Football

Boys Road to Culverden Football Finals at Culverden Stadium-Wednesday 3^rd May

After a tough game the night before and with the sun shining the Boys team arrived at Culverden stadium excited and eager to play some excellent football. It was clear before the boys started that the standard of football was going to be extremely high. Southborough had three games to play against the three strongest primary schools in the West Kent District, Claremont, Sussex Road and Woodlands Primary Schools.

We started against a well drilled Woodlands team creating lots of chances and on a number of occasions had narrow misses from Charlie and Max. Oscar took up the reigns in goal and produced some superb saves and direction with the ball from his placed kicks. Coby was strong in defense and Theo, Elliott and Louis all stepped up to play some great through balls and provide energy to the team. In the end the score was a 0-0 draw.

In the second game we played Claremont who we’d beaten in the qualifying rounds to the Road to Culverden and were very keen to beat again! Claremont started extremely fast, moving the ball with fluency and finesse but are defense was once again rock solid with Max, Coby, Theo and Oscar proving a formidable quartet which Claremont struggled to breakdown. Louis and Harry showed all their strength and ability to produce some great through balls and once again we came close through Elliott up front. Claremont were unable to break up our defense and with Charlie in goal showing a safe pair of hands the scored ended up as another 0-0 draw.

In our final game against arguably the strongest team Sussex Road, we changed our formation having watched the way Sussex Road had played in their previous games. Max moved into a central position and Elliott moved into goal. The game was extremely fast and Sussex Road came close to scoring early but our defense managed to scrabble the ball off the line on two occasions. This followed shortly but a magical piece of running from Max with Harry in support. Max managed to press through the midfield and despite be closed down by two defenders moved the ball effortlessly passed the goalkeeper to make the score 1-0. It was an exciting moment and well deserved with make Max producing some of his finest football against his opposite number from Sussex Road who’d recently be signed for Chelsea FC. The boys battled on and it was only in the final minutes that Sussex Road managed to equalise to draw 0-0.

It was a fabulous display of Football and the team can be proud of their performance today. The commitment and desire to win every ball was a credit to the boys and their positivity and sportsmanship was to be commended. Well Done team.

The team were: Max(Capt), Harry, Charlie, Coby, Elliott, Louis, Theo and Oscar.

Southborough Blue 1 v Pembury 2

On Tuesday the Boys blue Football team took on a strong Pembury school team at Southborough School. It was a fast-paced game from the start with Southborough getting out of the blocks first with an early goal. The boys once again showed excellent defensive work from the constant pressure that Pembury were applying. It was a well struck ball from the Pembury centre that equalised shortly before the end of the first half.  Max moved the ball well and Charlie had a couple of excellent chances which he narrowly missed. Oscar used the ball well making strong passes up wings and Coby was once again solid in defense. The second half continued at a relentless pace with early chances from both teams, it was then that Pembury scored their second goal with before Charlie rattled the cross bar with seconds to play to the end of the game. The boys played a great game and were unlucky not to draw in the end. It was decided by the Pembury team that George was man of the match having played brilliantly in goal.  

The team were: Max, Harry, Charlie, Coby, Oscar, Jenson, Henry, Frankie and George

Southborough Boys Greens Team V St Johns – Thursday 27^th April- Football

As we approach the end of the Football season, it was the turn of the boy’s greens team to play St Johns in what ended up being a thrilling game. There was very little that separated the two teams in both skills and performance. Southborough took the early lead in the first half with some excellent passing from Hamad and Louis who consistently moved the ball with fluency and precision. St Johns then scored quickly to bring the score at half time to 1-1. After a couple of rotations at half time, Deron came back in defense and Jake moved upfront which proved effective as we scored quickly early in the second half. Theo, Lewis and Callum all made superb tackles whilst Charlie and Samuel both having stints in goal with both boys showing great agility at times.  As we began to get tired St Johns managed to score a couple of late goals to take the win (3-2) but it was a valiant team effort. 

St Johns then decide on our ‘Man of the Match’ with Callum receiving these honors. Well done to all the boys that took part: Theo, Lewis, Louis, Charlie, Hamad, Callum, Samuel, Deron and Jake.

