A weekend with less highlights than we would have hoped for. Four seems to be the magic number, as we went three weeks pre Christmas losing only four games but now we have done two weeks on the trot, unfortunately winning only four games.

Let’s start with the Under 14’s. Trevor’s Lions got back to their scoring ways with a 11-0 victory over Kew Association Colts with both Oskar H, and Alex G securing hat-tricks. It became their 50th goal scored in the league this season but, more impressively they have only conceded six league goals. Saying that, their League title remains very open with four good teams in contention. Rick’s U14 Pride lost their 2nd v 3rd battle 3-1 due to two late goals from Hampton Youth.

The Under 9’s were unbeaten at the weekend with two draws. Richard and Nidal’s U9 Lions managed a 1-1 draw with Raynes Park in a very tight Div 1 league and Nick and Gavin’s U9 Pride achieved their first clean sheet of the season in a 0-0 draw with Rocks Lane. David’s Under 10 Pride found top of the table KPR too strong in a 4-0 defeat.

It was not a great day for the Under 11’s with two very narrow defeats. Jon and Alastair’s U11 Lions lost 1-0 at Ewell, whilst David’s U11 Pride were very unlucky to lose their Div 1 top of the table clash with Moormead 2-1. In the Under 12’s, Mel’s Lions run of victories came to an end and were surprise 2-1 losers to Molesey Juniors, but Bernie’s U12 Pride had a good day with a 4-0 win over Esher to keep up the pressure on the top two in the league.

It was however a good day for the U13’s. Terry’s U13 Lions remain in contention for league honours in another very tight league and a 2-2 draw against a strong Whitton team means for the 2nd week they fell just narrowly short of the victory that they are striving for. Russell and Matthew U13 Pride had a very impessive 3-1 win over 2nd placed Staines.

The 15’s had mixed results with Michael and Mark U15 Lions losing 3-0 to Kingston Juniors which has become their bogey side this season having beaten them three times but Dean and Sam’s U15 Pride gained revenge over Elm Grove and hung on to win 1-0.

It was a very good week for many of the U15 Lions and Pride boys with Hampton School  reaching the English National Schools final (ISFA) where they will play either Bolton or Repton on March 8th at Burton Albions Ground.  The squad includes seven boys from Sheen Lions which represents exactly half the team. WELL DONE to them.

Matt’s Under 16 Pride and John’s U18 Lions both had very tough games against strong opposition and unfortunately both lost narrowly 2-1 v Grayshott and 2-1 v Links respectively.

TEAMS OF THE DAY have to be the two Pride teams that defied league rankings. Matthew and Russell’s U13 PRIDE victory over Staines was outstanding and Dean and Sam’s U15 PRIDE will be delighted with their 1-0 victory over Elm Grove, who had beaten them earlier in the season. WELL DONE to them.

Joint Team of The Week U13 Pride

Joint Team of The Week U15 Pride

………. but unfortunately we froze in many of the games.

A very untypical Sunday with 7 defeats in 14 games and just the 4 victories. 3 were drawn but these included a couple of very encouraging results.

Matt’s Under 16 Pride are becoming the draw specialists with their sixth draw of the season in 12 games but this time against a very strong Sandgate side. The U15s lost two tough games with Dean and Sam’s Pride losing 5-2 to table topping Farnborough and Michael and Mark’s U15 Lions losing a tight game 2-1 to Guilford City. They will face Guilford again in a few weeks in the Quarter Final of the Surrey County Cup. Terry’s Under 13’s showed there is very little difference between mid table and top of the league with a good 3-3 draw against top of the table Kew Association, whilst Matthew and Russell’s U13 Pride found Surrey Predators a bit too strong going down 4-0.

Ricks Under 14 Pride maintained their impressive winning streak with a 4-1 victory over Barnes Eagles to keep in contention for a place in the top two of their league. The Under 12’s also maintained their good form. Bernie’s U13P may feel a bit disappointed with a 3-3 draw at Old Isleworth Whites but Mel’s U12 Lions go marching on in the Championship with a great 2-0 win over Esher. Old Isleworth in fact proved to our bogey team on the day as their U11 beat David’s table topping U11 Pride side 1-0 and also their Under 10’s beat Martin and Michael’s high flying Under 10 Lions 4-0 in the Premier League. David’s Under 10 Pride also lost this time to Hampton.

