Practice Match 3rd February - Calday

The Badgers and Beavers do not have games this Saturday 3rd Feb. There will be a practice match for those who would like to be involved at Calday Astro pitch, meet at 11.30. I will not be there but Roy Rodger will be organising the game. It will be a good opportunity for the older Beavers to have a game with the Badgers.
Please ensure that you take a pink (if you have one) and white shirt and £3 for subs.

Neston Beavers 2 Chester Beavers 2

Neston travelled to Chester for a late afternoon game under lights for a return fixture, the first game having been lost 4-0 in the first weeks of the season.
Neston started well and moved the ball into the Chester half, but against the run of play a poorly cleared cross from Chester led to a shot being defelected past Alex Davies to give Chester an early lead. Sam Dewey and Tom Honeybourne continued to drive Neston forward and some good play on the right between Greg Hughes and Ben Crane led to some good crosses coming in. Neston started to mount pressure on the Chester goal and a few short corners were won. Eventually Ben Crane got the ball past the Chester keeper to bring the scores level. Good play on left by Scott Barry and James Fennah kept the pressure on Chester and soon Ben Crane got his second to give Neston a deserved half time lead.
Chester put Neston under considerable pressure at the start of the second half and the defence of Alex Davies, James Chester, Max Dutton, Chris James, Peter Harrison and Alex Greenhalf were kept very busy. With the lighting very poor at the Neston end (due to a floodlight being out) the Chester umpire was doing very well to spot every Neston indiscretion and the short corner count was soon in double figures. With Alex Davies blocking well with his legs and Tom Honeybourne clearing from the line when one got past, Neston weathered the storm and gradually got back into the game. Richard Capes, Harry Sanguinetti and Ollie Eastwood running well up front. An interesting free hit from Tom on the edge of the D led to a head high hit flying into the Chester goal, luckily no one got their head to it. With the game nearly up Chester again mounted more pressure and a good run into the D led to an equaliser that on the run of play Chester deserved.
The game finished level with everyone commenting what a good competitive game had been played, providing more evidence of the improvement that everyone is making both individually and as a team. A big thankyou to Chris Warbrick who stayed on from the 6th team match and umpired - well done! Also thanks to all the parents who provided support.
Man of the match Ben Crane for being in the right place at the right time, twice!
There is no fixture arranged at the moment for next week.

Neston Beavers v Chester Beavers

Our next fixture is the return against Chester, we lost the first game 4-0 in October.
The match is at Chester, meeting at 4.00 for a 4.30 start - under lights I hope!
Again availability is good and I will start to use a rotation system to try and get as many people a game as possible, in general I will take 15/16 to each game and as a result some players may miss a week, this will be shared out.
So far I have contacted the following who have confirmed their availability for Saturday, I will ring some more on Thursday.

Alex Davies - Goal
Max Dutton
James Chester
Chris James
Greg Chester
Syd Roberts
James Fennah
Ben Crane
Richard Capes (to confirm)
Sam Dewey
Tom Honeybourne
Harry Sanguinetti
Scott Barry
Ollie Eastwood

Northern Beavers 0 Neston Beavers 1

Neston visited Northern for a return fixture, the game in December ending in a 2-2 draw. Neston won the toss and chose to play with the wind in the first half and quickly won a short corner. A good shot by Sam Dewey was turned into the goal by Richard Capes. Neston continued to attack throughout the first half trying to add to their goal. A task made more difficult when the goal moved, pushed by the wind some 6 feet to the left! The game was stopped and the wandering goal held in place. A Neston attack followed and a shot by Harry Sanguinetti missed the goal but would have found its position a few minutes earlier. When Northern battled up to the Neston D, the defence of James Chester, Max Dutton, Chris James and Greg Chester held firm. Neston attacked mainly down the right with Syd Roberts working well to get the ball in the D. Half time was reached with Neston leading 1-0, but the second half to be played against the wind.
Neston worked well to get the ball into the Northern D and good shots by Ben Crane and Scott Barry narrowly missed the goal. The defence continued to play well with Alex Greenhalf and Peter Harrison making some good tackles. Greg Hughes played very well at left half winning the ball on a number of accasions and finding Scott running down the left. Another good attack led to James Fennah having a good shot high to the keepers left the Northern keeper saved well.
The game finished with Northern pushing for an equaliser and Alex Davies in goal making some good clearing kicks.
The final score of 1-0 was reward for a good performance from Neston in very difficult conditions.
Thanks to Tim Wetherall for umpiring and the parents for helping with transport. Northern entertained Neston to a tea of sausages and chips which was well received by those who returned to their clubhouse.
Man of the match Chris James for a fine performance in the middle and left of defence.
Nest match is away at Chester, times and details to come.

