Results April 13th – April 17th & April 30th
Mini Soccer
Girls
First of all, we must mention the Under 16s semi final win last Thursday. Having recently lost 7 – 6 in a league game to Delta, we knew this was going to be a difficult game. The girls seemed slow to settle down and Delta hit the post with an early chance, before scoring twice. However, Upton got into the game and started playing better football, and were rewarded before half time when Abbie Bateman’s emphatic strike pulled one back. 2 – 1 down at half time, but the goal had restored confidence. Upton came out strongly, and after Freya Mumford equalised with another great finish, further goals from Freya, Abbie and Louise O’Brien put the result in no doubt. When Delta did threaten, Jess Taylor was equal to the threat and made a series of good saves, earning her the player of the match award. Well done to Peter McNay and all the team – Abbie, Jess D, Jess T, Holly, Louise, Kate, Lucy, Freya and Vicky - who all played brilliantly and deserved the result.
Under 10s did not have a game this week
Under 12s – After the euphoria of the cup win last week we were back down to earth with a bump in a tough fixture against Wallasey Wanderers, where we had some good scoring opportunities but the ball couldn’t be forced past a very good keeper.
The opposition were very strong, fit and well motivated, they passed the ball well and closed us down quickly when we had possession. The team thought Shannon Navarro had opened the scoring in the first half, but the referee decided the ball had not crossed the line. Defences were generally on top and as the tension grew (certainly on the touchline among the fans) Upton conceded from a corner mid way through the second half. Despite playing some very good football and probably having more attempts at goal, we just couldn’t get the equaliser. That said, full credit to all the girls who did everything that was asked of them, played their hearts out, and ran and ran for the cause.
The game ended 1-0 to Wallasey, our player of the game was Emma Johnson.
Under 14s again were not able to play a fixture, this time because we were unable to field the minimum squad. An ankle injury to Aira adds to our problems and it is very disappointing that we have been unable to play any games recently, partly because of a lack of fixtures from the league when we did have enough players; partly when the opposition could not field a team; and twice because we could not field a team ourselves.
Under 14 Rangers went to title challenging Greenleas Celtic, all but one of whom are a year older. They are a big,strong team who pass well, and we didn’t make things difficult enough for them in the first half. An unfortunate early penalty gave Celtic the lead, and they went on to score another 4 before half time. A much improved performance in the second half led a a few chances, and Isabel Nolan, working hard on her own up front, was rewarded with a consolation goal. In the end Celtic won 8 – 1, but the second half performance had a lot of positives. Sarah Buckley was voted player of the match by the opposition. She really had very little chance with any of the goals, and made a string of excellent saves in the second half in particular.
Under 16s, missing Jess Davies and Lucy McKeown, played Irby in a taster for the knockout Cup final. Without a substitute and on a warm day, all the players put in a great effort, but lost 3 – 1 in a very entertaining game. The final should be a great game to watch (so long as the league decide not to use an 11 a side pitch again). Abbie Bateman scored Upton’s goal, and Jess Taylor was player of the match
Under 10s v Beechwood played their fixture early (last Wednesday) to enable both clubs to field full teams. Again another good performance by the girls. They completely dominated the game, and went ahead in the first couple of minutes through
another Taylor goal. Taylor netted again before half time to make it 2 – 0. The defence was solid – Jennifer and Rebecca put in great performances. Sophie and Yasmin never stopped running. Anna Cull scored to make it 3 – 0, then Ellie had a goal disallowed (ball went out). Ellen played the first half in goal and nearly scored in the second. Taylor Mayes was player of the match.
Under 12s v Rakers Belles – A welcome return to winning ways for the girls today in their last league game of the season.
