WESTLAND SPORTS F.C.
CLUB ARCHIVE
CLUB NEWS SEASON 2013-14
REVIEW OF SEASON 2013/2014
The season could not have started off worse. The death of our young 17 year old player Callum Denman in August was a blow which struck to the heart of the club. The first couple of Youth team games were cancelled and the first club match of the season was a Somerset Senior Cup match on 7th September.
Stuart & Andy Smith were still at the helm as the first team managers and the Youth team was managed through these difficult times by Andy Jackson assisted by George Rigby.
DORSET SENIOR LEAGUE
Having finished in 6th position in our first season in the Dorset Senior League, the manager was looking to improve on that this time round.
In the close season the omens did not look great when several players left the club. A complete midfield of Jacob Bromfield, Steve McDaid, Sam Farthing, Tom Coggins and Pete Ireland all moved on so the managers had a job to do in the summer to replace them. New players were recruited from the Junior ranks of the Yeovil & District League and a few lads moved up from the youth team to fill the gaps and so we started our league campaign with a much changed side. On the plus side we had suffered the previous season from a lack of strikers but we looked in better shape in that department at least. Hopefully Leo Hayward would return to fitness soon after missing virtually all of last season and with Josh Payne joining us from Tintinhull and Louis Irwin, top scorer for the youth team, stepping up we looked to have better options in that area.
We started our league season on 14th Sept, losing our opening match 2-0 to Chickerell Utd at Alvington. Amazingly, this was to be the last league match we lost all season. An outstanding achievement, only one league defeat all season, surpassing even the famous treble winning side of 2011/12 who suffered 2 league defeats. It was title winning form and we clinched the Dorset Senior League Championship with a 5-0 victory at Sturminster Newton in early May. This was the 11th straight win in a row for Sports and meant we had gone the whole season without losing an away match. The other impressive stat was that in 26 league games we amassed 14 clean sheets and this defensive solidity obviously gave us the foundation for our winning season.
There were some memorable moments along the way:-
* On the 26th October Leo Hayward returned to the side for the tricky away match at Gillingham and scored the only goal in a hard fought 1-0 win.
* Louis Irwin’s injury time winner against Sturminster Newton at Alvington in November when it looked like 2 points had been dropped was a classic moment.
* There was the 88th minute winner at Portland when Craig Michie gave Sports another 1-0 win.
* Who can forget Will Ireland smashing the ball into the roof of the net in injury time to give us a 1-0 win over Okeford at Alvington in March.
* When we came back from 2-1 down at half time to win 5-3 on a pouring wet day in April at Corfe Mullen.
* The big one away to Sturminster Marshall (who eventually finished runner’s up) and we won that 2-0 after they cracked under the pressure and had three men sent off.
* The 10-0 destruction of South Cheriton in a midweek match at their place which showed our championship credentials.
* The final run-in, 11 straight victories, culminating in that final 5-0 victory at Sturminster Newton which clinched the title with a game to spare.
What a fantastic league campaign and one that will be hard to beat. We look forward now to promotion into the Dorset Premier League next season.
SOMERSET SENIOR CUP
This is always a difficult cup to win as the rounds start in September and continue every month. There are also some difficult venues to negotiate so we were reasonably happy to be drawn away to Congresbury in the first round as we had played there last season and had won in extra time. Once again we prevailed in extra time with Dan Rudge netting the winner.
In the second round we pulled a tough one away to Watchet Town. They were near the top of the Somerset Senior League Premier Division and were unbeaten at home all season. This time Sports put on a terrific display and 2 goals from Josh Payne saw us edge through by 2-1.
The next round we were drawn away again this time to Berrow. They were a mid-table premier league side and although we put up a spirited display we lost in a penalty shoot-out, missing only one spot kick. A bit disappointing this defeat as we had been 2-0 up with 20 minutes to go and let it slip. Nevertheless it had been a reasonable cup run and we could be proud of our performances.
DORSET SENIOR TROPHY
This was our first time in this competition so we were looking forward to something different.
In the first round we drew Ferndown Sports who were from the Bournemouth League Premier Division and although they were a decent side we blitzed them in the second half to win 4-0 at Alvington.
In the second round we were drawn away to Poole Borough Reserves from Dorset League Division 1 and although we were 1-0 up we threw it away late on to lose 2-1. That was a poor result and a bit annoying as we were quite capable of doing well in this cup.
