LEAGUE TEAMS U7s & U8s - MONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS

UD LEAGUE TEAMS - U7s & U8s - London & St Albans

March 2024

TGFC - U7s Blue (London)
The first game of month was arguably the best performance of the season! Despite succumbing to a narrow 1-0 loss, the team worked so hard and defended superbly throughout the game.

The team were unfortunate not to get a goal during the match, as their play going forward, something that they have been working on in training, had much improved. It was perhaps the hasty finishing that prevented the goal from coming, with a few players taking their shots from a little far away from the goal. The team will work on this during training and learn when to shoot and when to drive towards goal before attempting the finish.

Amazing performance from everyone involved, well done U7 Blues!

LFS - U7s White (London)
Despite a tough game against a strong opponent in LFS, the players did so well in the first half, remaining switched on and concentrating throughout on what their positions were and where they needed to be. We carved out plenty of opportunities and if it wasn’t for a strong showing from the opposition goalkeeper, we may have scored a couple of goals.

However, as the game went on, the players began to lose a bit of concentration, resulting in some goals conceded. Once a couple went in, the players looked a little deflated and the positional discipline began to suffer. However there were so many positives in the first half, it’s now just about keeping that same intensity and concentration throughout the game.

U7s - St Albans
Results wise this was the toughest month yet for the u7, battling very hard in their games but not being rewarded with what their efforts deserved. Their dribbling and distribution has got better but we have come up narrowly short against some really good oppositions. Areas where we are going to be working on are transitions and focus out of possession. Our last game of the month against Enfield rangers green was our best performance to date even though we narrowly lost and kept them limited to shots. Our passing, dribbling and pressing was exceptional and the team worked very hard to build momentum in the game. Even the opposition manager said we have been the toughest team they have played in 7 games, so a big compliment to the boys. The team is getting better each week and the consistency in performance will come!

London Eagles - U8s Blue (London)
Our U8 blues played a brilliant game against London Eagles, with a resounding 8-1 win. Up 5-0 at half time and in cruise control, a number of players were moved around more so than usual, experiencing different positions that they don’t always play; a great learning and developing experience.

Despite these drastic changes, the players did brilliantly, winning the second half 3-1. Despite this scoreline, the team would have been disappointed not to have kept a clean sheet, especially in the manner it was conceded. The players must remain focused and communicate throughout to avoid errors leading to goals.

Brilliant win all round for the team!

London Elite - U8 White (London)
In what was an exciting and competitive fixture, the U8 White’s managed to come back from 2-0 down to be drawing 2-2 in a game that initially seemed to get away from them. The players were resilient and kept on going, being rewarded with two fine goals.

Unfortunately, with one of the last kicks of the game, our opponents struck the winning goal, finishing the game 3-2. The boys can be so proud of their performance and, perhaps had they been a bit more clinical in the final moments, we could have got the win ourselves. Their attitude throughout was immense and we are so proud of them all!

U8s - St Albans
March has been a month of goals for the u8’s, winning 3 games on the spin coring 35 goals across all three. Not to mention them goals all finishing with double digit wins, 10-0, 11- and our record high win of 14-2 included! 

The most impressive win of all was the 14-2 thrashing against London Colney, the standard of some of the goals were absolutely incredible! We expect to see our u8’s side moved up a league for the final run in of games in April and look forward to our players being tested against some strong opposition. 

February 2024

Regent’s Park Youth League - U7s Blue (London)
The first game of February saw the team take on Stokey United, with the blues unfortunately coming out with a 4-0 loss.
Despite the results, there were definitely some positives to take away and had the opposition goalkeeper not been so effective, the scoreline could have been very different.
In the first half, the players did struggle to understand their positioning when out of possession and required a lot of instruction from the sideline. However, this improved dramatically in the second half as the players began to understand what was required of them.
The group will continue to learn and develop their positional understanding and the basic fundamentals of football with every game.

Second game was against SJW. Despite 3-0 loss, however, there were plenty of positives to take away from the game.
Players were asked and coached to remember their positions and responsibilities throughout the game and they did this brilliantly, where they had previously struggled.
There were also plenty of chances created in attack, with just that final product missing.
The game did highlight the speed at which players need to make decisions, often getting caught on the ball. When receiving the ball, players will be encourage to decide whether to dribble, pass or finish and make that decision quicker to avoid being tackled.

Regent’s Park Youth League - U7s White (London)
All players really worked hard throughout match against North West Academy, a team known for their strong U7’s. Considering how well NWA play our Dragons held them off for the whole first half. They worked well on taking their instructions throughout the game. The players did, however, have trouble remembering their positions, with many still wanting to chase the ball and see how far they can get with the ball. As the game progressed into the second half, this caused some issues with our defenders pushing too high and struggling to get back in time to defend. This did end up with conceding our goals and is something that we will be working on improving going forwards.

Second game of the month - Coach Maise wants to highlight a couple of players this month that have stood out; Viggo has been improving with every game and is playing excellently, especially when playing as a striker. Vivian has also been highlighted this month as her confidence has been improving, her performances have excelled and she is becoming a fantastic, fierce defender for Dragons.

Watford Friendly League - U7s (St Albans)
February saw the U7 play 3 games and even though they lost 2 out of the 3 the performances have been exceptional. The game of the month was the 3-3 draw against Belsize Park where we were 3-1 down with 5 minutes to go and we got 2 fantastic goals. We worked on pressing and defending this month which showed in the games regardless of the results. The team have had a some tough games but kept to the gameplan and implemented what they learnt in training into the games so credit to them.

