Following the split of Lee Rangers U8 squad into the Blue and White teams, the blue team played their first match against Waltham Wolves Devils at Watham’s home ground at Swanmore College of Technology on Saturday 12th Novemeber.

The squad was Jadore, Josh, Cameron, Charlie, Joshua, Ronnie, and Joe.

On a sunny morning, playing on a wet pitch that had not seen mower for some weeks, “The Blues” were quickly on the attack. Jadore had a run on goal and scored with a left foot shot. 1-0.

Then from a longer Cameron throw, Jadore had a header go wide, then Josh latched onto a clearance from the Devil’s keeper, and shot into the back of the net. 2-0.

Cameron then linked up with Jadore, who buried his left foot shot, 3-0.

However, it was not all one way traffic, Waltham had a break, and after a mix up in defence their shot hit the post, but immediately Jiadore collected the ball from Joe’s goal kick, raced down the left wing, centred to Josh, who rounded the keeper to score. 4-0.

Waltham then had another attack, but this time they scored. 4-1.

Ronnie then broke down the left wing, crossed for Josh to tap in at the far post.. 5-1

Waltham then clear the ball from the centre circle which splits our defence, and Wolve’s shot beats Joe. 5-2

From the kick off, Jadore run and pass is met by Josh, who score 6-2.

A slip in our defence, lets the Devil's score another on the stroke of half time, so the half ends 6-3.

A change in the second half sees Josh going in goal, with Joe in the attack., and immediately after the restart, Joe's shot goes just wide from a Jadore cross. Then from a corner, Waltham score, 6-4 and this is followed by more pressure with Josh saving from a shot and a corner.

Charlie, Cameron and Joshua were holding the defence together, with Jadore coming back to help out. Then Rangers got back on the attack, a cross from Joe sees Jadore score. 7-4.

Then from a Cameron long throw, Ronnie scores 8-4, then from a Joshua throw in, the Devils unluckily conceeed an own goal, 9-4.

Finally in the last minute, Waltham score from a throw in, so the game ends 9-5.

After great team effort, Josh is awarded the Man of the Match for his goals and goal keeping.

After 3 away wins, Lee Rangers returned to their home ground on a grey chilly morning to host the Hawks. The weather may have been cold, but Rangers, playing their final match before they split into Blue and White teams, were certainly on fire.

The Lee squad was Jadour, Adam, Joe, Allan, Ben, Ronnie, Cam, Paul, Luca, Kai, and Liam

With Luca in goal, Rangers were on the attack from the start. Firstly Ronnie had a shot blocked, then Allan had another blocked for a corner. Joe had a great left foot shot blocked, and Ronnie's follow up effort was also saved. When Whiteley did mount a attack, the defensive line of Kai, Cam and Liam held firm, with the ball being cleared away to our strikeforce.

Finally Rangers got the breakthrough, Allan rounded two defenders, and calmly shot into the net. 1-0 to Rangers.

Next followed a period of play, which saw Rangers play probably their best football of the season. From another great corner from Joe, Allan's shot hit the post. Then from a Ronnie corner, the ball came off Paul at the far post into the net 2-0. Cameron then dribbled up to the edge of the penalty area, before scoring with a right foot shot. 3-0. Ronnie broke out of defence, then his long shot when through the legs of the defender and the keeper. 4-0. Finally to finish off the half, Allan running down the right, crossed for Paul to stroke home for 5-0.

For the second half, Lee had Joe in goal, with Jadore, Adam and Ben coming on, and Luca in defence.

After good link up play between Kai, Paul and Adam, Jadore shot just wide.Then Ben broke down the middle to feed Paul, only to see his shot go just wide.

Whiteley then had an attack which was well blocked by Kai and Cam, but then in the next attack, the ball fell to a Hawks striker who shot past Joe. 5-1.

Jadore then turned on his magic. His first shot skimmed the top of the bar, then in his next run, using his left foot and right foot to round the defenders, he put a left foot shot past the keeper. 6-1

Lee were playing really well, throw ins were all long and accurate, the defenders were looking to pass out of defence, everyone was trying to keep the ball in play, and there was some great link up play happening. This was shown by the last goal, where Cameron made a great block which Allan then took on to, round defenders and score. 7-1.

