Season Archive – 2010/11

Pre-Season:

Pre-season was nonexistent this term due to a combination of holidays, work commitments and bad feeling from the disastrous pre-season campaign of 2009/10. Our lack of sharpness showed, causing a stuttering start to the season proper.

September:

@ Albury (Wally Day Cup)

@ Thorley Park

Vs North Weald Res

Vs Hatfield Heath Res

September saw Stony returning as Captain, with a brilliant fight back against Thorley Park that ended up being in vain, an undeservedly high loss to North Weald Res & our first win against Hatfield Heath Res.

We started this season losing out to Albury in the Wally Day Cup, we were short on players & fitness, and it showed.

The league campaign started with a bang; having come back from 3-0 down against Thorley Park, only to switch off for a second and lose 4-3.

Next we hosted North Weald Res and ended up losing 4-1 despite the match being much closer than it seemed.

We finished September with our first victory of the campaign, triumphantly beating Heath Res 4-1.

October:

@ Frontiers

Vs Albury

Vs Alemite Res

Vs Thorley Park

October saw us travel to Frontiers new Greyhound Stadium, and then hosting old rivals Albury, eventual league winners Alemite Reserves and a chance for revenge against Thorley Park.

We started against Frontiers, having gained some new talent, they looked up to the task, and an early stupefying decision by the ref caused our heads to drop. 4-2 losers.

We hosted Albury next, looking to avenge our cup defeats, unfortunately losing 3-1 on a day that we could have scored many more.

The third match in October saw the Rangers host Alemite Reserves, who thumped us 5-1 in the cup at the same point last year. We ended up on the wrong of a 5-2 score line, which flattered the opposition. We need to take our chances.

Our final fixture in October saw us host Thorley Park, these games are always entertaining affairs, with the Rangers triumphing 3-1 this time out.

November:

@ North Weald Res

Vs Frontiers (Div 1 Cup)

@ Sheering Res

November saw us on the wrong end of a Refereeing decision against North Weald, knocked out of the cup by Frontiers and beating Sheering in their own back yard.

We travelled to North Weald for the first fixture, losing out 2-1, their winning goal coming from a foul on James between the sticks.

We hosted Frontiers in the Div 1 Cup next. They were out for revenge having lost the Div 2 cup semi-final to us last term. They succeeded in dumping us out 3-2.

The final game in November saw us fighting for a hard fought 3-2 victory over Sheering. Having trailed early on, we showed Great Spirit to come back & win.

December:

@ Albury

Winter struck for the third season in a row with 1 game being played in December.

We travelled to Albury on a bitterly cold day, earning a 2-2 draw. Our lack of finesse in front of goal stopped us from leaving with a deserved win.

January:

Vs Sheering Res

Vs Frontiers

@ Alemite Res

Vs Hatfield Heath Res

The weather held back in January, allowing 4 fixtures to be played.

Our first match of 2011 saw us host Sheering Res at the paddocks. They seemed up for it at the start, but our quality shone through for a 5-1 victory.

Next we hosted Frontiers. Having lost to them twice already, we really wanted this one. An unfortunate shoulder injury to Matt early-on seemed to only boost us more as we ran out 3-1 winners.

The third game in January saw us travel to Fairways to play Alemite Reserves. They passed & kicked their way to a 3-0 victory.

The final game in January saw us host Hatfield Heath Reserves in a hard fought game that saw us score the winning goal close to stoppage time. 3-2 winners

February:

@ Albury

Vs Thorley Park Rangers

February saw only 2 fixtures, with a fantastic performance followed by a lacklustre draw.

We started playing at Albury, still looking for our first triumph over them this term. An excellent performance saw Gav lead us to an emphatic 5-0 win.

This seemed to make us over-confident as the same XI couldn’t buy a win against a makeshift Thorley Park side. 2-2 was a fair result.

March:

Vs Frontiers

@ Hatfield Heath Res

March saw another annoying loss & a routine win.

We started at home to Frontiers; a slow start to the game saw us trailing, with a better second half performance not being enough to claw it back, losing 4-2.

Following a week off, we travelled to Hatfield Heath in a game that saw the return of Reece from injury and a lack of defenders saw Matt partner Pat at CB. The Heath didn’t put up much of a fight & we ran out 3-0 winners, it could have been more.

April:

@ North Weald Res

@ Alemite Res

@ Heath Rovers (Bill Bruty Cup)

@ Sheering Res

Our final month of the season saw us somehow fighting for promotion and playing in the semi final of the Bill Bruty Cup.

The month started with a hard fought victory over North Weald Res. A fast paced game saw us run out 2-1 winners.

Next we travelled to Alemite Res, who were coasting to the title. A very strong defensive performance saw us unlucky to lose 1-0. Better finishing may have seen us win the game.

Another chance to get to Stortford followed, with a semi-final against Premier Division Heath Rovers. We more than held our own, just losing out 2-1. I think that they expected a walk over.

The final game of the season saw us travel to Sheering Res. We started well, Bees leading us to a 2 goal lead. Some defensive lapses in the scorching heat saw us surrender the lead and finish the game at 2-2.

Our third season saw us finish fourth in the table, which was an amazing turnaround having been bottom for the first half of the season. We eventually gained promotion to the Premier Division. Back-to-back promotions show the ability we have; now we need to apply it at the top level. We have learned the value of Pre-Season, and will look to start with a bang next term.

Awards:

Players’ Player: Mark Barrow

Managers’ Player: Dan Law

Chairman’s Award: Adam Stoneham

Services to the Club: Lyn Law

Golden Boot: Mark Barrow

Silver Boot: Mark Barrow

Supporters’ Player: Craig Ramsey

Special Recognition: Steve Wright