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History ~ By Martin Norden
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In the beginning
The team was founded during the summer of 2001 when training was set up for a new group of under 7 children. The plan was to provide a full year of training mixed with friendlies and tournaments prior to commencing the season 2002/2003 as under 8's.
From the original group of children, a number were selected to play with Larkfield Juniors U8's, this meant that they were playing a year above their actual age group.The experience for these children was invaluable, although they didn't win many games they learnt a lot about what was required from them the following year when they commenced their playing in their correct age group.In the summer of 2002 those children who played a year up rejoined the remainder of the squad and the teams were drawn up for the forthcoming 2002/2003 season.
Tournaments featured prominently during that summer with the boys reaching 4 finals and one semi final from the 5 entered. Unfortunately runners up medals prevailed as a winner's medal proved elusive.
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The first season - Under 8's
The squad that commenced the 2002/2003 season comprised of;
Louis S - Goalkeeper
Gareth V - Defence
Ryan C - Defence
Robin D - Defence
Daniel B - Midfield and team Captain
Alex N - Midfield
Adam D - Midfield
Kieran W - Midfield
Ben C - Attack (playing a year up)
Bradley W - Attack (playing a year up)
Ryan J - Attack
Mitchell W - Attack
Levi A joined the squad towards the second half of the season in midfield.
The first season in the Invicta Premier League is a formatting season; there is no hierarchy so all divisions start equal. Early indications showed that there were 4 teams in contention for the divisional honours, Coxheath, Barming, Borough Green and us. The final places were not decided until the last games of the season when Barming overtook Coxheath to win with Borough Green taking 3rd place just ahead of us.
In the knockout cup we progressed steadily to the quarterfinals where we met Sittingbourne Athletic. They were sitting top of their division unbeaten all season and were to prove a test of how our division matched up to theirs, the result a 5-2 win to us, and a semi final against the one team we had not yet met from our division, Barming Youth.
The semi final proved to be a tense affair, we took the lead only for Barming to equalise and then go ahead. With 5 minutes to go we made the game level, and then almost immediately took the lead. The final few minutes seemed to last forever before the final whistle went we had made the final. But whom would we play? Coxheath, who had overcome Borough Green.
The final proved a day to remember, played at Cobdown the atmosphere was sensational, both teams walked onto the pitch side by side exactly the same as in the FA Cup final. The game matched the occasion with both teams having chances, eventually we succumbed to a fine Coxheath goal and in spite of the teams best efforts we could not get the equaliser. Runners up again!
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Summary of our season as under 8's
Our first competitive season was over; we had achieved much, 4th in what was clearly the hardest division, runners up in the Cup, a good season and one that was enjoyed by all.
During the course of the season all the players had scored a goal for the team, even our goalkeeper Louis managed to put one in the back of the net during one of his rare excursions away from his goal. Goals came from everywhere during the course of the season, great strikes from outside the box, scrambles on the goal line, penalties and direct from corners. However, throughout the season two players had consistently scored plenty of goals, Daniel and Mitchell, coming into the Cup final they had both scored 29 goals, with Coxheath winning that game one-nil we had to settle for Daniel and Mitchell being joint top scorers. Football is however a team game and neither Daniel nor Mitchell could have scored without the help of their teammates who lay on the passes and crosses for them to score.
The season over we began to think about our forthcoming season as under 9's, however before then there were a few tournaments to be contested and a few goodbyes to be said.
Ben and Bradley left us to rejoin the rest of the under 7's to start preparing for their season as under 8's, our thanks to both players who contributed so much during the year. Ryan J left during the summer to join Leybourne, Ryan C left to join the new Larkfield Youth team, which his Dad was helping to run.