Everyone in the team played well, but man of the match was Allan, not just for his goals, but his constant effort in wanting the ball and running at the defence.

An early KO at Hayling Island at 0930 pitched us against Hayling United. Hayling played in the
Sunday league last season and they started well. Lee was unfortunately still asleep for most of the
first half. However their defensive prowess, kept them in the game until the second half when a
break down the left lead to Dan Lee getting back on the scoring track.

The game was end to end with Lee and Hayling battling for their lives. Con Da Costa refereed the
game well and eventually a fine shot was finished off by Will on the rebound.

2 – 0 and Lee shut up shop. A greatly contested game and both teams should be proud of their
performance.

MOM today was Tristan who put in a fine display at full-back. He was ably assisted with Jordan in
goal Tom G and Matt at Centre backs with Thomas at left-back.

Aiden was left mid with Connor and H in the middle with Will on the right. Dan and Harley started
up front. Jack replaced Aiden just before half time and had a great game for his first one back.
Aiden came back on for Dan with 15 to go.

All in all a great performance that puts us up to third 1 point behind Dynamoes.

Well done.

Our 5th league game was against Stubbington. Stubbington are our closest derby opponents. The previous game was to be erased from the memory and the lads were reminded not to become
complacent.

The game started brightly and some fine moves down the right hand side were a joy to behold.

Eventually Harley got the first of his hat trick and Lee was up and away. Some fine attacks down the right orchestrated by both Tristan and Will gave Stubbington a lot to think about.

In defence Tom G looked after things with Tristan, Thomas and Craig and in midfield H, Connor and Matt looked after the middle of the park. On the flanks both Will and Luke made a significant contribution. Up front Harley was outstanding and finished all of his chances very well.

Aiden came on for Thomas and gave us extra pace up front before Dan came on and between Aiden and Dan the Stubbington defence had a lot to handle. Tristan slotted the fourth goal before Aiden
nipped in with a goal to keep his run going. Connor finished the game with a finely struck pen.

Hats off to Stubbington who kept going till the end, and were unlucky not to score. In particular the goalkeeper was excellent.

Well done to the referee and both sets of players for a fine game.

Lee Rangers were again blessed with a lovely sunny morning for their match against the Tigers with a view to continuing their winning run against the Crofton Saints teams, having already beaten the Panthers early in the season.

The Lee squad was Allan, Ben, Kai, Luca, Joe, Liam, Cameron, Ronnie, James, Paul and Josh.

Playing in their unfamiliar away strip of red bibs to avoid a clash with the Tigers also in blue and white, Lee started well with most of the play.

Ben had a good break and a shot that went just wide, and in midfield Paul and Cameron were winning the loose balls. Then the Tigers had 2 breaks, both of which were snuffed out by Kai, who showed great speed in getting back to clear the ball off the toes of the Tiger's striker. James in goal was largely untroubled, but when called into action, showed good kicking distance and direction skills from both his hands and goal kicks. Liam also played his part in keeping the midfield in control, and blocking the Tiger's attacks.

Ben had another chance which went wide and then Allan had a shot which was comfortably saved.

Ronnie and Josh then came on as subs., with Ronnie having a long range effort go wide, followed by Ben having a shot that was very well saved by the Tigers keeper.

So at the end of the first half, 0-0 with Lee having the better chances, but not taking them.

With your reporter just returning with 2 cups of tea, the second half began, and almost straight from the kick-off Tiger's broke down the right side, and scored from a good shot beating James high on his near post. 1-0 to Tigers.

The goal woke Rangers up. A corner by Ronnie fell to Kai whose shot was blocked, as was another effort by Alan. After a rare Tigers attack, James's long clearance fell to Allan, who shot just wide. Joe then burst into the box and had his shot well saved by the keeper, and from the resulting corner by Joe, Alan put his shot over the bar.

In defence Cameron, Josh and Luca all maintained their concentration to snuff out the Tigers, with Cameron's long throw-ins being a major asset.

Ranger's pressure continued with Paul just not quite getting his shot in, then Ronnie fed Allan down the left hand side, and Allan hit a powerful shot that flew into the top of the net 1-1

Minutes later Allan burst down the right wing cut in and thumped the ball into the back of the net, 1-2. This was followed by Ben's shot hitting the bottom of the post with the keeper beaten.

