A mixed weekend with some startling good results with the new U11 and U12 Boys doing particularly well:
The Firsts home game to Stonewall was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
The Blues and the Old Dragonians had no games.
The new U11 Boys beat London Athletic 4-1 away. It was the fourth time lucky for Dragons against LA this season as the improvements shown on the training ground came together triumphantly on the Sunday. It was “liquid football” according to some observers, and “just like watching Brazil” to others.
The U12 Boys beat Celtic 8-1 away in the League Trophy. The Dragons put in lots of hard work and their excellent teamwork was on full display. They were focused and relentless from the very beginning until the very end.
The U13 Boys Red lost 2-6 to St Lawrence away. In a game the Dragons normally would – and should – have won, they can maybe be excused for already having their position in the League finalised. It is now onto the Trophy competition.
The U13 Boys White lost 1-3 to Northfields away. This was such a frustrating day for the Dragons. They huffed and puffed but could not convert good situations into goals. The home side were clinical and the Dragons were not – that was the difference. This team has grown as the season progressed. They were rock bottom after the first month but since have clawed their way up the table and avoided relegation – a huge credit to this newly assembled side. Watch out next season.
The U14 Boys had no game.
The U15 Boys lost to London Athletic away. LA are not the most courteous of clubs and this pitch was an absolute shocker – the steepest slope found anywhere in London and the ground a quagmire along the far touch line. It was difficult to understand quite why the match was held on such a shocking pitch when there were others available. Simply put the Dragons did not take enough advantage of the slope playing down the steep hill in the first half and in the second they made hard work of toiling their way up hill and left opportunities for LA to charge down and score.
The U16 Boys had no game.
The U18 Boys beat Foxes 6-3 at home in the League Trophy. The auspices were not good – the Foxes had turned up before most Dragons were out of bed – they then arrived haphazardly only to spend ages fiddling around trying to find their shin pads etc. Meanwhile the Foxes pirouetted around doing their complicated well rehearsed warm up routine in their crisp rather fetching orange shirts. The match finally started with the seemingly somnolent Dragons bursting into action and bombarding the Foxes to score three quick goals. It was then a matter of the Dragons strolling towards the winning post whilst letting the shellshocked, but always neat, Foxes score the occasional consolation goal.
The U10 Boys trained in preparation for the League.
The U17 Girls narrowly lost 0-1 to Alexandra Park away. This was the last League game for the Dragons and whilst they lost it doesn’t tell the full story. With only 8 players the Dragons team battled from minute 1 to the end. They hit the woodwork 4 times and were incredibly unlucky not to have got something from the game. It’s without question that had players been available for the entire season and there had been a full complement on the pitch against AP, they could have won the League.
The U15 Girls had no game.
The U14 Girls lost 0-4 to Alexandra Park away. The Dragons put in a solid first half and looked good, keeping themselves in the contest to be only one down by halftime. As the second got underway, AP had more legs and chances, putting enough daylight between them and the Dragons to comfortably win on paper.
The U12 Girls had no game.