Girls Road to Culverden at the Hayesbrook Academy- Wednesday 19th April

Well done to all the pupils that took part in the Road to Culverden Girls Football competition on Wednesday. We once again had a fantastic set of results with over ten schools taking part in the competition. It was an actioned packed afternoon with some brilliant defensive play from the whole team.  

In our pool we played Colliers Green, St Johns and Speldhurst without conceding a goal and although we didn’t score in each of the games we finished second in our pool by drawing all of them. In the finals we played the winner of pool four which were Claremont. It was a close contest where we narrowly lost 2-0 despite another brilliant performance from the whole team with some superb tackling and passing from everyone.

The team were: Sophia, Georgia, Elsie, Bella, Leila, Isobella, Beth, Mille and Jessica.

Skinners Kent Junior School Boys 3 V Southborough Boys 8- Tuesday March 28th

 On Tuesday afternoon Southborough Green and Orange mixed boys team played Skinners Kent Junior School on a very wet and soggy afternoon at Southborough. The pitch held up well despite the muddy conditions and the performance by the boys was superb in these tricky conditions. The aim at the beginning of the game was to make short passes, whilst keeping the ball close due to the conditions. The boys started brilliantly and scored goals from a number of the players including Jake, Callum, Ben, Theo and Samuel. Oliver, Theo and Chetan defended brilliantly making some crucial tackles when needed. Skinners started to move the ball well scoring a couple of goals in the second half but Oscar and Ben moved the ball with precision through the midfield narrowly missing on a number of occasions. Alfie was relishing the muddy conditions in goal and was happy to show great agility when Skinners pressed in attack.

In the end Skinners Kent Junior decided on our team player of the match and Callum was chosen. Well done Callum.

The team were: Oliver, Chetan, Ben, Theo, Oscar Samuel, Callum, Alfie and Jake.

‘ Southborough Road to Culverden Winners’  Friday 17^th March at the Tunbridge Wells Boys Grammar School

Well done to all the pupils who take part in the Football on Friday night in the ‘Road to Culverden’ competition. The team played with passion and determination and we had a brilliant set of results as highlighted below. The squad now move on to play at Culverden Stadium against the winners of the Tonbridge and Weald competitions to decide on the overall winner in West Kent in late May. 

Here's an account of the competition from the team:

‘We arrived at the Football both excited and nervous as we knew a lot of the other players from others schools and they were really good. Our first game playing Claremont gave us lots of confidence at we managed to beat them 2-0 having lost to them recently in the Football league. We played some really good football and had some great teamwork and support when passing and moving with the ball. As we played each game we felt like we grew in confidence and I really enjoyed scoring my five goals for the team. We’re all super excited about going to the finals at Culverden Stadium in late May’.

RESULTS

Southborough 2 v Claremont 0 Won

Southborough 2 v St Marks 0 Won

Southborough 3 v Bidborough 1 Won

Southborough 0 v Rusthall 1 Lost

Southborough 2 v Temple Grove 1Won

Southborough 7 v Broadwater 0 Won

Southborough 1 v St Matthews 0 Won

Southborough 0 v SKPS 0 Draw

For- 17 Goals Against 2 Goals

Southborough and Claremont will progress to the finals from the Tunbridge Wells Schools.

Well done to all the players who took part for the Southborough Football team. The pupils were: Max, Charlie, Coby, Harry, Oscar, Henry, Elliott, Frankie, George and Jenson.

Southborough Blue Boys Football V Claremont 0-2

On Thursday afternoon the boys Southborough Blue Football team travelled to Claremont to play their game against an unbeaten Claremont squad this year. The game was played at an exceptional pace on an extremely muddy and wet pitch which made controlling the ball tricky.  However, the boys played with a huge amount of conviction, passing the ball with composure and with accuracy.  Charley narrowly missed on a couple of occasions and George made some fantastic saves in goal. Max and Jenson showed excellent speed on and off the ball and really dominated in defence with their tackling. It was only in the second half that we made a couple of mistakes which allowed Claremont to capitalise with two early goals. The team played really well despite the final score line with Claremont’s coaching adding it was the tough game Claremont had played this season.

The team were: George, Coby, Oscar, Max, Harry, Jenson, Frankie, Henry and Charlie.