Tiger's still had time for one last attack, but it was again well saved by James.


So at the final whistle, 2-1 to Lee, with James voted man of the match with is excellent all-round performance in goal, bringing much stability to the defence.

On a beautiful sunny morning, Lee had Adam, Kai, Luca, Jadour, Joseph, Ronnie, Paul, Cameron, James, Josh and Liam in the squad, rotating throughout the 4 quarters of the match.

In the first quarter, Lee had most of the possession, Adam was trying hard as our loan striker up front, however Lee could not capitalise on their possession. Ronnie and Kai had shots at goal but were comfortably dealt with by FOSPS keeper. Jadour then had a great run down the left hand side, beating 3 defenders, only to pull his left footed shot across the goal. FOSPS had chances, but the ball was cleared away by Luca. James in goal was hardly troubled by FOSPS attack. So no goals after 10 minutes.

The second quarter started like the first, but then FOSPS had a breakaway, and put the ball past Josh in goal 1-0. Lee then began to play much better, putting pressure on FOSPS, and finally after a cross into a crowded penalty area, the ball came to Paul who turned and shot into the goal. 1-1.

In the 3rd quarter, Lee really began to play. Cameron's long throw in's being very effective, and Kai playing some neat offensive and defensive football. After 2 earlier misses, Jadour again burst down the left hand side, but this time unleashed a shot that flew into the top corner of FOSPS goal. Minutes later, in a similar move, Jadour was involved in a clash with a FOSPS defender. From the resulting drop ball, there was a goalmouth melee, and Ronnie got to the ball first, and his shot went into the net.

Lee introduced a number of changes during the match and it was great to see Liam and Joseph play their part in the team for the first time this season.

In the final quarter Lee dominated the game. From the kick off Ronnie had a long range effort come back off the post with the keeper beaten.Cameron had 2 chances, but the ball would not go in. FOSPS still had some attempts, but these were handled by Josh and Luca in defence.

So the game finished 3-1 to Lee Rangers, with all the boys making a contribution, with a real improvement in positioning and defending.

For his excellent all round play today, Cameron was awarded the Man of the Match.

Although no toilets were available, FOSPS did provide lovely home made cakes and teas as refreshments at bargain prices. Something for Lee to think about!

Second game in the cup pitched us against A League Cowplain on an Astroturf Pitch.

Lee struggled initially bar Matt who was excellent in defence. Tom G, Tristan and Thomas assisted in defence making us hard to break down.

However a small error allowed Cowplain in to go 1 – 0 at half –time.

A corner early in the second half was converted by the head of Aiden. Harley, H and Luke and Will marshalled the midfield well and Dan and Aiden gave the Cowplain defenders something to think about. Craig came on at half-time and had a great game.

A free kick was awarded to Cowplain with great delivery and movement the kick was converted.

Lee huffed and puffed but it wasn’t to be.

Well done all and especially to Will who deserved MOM.

Our fourth game of the season pitched us against newly formed Portsmouth Wanderers. The pitch was bumpy to say the least and needed a fine touch all over the park. The referee was very strict and ran the game well.

Lee started really well and strung together many fine moves before going ahead with a fine strike by Tristan.

A short lapse at the back let the Pompey side in for an equaliser and the game was finely poised.

Second half was a feisty affair with both sides going hard at it. A mis-timed challenge by the skipper gave the Wanderers a penalty. Jordan came into his own and pulled off a fine save.

The Lee forwards had many more chances before Aiden slotted to put the team 2 – 1 up.

It was a frantic last few minutes before the final whistle was blown and Lee took all 3 points.

Well done and let’s look forward to the cup next week.

There is always a team that causes you problems, no matter where you are in the league. Ian Binks the league secretary and his team have always given us a good game and more often than not beaten us.

Today we were down to 13 and to add to our woes, I had to referee. Whiteley started well and with 905 of the pressure scored to go 1 – 0 up. 10 minutes to go in the first half and a free kick was awarded to Lee outside of the box. A great cross was put in by Tristan and headed home.

Just before half-time Whiteley had a goal ruled out for offside.

Second half started and Lee woke up playing some great football only to be thwarted by some great goalkeeping.

Whiteley then managed to sneak in a goal to take the lead. Last 10 minutes and a 50/50 challenged on the keeper allowed the ball to drop to Dan Lee who smuggled the ball over the line.

