actonians at home. This was not a match for the faint hearted. The Dragons started well, bagging 2 goals in 20 minutes but were then got caught off-guard as Actonians drew level. A counterattack in the second half made it 2-3 to Actonians with 5 minutes to go, but an inspired substitution sent the crowd wild as the Dragons striker fired the game into extra time. Despite then conceding the Dragons showed great strength of character, immense positive attitude, and true fighting spirit.
The U12 Girls had no game, but rather enjoyed training in the sun.
The U11 Girls had a difficult first fixture away to Broomwood. There was a 100% turnout and the girls remained cheerful, despite the pouring rain and conceding more goals than planned. The Dragons launched numerous attacks but without actually shooting when in front of goal. The great advantage of being beaten in one’s first ever game is that there is room for improvement and that is what this spirited, talented group of Dragons will do.
The U18 Boys did not play.
The U16 Boys drew 1-1 with local rivals Hanwell Town. The Dragons were short of players but mostly controlled possession. Despite dictating the game’s tempo the Dragons only scored once with a few shots rattling the crossbar. The Dragons eventually walked away with a point. The Dragons were pleased to remain undefeated.
The U15 Boys lost to Enfield in the depths of North London in the Middlesex Cup. The Dragons are a new team so need a few matches to introduce themselves to each other. Cup games have no bearing on the league so it will be interesting to see how they do against AE Whistlers next Sunday. Certainly, the team learnt a lot from the Enfield match and will come back stronger.
The U14 Boys returned to winning ways with a physical 5-3 victory at home against Elite Magic. The first half was evenly matched with Elite tackles taking ‘challenge’ to the extreme. After a controversial clash, the Dragons went down to ten men, but the team rallied and scored two quick goals before half time. The second half saw a frustrated Elite team also reduced to ten men. The Dragons went on to celebrate their first win of the season – a valiant, hard-fought victory against a tough side.
The U13 Boys drew 3-3 to Pitshanger at home. The Dragons dominated play early on with slick passing but couldn’t find the net in the final third. The game remained tight with each team cancelling out the other’s advantage. A late goal meant the Dragons rescued a point and can be proud of their spirit.
The U12 Boys won a fantastic victory away at Wealdstone in the Middlesex Cup, fighting through normal time to win 2-0 on penalties. After going 0-1 down the Dragons found the back of the net to keep their cup campaign alive. It was then a question of steely nerves to knock out Wealdstone in the penalty shootout. An excellent result.
The new U11 Boys fought hard to rescue the first half and take the lead in the second, but West Drayton proved too strong in the end. West Drayton scored two quick goals from the off, but the Dragons came back in the last ten minutes to make the score 2-2 at half-time. The Dragons then went on attack to lead! Despite playing well, the Dragons defence was then broken down to concede more than they scored.
The Firsts were beaten away by Stonewall. Despite an impressive performance last week, the Dragons couldn’t replicate their form on the road. It’s still early in the season and our prized senior Dragons will keep working hard to find wins.
The Blues faced a challenging fixture away to one of the League’s top performers. The Dragons were decimated with last minute withdrawals which meant they only had 10 players. Yet, the Dragons played brilliantly for the first 30 minutes and had two very good chances to take the lead but spurned both. As they say, if you don’t take your chances, you will get punished. Whilst the score line looked heavy, the Blues should be proud of their efforts.
The Old Dragonians were bested by the unbeaten Harrow Hive which made this a tough away fixture for the new squad. Nevertheless, the Dragonians are sitting comfortably in the table but know there is work to do in this, their inaugural season.
The U10 Boys trained.