To the tournaments, after reaching so many finals last year we were determined to win something this time. This was achieved at Castle Colts tournament in Allington, after scraping through the group stage we met our friends from Coxheath in the semi final, we had never beaten them and it seemed that every time we appeared to have a chance of winning they would come along and beat us at the final hurdle. This time Coxheath had met their match, a very determined team of boys took the lead and hung on to win a tense and exciting semi final, the cheer from the spectators at the end had to be heard to be believed, you would think we had won the tournament not made it to the final. Kennington were our opponents in the final yet somehow you knew it was going to be our day, although Kennington took the lead, two converted penalties gave us the win we so dearly wanted, at last winner's trophies! It was a big smile on the boy's faces as they collected those winners' plaques.
The remainder of the summer never reached the heights of that day; although we made other finals we never converted these into winning positions. We can stand proud however that we have not, in our first two seasons, failed to get out of the group stage in any tournament that we have entered.
During the summer we acquired three new players, Ironically having lost two Ryan's we gained two Ryan's, Ryan B, Ryan C and Jordan P, they had the skills that we were looking for as we approached the new season.
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Season Two - Under 9's
The squad lined up for the 2003/2004 season as follows;
Louis S - Goalkeeper
Gareth V - Defence
Ryan C - Midfield
Jordan P - Defence
Robin D - Defence
Daniel B - Midfield and team Captain
Alex N - Midfield
Adam D - Midfield
Kieran W - Midfield
Ryan B - Midfield
Levi A - Attack
Mitchell W - Attack
The squad acquired a new sponsorship this season; our thanks to Cliff Pantony at Enterprise Coachworks who kindly agreed to sponsor the boys.
The Premier Division
Although we had finished 4th in the under 8's we found ourselves in the Premier Division of the under 9's league, instead of maybe the first division, clearly this was a result of us being in the strongest division during the formatting season. We were happy with this as we felt that we were ready to challenge for honours.
The season opener was away at Ditton Minors, a tough local derby however the boys battled well and got us off to a flying start with wins in both games.
A further 6 points arrived after wins over Bearsted leaving us unbeaten, next up was Borough Green, where we were abruptly brought down to earth losing both games. The atmosphere was however not pleasant as chants of 4-1, 4-1 rang out from the opposition supporters, we felt that this was unnecessary.
Adam D and Robin D departed at this time to the newly formed Larkfield Youth Team. Our thanks to Robin and Adam for their contribution to the team and to their Dad, Wayne, who helped with the coaching.
The next few games saw us scrapping for points, we would do well in the first game but perform poorly in the second and either draw or lose.
Barming away finally saw us up our game, although we lost the first with some poor defending, the second match saw us perform to our abilities, Barming took the lead but for once we did not give up, true fighting spirit saw us pepper the Barming goal and finally the deserved equaliser came.
We still lack consistency, we play better football than most of the teams we face yet we don't get the results, Snodland came to us we won the first game but in the second we allowed Snodland to come back and get a draw in the second. We are creating plenty of chances but are not converting them into goals.
Two away games followed, Sittingbourne and then the first return fixture against Bearsted. Sittingbourne provided us with 6 points but the games were close and we had to battle for the wins. Next up was the game at Bearsted, the match was played in a bitingly cold storm, in spite of the weather the first game saw us play some of our best football of the season, Bearsted were played off the park as we hammered home 5 goals without reply. The second game saw us take an early lead but then sit back and let Bearsted get back into the game, score 2 goals and take the points. We blamed the weather, which was truly awful.
Home to Coxheath next, we had beaten them in our last two meetings so we were confident we would do well. The first game saw football of the highest quality from both teams, and then we took the lead, could we hold it? Yes we could, we added a second and the points were ours. The second game saw the play sway either way until Coxheath took the lead, we did not give up but the equaliser proved elusive and Coxheath took the win. The game proved that we could play with the best in the league and hold our own.
Ditton arrived just before Christmas and showed us how to fight for the ball, they had a belief that we could not match and took the first game 2 - 0. The second game was much the same however we managed to pinch an equaliser. Not our best game by far.