Nidal and Richard’s Under 9 Lions had one of the best results of the day a good 2-0 win over Staines to consolidate their position in second place in the league but unfortunately Nick and Gavin’s U9 Pride found Esher a little bit too strong going down 3-0.

TEAM OF THE DAY undoubtably this week were John’s Under 18’s who beat Claygate 1-0 at Palewell to reach the Quarter Final of the U18 Surrey County Cup. Claygate are in a division higher with boys pretty much all under 18 versus Johns U17 squad. The U18s will now play Premier League table topping Oxshott in the Quarter Final. WELL DONE to John, Freddy their coach and the boys.

U18 Team of The Week

Remember to remind your parent group of the OPEN DAY for min soccer on Feb 4th 2012.

There is lots to read in the news letter, available here.

You can see older news letter on the Surrey Youth League site.

Surrey County FA are running a Referee Mini Soccer Course on Tuesday 28th Feb starting at 7pm until 9.30pm at Connaught House.

There is no cost and each candidate gets a Certificate of Attendance and the FA Booklet on Mini Soccer. It is not a formal qualification.

The course may be of interest to parents and to particularly to some of our older players. The fee for refereeing a mini soccer game is £15 which is good extra pocket money! It will also give you one extra good thing to add on a University application and on a c.v.

If you wish to attend please contact Tim Lawrence in advance so he can put you on the attendance list and  prepare a certificates.

Tim Lawrence
Referee Development Officer
Surrey County Football Association.
Tel: 01372 387094 (Direct), 07943 848185 (mobile) or 01372 373543 (County Office)
tim.lawrence@surreyfa.com

Surrey County Football Association
Connaught House,
36 Bridge Street,
Leatherhead,
Surrey
KT22 8BZ
www.surreyfa.com

Happy New year to All

An excellent start to the New year in terms of both weather and results. Fourteen games played, 9 wins, 2 draws and only 3 defeats. The Under 10’s, Under 14’s and Under 15’s led the way with 100% success.

Martin and Michaels U10 Lions maintaining their position at the top of the U10 Premier league with a 2-0 victory over Raynes Park, whilst David’s Under 10 Pride replicated the success with a 4-1 win against Whitton. Trevor’s Under 14 Lions faced a Hanworth team that had won every game this season in a top of the table clash and a late goal gave Trevor a fabulous 1-0 victory. Ricks Under 14 Pride gained revenge against a strong KPR side beating them 4-1 to put them in contention for a top two finish. In the Under 15’s, Dean and Sam’s U15 Pride had a good 4-1 win at Worcester Park helped by a Jadyn C hat-trick. Michael’s Under 15 Lions had time out from the WSY League to see if they could make the Quarter Final of the Surrey County Cup for the 2nd year in succession. An impressive 7-0 win over Kingstonian’s was enough to put them into the last 8 of the competition. The Surrey County Cup is a competition that Sheen Lions has never won in any age group in the clubs 25 year history. Can this be our year?

Both the Under 12’s teams had vital games today. Bernie’s 3rd placed Under 12 Pride faced 2nd placed Dorking and a 1-1 result keeps both clubs in the same positions. Mel’s Under 12 Lions played a high flying Crusaders side and a well deserved 7-2 victory for Mel keeps them also in contention for a top two finish. Nick and Gavin’s Under 9 Pride had a very narrow 1-0 defeat at Twickenham but Nidal and Richard’s Under 9 Lions had a great day moving into 2nd place in the U9 Div 1 with a very impressive 5 -1 win over Old Isleworth. It was good that Trevor had the opportunity to give the boys some guidance prior to this game. It was also a really good day for the Under 11’s, Jon and and Alastair’s Under 11’s Lions produced a good 0-0 draw against a Links team sitting a number of places above them in the league. Yet surely the most exciting game of the day had to be at Ashford where the top two teams in U11 Div 1 faced each other. David’s U11 Pride came out victorious in a fantastic 4-3 victory to take U11 Pride well clear at the top of the league.