The game finished all square and although Lee probably deserved the win it was no more than Whiteley deserved to hang on.

Thanks for all your support today . Well done to the lads who put on another fine display.

It looked as if there might not be a match when there was no opposition in site with 5 minutes to go before kickoff. But Portchester made it in time and after a short delay we got the game underway. Then I was asked by a little old lady if we might halt proceedings so that she might walk across the pitch, she seemed very put out when I suggested she walk around the pitch.

Anyway, we got off to a good start when Drew scored from Joe’s cross followed up by another from Taine.

We were facing some pacey players at the back and had to be alert and aggressive to keep them from attacking our goal. Unfortunately on a few occasions we let high balls bounce too often and Portchester got 2 goals to make it level at HT.

We made a tweak at the interval and talked about being first to the ball and using our wide players more.

Sure enough Taine managed to score 4 more goals, including a cheeky one from a corner to seal the game.

A great 2nd half performance, where once again the lads showed some character to earn the win.

Well done to everyone but especially Travis who got MOTM for his no fear approach to headers.

This was a great game to watch today, very close throughout with both teams competing and playing good football.

Hayling took the lead but Drew equalised to keep us level at HT. In the second half we went ahead with a goal from Taine and seemed to be hanging on as the clock ticked. We weathered a few good corners from Hayling but eventually they equalised.

Simon took a knock and needed some first aid, then Steven hit his head and had to leave the field. The boys were working so hard and fighting for everything, we were pushing forwards desperate to score again. Time after time Hayling battled back but in the end Taine broke free and scored the winner with just a few minutes to go.

I was pleased with the overall performance, it was a real humdinger of a game which made things very exciting to watch.

There is still work to do but they are slowly getting the message about marking and using width.

Man of the man was chosen by the parents and was well earned by Craigo.

It was great to get our first ever league win under our belts; we played away to Crofton Saints Panthers on an early, sunny, dewy Saturday morning at Crofton School.

There were some fantastic performances all over the pitch, Adam started up front for us and threatened a few times on the break, just failing to capitalise on some strong determined runs made from midfield by Ben. Adam later played in goal and did not let a ball in the net. Josh remained his dominating force at the back and worked well with his defending counter parts as we continued to switch the team. Cameron played a blinder, very disciplined in defence not letting anyone past him and holding his position well, and then later switching to midfield played an influential role.

James ran his socks off sticking close to his opposition and making some clinical clearances. For much of the time we had Joe in goal, who not only made a vital block towards the second half, but also later came on pitch and never let his player slip away from him. We showed some great passing moves and I was glad to see some of the training pay off. Jadour, our Captain for the game, was his speedy, tricky self, standing out as one of the dominant forces on the pitch and combine well with his team mates.

Allan came on the field after 10 minutes and instantly made a difference to our attacking play, he had some strong runs and a number of balls juggled off their goal line, he then eventually found a way through and hit the back of the net towards the end of the first half.

Paul played the game of his life, never giving up, working hard for his team mates, keeping to his position and passing the ball well. He scored the opener to give as the lead, Crofton Saints then hit back. By half-time however it was 1-3, with Allan and Paul scoring another goal each. We proved too strong for Crofton and continued to control the game, with a powerful penalty from Allan and then Paul clinched that all important goal giving him his hat-trick. The final score was 1 – 5 to Rangers, with Paul Lewis deservedly walking off the field with his head high and receiving the Man of the Match Trophy.

I was a great turn out from the ‘fans’ and a special thank you Kirsty for those well received half time oranges (and end of game celebration sweets!).

Well done everyone.

Second League game of the season saw Lee Rangers play against another of their derby rivals, Crofton Red who showed their new signings for the season.

Lee started very well with Jordan Whiteley in goal. Thomas played at right back with Matt and Tom G in the middle with Craig at Left Back.

Midfield was marshalled by Connor and H in the middle with Luke and Tristan on either Flank. Up front we had Aiden and Will.

On the bench this week we had Glenn, Dan and Aiden.

Lee did not start too well and Crofton did play the better football. Towards the latter half of the first period a corner was knocked in by Luke and Tristan rose like a salmon to nod home. Shortly after that a mistake in the back four allowed the Crofton forward to take his chance and we were all square.