Southborough Green Boys Football V Claremont 0-3

It was another excellent performance from Green team led by Elliott in exceptionally tricky conditions following the blue game. The boys started really well with Jake showing superb close control on the ball causing problems in the midfield with his ability to change direction. Ralph made some accurate passes assisting in a couple of close strikes at goal. In the end despite some great saves from Hamad, Claremont were just too strong in the second half as their passing game improved dramatically.  Theo in defense produced some excellent tackles assisted by Charlie. Well done to the whole team who despite coming close to scoring on a couple of occasions played some good football.

The team were: Ralph, Theo, Elliott, Louis, Hamad, Samuel, Charlie, Callum and Jake.  

Southborough Mixed Boys  v St Augustine B 0-0 

On Tuesday afternoon St Augustine's B Boys Football team travelled to Southborough to play their game against a mixed Southborough team. The games was played with excellent sportsmanship and comprised of pupils from Blue, Green and Orange team. The boys played with lots of conviction with Oscar narrowly missing on a couple of occasions before saving a certain goal. George again played really well in goal with some excellent saves. Coby and Charlie played well up front moving the ball when passing the ball in front of the player. Sebastian showed excellent pace on and off the ball and Alfie made some brilliant tackles. It was a strong performance from the team to finish with a draw.

The Team were: George, Coby, Oscar, Charlie, Sebastian and Alfie. 

Southborough Girls v Speldhurst Girls 1-1

Well done to the Southborough Girls who had another brilliant performance against a strong Speldhurst team yesterday afternoon. The game started at a tremendous pace with some excellent passing from both teams. Emilia again produced some excellent saves in goal whilst Beth in defence made some goal saving tackles. After eight minutes Southborough took the lead with a powerful strike from Georgia to take the lead. In the second half Speldhurst applied more pressure despite some excellent passing from Sophia and Leila scoring a goal with five minutes to go. We again came very close to scoring with Bella and Isobel both narrowly missing. In the end we drew 1-1 in a very close game.

Well done to the team that took part: Elsie, Isobel, Leila, Bella, Bongani, Sophia, Emilia, Beth and Georgia.

Southborough Blue 0 V Woodlands 3

Yesterday Blue team played a friendly football match against Woodlands Primary School. Woodlands have always been notoriously strong and Southborough Blues after a slow start began to play some better football with Oscar and Charlie coming close to scoring on a couple of occasions. Woodlands scored their goals in the first half which made the second half a challenge. However, the team communication improved and with some fantastic defending from Max, the team started to play some convincing Football.  As we head towards the ‘Road to Culverden’ the pupils need to continue to cover the gaps, utilise the space and play with energy and urgency.   Well done to all the players that took part: Max, Harry, Henry, Oscar, Charlie, Frankie, Coby, George and Jenson.

Southborough Orange 0 V Woodlands B 8

The score line did not reflect the way Southborough Orange played against the well organised Woodlands team. Southborough made some excellent passes, played with energy and confidence and despite some confident attacking play from Woodlands, Southborough passed and moved the ball with accuracy. Jacob made a couple of fantastic runs in mid field hitting the post on a couple of occasions. Frank in goal made the save of the day, reacting instinctively to a shot from the Woodlands striker and Deron producing a number of brilliant tackles throughout the game. Well done to all the players that took part: Louis, Jack, Deron, Jacob, Sebastian, Taylor, Frank and Jared.

Southborough Girls v Skinners Kent Junior School 0-1

Southborough played Skinners Kent Junior School on Tuesday with some brilliant performances from the whole team. The game was played at a fast tempo on the Astro pitch at Skinners School and the girls showed some excellent control. The game remained extremely close and at half time the game stood at 0-0. Emilia again produced some fantastic saves in goal following a number of powerful shots from the attacking team strikers. Beth and Leila defended really well and Elsie and Georgia again had a number of great attacking runs with Georgia narrowly missing a goal in the second half. It was another outstanding performance with Sophia getting player of the match in her second game. It was in the final minute that Southborough conceded a goal but once again it was fantastic team performance.

