Southside Star Cubs U8 - Cheltenham League Tournament 1 Week 1

For this first tournament of the season, we entered 4 teams; Lions, Tigers, Wildcats & Pumas.

For the Lions, manager for the day was Matt Bell. In his team he had son Enrico, Ruben, Riado, Marco, Jayden and William C. It was a good day for the Lions, thanks to Matt for details of their matches below:

Game 1 vs Tewkesbury Colts
Won 3-1. Goals from Marco x2 and Jayden
Tough start to this game going 1-0 down. The team showed great spirit to come back and win this one. Comfortable in the end

Game 2 vs Lakeside Reds
Lost 2-0
Well fought game against the best team in the league. The boys kept going and also created a few chances of their own

Game 3 vs Bourton Utd
Won 5-0. Goals from Oliver, Enrico, Ruben x2 and one own goal
A comfortable win for the team and a clean sheet for Marco between the sticks too

Game 4 vs Churchdown Whites
Drew 1-1. Goal from Marco
Should have won this game with so many chances, the boys were dominant and only let down by their finishing in front of goal. Went 1-0 down against the run of play, so again they showed great character to come back from being behind

Game 5 vs Leckhampton Wizards
Won 4-2. Goals from Ruben x3 and Oliver
A great all round performance from the team in this game, against a strong Leckhampton team who fought back

Man of the match: Ruben, for his goals (top scorer) and all round team performance in the tournament

For the Tigers, it was Matt Arthur at the helm, and in his group was son Josh, Connor, Johnny, Riley, Noah, Jesse and Ben D. Thanks to him for these details:

A tough day at the office for the Lions, who had Connor, Johnny and Noah all making their debuts. Main feature for the Lions was the non-stop running and energy from Josh and Jesse, with Jesse also notching the Lions’ only goal. Man of the match though was Ben, for his amazing defending, great goalkeeping and an overall strong display throughout.

The Wildcats manager was Julian Sutton, and his team consisted of his twin sons, Ed & Luke, plus Oliver D, William E, Alex and Theo. Here is his report from the day:

The Wildcats played really well as a team yesterday and did themselves and the club proud! They played 5 games with the results as follows:

3-0 win against Bishops Cleeve Utd – hat-trick for Alex
The Wildcats took control of the game from the first whistle and were 3-0 to the good early on, comfortably holding the lead to the end

1-0 win against Prestbury Tornadoes -
This game was nip and tuck throughout, with very few chances due to how well matched the sides were - ultimately though we were able to prevail with a last kick of the game winner from Luke, to the jubilation of all the team (and the coach!)

0-4 verses a strong Lakeside Whites -
Lakeside were strong and to counter this we used a slightly different formation, which ultimately did not prove to be successful. The pleasing element was that the boys did not give up and kept giving their all, even when the game was beyond them

2-1 win against Leckhampton Sorcerers -
Another close game which went our way, thanks to goals from Ed and Alex

1-2 defeat against Bourton Rovers -
This game was very close and another one that could have gone either way. Another goal from Alex seemed to have earned a point, until Bourton were awarded a penalty in the last 2 minutes, which was very well converted and gave our keeper (Ed) little chance. The pleasing element was that even though the penalty was ‘soft’, the boys accepted the referee’s decision without question and even when they had a last-minute equaliser from Alex disallowed, they remained completely disciplined and respectful to the referee.

In summary, the Wildcats really enjoyed the day and played well, especially when you consider that Joseph and William were both playing their first ever tournaments. Everybody had plenty of game time and I gave a special thanks to Luke and Ed, who both played 2 games in goal ( Oliver played the other), as no other players wanted to volunteer.

Alex was a deserved man of the match, after his hat-trick in the first game and overall contribution throughout all the games.

For the Pumas, Tony Ward was the man in charge, and in his team he had son Rupert, Ben S, Leo, Sam, Harrison, Viktor and Jack. Here is his report from the day:

Game 1: 2-0 LOST
Sam had a great game in goal to kick us off, Harrison played really well when he came on for Rupert, but unfortunately wasn’t able to finish a few of the chances that came his way, but a great work rate! Jack seemed at ease on the wing and had some great breaks going forward

Game 2: 2-1 LOST
Viktor had a great game in goal with a few great saves but unfortunately 2 got past him. Harrison scored a great goal to try and pull it back, but we lost a close fought battle

Game 3: 5-3 LOST
Harrison was again in the goals with a super strike and a penalty and Sam had a clinical finish to get 3 goals, but unfortunately they got 5 past us. Leo had a great couple of efforts up front, which were just off target, when he came on for Viktor

Game 4: 1-0 LOST
Ben was awesome in goal and showed real bravery between the sticks. Leo was on the left but broke forward really well on a few occasions, but we weren’t able to convert any of the chances that came our way

Game 5: 2-1 LOST
Rupert had some good strong challenges in defence and we lost a close game, despite a blockbuster from outside the box by Sam! Jack and Ben played really well when they came on, linking up some great passes

MoM – Viktor, for his work rate and resilience

Overall, our Cubs had a great day of football, some mixed results it’s true, but all good experience for them to take forward. And they get to do it all again this Saturday!

Special thanks to Matt Bell, Matt Arthur, Julian Sutton and Tony Ward, for stepping-up and offering to manage a team. They were all wonderful with the kids and showed exactly the kind of attitude and approach we want to see at Southside. I predict a bright future for them all!