SEASON 2013/14 GOALSCORERS
JOSH PAYNE 25
LEO HAYWARD 23
LOUIS IRWIN 16
SAM CARNEY 4
GEORGE RIGBY 3
WILL IRELAND 3
MIKE ROUSELL 3
HENRY LAWRENCE-NAPIER 2
SAM GIBBS 2
MATT WATSON 2
ANT HERRIN 1
ASH POWERS 1
PHIL WELLS 1
NICK WILTON 1
JAKE WOLFE 1
CRAIG MICHIE 1
DAN RUDGE 1
STUART SMITH 1
SEASON 2013/14 APPEARANCES
MATT WATSON 31
PHIL WELLS 31
WILL IRELAND 30
SAM GIBBS 30
STUART SMITH 29
JOSH PAYNE 29
NICK WILTON 28
LOUIS IRWIN 26
GEORGE RIGBY 25
LEO HAYWARD 24
JASON BUNDY 23
SAM CARNEY 23
NAT CARNEY 15
HENRY LAWRENCE-NAPIER 13
ASH POWERS 10
LUKE SILCOX 10
SOL CARNEY 9
JOE BURGESS 8
JAKE WOLFE 6
AARON WHITE 5
CRAIG MICHIE 5
DAN RUDGE 4
ANT HERRIN 3
MATT BULLOCK 3
MIKE ROUSEL 2
JOHN IRELAND 1
JASON SIMS 1
PETER IRELAND 1
SAM FARTHING 1
In total 29 players played.
DORSET YOUTH LEAGUE, DIV. 1
The tragedy at the start of the season meant the postponement of the first match so our first league game was away to Shaftesbury Town on 14th September which we won. Our next game was away to local rivals Sherborne Town and disappointingly we lost that one 2-1 after being 1-0 up at half-time.
Similar to the Senior team, that defeat was the last match we lost in the league all season. A superb record but not good enough to take the league title with 5 drawn matches proving too big a burden to carry. Nevertheless we finished runners-up to champions Bournemouth Poppies with whom we fought out 2 draws in tight matches.
Some memorable moments for the Youth team this season were:-
* The 2nd round of the County Youth Cup when we beat Wimborne Town’s strong Hampshire League side 3-2 at Alvington with Sol Carney grabbing a late winner.
* Going 4-0 up against Rossgarth away from home when we had been reduced to 10 men after 10 minutes following a red card.
* Jake Coombes scoring a cracker from 25 yards against Wimborne at Alvington.
* Max Rowswell’s stunning 88th minute equaliser away to Bournemouth Poppies that silenced the crowd and won us a point.
SEASON 2013/14 YOUTH TEAM GOALSCORERS
DAN QUIRKE 14
MAX ROWSWELL 8
GEORGE RUSSELL 6
SAM SMITH 6
CONNOR LINHAM 6
LOUIS IRWIN 5
JAKE COOMBES 5
HENRY LAWRENCE-NAPIER 5
SAM WATTS 4
CIAN CABELL 4
LUKE JACKSON 1
SOL CARNEY 1
BEN OLIVER 1
SEASON 2013/14 YOUTH TEAM APPEARANCES
LUKE SILCOX 21
SAM SMITH 19
MAX ROWSWELL 18
SAM WATTS 17
GEORGE RUSSELL 16
JACK RAEBURN 16
LUKE JACKSON 16
HENRY LAWRENCE-NAPIER 15
DAN QUIRKE 14
JAKE COOMBES 14
CIAN CABELL 12
JOHN IRELAND 11
LOUIS IRWIN 10
AARON WHITE 9
JAMES PRENDERGAST 9
CONNOR LINHAM 7
BEN OLIVER 7
CALLUM THOMPSON 5
FRANKIE VASS 5
CALUM LOVEDAY 3
MATT BUSE 3
SEAMUS BEARD 2
JACK VINE 2
BLAIR RODBER 2
MACAULEY CAIN 1
SOL CARNEY 1
BRENDAN SYMES 1
RHODRI HOPKINS 1
DUNCAN McCABE 1
In total 29 players played.
Summing up the season:-
The club enjoyed a truly memorable season with the senior team winning the Dorset Senior League and the Under 18 Youth team finishing runners-up in the Dorset Youth League Division 1. That both teams lost only one match apiece in their league campaigns was a remarkable achievement and speaks volumes for the team spirit in both sides. Congratulations must also go to the coaches and managers who held everything together in difficult times and saw us complete an excellent season.