Regent’s Park Youth League - U8s Blue (London)

UD v Canada Blanch
The first game of the month saw a sensational performance, praised by coach Sib as “close to perfect”. Whilst there is still plenty to develop with regards to positional awareness and understanding, each individual played brilliantly in possession as well as pressing well as a team when out of possession. With 7 goals scored and a clean sheet, the month of February certainly started well!

UD v Canada Blanch Return Fixture
The second game of the month saw us come up against the same team, albeit with obvious re-enforcements after the previous result, with our opponents choosing to bring different
players. Whilst the result ended in a 3-0 loss, there were plenty of positives to take, with the team dominating possession and passing the ball well. However, this domination of possession did not end up creating enough chances and ultimately, were unable to score. Whilst possession can be important, it is vital that there is an end product, which on this occasion did not end up happening. Nevertheless, a stepping-stone in the right direction and perhaps on another day we could have turned all our possession into a winning result.

Regent’s Park Youth League - U8s White (London)

UD v Stokey United
The first game of the month came against Stokey United, a cup game that was always going to prove difficult. The boys fought hard and continued right to the very end, however unfortunately ended up in a loss, eliminating the team from the cup. The tactical structure of the team, positional understanding and decision making of individual players will look to be developed as these attributes were the difference between the two teams.

UD v Brent Cross
The second month came by way of a friendly against Brent Cross, albeit in a 6 a-side game due to low numbers over half term. The team were brilliant, rounding off a fine performance with a 6-2 win. There were so many positives to take away from the game, including individual skill on the ball, passing and switching play to exploit the opposition, strong defensive work and some brilliant finishes.
Individually, the team must still continue to work on their shape and positional discipline, with some players often forgetting their roles and responsibilities within the team. However, the positives far outshone the points for development in this game and they can be very happy with both the performance and the result.

Watford Friendly League - U8s (St Albans)

February has been a month of learning for our U8s group. With fixtures becoming a more regular occurrence, the players are beginning to learn the importance of how important it is to compete in every football game from the first whistle until the last. 
We encountered Alexandra Park Youth again this month, a team much like ourselves who like to play football the right way. While the result may not have fallen in our favour, we could see huge development throughout the game in how our U8s competed in the second half. They can take great pride in this and use it as a platform to take into the rest of the season. Keep it up!

January 2024

Regent’s Park Youth League - U7s Blue (London)
After the Christmas period, we were so excited to welcome our U7 Blue’s back this month for their first games of 2024!
Despite some difficult matches and results, this team have shown what grassroots football is all about; playing with a smile. Despite playing against two very difficult teams and suffering from a particularly tough result, we could not help but admire the resilience and attitude shown by these young boys and girls.
They all continued to give their all throughout the game, never giving up and playing with enjoyment, enthusiasm and passion

Regent’s Park Youth League - U7s White (London)
The first game back saw a well deserved 2-0 win to record the first win of the season. This team have been making great strides as the season has progressed and this has been seen with the previous results. 
The difference from the start of the season to now, reflected by the results, shows the improvements and progressions made by this team. Where previously teams were winning by a large margin, this soon became close matches with draws in recent games, culminating in our first win a clean sheet.
We now look to kick on with the rest of the season and continue developing and improving with each game.

Watford Friendly League - U7s (St Albans)
So far this term our U7 have won 2 of their 5 games and there have been some exceptional team performances. We've been working on when and where to dribble and what to do when we’re not in possession of the ball. With this being our youngest league team it’s been impressive to see how our players have taken on board the information they’ve learnt during training into our games which will ultimately turn into more wins for this great group of players. Over the next few weeks we will be working on defending and specifically communication as this is something that may not always come natural to young players but is huge for working in a team environment.

Regent’s Park Youth League - U8s Blue (London)
Our first game back saw us play against a well organised team and despite the game ending in a loss, the boys definitely took some valuable lessons away with them.
We are pleased that this team are one of the few that will have league team training on their Saturday off-weeks from matches, which will only help them improve as a team and help develop that relationship both on and off the pitch.

Regent’s Park Youth League - U8s White (London)
The first game back saw this team earn a 2-2 draw against ELA. There was a fantastic turnout of players, as there has been all season – this highlights the commitment and dedication shown by all players in this team. We are very impressed with this teams dedication to turn up to training and develop and improve as a team, as we go into the second half of the season.

Watford Friendly League - U8s (St Albans)
During this term, we’ve had the pleasure of being very dominant in some of the games we’ve played as well as a few close encounters that really tested all the work we’ve put in. Some of the score-lines of the games we have won are a true reflection with how far we’ve come as a group, as we’ve been comfortably scoring over 5 goals in most of our matches! We’ve recognised what we need to work on and how we can still improve our strengths and use them as a key asset going into games. Our toughest tests have probably been against Alexandra Palace Youth FC as they are a similar side to us who like to play football the right way and have a few stand out individuals.

The teams focus and ability to take on board information has been good and an indication that they’re willing to learn and develop as footballers and individuals. The goals we’ve scored this term portrays the talent and skill we have amongst the group. It’s been an absolute pleasure to dedicate my time and knowledge to help improve these boys and implement a structure and philosophy this term and for the rest of the season ahead.