Match result
| Team | Mixed U11 - |
|---|---|
| Opposition | Poppleton Tigers (League Cup Final) |
| Kick off | 7:30pm 10/05/2012 |
| Score | 1-2 |
| Match report | The Big Day finally arrived and when Fulford entered the ground to watch the Plate Final between Rawcliffe & Haxby, (Congratulations to Rawcliffe!) and took their seats high in the Main Stand, they were greeted by a pitch covered in puddles, brought on by the heavy rain in the preceding day and weeks and added to by a torrential downpour at 5.30pm. A match would never have gone ahead in normal circumstances, but full credit to York City and the League and Match Officials in getting the game on at a reduced 25 minutes each way, with the proviso that they game would be abandoned if there was any more heavy rain. The toss for changing rooms resulted in Fulford having the Away Dressing Room, which thrilled the lads as they followed in the footsteps of the Man Utd stars of 1995 amongst others! The game kicked off with Fulford attacking the David Longhurst Stand and proceded at a furious early pace. Fulford modified their usual tactics due to the wet pitch, in favour of early balls in to the new strike partnership of Will and Isaac. Considering they'd never played together up front before, they linked up remarkably well with some great interplay. Fulford were facing a Poppleton side who were playing a very progressive, continental formation which lent itself to good attacking football and was very much in keeping with their bright orange shirts. The first chance came when Joe I played the ball through for Isaac, but as he ran through on goal, the ball held up on the wet pitch allowing Poppleton's centre half to make a great covering challenge. Another chance came Fulford's way when Harrison played the ball into Will T, his one-two with Isaac put him through on goal, but this time as he dribbled towards goal the ball zipped of the wet surface. and the Poppleton keeeper was able to bravely gather the ball. A similar chance fell to Isaac, but again the wet pitch was the winner as the ball ran through to the keeper. These incidents aside, both teams were producing the excellent game of football that most observers would have expected, despite the conditions. Poppleton were having their fair share of possession and territory and it was they who opened the scoring after about 15mins. Some great wing-play down the left from Poppleton's left midfielder saw him get to the by-line and produce a telling cross, that was only partially cleared and fell to Poppleton's centre-forward who scored with a fine finish. Fulford's next good chance came when James played the ball into Will T, who pllayed in Isaac down the right. Isaac went on a jinking mazy run down the right and just as it looked as though he was going to shoot, he picked out Will T 8 yards out in the centre of the goal, but the Poppleton centre half made another great recovery tackle to prevent a certain goal. Fulford could have let their heads drop, going in 1-0 down at half time, having not taken 4 good chances, but they came out fired up. Harrison and Joe C were becoming more influential in midfield, and it was from Harrison's tackle and through ball that the Fulford equaliser came. Isaac raced down the right and twisted and turned past defenders as he had done in the first half, and his right foot shot was headingr for the far corner, but like all good strikers Will T was on hand to make sure! As the game went on, both the quality and the tempo did not drop. It was in both team's nature to go for the win, rather than have any thoughts of keeping it tight and playing for penalties. Fulford's defence of Tom B, Tom G & Harry were alll having excellent games and Joe C and Harrison all made some great covering tackles when Poppleton's right winger threatened to break clear. The next good chance was for Poppleton. A Midfielder hit a shot that came through a crowd of players, but Tom H adjusted well and managed to keep it out, and although he slightly spilled the ball, he was first to the rebound. Both keepers had excellent games in what were tricky conditions for goalkeepers. Fulford looked like they may take the lead with 8 minutes left when a through ball from Tom G found Will T. Just as he was about to enter the penalty area he was brought down just outside the box, as for the first time in the evening the Poppleton centre-half, who was a strong contender for man of the match, mis-timed the tackle. The resulting free kick went narrowly wide at the near post. Poppleton's No.8 had had a fine game in midfield all evening, and with 5 mins remaining he produced a moment of magic and scored a goal worthy of winning any cup final. He went on a jinking run through midfield dropping his shoulder one way then another. Tom B came out of defence and put in a good block tackle, but as the ball ran free it fell nicely for the sweet left foot of the Poppleton No.8 who curled the ball high into the left hand