PRESENTATION NIGHT
The presentation evening was held on Friday 23rd May in the Carling Suite at the Westlands Leisure Complex. There was a good turnout on the night but unfortunately an early evening crash on Hendford Hill derailed the appearance of our guest who was to present the trophies. Nevertheless, our intrepid President "Yogi" Murley stepped in and did the honours and the evening went off without any more hitches. A hot buffet was provided courtesy of our sponsors Sodexo and once that had been enjoyed we proceeded with our chairman Phil Wells compering with his usual panache. A moments celebration in memory of Callum Denman was followed by the presentation, for the first time, of the 'Callum Denman Shield', kindly presented to the club by Pat and Julie Denman.
The award this year went to LUKE SILCOX, our young goalkeeper who has represented both the Youth team and the Senior team with distinction this season, and has shown loyalty and commitment to the club at all times, a real example to everyone.
The next presentation was made to Alan Perkins, who is retiring as club treasurer this year. Alan has been our club treasurer and lottery manager for 9 years and has performed these tasks with the utmost professionalism and integrity. Our chairman thanked Alan for all his invaluable service to the club.
Andy Jackson the Youth team manager is also standing down this year after many years of managing our Youth teams and he was thanked by the Chairman on behalf of everyone for his exemplary leadership during some testing times for the club.
Andy then went on to announce the winners of the Youth team trophies:-
Manager's Player of the year - SAM WATTS
Players' Player of the Year - SAM WATTS
Top Goalscorer - DAN QUIRKE
Stuart Smith then took the stage to announce the Senior team winners and it was just like old times as 18 players were presented with their League Championship winners medals.
Stu then announced the winners of the individual medals for the Senior team:-
Manager's Player of the year - PHIL WELLS
Players' Player of the year - LOUIS IRWIN
IT'S ALL OVER
Saturday 10th May..........Sports ended their season with a 2-2 draw today away to Chickerell Utd in the Dorset Senior League. On the infamous sloping pitch at The Stalls we were behind 2-1 at the interval thanks to a couple of defensive mistakes and a MATT WATSON goal. Despite being reduced to 10 men for a "last man" challenge after 55 minutes Sports were the better team in the second half even with ten men and equalised through a JOSH PAYNE volley. In the end our hosts were hanging on and asking the ref "how long to go " so I think that says it all. Not one of Westlands best performances but good enough to keep our unbeaten run going.
WE'VE DONE IT, SPORTS WIN LEAGUE !!
Saturday 3rd May..........a 5-0 win at Sturminster Newton this afternoon saw Westlands clinch the Dorset Senior League title. A first half hat-trick from JOSH PAYNE plus two goals from LEO HAYWARD saw Sports take all three points and clinch the league title in style. It's been a fantastic achievement for management and players alike and when the celebrations are over we'll take a closer look at what we have achieved in our season review. Our thanks to everyone who travelled over to Sturminster Newton to support the team, we hope you can join us once more in our final match at Chickerell next saturday.
Monday 10th February 2014.........The Amateur Football Phrasebook
Every weekend, thousands of amateur footballers battle against any combination of hangovers, dubious fitness levels and dodgy playing surfaces in a commendable attempt to demonstrate their skills (or lack of) to one man and his dog.
One aspect of the amateur game is as strong in the lower reaches of the game as it is in the top flight. This is the intangible, unquantifiable qualities of "talking".
Talking is easy, but not talking enough is generally agreed in the amateur ranks to be highly counter-productive. Players are urged before kick-off to do "lots of talking". Not talking is generally an accusation that is levelled at a whole team, rather than an individual (unless it is the captain, who must shout indiscriminately for 90 minutes, for that is his job.)
To avoid this indictment, a set of largely useless phrases has emerged, which can be called upon whenever necessary to punctuate a period of relative silence.
Clichéd as they are, many strained bellows you hear on a football pitch – "Man on!", "Out we go!", etc – are useful instructions. The following set of on-pitch rallying cries, however, deserve closer inspection:
1) "We've Gone Quiet"
Going quiet, as highlighted earlier, is the sign of a malfunctioning team. No one is talking, which means they all might as well go home. A period of notable quietness is ended only when the captain draws everyone's attention to it: "Come on lads, we've gone quiet!". It can, at the shouter's discretion, be bookended with "...haven't we?", to offer the illusion of a debate where one is really not available.
2) "Straight In Lads"
A staple instruction that can be used only at a very specific moment – namely, the opponents kicking off the game. This phrase demands an immediate chase after the ball as soon as it is kicked. Only the strikers need to do this, of course, and the moment quickly passes. Getting "straight in" is not a continuous requirement, but merely an opening gesture of intent, which is likely to be unfulfilled. It is often accompanied by a mindless, yet somehow entirely appropriate, clap of the hands.
