ALBURY
EAGLES
FOOTBALL
CLUB

 NEWSLETTER
Issue No 54

 28th September 2006

Off we go with another football season with the Albury Eagles.
It promises to be a very busy season ahead, and as the club continues to grow, it becomes quite a headache to find sufficient area on which to train and play

matches.
We have ongoing discussions with several villages now, looking at renting out pitches within the Tillingbourne Valley, although play generally remains a Saturday

morning activity, leaving the rest of the weekend free for your many other family activities.

Registration day and ‘First Training’ at Tillingbourne School, Chilworth on 2nd September saw a very healthy turn out, especially amongst the lower age groups.
There was a fresh crop of willing helping Dads too to volunteer as coaches and general management staff, vital for the many games and commitments coming up through

the winter.

League play will be available for U8s and upwards, with the Tadworth Schools League and Horsham League, whilst friendlies will be contested at U7, and eventually U6.

For those still not registered with the club, the application form can be downloaded from the Eagles website.

www.alburyeagles.com

On to the match reports on games played so far, and with the Horsham League kicking off as long ago as 9th September, and friendlies played prior to that.

U13s
02.09.06
Frensham 2-3 Albury Eagles
This friendly was a game of two halves. Albury led 3-1 at halftime through 2 goals from new signings Dan Kelly and 1 from Teagan Pitout which deflected in off a

defender. A good first half performance from the boys. In the second half, Frensham came into the game more and scored a goal to reduce the deficit to 2-3. Although

Albury had a couple of good chances, 2 which were saved by the keeper from Chris Caley, and a shot which hit the bar from Keith Fagg, the scored finished 3-2.There

were good performances from Zac Smith and Teagan Pitout which earned them the Man of the Match awards for this week. Well Done! The only downside to the game was

that Harvey Owen limped off after 10 minutes with a knee injury,and Dan Kingshott our Captain went off half way through the second half with a calf injury. Lets hope

these boys make a recovery for next week!

U11s
02.09.06
Friendly
Walton 0 - 9 Albury Eagles
Today we had a pre season friendly away against Walton Warriors.
An excellent pre season performance with the entire squad having a run out in a 9-0 win. All the boys played well with some oustanding forward performances, a solid

defence and a very hard working midfield. Goals from Tom Cantoni, George Duff, George Stevens, Nathanael Farrant, Harvey Marshall, Phillip Smith and David Hearns.   

                  John Duff

Saturday 9th September
Horsham League Kicked Off for our U13, U12 and U11 teams.

U13s
09.09.06
East Grinstead 3 - 5 Albury
The Eagles were up against the team that finished runners up in the league last season. A team which we failed to score against last season. A good performance was

put in by the boys on quite a warm sunny day. Albury got straight at East Grinstead from the first whistle and didn’t allow them to settle. Goals from Keith Fagg and

George Stephens gave us a 2 - 0 halftime lead. In the second half, East Grinstead came back into the game. The home team were awarded a penalty when Teagan Pitout

upended a Grinstead player inside the penalty box. The penalty was converted to make the score 1-2. East Grinstead then scored again to make it 2-2. Albury then took

the lead again through Dan Kelly who shot past the keeper after being put through. Yet again, East Grinstead replied to make it 3-3 after a powerful shot was parried

by Alex Henson only for a Grinstead player to convert the rebound. Albury again scored after George Stephens hit a powerful shot from outside box which looped over

the keeper into the net. With only 3 minutes to go George Stephens completed his hat trick to make the final score 3 - 5 to Albury. A good all round performance by

the team. 2 Man of the Match awards to hat-trick hero George Stephens, who played under duress as he had been sick all week and was still suffering throughout the

match and to Dan Kelly who showed great commitment and showed he was versatile and could play in almost any position. Well done!

U12s
09.09.06
East Grinstead 4-3 Eagles
Two goals from Harry Good and one from Dan Cannon were not quite enough to get a first league win today.