The Under 13 may want to forget the first Sunday of the New Year as Terry’s 13 Lions found table topping Junior Bees a bit too strong and Matthew and Russell’s 13 Pride lost a game they would have been favourites to win.

Both Julian, Jason and Eric ‘s Under 8’s also had games and will be pleased with the progress that the boys are making.

TEAM OF THE DAY is very hard as there were so many crucial games and really excellent results across a range of age groups. As such I will give TEAMS OF THE DAY to the two Under 8 squads that we have developed. It has been a fantastic first 4 months for Julian and Jason’s Under 8 Lions and the new Under 8 Pride managed by Eric Capp. Michael does great credit and has done a terrific job in developing this age group.and this has given us great inspiration to continue to increase the focus on the development side of the club. If I had one New Years resolution for Sheen Lions it would be to enhance our reputation (it is already very good) for attracting young talent and providing the very best development program in Surrey for young footballers (particularly in the vital Under 7- 10 age groups). I have no doubt we will achieve this and this will provide the foundation for continued success as boys move to 9 v9 and 11 v11 football.

Team Of The Week U8 Lions

Shortly we will be announcing our SHEEN LIONS Open day on Feb 4th 2012 at Palewell Park for all boys currently in Primary school Yr 1 to Year 5 for next years Under 7 to Under 11. We will increase the focus on the development side of the club and want very much to continue the success we are seeing to date.

Keep up the good work and WELL DONE to all.

Geoff

Lionel Messi, the world’s best footballer, has revealed his support for Sheen Lions FC. The revelation was witnessed by 90,000 people attending a Barcelona home game in the Nou Camp. During one of Messi’s goal celebrations he revealed the Sheen ‘lion’ image on his undershirt. Wicked!

It turned out to be a very frustrating day with many games postponed due to the frozen pitches which simply would not defrost quick enough. We will learn from the experience and certainly (if feasible) try to delay first kick offs during January and February until at least 11.00 am to give pitches time to defrost.

Fortunately there were eight games played. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to watch both under 8 games and felt very proud as to the quality of football on show. Both games were very exciting and whilst I am not allowed to publish results, I am pleased to say that both teams left with big smiles on their faces after excellent performances. Great credit to Michael Morgan for the work he has done with the Under 8’s this year.

David’s Under 10 Pride narrowly lost 3- 2 at Hampton Youth and Bernie’s Under 12 Pride were unable to repeat their earlier victory against runaway leaders Eagles FC going down 3-1.

Matthew and Russell’s Under 13 Pride continued their excellent form with a good 3-2 win at Hanworth, and Brian’s Under 16 Lions repeated the same score with a 3-2 victory at Claygate.

The biggest win of the day was Trevor’s Under 14 Lions, who got back to winning ways with a 10 – 0 win at Hook and Chessington, with Alex G heading he scoring charts on the day with 5 goals.

We now have four boys in the club who are placed in the top five goal scorers of their respective age group (across the entire WSYL) – Under 10 – Sylvester J, Under 12 – Jack N, Under 14 – Alex G, Under 18 -Matthew H.

TEAM OF THE DAY has to be Nick and Gavin’s Under 9 Pride. They have been striving for that allusive win after consecutive 3-3 draws in the last two weeks. This weeks they also conceded 3 against Kew Park Rangers Reds ( we need to focus on a bit of defending next session!!!) but the very good news is that they managed to score 5. WELL DONE TO THE BOYS – you deserve it.

U9 Pride Team Of The Week

Hopefully all the boys that ordered them have got their rain jackets – You might need them!

Finally, as we move towards Xmas. I would like to send a very BIG THANK YOU AND A MERRY XMAS to all the coaches that have done a terrific job this season. We also now have 38 Team or Assistant Managers, all of which put great thought, passion and personal time into making sure that the boys have the very best football experience and that Sheen Lions continues to become a club that we can all feel very proud of – A VERY MERRY XMAS TO YOU.