On 3 minutes Morgan Mayes (captain for the day), in the holding midfield role, battled for the ball and presented it to Emma Johnson to open the scoring, 5 minutes later, Charlotte McNay, playing well at left back, collected a loose ball and fed it up to the attack. The ball was squared by Rebecca Pritchard-Howarth for Emma to record her 20th goal of the season and 2nd of the game. Within 2 minutes of the restart we were treated to another spectacular Charlotte Carroll goal. Shooting from just over the half way line, the ball looped over the keeper for her 5th of the season…3-0 Upton. Shannon Navarro and Jasmine Pugh hassled and harried the opposition defence and tested the keeper, both came close, but were unlucky not to score today.
Elizabeth Sullivan was brought on as right winger and it wasn’t long before she had the ball under her spell. Working with Jessica Farrell (who had come out of goal), Elizabeth battled through the defenders and fired home, we went in at half time 4-0 Upton.
After the break Rebecca was inspired. She won the ball, took on 3 defenders, then beat the keeper to take us 5-0 up. Soon after the restart she cleverly intercepted the ball and again caused havoc in the opposition defence. Striking the ball with her now trademark outside of the right foot, she recorded her 7th goal of the season 6-0 Upton.
Not to be outdone Elizabeth shrugged off the opposition to create space for herself, and made no mistake with her shot taking us to 7-0 and Elizabeth’s 8th goal of the season.
Katie Murray had now moved into the midfield role. She controlled the play and passed really well into and across the opposition box. One of the balls was collected by Morgan Mayes who hit it with such power that, although the keeper got hands on the ball, it was too hot to handle. The ball dropped just over the line, the spinning ball rolled back to the goal line and we feared another Frank Lampard moment,….. it was given, so captain Morgan scored her well deserved 1st goal of the season, Her joy was obvious. We only had one active player yet to score and we weren’t disappointed. With a few minutes to go, Libby Boulger stepped up and hit her second well struck shot of the day (having seen her first attempt saved by the Rakers’ keeper). This time she squeezed the ball just inside the near post to lift the net. The crowd went mad, and Libby’s 1st of the season sparked a mini pitch invasion.
The game finished 9-0, our player of the game was Emma Johnson
Under 14s could only field 5 players for the fixture against Greenleas Celtic. Two players were ill or injured, and many thanks to Andy at Greenleas for matching the sides when it became clear our other player was not coming. By then we were 3 or 4 – 0 down as, without a regular keeper and up against a strong side on a big pitch, this was always going to be difficult. Great credit goes to all the players there – Anna, Molly, Louise, Emily and Ellen - for working so hard on a warm day. This was the first time the team had played since mid March for a variety of reasons, and hopefully we can manage to get some good matches in during the next couple of weeks.
Under 14 Rangers played top of the table Wirral Hawks Ladies at Victoria Park last Thursday. The fixture was notified only the week before, and three players were away on holiday, including our regular keeper. In the circumstances, with 6 players on a big sloping pitch, full size goals, against a full team who are nearly all a year older, the girls (Jodie, Isabel, Nifa, Ceri, Leah and Poppy) did a magnificent job. Playing downhill in the first half, they kept it to 1 – 2 at half time, but eventually lost 2 – 10. Leah McNay and Isabel Nolan scored our goals, and Isabel was player of the match.
Boys
Under 11′s were in Chalenge Cup action and progressed into the semi finals after a 12-2 win over Manor Cougars, John Adediran 4, Aidan Keogh 3, Michael Lynch 2, EWan Nolan 2, Aaron Finlay got the goals and Brandon Vickers was Man of Match.
Under 12′s went down 8-0 to Wirral Rangers in the Challenge Cup with Tom Wilson Man of Match.
Under 13′s beat Young Lions 8-0 with a hat trick from Ben Casey, Tommy Smith 2, Christian Rule, Ethan Doran & Charlie Brereton Weir getting the goals with Harry Ashcroft Man of Match
Under 14′s beat Wirral Rangers 14-0 with Man of Match Chris Turk 3, Tom Murphy 3, Joe Murray 2, Rob Cull 2, Callum Mernock, David O Brien, George Thomson & Morgan Woods getting the goals.
