The Dragons pressed on playing over the half term break rather than playing safe and blocking the dates off. That way the players not away on holiday were mostly not also deprived from playing:
The Firsts were narrowly beaten 2-3 away by Staines Lammas Development in the second round of the MCFA Intermediate Cup. The theoretically ‘home’ but away fixture made trickier by having to share a changing room with the Blues and two opposition teams. Bad passing cost the Dragons the win they deserved. A frustrating day as the Dragons were the better team but were perhaps unsettled by the off-pitch environment.
The Blues lost to London Saracens away. A day to move past swiftly for the Blues who were also on the losing end of a set of circumstances that disrupted their pre-game prep.
The Old Dragonians just lost 1-2 at home to Sandgate in the Division Cup. A close cup tie where the Old Ds found themselves 0-2 down before getting a goal back just before halftime when the Dragons forward pounced on a loose pass to convert past the stranded Sandgate keeper. The second half was scoreless despite the Old Ds pressing for the equaliser their performance deserved.
The new U11 Boys lost to Hanwell away. The Dragons were down 1-3 at halftime and then recovered to be “all over Hanwell” for the first 25 minutes of the second half and it looked as if they would recover the match but alas they conceded twice in the final 5 minutes.
The U12 Boys beat Headstone Manor 4-1 away. The Dragons put on a dominant display, showing great determination and played smartly to navigate through Headstone’s defence.
The U13 Boys Red had no game.
The U13 Boys White drew 3-3 to Wealdstone at home. This was a great game against the current League leaders. All in all, a draw was a good result and the Dragons could have won right at the end. The Dragons never stopped battling and fully deserved their point.
The U14 Boys drew 1-1 to Hanwell Town away. Half terms present a different set of challenges with the Dragons goalkeepers away on holiday. The priority was to not gift Hanwell goals. The resilient Dragons played to plan but frustratingly gave away a cheap goal late on. The Dragons then showed great determination to get the equaliser in the dying embers of the match and get out of Dodge with a point.
The U15 Boys did not play.
The U16 Boys were awarded an automatic home win to Blue Moon.
The U18 Boys lost to Wealdstone away. This, to put it mildly, was a difficult day for Dragon fans in the pleasant sunshine. The Dragons were depleted, not so much in numbers but more in leaders due to half term absences which exaggerated the difference between the two sides. The attraction, or challenge, of football is that goals are scored in a second – in 90 minutes there are 5,400 seconds meaning that character and resilience can prove to be as important as footballing skills.
The U10 Boys trained in preparation for the League.
There were no Youth Girl games scheduled over the half term break..