corner of the net. Fulford pushed forward in search of an equaliser. With two minutes remaining the ball dropped for Harrison on the edge of the box and he lofted the ball towards the far corner. Many of the crowd were on their feet expecting it to nestle in the net, but it drifted agonisingly wide. When the ref blew the final whistle, the Fulford players dropped to their knees and you could tell that they'd given everything to the final second and all 14 players had put in a performance they could be proud of. Congratulations must go to all at Poppleton on a fantastic League Cup win and completing the treble, which is a tremendous achievement. All 16 of Fulford's players can be very proud of their performances and the 11-a-side season they've enjoyed. Their attacking football has entertained and won friends and admirers wherever they have played. As a squad of players they have improved at a faster rate than at any time since the Under 7s season, which is a credit to the way they listen and learn in training and on matchdays. Many thanks to all who supported us on the night, the match and Ryedale League officials for getting the game on and York City for giving the lads the wonderful opportunity to play at Bootham Crescent. League Cup Final Preview In the build up to the League Cup Final versus Poppleton on Thursday 10th May, there will be a two-part preview to the big match. The first part is an introduction to the Fulford U11 players. “Meet the Players” Other teams that players are currently playing for, is shown in brackets. Frankie Eadie (St.George's) Frankie joined Fulford at the beginning of the Under 9s season from the all-conquering Heworth side. Frankie has an excellent first touch and vision, and has the ability to make superb defence splitting passes. Frankie joined the team as an attacking midfielder, and has developed into an excellent deep-lying centre forward. Harrison Mussell (St. Oswold's & City of York Schoolboys) Harrison has been with Fulford right from the U7s and is an excellent technically gifted footballer. Harrison is equally at home in any position on the pitch and has played in all of them for Fulford, but is probably best in an all-action midfield role. Harrison has scored 117 goals for Fulford to date and has a good knack of scoring key goals in big games. Harrison is also a superb cricketer, representing both North Yorkshire U11s and York Taverners U11s. Harry Hardstaff (Lord Deramores) Harry started out as Fulford’s goalkeeper in the U7 & U8 seasons, but his conversion to Centre Half during the U9s season was a key factor in Fulford’s League Title success that season. Harry is a great talker and organiser on the pitch, which combined with his great speed and stamina, make him an excellent Centre Half. However, he still proves that he’s still a top class keeper when he has an occasional game in goal. James Carr (St. Oswold’s) James started out as Fulford’s Centre Half in the Under 7s season and really excelled in that position. James is arguably the most individually skilful player in the team, and with his great ability on the ball, it has resulted in him being played more frequently as a midfielder. However in 6 or 7 a side matches, he can be “unplayable” as a superb back-to-goal centre forward. Joe Chadwick (St. Oswold’s) Joe began with Fulford in the Under 7s season and has always been a key part of the team’s midfield. Joe has great dribbling ability and a powerful right foot shot. Joe was in tremendous form during Fulford’s U9’s title winning season and scored many crucial long-range goals at key stages of the season. Joe Iggulden (St. Georges & Elvington Harriers) Joe was a prolific goalscorer for Fulford during the U7s and U8s seasons and is currently the team’s second highest scorer with 133 goals. Joe has become the team’s main ball-winning midfielder in recent seasons, and has great vision to pick out a defence splitting pass. Joe is also still very much a goal-scoring threat in and around the penalty box. Isaac Overton (Elvington & Elvington Harriers) Isaac is the Captain of Elvington Harriers who play in the Selby League on Saturday mornings and joined Fulford at the start of the season. Isaac started the season in great form at Centre Half, but it quickly became apparent that an attacking midfield role would be best for the team. Isaac’s range of shooting and finishing is tremendous, and has scored a number of spectacular goals this season. Olly Tomsett (St.George’s) Olly has been with Fulford since Under 7s and has mainly been a tough-tackling defender, but this year he has made great progress as a midfielder. Oly is another of the team’s great communicators, both on and off the pitch and he really enjoys the occasional cameo role as a striker, where he has a good instinct for being in the right place at the right time and his goals are always the cause for great celebration by his team mates. Peter Fewster (St.George’s) Peter joined Fulford towards