Winter delayed us getting back into action in the league until mid January when Borough Green arrived, there had been some chanting when we played away and we were keen to put the record straight that a 5 - 1 loss was not a true reflection of the way we could play. When Borough Green left they went with 2 points, both games had been draws. We were happy with our performance but not the result, we felt that we had had the upper hand for the majority of the match. However, we had battled and showed a spirit that had been missing for much of the season.
The return match at Snodland was next up, who won? The pitch. Good football was impossible and both games ended in 0 - 0 draws, the boys could hardly lift their feet off the ground due to the conditions and poor football from both teams resulted.
Off to Coxheath, a sleepy start saw us concede 2 goals in the first couple of minutes before we woke up. From half time onwards in the first game we matched Coxheath in every aspect but we could not break them down. We left with only one point but our pride intact, if only we had been awake when the whistle went to start the match.
Home games against Sittingbourne and Barming were next on the fixture list. The game against Sittingbourne saw us play some great football and go 2-0 up, a goal towards the end saw Sittingbourne put us under pressure but we held on to win the first match. The second game started with Sittingbourne taking the lead and hanging on until just before half time when we equalised. The second half saw a different Larkfield, a positive one, a hungry one, 4 goals came as a result of some great passing moves and helping each other, our best result for some time which was earned through sheer hard work and determination.
This determination showed through against Barming, a tight first game could not be decided and ended 0 - 0. The second game was just as close however Barming made 3 breaks against the run of play and scored on each occasion, although we fought and battled we could not breech the Barming defence and lost 3 - 0. The result did not reflect the closeness of the game and how well the boys had played.
With all prospect of winning or being runners up gone our final game against Leybourne was supposed to be a fun affair. Unfortunately Leybourne had not read the script, they played some fluent football and this combined with our weak defending ended up with us suffering a heavy defeat in game one. Game two saw a much improved Larkfield team, and the football was mainly in the Leybourne half, in spite of some good crosses and improved passes we could not convert chances into goals, (does this sound familiar?). A Leybourne cross was headed towards goal, the wind blew and the ball floated into the net. Another loss, this was only the second time all season that we had failed to take a point from a match. One highlight was the penalty save, a stunning dive to palm the ball away and keep us in the game, how did we concede the penalty, you will have to ask our striker what he was thinking of at the time for that answer.
We were a lonely team by the end of the season, too far below Barming, Borough Green and Coxheath to mount an effective challenge but way above the remainder of the teams who were fighting against relegation. There had been some marvellous performances by the boys as a team, we were one of only two teams to beat Coxheath, our 5 - 0 win in terrible conditions at Bearsted was a joy to watch, the home game against Sittingbourne was magical, the second game away at Barming as we mounted wave after wave of attacks, the determination and battling spirit in our home game against Borough Green were all major plus points, what we were lacking was consistency.
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The Challenge Cup 2003/2004
Our first game in the challenge cup was away against Loose Lions, the match was decidedly one sided as we won 12 - 3.
Next up was Leybourne, not exactly the tie we wanted but you have to take who you draw in the cup. A tight game with the boy's triumphing 3-1 in the end after some good football from both sides.
We awaited the draw for the next round with baited breath, who would we get? Borough Green at home came out of the hat, a hard tie for both teams, one that we both would have avoided if possible. The match was going to be a close affair and the first game proved to be just that, Larkfield got their heads in front and held on to take a 1-0 lead into the second game. A strike by Borough Green brought the tie level before Larkfield went ahead again, Borough Green pressed but we held on to win and moved forward to the semi final.
Swale Magpies were our opponents in the semi finals; top of division 1 Swale looked set to gain promotion to the Premier division and would prove tough. Early Larkfield pressure brought fine saves from the Swale keeper before a fine move gave us the lead, we moved further ahead early in the second half and held on to end match one ahead 2-0. The second game saw Swale fight back; a dubious decision gave Swale a goal when the ball clearly had not crossed the line. The equaliser came shortly after and we found ourselves on the back foot, Swale had the upper hand and we were struggling to hang on, Swale took the lead and then went further ahead, our place in the final was slipping away. We got one back to make it 4-3 only to go further behind shortly after. The final whistle brought our cup campaign to an end, having been 2-0 up at the start of the second game we had caved in 5-1 in the second game, our biggest ever defeat. We had created the chances but like the rest of the season had not converted them, a painful lesson to learn.on had not converted them, a painful lesson to learn.