Results April 9th & 10th
Mini Soccer
Under 7′s lost 5-1 to FC Spartans with Luke O Keefe scoring and Sam Whelan Man of Match
Under 8,9,10 – No Report
Girls
Under 10s - no fixture this week
Under 12s - The girls marched onto the Knockout cup final today with strong display against a well prepared Irby team.
Upton were confident coming into this game as team spirit is high and all of the girls are enjoying themselves on the pitch. Shannon Navarro was leading the line today with support from Rebecca Pritchard-Howarth and Emma Johnson on the wings. Shannon came close with a string of shots and Irby defended well to keep us out. The impressive Charlotte Carroll worked tirelessly in midfield and even took 10 minutes in goal, where she had to collect a couple of Irby shots.
After 15 minutes we hadn’t broken the stalemate. Enter stage right Olivia Radford and Elizabeth Sullivan, who injected a renewed urgency. Olivia picked up the ball in the box and seemed to be heading away from goal, then a superb turn allowed her the space to cross. Rebecca met the ball just on the edge of the box, she had to deal with pressure from 2 defenders but again was cool headed and hit a wonderful shot to the far post which nestled in the net to a record her 5th goal of the season. Half time – 1-0 Upton.
Irby came out fighting and we had a nervous 10 minutes, but with solid battling from Charlotte McNay and Katie Murray in the middle we broke down most attacks and Morgan Mayes (now keeper) dealt comfortably with anything in the goal area, Rebecca (now in defence) aided by Emma dealt with the rest.
Jasmine Pugh, Captain for the day was really lively around the edge of the Irby box and was unlucky not to score today (some days they just don’t go in!). Libby Boulger (the birthday girl) was also busy around the box but couldn’t break through. Then the in-form Shannon collected another super Olivia cross. Turning quickly under pressure, she hit the ball with proper venom, giving the keeper no chance – her 6th of the season and third goal in two games. As the roof of the net bulged, the relief on the Upton touchline was audible – 2-0 Upton.
With the nerves settled Upton started to dominate the game, Katie took over in goal and demonstrated a really impressive goal kick, helping Elizabeth to go on several excellent runs down the left wing. She showed outstanding ball control skills, stretching the Irby defence. Olivia on the other side took on the Irby defence and smashed in a well deserved goal for herself, her 2nd of the season, to make it 3-0 on the day.
This was a very competitive game played in 20 degrees. Irby played well but with a small squad on display today, some carrying injuries. I feel that fatigue played a part and they deserve credit for their work rate. The ref also had a good game, signalling ‘advantage’ when practical to keep the game flowing.
Today’s girl of the game was Rebecca Pritchard-Howarth who was outstanding in all the jobs asked of her, scoring as right winger, controlling the play in midfield and solid and composed as defender
Under 14s were due to play Ridgewood Rangers in the first round of the Challenge Cup, but the opposition could not field a team and we assume that Upton are through to the semi finals
Under 14 Rangers had no fixture this weekend
Under 16s were due to play their Knockout Cup semi final against Delta, but the game was moved by the League to next Thursday because 6 of Delta’s players had to attend school in connection with their GCSE assessments on Saturday.
Boys
Under 11′s lost 3-2 to Peninsula Stars with goals from Aidan Keogh and Man of Match John Adediran
Under 12 – No Game
Under 13′s went down 3-0 to League Champions and Cup Final opponents Rakers with all 3 goals in last 15 minutes giving real hope for the final, Joe Abraham was Man of Match.
Under 14′s drew 3-3 in midweek with Beechwood with goals from Tom Murphy, Mitchell Duggan, Alex Pitt with Robert Cull Man of Match.