the end of the Under 8s season and has made great progress over the past three seasons as a tough-tackling defender or midfielder. Peter is as brave as they come, and in the last year has shown that he is also an outstanding goalkeeper. Reza Sefat (St.Oswold's) Reza moved to York and joined Fulford at the start of the Under 10s season. Reza is a striker, with a good eye for a goal and has great awareness of where his teammates are. As a striker he leads the line well and his first touch lay-offs are great at bringing supporting midfielders into the game. Reza is one of the most popular members of the team and his name always gets the biggest cheer when the team is announced. Ross Garvey-Cocker (St. Georges) Ross has played for Fulford since Under 7s and is a very intelligent footballer who is equally at home playing in midfield or up front. Ross is an excellent finisher with a very high strike rate in terms of goals to chances and is probably the most two-footed player within the team, as he has always worked very hard to improve his passing, crossing and shooting with his left foot. Tom Blades (Elvington & Elvington Harriers) Tom has been a long-standing member of the Elvington Harriers team and joined Fulford ahead of the U9s season. Tom is a highly versatile player and is equally at home in defence or midfield and on either the left or the right. Tom has excellent touch and control and reads the game superbly, so his positional sense is first-class. Tom Grantham (Wheldrake & Wheldrake JFC) Tom has played for Fulford since Under 7s and 5 years on the Fulford coaches are still uncertain as to exactly what his best position is, because he plays so well, wherever he is asked to play! Tom initially played as a -winger where his electrifying pace and surging runs drew comparisons with Andrei Kanchelskis and Darren Huckerby. In more recent seasons, he has played in defence where he has used his pace and ability to read the game, to great effect. Tom Heath (St. Oswold’s) Tom has played for Fulford since Under 7s. Tom was initially a striker or attacking midfielder, but his potential as a goalkeeper was spotted in a back-garden kickabout during the Under 9s season and he has since gone on to have three tremendous seasons in goal. Tom has all the attributes required for a top-class keeper. He had great handling skills and reflexes, commands his area, is unfailingly brave and an excellent decision maker. Tom is still keen to play outfield and does very well whether it’s in defence, midfield or attack. Will Mitchell (St.Oswold’s) Will joined Fulford at the start of the Under 10s. Will’s preferred position is right midfield where his balance, skill and pace have made him a very valuable addition to the team. Will is also a very talented Ballet Dancer and Gymnast and apparently excels in every sport he turns his hand to! Will Turner (Dunnington) Will originally played up an age group for Dunnington, but joined Fulford at the start of the U9s season when the Dunnington team folded. Will has been an outstanding addition to the team as he is a natural goalscorer with a total of 140 goals for Fulford in just under 3 seasons. Will does his main work in and around the penalty box and if the ball comes back off the keeper or woodwork, he is usually first to it, and he has worked hard to further develop his all round game this season. “The Road to Bootham Crescent” The Road to Bootham Crescent started for Fulford Under 11s back in October with a Preliminary Round away tie versus Hamilton Panthers on the Little Knavesmire, which has been one of our favourite away venues down the years, particularly as we’d won the Hamilton Panthers 7 a side Tournament here in each of the last 2 years. However, Hamilton Panthers had been a bit of a bogey team for Fulford in knock out football as they’d beaten us in a quarter final and semi-final over the last 2 years in the York City 7 a side tournament. Panthers had also been banging in the goals in the previous games and went into the game at the top of Division 2, so it looked a potentially tricky game. Fulford went two nil up in the first half and looked to be in control of the game, but Panthers pulled a goal back just before half-time. Fulford stretched their lead to 4-1 in the second half, but Panthers pulled a goal back with 5 minutes remaining. Panthers pushed forward in search of further goals, but Fulford held out for a 4-2 victory. A full match report is available at http://www.fulfordfc.co.uk/matches/recent?id=963 Next up for Fulford was a Last 16 home tie versus Heworth. Fulford and Heworth have played out some great games over the last 5 years, but this was our first ever meeting in knockout football. Heworth went into the game towards the bottom of Division 1, which surprised many pre-season predictions, especially as they’d looked impressive in a pre-season 2-0 win versus Fulford. Fulford had however won 3-0 at Heworth in a league fixture, just 3 weeks previously. As