3) "Two On The Edge"
When a corner is awarded, it is everyone's job to pick up their man. One eagle-eyed player may spot a discrepancy in this complex marking system, in that there are two unattended opponents lumbering into the penalty area.
In extreme circumstances, there may be "three on the edge" – an unthinkable catastrophe that is met with a suitably incredulous cry of "I've got three here !". The lack of concentration may be down to the defence's preoccupation with the big man, the lanky opposing centre-back/electrician who has arrived with a look of great purpose from the back.
4) "Box 'Em In !"
A cult classic, perhaps, which satisfies two fundamental criteria: 1) a laughable attempt at tactical insight, and 2) that when the ball goes out for an opposition throw-in, deep in their final third, it is universally accepted that they do not have the adequate technical skills (or simply the upper-body strength) to kick/hurl their way to safety.
5) "[Shirt Colour] Head on This !"
Possibly the most pointless one of all. For the uninitiated, this cryptic command is for your teammates to meet an imminent opposition hoof with their head before the other lot can. No accuracy is necessary but congratulations are available for heading it really, really hard, straight back where it came from. "WELL UP!" you are told, with your name declared in full. More forward-thinking amateur players concern themselves with the second ball, which is often simply another header. Third balls remain an untapped, bewildering resource, possibly due to Chaos Theory.
6) "Away !"
Usually bellowed by a goalkeeper, generally at a corner kick, and loosely translated as "I have no intention of attempting to gather the ball myself, nor do I trust you to play your way out of trouble so please dispose of the ball as quickly and as far away as possible." Failure to do as directed leaves one open to castigation for "fucking about with it there," but this may be permitted if the player is in possession of a sufficient amount of........
7) "Time !"
The ball drops from the air and a player finds himself in acres of space. Pointing this out to him might seem a good idea. It'll calm him down, allow him to get his head up and play a pass, rather than treat the ball like an unpinned grenade.
However, when 10 other players scream "Time!" in unison, it tends to have quite the opposite effect. The futility of the situation is laid bare when, after giving away possession easily, the player is offered a final, withering, retrospective observation: "You had time there."
8) "Who's got tape ?"
Tape is the gold-dust of amateur football, despite being available in any hardware shop. As the provider of the sock-securing tape, once you declare and dispense it, you will never see it again.
9) "How long Ref ? "
Usually asked by an over excited player from the leading team, with surprising desperation. Whatever the answer, the player will always add about 10% on before relaying the revised figure to his teammates.
10) "Watch the short !"
It is considered a cardinal sin to let an opposing amateur team pass a goal-kick out to a full-back. Precisely what sort of devastating attack an average team are expected to be capable of, deep in their own half, with the ball at the feet of traditionally the least capable player in their ranks, is anyone's guess.
11) "Don't let it bounce !"
A rare example of a phenomenon that afflicts a Premier League side just as much as it does your amateur team. Letting the ball bounce, especially "back there", is traditionally asking for trouble.
12) "Where Was The Shout ?"
The ultimate act of amateur league buck-passing. A player is unceremoniously dispossessed from behind, to howls of derision from his teammates. Accompanied by a despairing flap of the arms, the player begs of his colleagues: "Where was the shout ?!" There wasn't one. Because they've gone quiet, haven't they ?
RESERVE TEAM MANAGER
Friday 13th December..........as the next step in the rebuilding of the club, Sports intend to run a reserve side next season and we are pleased to announce the appointment of Harry Gibbs as the team manager. Harry is a young manager with proven success in the Yeovil & District League and we are delighted he has agreed to join us in this next stage of the club's development. Harry will be assisted by ex-Westlands favourite Karl Mitchell in running the side and we are delighted to welcome 'Mitch' back to the club. We have applied for entry to the Dorset League for the reserves next season, which division that will be we will probably not know until the end of the season.
Callum Denman
Tuesday 27th August..........It is with a heavy heart that I have to report the tragic death of one of our young players Callum Denman on Sunday morning in a horrific car crash. This accident has come as a terrible shock to everyone associated with Westland Sports Football Club. Callum was 17 years old, a much loved and respected young man with a bright future ahead of him and will be missed terribly by everyone at the club. Our thoughts at this time of tragedy are, of course, with Pat Denman and his family. Pat is a loyal member of our committee and joint manager of our Under 18 side so this tragedy bites deep into the heart of our club. Callum will never be forgotten and will always be part of the WSFC family. RIP.