Thanks to Gordon and Henrik for their efforts in the website (and please add a further commitment to this effort in your New Years resolutions – IT IS A BIG PART OF OUR EXTERNAL FACE TO THE COMMUNITY and your task as managers). Finally a MASSIVE THANKS to Sarah, without whom all this would not be possible.

I look forward to continued success in 2012. Come on the Lions.

Another exceptional days with great victories across the board and some impressive individual performances. We managed to maintain our record of the last 3 weeks with only 4 defeats once again but today an impressive 10 victories and 3 draws, with also the two under 8 teams playing very impressive games against Barnes Eagles and Hampton.

Nidal and Richard’s Under 9’s have put themselves in contention for the championship with an impressive 4-0 win over Junior Bees with Alfie O netting a hat-trick on his birthday – HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you. It was a some slight relief for Nidal who’s son JJ fractured his leg in the week and everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery. Nick and Gavin’s Under 9 Pride didn’t quite manage the win they deserve but consecutive 3-3 draws, this time against Waddon shows that the win is coming soon.

Martin and Michael’s Under 10 Lions kept their place at the top of the league with a tight 1-0 win over Spelthorne, and David Under 10 Pride had a very good 2-1 away win at Ashford. With the U10’s winning both games, the 11’s were not going to be outshone and delivered two wins themselves. A very impressive 4-0 win for Alistair and Jon’s U11 Lions against Old Isleworth starts to move them towards a respectable position in the Premier League. Game of the day has to be David’s U11 Pride who managed a 5-4 win at Meadow Sport helped by Luke B’s 4 goals. They are now 6 points clear at the top of their 9 a side league and a big WELL DONE to their coach FREDDY who has had much success with not only this team but with all his sides.

The 12’s almost kept the perfect trend of victories with Mel ‘s Under 12 Lions delivering an important 2-1 win at NPL, don’t be surprised to see Mel competing for the championship in the New Year. Bernie’s Under 12 Pride maintained their position as 2nd in the league with a 1 -1 draw with Ballers. The 13’s certainly didn’t let us down either. Alex O netted a hat-trick as Terry’s Under 13 Lions delivered a 6-1 win against bottom team Fulham and Matthew and Russell’s Under 13 pride had a very good 2-1 win v Kingswood.

Trevor’s Under 14 Lions faced Hamsey Rangers the leaders of the top division of the Tandridge League and conquerers of a Premier Elite WSYL side in the last round. The game ended 2-2 at the end of full time but in extra time the floodgates opened but there was no disgrace in their 6-3 defeat. It will put them in good stead for their forthcoming Invitation Cup semi final. Rick’s Under 14 Pride team had a very impressive 5-2 away win at Esher who were third in their league and now the Pride will swop places with them to sit third in the table. Jack A netted a very impressive 4 goals in this match.

The 15’s didn’t quite keep up the trend but Michael and Mark’s U15 Lions will not feel too disheartened with their 1-0 defeat at second placed Bedfont. Keep an eye on the progress of the Under 15 lions in the county Cup, as this year they could go all the way to the final. Dean and Sam’s U15 Pride also played the team in 2nd place and were the wrong end of a 4-2 scoreline.

Brian’s Under 16 Pride had a steady 3-3 draw against Tooting whilst Matt’s Under 16 Pride found Sandgate too strong on the day.

After last weeks very impressive 2-1 Surrey County Cup win at Hamsey Rangers the Under 18’s kept up their claim to be title contenders this season with a 5-0 victory and the prolific Matthew H netted 4 in this game.

All in all a very good day.

TEAMS OF THE WEEK. Firstly, David’s Under 11 Pride for a very exciting 5-4 victory at Meadow Sports in their inaugural 9 v 9 year. Secondly Ricks Under 14 Pride who finished bottom of division 3 last year but have turned things around and are now in third place and looking stronger each week.

U14 Pride Joint Team Of The Week

Thanks to Sarah for driving to Bedfont to collect the waterproof Jackets and trousers from Kit Selection this weekend, and also Gordon C for all his hard work in coordinating orders. I have now sorted 84 individual jackets and 32 pairs of trousers by team so I will deliver at your next training sessions. I don’t think I want to see another waterproof jacket this season!!!

Come on the Lions