has been the case in many previous games between Fulford and Heworth the first half was a tight affair with defences on top. In the second half Fulford made sure of progress into the next round thanks to a great display of finishing by Isaac who scored all 5 goals for Fulford. Heworth pulled a goal back late on to give Fulford a 5-1 victory. A full match report is available at http://www.fulfordfc.co.uk/matches/recent?id=1036 The draw for the ¼ Final resulted in an away tie versus Easingwold. Fulford have had many classic encounters with Easingwold in recent years and Easingwold is always a tough place to go, so this was always going to be a difficult game. Due to a severe frost at Easingwold, the game was switched late on to Stillington, where the previous league game between the two team had been played before Christmas, in which Fulford had ran out 6-3 winners. Fulford started brightly and were a goal up early on. Easingwold equalised just after half time, but Fulford quickly restored their lead, and after Easingwold had hit the post with 10 minutes remaining, Fulford added two goals late on to wrap up a 4-1 victory. A full match report is available at http://www.fulfordfc.co.uk/matches/recent?id=1175 The Semi-Final draw saw Fulford have home advantage versus Pocklington Town. Pocklington went into the game in third place in Division 2 and had already claimed impressive Division 1 scalps in cup football this season in knocking out both York RI and Rawcliffe. Fulford took an early lead through Will T, but despite constant pressure from Fulford, resolute defending and great goalkeeping from Pocklington meant that Fulford couldn’t add to the lead. It looked as though Isaac had scored the crucial 2nd goal, but it was ruled out for offside. Joe I did score the second goal to give Fulford a 2-0 victory and send them through to the final at Bootham Crescent. A full match report is available at http://www.fulfordfc.co.uk/matches/recent?id=1269 The Fulford and Poppleton players will therefore get the chance to follow in the footsteps of the many great players who have graced the Bootham Crescent turf, either for York City or their various opponents. Here are just three famous players who have played and scored at Bootham Crescent in recent years. 1. Ian Rush York City v Liverpool 16/2/1985 FA Cup 5th Round In the 1980s there was no more deadly a striker than Ian Rush. His pace and lethal finishing ability in and around the box meant he was just one of the many great Liverpool players that opponents needed to try and stop in this great Liverpool team that dominated the decade. Ian Rush scored the Liverpool goal in the 1-1 draw in the 5th Round FA Cup tie, but also in the Liverpool team that day were such Liverpool greats as current manager Kenny Dalglish and Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen. 2 Keith Houchen York City v Arsenal 26/1/1985 FA Cup 4th Round Keith Houchen is a personal favourite and while the York City goal he is most famous for is the 89th minute penalty at the Shipton Street End of Bootham Crescent that beat Arsenal 1-0 in the FA Cup 4th Round in 1985, Keith went on to further FA Cup glory with Coventry City in 1987 as he scored key goals on their Road to Wembley against Manchester United, Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United, before scoring the greatest diving header ever as Coventry City beat Tottenham Hotspur in the final. 3. Paul Scholes York City v Man Utd 3/10/1995 League Cup 2nd Round 2nd Leg Paul Scholes is an iconic player for the Fulford U11s Coaching Team who we are constantly using as an example to the team of a player who plays the game in the right way. Paul Scholes played at Bootham Crescent in a 2nd Round 2nd Leg League Cup tie and despite scoring two goals on the night, could not prevent York City gaining a famous 4-3 aggregate victory. Among the many superstars in the Manchester United team that night were Peter Schmeichel, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and possibly the Premier League’s greatest ever player, Eric Cantona. |
Manager | Richard Iggulden |
| Captain | Harrison M |
| Player of the match | Thomas B |
Team stats
| Player | Position | Contribution | Goals | Clean sheets | Bookings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom H | Goalkeeper | Played full match | |||
| Thomas B | Defence | Played full match | |||
| Peter F | Defence | Played full match | |||
| Ross G | Defence | Played full match | |||
| Thomas G | Defence | Played full match | |||
| Harry H | Defence | Played full match | |||
| Oliver T | Defence | Played full match | |||
| Joseph C | Midfield | Played full match | |||
| Joseph I | Midfield | Played full match | |||
| Harrison M © | Midfield | Played full match | |||
| James C | Forward | Played full match | |||
| Frankie E | Forward | Played full match | |||
| Isaac O | Forward | Played full match | |||
| Williaim George T | Forward | Played full match | 1 |
Go back