Well done to the whole team: Issabella W, Leila, Beth, Elsie, Bella, Georgia, Emilia and Sophia

Southborough Girls v Langton Green (0-3)- Thursday 26th January

Well done to the girl’s football team who played Langton Green Primary School yesterday. It was a close game despite the final result with Langton Green scoring three goals in the final few minutes! All the girls played with desire and commitment with Emilia making some brilliant saves as goalkeeper throughout the whole game. Elsie made a couple of runs on the break and came close to scoring on two occasions and Georgia and Leila showed some excellent close control. Sophia made some excellent tackles in her first game for the team being supported by Beth and Bella in midfield. Bongani continued to impress and made some excellent passes. As a team, our next step is to practice our passing and spacing out in possession of the ball and this is something we’ll focus on during training. Here are a few pictures from the game. The team were: Elsie, Bella, Georgia, Beth, Emilia, Leila, Sophia and Bongani.

Southborough Blue v Paddock Wood A- (0-4)

Southborough Blue played Paddock Wood A at the end of last week in a very competitive Football match at Southborough School. After a strong start with some excellent passing and movement off the ball, Southborough blue narrowly missed the first goal with shots from Oscar, Harry and Charlie narrowly missing. The Paddock Wood team then started to play with more energy and although we had some strong defending from Max and Jenson, Paddock Wood proved too strong in attack. Coby, Frankie and Henry moved the ball well through mid-field and despite the score line the players played with strength and control with George making some good saves in goal once again. Well done to the blue team. Max, Coby, Jenson, Harry, Henry, Oscar, Frankie, George, Charlie

Southborough Green v Paddock Wood B (0-6)

Well done to Southborough Green who came up against a very strong Paddock Wood team. The game started at a terrific pace with Southborough again narrowly missing an early goal. Once again, the pace of the Paddock Wood passing and their strength allowed them to score two early goals despites some brilliant saves from Alfie. Elliot and Louis controlled the mid field with Callum and Hamad showing some excellent pace on and off the ball. Theo stayed strong in defence making some excellent tackles with Ralph, Ben and Samuel moving well and making some controlled passes and setting up opportunities. Despite the teams, best efforts, Paddock Wood proved to strong in the second half but the Greens showed great spirit and resilience despite the score line. Well done to the Green Team: Ralph, Theo, Elliot, Louis, Ben, Hamad, Callum, Samuel, Alfie.

Southborough (Blue) 1 – Langton Green 2

Well done to all the pupils that took part in the Blues Football match on Wednesday against Langton Green. The team played exceptionally well in their first match of the season as a team.  The game started at a terrific pace with Langton Green moving the ball extremely well scoring the opening goal within the first minute of the game. Southborough quickly responded with some brilliant passing from Charlie, Coby and Henry that resulted in a goal by Harry just a few minutes later. George in goal showed some excellent agility, making some brilliant saves under pressure. Max moved the ball well in midfield with narrow misses from Frankie, Oscar and Jenson. In the end it was a deflection that saw Langton Green score their second in the closing minutes and despite some great movement at the end of the game we were unable to claw back the one goal deficit.

The team were: Frankie, Jenson, George, Henry, Max, Harry, Oscar, Coby and Charlie.

Southborough Girls 3 v St Augustine's Girls 1 

Well done to the Southborough Girls team who won their first Football game of the season against St Augustine's. Both teams were incredible and tried their hardest but Southborough managed to win 3-1.  All the pupils played really well and knew what they had to do, whether it was either defence, tackling, setting up goals or scoring goals, all the pupils pitched in. Even though we won, credit must be given to a resilient St Augustine's team. They were a talented team with good control of the ball and great passing. Our incredible goalie Emilia only let one goal passed and it was a thunder shot. If it wasn’t for Emilia it would have been much closer.  Even though we were all very competitive and wanted to win, we had so much fun and really enjoyed the afternoon.

Elsie.

The team: Emilia, Georgia, Elsie Beth, Bella, Lelia, Izzy, Bongani 

Southborough (Blue) 2 St Johns 3

Well done to all the blue football team that played an incredible game of football against a very strong St Johns team last week. The team played with fantastic commitment from the start scoring early on when Charlie was given a through ball which he struck brilliantly to put in the back of the net. St Johns replied quickly with a goal of their own before George in goal made a couple of brilliant saves to keep the score at 1-1 at half time. In the second half Frankie made a strong run down the left wing thundering the ball passed the keeper to make the score 2-1. St Johns again replied with a quick goal despite some excellent defending from Max to make it 2-2. In the final seconds of the game, St Johns managed to score the winning goal. A great performance by the team in muddy conditions. Well done everyone!

Team: Max, Harry, Oscar, Charley, Coby, Jensen, Henry, Frankie, George