U11s
09.09.06
Albury 4-1 Copthorne
A powerful all round display from the Eagles who beat a good Copthorne side comfortably.
Goals from Chris Brookes, David Hearns, Phillip Smith and George Stevens put the Eagles 4-0 up, with Copthorne getting a late goal with 5 minutes remaining. A solid

defence looked more than capable of dealing with the Copthorne forwards and the midfield linked up well with forwards Chris Brookes and Phillip Smith who always

looked dangerous.            John Duff

Sat 16th September

U13s
16.09.06
Albury 5-1 Forest Row
Another good league result yesterday. Forest Row was a team we failed to beat in the league last season. So it was nice to get a good result against them. George

Stephens opened the scoring after a good cross from Dan Kelly. Forest Row equalised in the first half as Alex Henson in goal lost his footing allowing the ball to

bounce over him for a Forest Row player to score. In the second half the Eagles picked up the pace after allowing Forest Row back into the match. Another goal from

George Stephens, 2 from Zac Smith and 1 from Dan Kelly finished the game in the Eagles favour. The Eagles moved up to joint top of the league with Old Dorkinians.
John Caley

U12s
16.09.06
Albury Eagles 2 - 5 Henfield
Saturday started well with Harry Good finishing coolly after five mins, this was short lived as Henfield equalised almost straight away. Eagles battle hard but

Henfield had the edge and took the lead. Albury had several counter attacks from which we pulled it back to 2 - 2 with another Harry Good strike. During the second

Half William Walker pulled off some great saves to keep us in the game but in the end Henfield took the lead and as we tried to get back in the game we left holes in

the back, which Henfield capitalised on. 
MoM William Walker
          Mark Hurman
U11s
16.09.06
Cranleigh 1- 0 Albury Eagles
This was a disappointing match following the previous weeks 4- 1 win over Copthorne.
Following a bright opening 10 minutes in which Jack Childerstone and David Hearns went close, Albury then lost the momentum and did not play any real football until

the last 10 minutes of the match. Whilst there were a few strong performances from indivdual players, the team struggled to play cohesively. Cranleigh, who were a

strong side, could have taken the lead on a couple of occasions in the first half but eventually scored with 15 minutes to go.
This seemed to be a wake up call for Albury who then had 3 good chances to score but just could not get the ball in the net.
                                           John Duff

Saturday 23rd September

U13s
Halsford Lions 3 - 2 Albury
Thanks to all those that attended todays match. It was a rather niggly affair. Albury lead the match through a good goal from a shot by Dan Kelly. Halsford then

equalised to make it 1-1.They were then awarded a penalty after the ref deemed Noah Pendle-Chambers fouled a Halsford player.2 – 1. They then scored again to make it

3 -1. Albury had squandered plenty of chances to tie the game but failed to capitalise as Chris Caley, Dan Kelly and Phil Earle had good chances saved by the

goalkeeper. In the second half, Albury piled on the pressure. Dan Kelly broke through Halsford’s defence and crossed a lovely ball. The defenders rushing in to clear

the ball ended up pushing the ball into their own net.3 - 2.In the final seconds of the match Phil Earle got clear in the area and as he shot a defender half

blocked, half fouled him. The ball went out for a corner. It could have been a penalty but it wasn’t given. Albury were unlucky but will learn to take their chances

in future matches.
John Caley
U12s
23.09.06
Horsham Sparrows 4 - 3 Albury
Eagles were unlucky to lose this tight encounter, the home side just shading it on a better overall defensive performance. We gradually found improvement in making

effective clearing headers, which earlier had cost us two goals from Horsham corners. A fine speculative chip from 25 metres by Dan Cannon reduced the arrears and a

typical Harry Good mop up had levelled the scores at 2-2 by the break, and when Harry got another early into the second half, Eagles were playing much the better

football. Horsham equalised with a very simliar chip to Dan’s effort, and then went ahead when a low shot bounced agonisingly under Will Walker. Will made a fine

contribution to the game with regular saves, great positioning making difficult saves look easy, and good defensive work from James H and Ben T. MoM to Robbie Cross

for sure footed control of the ball at right back and some great clearances too.
Although bottom of Div B, playing like this, our luck will soon improve.                          Tony Hern