Under 15′s won through on penalties after a hard fought game against Peninsular Stars in the semi-final of the Challenge Cup. Playing only 7 days after their last encounter ended in a draw it was always going to be a tight game and the opening exchanges were devoid of flowing football as the narrow pitch meant the ball spent most of the time in the air. Playing downhill Stars applied most of the opening pressure but a quick counter attack saw Upton take the lead as Crawford poked the ball home from close range after a Walker shot was blocked on the line. This gave Upton confidence and they started to string some passes together but then a lapse of concentration at the back saw Stars break through and equalise. Upton came out all guns blazing at the start of the second half, with Walker and Owens hitting the woodwork and Hoijord-Beard having a shot excellently saved by the Stars keeper it seemed only a matter of time before Upton re-took the lead but against the run of play Stars took the lead. The game was then marred by a series of stoppages as tempers threatened to fray but the referee used all his experience to keep the game flowng and things settled down again. Walker was looking more and more dangerous, with Perryman and Newitt tightening things up at the back it seemed only a matter of time before Upton equalised. When the equaliser did come it was a scrappy one with Aspinall poking home from a yard out after a sliced clearance following a corner. Both teams went in search of a winner but extra-time arrived and despite a last-minute shot from Owens that crept centimetres wide it was down to penalties. With Stars missing their first two much of the pressure was off the Upton players but they made no mistake converting all 4 with no need to take the fifth. Strong performances across the team but Man of the Match was Newitt
The Youth Team also won on penalties against Northwood to reach the Youth Cup Final, well done to all connected to the team.
Results April 2nd & 3rd
Mini Soccer
The Under 7′s drew 1-1 with Glenavon Eagles with Aaron Clausen scoring and Man of Match
Under 8′s – No Report
Under 9′s – No Report
Under 10′s – No Report
Girls
Under 10s had a frustrating day at home to Liscard Ladies. They dominated throughout and had by far more chances to score than their opponents, but it wasn’t to be and the game ended 0 – 0. Player of the match was Anna Cull.
Under 12s girls are oozing confidence in home games at the moment and this showed from the kick off when they won the ball and headed to the opposition box where it stayed for while. Emma Johnson opened the scoring with a 15 yd left footed effort that the keeper couldn’t hold and it dropped just over the line. The goal was met with an eerie silence by the crowd, all waiting to see if it was given or not (all expecting a John Terry moment). When they realised it was a goal, the moment had passed, but it was 1-0 Upton. Another 5 minutes of attacking football, and good interplay between Charlotte Carroll and Rebecca Pritchard-Howarth produced Emma’s 2nd of the day, this time using her right foot, to make it 2-0 Upton. We made some substitutions, bringing on the speed and strength combination of Elizabeth Sullivan and Olivia Radford to occupy the wings and Jasmine Pugh came out of goal to take up the striker’s role. Heygarth had regrouped too and were making good headway into our half, stringing together a series of good breaks. However, Charlotte McNay was closing down the efforts on the left with a strong defensive performance, while Katie Murray was marshalling the right flanks. We did push back and when Heygarth cleared their lines, the high ball was met 20 yards out by the head of Charlotte Carroll. We stood mouths agasp as we followed the flight of the ball, Someone in the crowd said “it’s going in”… and it did! Our first headed goal was from some distance, and adds to the growing list of stunning Carroll goals (think L’pool signed the wrong one) 3-0 Upton. Heygarth were not going to take this lying down and continued to break into our half. They were rewarded with a goal 8 minutes from half time when a good passing move gave them an opportunity which was taken really well, and struck across the keeper to lift the net – 3-1. Shannon Navarro, today’s captain, stepped up her game in the second half. Elizabeth Sullivan picked her out with a great cross into the box, and Shannon kept a cool head to net her 1st of the day 4-1 Upton. Now it was the turn of the ever improving Morgan Mayes. Her forward thinking got her into several shooting positions, which she took well, only to see shots saved, cleared off the line, hitting the post…. and the crossbar! During this spell Jasmine also hit a lovely volley on the turn which fired just over the bar.Heygarth came back into the game, they kept the ball well, passed it around and for a spell were playing the better football. This was interrupted by the tenacity of Olivia who battled for the ball, ran 30 yards, then crossed to set up Shannon. She still had some work to do but carried the ball deeper into the box, then hit a very strong shot, low to the right, to take her tally for the season to 5 goals.The game ended 5-1 Upton, girl of the game was Emma Johnson. All credit to our girls and to Heygarth Juniors who are much better than their league position suggests.