Half time came and Will and Thomas were rested for Aiden and Dan. A few moments later and Glenn came on for Luke. He made an immediate impact and put Lee 2 -1 up. The game was end to end and both defences played extremely well. Craig was one of the picks today but MOM goes to Matt Savage who was magnificent.

It was a great spectacle played in good spirit and humour and refereed excellently.
Well done all for a hard fought game.

Second game of the season saw Lee Rangers play against another of their derby rivals, Stubbington Youth in the League Cup. Last season saw many very close games and today was no different.

Lee started very well with Jordan Whiteley in goal and looking like he has been there all of his life. Thomas played at right back with Jack and Tom G in the middle with Craig at Left Back. All five made the Lee goal very hard to penetrate.

Midfield was marshalled by Connor and Matt in the middle with Luke and Will on either Flank. Up front we had Aiden and Harley who gave Stubbington a hard time.

On the bench this week we had Tristan, Glenn, Dan and H.

Lee started well with a fantastic move and was unlucky not to finish it off with a goal. Stubbington fought hard but the midfield of Matt and Connor was very hard for them to break down. Lee made many more chances but the pick of the bunch was a screamer from Aiden. Harley started off his new found position up front with a hat trick and Lee appeared to be home and dry.

Half time changes came and Glenn and H sured up the middle to the best of their ability. Stubbington scored 2 quick goals to make it 5-2 and then Lee scored another 2 to make it 7 – 2 and a fine win.

Well done all players and if we keep this up we will finish in the top four.

MOM went to Aiden for his wonder goal but the whole team played very well this week.

First League game of the season saw Lee Rangers play against their derby rivals, Crofton Blues. Last season saw many very close games and today was no different.

Lee started very well with Jordan Whiteley in goal and looking like he has been there all of his life. Jack played at right back with Matt and Tom G in the middle with Thomas at Left Back. All five made the Lee goal very hard to penetrate.

Midfield was marshalled by Connor and H in the middle with Luke and Will on either Flank. Up front we had Dan and Harley who gave the Crofton back four, a torrid time.

On the bench this week we had Craig, Glenn, and new signings Tristan and Aiden.

Lee went close on a few occasions and hit the bar and the post and the Crofton keeper pulled off some stunning saves. Until that is, a flick and a ‘buddy holly’ volley from Harley looped over the keeper for Lee’s first goal. Corners crashed in but the flight of the ball was not watched well enough and we failed to score.

Half time came and Craig made an immediate impact at left back with Tristan joining in at right mid and we cannot believe how his shot never went in. Glenn harried up front and Aiden was tenacious and was unlucky not to score.

All in all a great game played in fantastic spirit and deservedly won by Lee, although Crofton had their chances and will be difficult opposition this season.

Thanks for all of the adult support and I got the boys on camera putting a net up. Good try even if it was upside down.

Well done all of the players , keep it up.

Our first game of the season was changed at the last minute to a fixture against Hayling. Last season Hayling won our division but this was a new look development team. We kicked the match off but spent the first 5 minutes defending our goal, however once we got our foot on the ball we were able to push forward and Taine scored our first goal. Soon after Hayling replied although some of the lads felt it was offside. We could have added to our tally but our shots went straight to the keeper or lacked power from distance. I think at HT we were a bit disappointed to be level.

In the 2nd half Taine scored again only for Hayling to reply with a penalty. We seemed to be labouring in midfield although we outnumbered the opposition in that area. Andy suggested a positional change and suddenly we looked dangerous, we had options either side and the play started to flow. Craig made a great run down the left which led to a goal for Taine’s hat trick and then Jordan made a similar move which led to a fourth goal for Taine. We kept the pressure on and Drew scored a cool goal from close range.

However it didn’t go all our way and Hayling pulled one back after a great counter attacking run. Despite our 2 goal advantage the game was in the balance, we needed fresh legs to shore things up so more changes were made and Taine was able to seal the match with a final goal.

A great start to the season against a good side that could pass & move. Particular mentions go to Dom, Alex & Travis who all did well as full backs, Taine who got his shooting boots warmed up, and Joe & Craig in midfield and Michael who kept us in it when we were struggling. However I was very pleased with everyone today, a few rusty moments at the start but we found our feet and finished well.