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Summary of our season as under 9's
What had started so positively, with such hope, had ended up so disappointing. We felt that our squad was better than last year and it is; yet we are further away from what we consider to be our immediate rivals than we were last year. We had a tough cup run; yet reached the semi finals, no mean feet. Many teams would happily have settled for what we had achieved this season, 4th in the Premier division and Challenge Cup semi finalist, but we had expected more. Were our expectations too high? Maybe, but given what we had achieved the previous season we had no reason not to aim high. If we had to put a finger on our lack of improvement it was consistency and even though we created plenty of chances it was the lack of goals that proved decisive.
Enough dwelling on what went wrong or didn't go right let's look back at the pluses from the season, and let's not forget our team is made up of a group of 8 and 9 year old boys.
The boys achieved much this season, 4th in the league, semi finalists in the challenge cup, we defeated Coxheath a rare event this year, we dumped Borough Green out of the cup, we played some stunning football at times, we scored some incredible goals, and every player made a positive contribution to the team.
Louis
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Louis made some stunning saves, he even scored a goal, it's a thankless job being in goal but he does it with a style of his own.
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Gareth
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Gareth made some telling interceptions and scored some great goals, getting on the end of Levi's corners.
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Ryan C
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Ryan was the master of midfield, stopping opposition attacks and setting up our own, his vision was second to none.
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Jordan
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Jordan proved to be an excellent all rounder, great in defence yet capable of starring in attack and putting the ball in the back of the net.
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Ryan B
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Ryan B supplied the crosses from the left hand side and got on the end of those from the right proving a good bet with either foot.
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Kieran
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Kieran proved very adaptable either in midfield, defence or attack, none of us can forget his headed goals and contagious enthusiasm.
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Levi
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Levi was everywhere, his crosses and corners provided ammunition for the rest of the team, and his shooting provided some of our most stunning goals
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Mitchell
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Mitchell our striker, proved once again that he could mix it with anyone, his hard work chasing down the ball, his never give up attitude and his priceless goals
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Alex
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Alex in midfield was wicked on the wings, his crosses provided chances for the others, and his work rate at covering back was excellent, he even scored a few goals
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Daniel
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Daniel our captain, quick on his feet, poise and balance on the ball, those curling free kicks, his contribution was huge, capable of playing anywhere and scoring great goals
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Goals, every player again scored this season and in typical fashion they came in just about every format, headers, volleys, scrappy scrambles, direct from free kicks, direct from corners, individual runs with fine finishes, you name it we scored it. However, last season he finished joint top with Daniel, this season he finished top on his own, congratulations to Mitchell our top scorer with 14 goals.
The full goals tally table is shown below.
Player
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goals scored
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Mitchell
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14
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Levi
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11
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Daniel
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7
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Gareth
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6
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Alex
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5
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Jordan
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4
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Ryan B
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4
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Kieran
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3
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Ryan C
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2
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Louis
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1
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So, do Adam and Glynn have some work to do this summer, yes they have. Next season is our last in mini soccer and plans have to be made for our first year of `proper' soccer when we become under 11's. We have 10 boys in the squad at present, that number will have to be increased for 11 a side football, now is the time to start looking.
This season has been enjoyable, we have experienced many up's and down as the season progressed, but the most important factor has been the boys, they have turned up for training in all weathers, they have turned up for matches and they have been fantastic all season long. Well done and be proud of what you have achieved.
One last thank you, to Adam and Glynn, without their commitment and willingness to put the team first they would have not been a team these season, their efforts are appreciated.
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