Neston Beavers 0 Preston Beavers 2

Neston entertained Preston at Stanney. With a full squad available for the first time this season the game started with Neston camped in the Preston half. Good play in midfield led to a number of scrambles in front of the Preston goal, but none of the forwards could get the ball home. Sam Dewey was working hard in midfield and linked up well with Tom Honeybourne and Richard Capes. Preston gradually got into the game and forced a couple of short corners that were well defended by Alex Davies, Max Dutton, Chris James, Greg Chester and Greg Hughes. At halftime the score was 0-0. Preston attacked the Neston goal after halftime but again the defence held firm with Alex Greenhalf and Peter Harrison playing well. A number of Neston short corners could not find a way past the Preston keeper who saved a number of shots. With about 15 minutes to go Preston got a goal which spurred Neston on to the attack, Sam Dewey made some good runs linking with James Fennah and Scott Barry on the left and Ben Crane, Syd Roberts and Harry Sanguinetti on the right. A number of good shooting chances were created but no one could get a shot past the Preston keeper. In the final minute Preston caught Neston on the break and one of the two girls in the Preston side showed Neston how to do it and deflected a cross past Alex Davies in goal.
The final score of 2-0 perhaps slightly flattered Preston but served as a reminder for Neston that better composure is needed in front of goal if we are to win games.
Preston returned to Neston for supper and were joined by 5 of the Neston team for sausage and chips. Preston are looking forward to entertaining Neston for the return fixture in March.
Overall a diappointing result given the improvement over the last few games, man of the match Sam Dewey.

Neston Beavers v Northern Beavers

NESTON BEAVERS v NORTHERN BEAVERS
20th JANUARY 2007

Our next game is away against Northern (we played them just before Christmas and drew 2-2)
I will be away all week in America so this note is to confirm the arrangements for next week, I will not be able to ring anyone up!
Please make sure your parents get this note.
The game will start at 1.30 at Litherland Sports Park, Boundary Road near Crosby in Liverpool. I will have directions when we meet next Saturday.
The plan is to meet at Neston Cricket Club at 12.00, we will need some help with transport so please confirm if your parents are able to do this by ringing the number below.
If anyone listed below cannot play please let me know by phoning my home on 0151 353 0275 or dropping me an e-mail on pchester@kcc.com.
I will list 17 players and if all are available everyone will get at least half a game, possibly more!
Alex Davies - Goalkeeper (going direct)
Greg Chester
James Chester
Syd Roberts
Ben Crane
Tom Honeybourne
Sam Dewey
Max Dutton
James Fennah
Chris James
Tom Fisher
Richard Capes
Scott Barry
Greg Hughes
Alex Greenhalf
Harry Sanguinetti
Pete Harrison
Many Thanks for your help with these arrangements, hopefully at least 11 will be in the car park at 12.00 next Saturday,
Have a good week,
Peter

Neston Beavers v Preston Beavers

Next game is at home to Preston at Stanney, 13.30 push back, meet at Stanney 13.oo.
To date we have a full squad available, which will require some changes during the game, everyone will get at least half a game.
Preston intend coming back to Neston after the game for some food, so any players wishing to join them will be more than welcome (sausage and chips!)
To date the following have confirmed their availablity
Alex Davies
James Chester
Greg Chester
Chris James
Richard Capes
Scott Barry
Ben Crane
Syd Roberts
James Fennah
Tom Honeybourne
Harry Sanguinetti
Alex Greenhough
Greg Hughes
Max Dutton
Peter Harrison

See you Saturday
Peter

Oxton Beavers 0 Neston Beavers 0

Happy New Year to all our readers!
Neston travelled to local rivals Oxton for their first match under flood lights this season. Having lost the home game 2-0 in early December it was another opportunity to monitor progress. From early on it was clear that both sides were evenly matched and most of the early play was in midfield where Sam Dewey and Tom Honeybourne battled well to get the ball into the Oxton half. Most of Neston's play was down the right hand side with Syd Roberts and Ben Crane getting into good positions to cross. James Fennah also had some good runs down the left. The Neston defence was well organised with Max Dutton and Chris James looking very solid in the middle. James Chester playing at right back had a very good game and regularly supported Syd and Ben in the Oxton half. The first half finished with Neston creating the best chance where a right wing cross was shot narrowly wide by Ben Crane.
The second half started with Neston on the attack and a shot by Scott Barry from a narrow angle beat the goalkeeper only to be cleared from the line giving Neston the first short corner of the game. A good shot from Sam Dewey was well saved by the keeper. Further attacks led to three more short corners. When Oxton attacked the Neston defence held firm with Alex Davies, sporting new kit!, making a number of saves (it was commented that the kit came with a no goals guarentee and would have been sent back if he let one in!) Greg Hughes on the left had a solid game and linked up well with James Fennah. Further Neston attacks could not find a way through the Oxton defence with Harry Sanguinetti and Scott getting into some good positions. The game finished scoreless which was probably a fair result.
The most promising aspect being the defence, only giving away 2 short corners and keeping their shape throughout the whole game - you will never loose a game if you don't let any goals in!
An excellent result demonstrating further improvement.
Man of the match James Chester for his best game of the season marking his winger out of the game.
Next match is at home against Preston, 12.00 start at Stanney.