U11s
23.09.06
Albury 15 – 0  East Grinstead T.
(yes, fifteen ! )
Albury Eagles under 11s enjoyed a 15-0 Horsham league victory against East Grinstead Town this week. Five goals from Nathanael Farrant and four from Tom Cantoni

sealed the game with two goals from Harvey Marshall, and one apiece from George Duff, Christopher Brooks, Phillip Smith and Jack Childerstone to complete a good day

for the Eagles.
A solid defence, added to a rarely called upon goalkeeper Laurie Owen, made sure that the Eagles were 7-0 up at half time. With the rotation of substitutes in the

second half Albury cruised to a satisfying result, which will ensure that they remain at the top end of the league in the early stages of the season.
                                     Neil Marshall
U10s
23.09.06
Greenway 0 - 2 Albury Eagles
First Horsham fixture was a 2-0 away win at Greenway in Horsham, a competitive game but we were magnificent in a great team performance and should have won by at

least 4 or 5 - hit the woodwork twice yet again. Oli Stephens got both goals. Best moment was at the end of the game when new skipper Will Onslow shook the hand of

the grumpiest ref I've come across and very politely said thank you and well reffed!                Trevor Stephens

U9s
23.09.06
Brockham 3 – 0 Albury Eagles
Albury Eagles Under 9s got their season off to a diasappointing start with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of a strong Brockham side.
In an evenly contested first half Eagles displayed some impressive approach work especially through a midfield dominated by Elliott Cozens. After going close on two

occasions through John McCoughlin, Eagles fell behind to a close-range Brockham effort mid way through the half.
Although kicking down the slope Eagles found the second half an uphill struggle. Brockham took the game by the scruff of the neck and it was no surprise when they

extended their lead after five minutes. From then it was almost all one-way traffic and with time running out Brockham added a third. The best Eagles could must in

the second period were a couple of long-range efforts.
Eagles’ Man of the Match: Elliott Cozens         Mark Thrower

Unusually for an Eagles team, our U13s played last Sunday, 24th Sept. in the First Round of the Surrey Cup…………….

U13s
24.09.06
Albury 0-5 Merstham Youth
An Albury side with a few key players missing battled hard against a Merstham side from the Epsom and Ewell league. Although the boys gave 100%, chances were few and

far between. So being out of this Cup means no more Sunday games(a god send). But we are still in the Horsham Cup. We have a bye in this and therefore don’t have a

match this Saturday.         John Caley

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH ALBURY TEAMS
Check out the website and keep up to date with all the games and scores by clicking on the links in ‘Match Info’

LIONS ARRIVE
Amazingly, so many U8s have registered for this season that we have enough for three sides. There will be two sides playing in the Tadworth League, Eagles and

Griffins, and a friendly side operating as Albury Lions. Let’s hope they get off to a roaring start in their first game.

WEEKDAY TRAINING
As the daylight fades in the evenings, midweek training on the Heath will soon switch to Glebelands school for our U10 to U13 sides. This is being finalised in the

next few days.

COMMITTEE
Just to let you know if you are new to the club that there is an active committee working hard for your interests, meeting around eight times a year, and hopefully

steering the club in the right direction. With the rapid growth of the club, this task becomes ever more challenging!

CHEZ GERARD
Saturday mornings on the Heath will be accompanied by the provision of hot bacon rolls, toast and tea ‘n’ coffee, served up by Gerry and his happy band of helpers.
The happy band are drawn from – you guessed it - the assembled parents, so if you fancy adding your name to the rota, please give Gerry McGuire a call on
07710 057005

PITCH CARE
On Saturday mornings, it would be a great help if assembled parents could help to ensure that the pitch surface is safe for play by flattening/filling any bunny

holes that occur overnight. Please put a garden fork in the boot of the car.

SAMBA GOALS
We now have ten portable plastic 12ft x 6ft ‘Samba’ goals, but we need to ensure that they are in good working order.
Can those that use them please
report back to me with any
requirements for replacement
struts, goal nets, clips etc.    
Thanks.

Editor  -  Tony Hern
01483 202936   07891 480343