Under 14s did not have a fixture scheduled again, frustratingly.
Under 14 Rangers went away for the reverse fixture with Waverton, having won 9 – 0 in the home game on 12th March. The girls were reminded to respect the ability of the opposition, who had forced a 7 – 7 draw with the under 14s earlier in the season in an end to end game. However, Rangers quickly took the lead and never looked back. Everyone played well and Waverton didn’t really get into the game. Sarah made a good save in the second half, and Brittany, taking keeper duties for the last 10 to give Sarah a run out, pulled off two or three saves, but our defence played superbly and was on top throughout. Isabel repeated her feat in the first game, scoring 6, Jodie added another 3 and dominated midfield with a range of great runs and astute passes. Leah and Ceri showed plenty of strength and determination, and deserved to get on the scoreboard, getting 1 each. Brittany had yet another good game at the back, and Amy ran and hassled the opposition, and was unlucky not to score. Sarah was as sound as ever in goal, and played some nice touches out. Nifa Duggan, captain for the day, was deservedly player of the match for another very assured performance in defence.
Under 16s also played Waverton, but at Overchurch, and ran out 12 – 2 winners, which should hopefully boost confidence before the cup semi final. Abbie Bateman scored 4 and was player of the match. Louise O’Brien also scored 4, Jess Davies 2, and Freya Mumford and Holly Smith scored one each (Holly’s first goal of the season – well done!
Boys
The Under 11’s game finished with a 2 – 1 loss for Upton today but this was no reflection on the actual game. Upton dominated and controlled the game throughout with some well controlled passing. A goal from Micheal Pearsall in the second cancelled out glenavons goal that was scored in the first half. Sadly Glenavon scored to make it 2 – 1 and thats how it finished. Great performance sadly not the result to go with it . Ewan Noaln was a well deserved man of the match at the end but anyone could have quite easily gained the accolade.
The Under 12′s finished their league season in midweek with a 8-1 win over Manor Milan with 3 goals from Guy Stratton and others from Greg Saville, Dan Cardus,Jonathan Turk, mIchael Cooper and Man of Match Peter Doogan
The Under 13′s had a fantastic 2-0 Knockout Cup semi final win over Glenavon despite losing both league games to them to earn a place in the final, congratulations to Ken, Dave and all the lads. The goals came from Harry Ashcroft and Charlie Brereton Weir with Joe Abrahams Man of Match.
The Under 14′s made it double delight with a 2-1 semi final victory over Olympic thanks to goals from Mitchell Duggan also Man of Match and the last minute winner from Scott Billington. Well done to all involved with the team.
The Under 15′s went down in midweek 2-1 to Beechwood another excellent effort and then on Sunday took to the field for their last league game against a new look Peninsular Stars. With only pride to play for both teams were fully committed in a hectic opening. with lots of free kicks it became difficult for either team to build momentum but as Upton got used to the conditions they began to use the width well and took a deserved lead when Crawford tapped in from 2 yards following a low cross from Hoijhord-Beard. Upton continued to have the bulk of the possession as half-time approached but were unable to extend their lead. With several changes at half-time to make sure everyone who was fit got a game Upton started the second half with energy as Scott and Walker linked well up front and Walker created several good opportunities but was unable to put the ball in the net. This gave Stars confidence and they began to throw men forward in search of an equaliser which duly came following a succession of corners as a dubious penlty was awarded which keeper Askew was unlucky not to save following a nasty bobble right in front of him. Man of the Match was McCormack who cleared the ball off the line 3 times. The teams meet again in the semi-final of the Challenge Cup next Sunday.
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