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Today saw the Spartans U8 up against the Hoyland town. And a chance to do our first double.

The team had a great warm up on a fairly damp pitch and some of the players looked like they had been in a mud bath before a ball had been kicked.

The game started off at a good pace with some very clear improvement from the players, they were working together well as a team, and passing the ball around very well.

Most notably the way the team were getting back and defending in numbers too.

It’s always a sign on how far the team has come when the opposition mums and dads are appreciating the work our players are doing on the pitch with a shout of “good shot” or “great pass” and “Good save!!”

The match finished with a fantastic result for the Spartans and dare I say our first double of the season.

Christmas just round the corner, I think some new fancy football boots might be in order?

Onwards and upwards.

The Spartans were at home last Sunday to a team called Langold,

They looked a good strong team that looked both organised and experienced at this level.

Langold weren’t the only thing that we were battling though.  It felt like a force 6 gale was blowing. Luckily it stayed dry though.

Langold had a couple of strong halves, benefiting from some very good finishing from a couple of their players and a couple of our players having off days. Finally the whistle blew to end the match and the players shook hands.

Once again the match was played in a good spirit with both teams showing how to behave, and the talk afterword’s spoke about how good we have been and how with some better chances and finishing we should be matching teams as good as Langold.

Two Away matches for the U8’s next weekend.

Sat  - away to Middlewood rovers

Sun  - away to Hallam Rangers.

Good luck lads, see you then.

Onwards and upwards.

The same format as last week with 3 teams all playing each other. First up were the Spartans against a strong Middlewood rovers. A challenging game for the lads (and lasses) with much of the game spent brushing up on our defending skills and goalkeeping.

A break for the Spartans then followed as the other teams went head to head in an entertaining and hard fort match.

Finally the final match where we saw the Spartans up against a well organised Redmires Rangers. An impressive outfit with their own folding bench! See the face book pictures!!

The challenge was there from the start with our attacking kept to a minimum but their pressure on goal continuous, however with yet another solid display at defending and some fantastic goalkeeping, the damage was kept to a minimum.

Then after the games, the teams got together to celebrate a great hard fought morning of football with the presentation of a cup to Redmires for being the eventual winners of the contest but with all the players getting a medal for their efforts.

I could see some proud faces out there from the players to the mums and dads alike.

It’s great to see some honest football played, some fantastic support from all three sides and the good spirit in which the games were played!

Next up for the U8’s this Sunday is the return home fixture against Langold

 So onwards and upwards, see you there!!

This Sunday saw a mini competition between three U8 teams, Hallam Rangers, Hoyland town and of course Ecclesfield Spartans.

The first match was between the Spartans and Hallam  who we played on the first match of the season here at home.

A good contest between a well organised Hallam and ourselves saw us gaining some good experience against some strong players.

We were able to put into practice a few of the bits we are learning on a Tuesday night and showed some continued improvement against them compared to when we met them earlier on in the season.

The second match was between Hallam and Hoyland and that gave Spartans a chance to discuss tactics, have a little rest and prepare for the final game…..however after a tennis ball was found a game of catch started but at least the lads (and lasses) were having fun.

 The third and final game was between the Spartans and last week’s opponents and a chance for the players to finish the day off with pride.

And they certainly did that having benefited from the little rest, it was a fantastic game with the team showing an increased level of skill, determination and passion. Some great defending, brilliant saves and some sustained attacking with some quality goals scored.

In all it was a great end to the day with the team again showing giant strides of improvement, teamwork and of course enjoyment.

Onwards and Upwards!!

With just a few weeks to go till the start of the new season and all the Spartans squads are coming on nicely.

The U11's are moving to 9v9 this year so the two squads have expanded to 13 players per squad and both teams are looking different personel wise with plenty of in's and outs as players have moved on.

U10's are looking stronger in all areas as their reputation has attracted a number of new players wanting to develop themselves in the Spartans family.

New this year is an U8's squad, None of which have played competiveky before, so a massive learning season for them - still a few spaces to fill here.

And finally, the Mini Spartans development squad. Boys and girls aged 5-6 who will become U7's for the 2015/16 season.

In the final game of the league season the U10 Black team made hard work of a fifth clean sheet in a row on a pleasant Sunday morning in March.

What ever happened in this game, it was the final one in what can only be described as as succesful season of near miss's. A good run in the cup and (probably) second in the league is the best that the club has achieved in the three seasons so far.

An 11.15 kick off on Sunday 16th March saw the Spartans Red start their last game of the season at home to Woodhouse Juniors.
 
Some good pressure from the Spartans sees an early shot on goal for Morgan that is well saved by the Woodhouse keeper. 

Woodhouse Juniors reply with a break of their own which sees three of their players get through the Spartans defence from a throw in but they have JB to beat in goal who saves the initial shot then saves a second in succession.

The penultimate game of the season saw the Spartans record probably the most dominant performance, whilst still not firing on all cylinders. Sheffield Six's visited the Caribbean Club for the first time and went away disappointed.

Sunday the 2nd March 2014 sees Renishaw Rangers take the 10am kick off and get this previously postponed game underway. The Spartans kicking up the slope in the first half.

Logan H is the first to go close to scoring not long into the game with a good effort from distance that has plenty of power but goes wide. Shortly after Renishaw manage to break and catch the Spartans out, getting through for a one on one with JB in the net, JB holds his ground and the following shot is put wide by the Renishaw striker.