The final game of the season saw us matched against East Lodge a team we never beat last season but had better luck this season, but always in a hard fought match. Christian Dewey was still unavailable after having a six week trial with Pompey U14 he was selected for Gosport and Fareham Schools against Oxford. Well done Christian on your trial and I hope something comes of the aftermath.

Tom Griffin played in goal and we welcomed Nathan Carvell back onto the pitch for the first time in ages. Thanks to Nathan in keeping goal whilst Christian was away.

We started with a 4-4-2 formation with Nathan Carvell, Aaron Froude central and Fred and Addison as the fullbacks. Midfield saw Jacks Jurd and Butterworth in the centre with Thomas Bale and Matty Simmons starting on the flanks. That left top goal-scorer Dan Lee and Will Harrison up front with Nathan Daniels and Groce on the bench.

Lee did not start too brightly until the first goal went in and they started to plat some of the football they had displayed all season. However a lot of complacency was common and the team did not always work as hard as they have done. However with the league won and the game there for enjoyment, a lot of players went through the motions. Addison was steady at the back and Nathan marshalled the defence well covering when necessary. Jack Butterworth started slowly, but got more into it as the game went on. Jack Jurd covered every blade of grass as was deservedly the MOM for the day. Up front Dan again managed a hat-trick his eighth of the season taking his tally to 33 goals for the season. Jack Jurd notched a brace and Nathan Carvell got himself another goal. We made a slight defensive error for the first of the East Lodge goals but could take nothing away from a fine second goal by East Lodge. All players spent time on the bench and it was nice to see Nathan Daniels back in the fold with a good performance. Nathan Groce came on and found himself in several goal scoring opportunities but just failed to notch. Thomas Bale supported the midfield well again and managed to get in some good shots on goal. All in all a pleasing performance with 4 players missing from the team and a comfortable win.

The goal scorers for the Season are as follows

Dan Lee 33, Jack Jurd 13, Thomas Bale 12, Glenn Woods 9, Tom Law 8, Jack Butterworth 7, Alex Zotsch 7, Tom Griffin 5, Will Harrison 5, Matty Simmons 3, Fred Saunders 3, Nathan Carvell 3, Nathan Groce 2, Connor Jennings 1, Mike Mawby 1, Addison Leng 1, Nathan Daniels 1. That give a total of 114 goals scored by the team + 1 og taking it to 115 for the season.

The League is as follows:

Lee Rangers P:16 W:14 D:2 L:0 F:110 A:9 GD:101 Pts:44

Well done again and let’s hope we take this form into next season.

Well only our second game at Lee Rec or Dog P** Park as I would prefer to know it as. Why is it that dog owners cannot pickup the dog mess that they leave behind.

We played against probably the best team spirited side we have come across this season in Eastney B team. Lee Rangers were a little under par for the first half and although going 1 up were quickly equalised against. The defence of Jack Jurd, Aaron Froude Addison Leng and Freddie Saunders were under very little pressure. The manager changed the formation to 3 4 3 and the team got a little better. Alex Zotsch, Will Harrison, Jack Butterworth and Thomas Bale had a little difficulty getting to grips with the midfield and Glenn Woods and Dan Lee caused many problems up front although they overplayed on occasions. Once the formation changed we came in at 5 – 1 up and the manager was starting to celebrate the championship. However it was not before he reminded the boys of their lack of work for each other and the team as a whole. Second Half was better and Alex went in goal for Nathan Carvell who came out and ran the defence. Matty Simmons came on for Will and Nathan Groce came on for Glenn.

The Eastney keeper kept the score down with some fine saves, but that did not stop Dan Lee reaching 30 goals for the season with another 4 today. That coupled with team skipper Jack Butterworth scoring a Hat-trick and Fred, Will, Jack Jurd and Alex notching one apiece gave us a clear win by 11 – 2. Matty Simmons was narrowly beaten to MOM by Jack B and Jack Jurd needs to be congratulated on another fine performance.

Well the team has now won the ‘C’ League with one game to spare on the 24th April. Well done to all of the boys and here is hoping that we will continue our good form into next season.

Training is postponed again this week, but back on the following week.

Thanks for all your support and particularly Alex and Val for coming down today from the U11 team.

See you all at training on the 21st April at Lee Rec

And so finally we arrived at our last match of the season. A bit of a booking error meant that we had to wait an hour before kicking off whilst another 2 teams played a match. In the meantime we kept the boys ticking over and the luckily the scouts were also on hand selling tea and bacon sarnies!

We have spent a lot of this season working on passing and especially passing under pressure. I was pleased to see the boys moving the ball around and some of the one touch ‘pass and go’ moves were just great to see.

Although we ran out 10-1 winners things were fairly even to start with but eventually Josh’s runs down the wing and crosses to Taine created a number of goals. The B team never gave up and kept pressing, this allowed us to see the work on defending that we have also been doing, hold up the opposition, get numbers back, win the ball and break out.

I take my hat of to Brian and the boys in the B team, they kept on trying and were eventually rewarded with a well taken free kick.

I was really pleased with the teamwork shown, looking up and passing to a team mate, working hard to win the ball and taking chances when they came. We still need to keep our feet on the ground at throw ins though!

I thought I was going to be able to field a team and some substitutes today but a couple of last minute illnesses meant that we had the bare 11.

We had a proper team talk in the changing rooms and I think it helped the boys to focus on the match and what they individually needed to do. The match started evenly and was goalless for some time. However Crofton eventually went 3 up despite a lot of effort by the lads. They kept working though and we got 1 back when Taine bundled in from close range followed up but Tom finishing of some 18 yard box ping pong. I felt that we were on the up as we went into HT.

In the second half we had so many chances that just went wide or over or missed the onrushing forward. They were passing so well which has been our main focus in training and it was good to see them looking to play the ball to a team mate. At the back we had the opposite luck and Crofton ended up getting another 5 goals.

It was a shame because the boys really did play well and I genuinely think that the score didn’t reflect the match. But it was one of their best performances of the season.

A trip down the road to our derby opponents Stubbington with a 10 am KO (the boys don’t do early kick offs). We arrived well in time and the warm-up was second to none. The starting line-up was a difficult choice, but a decision was made and the game started. Stubbington came out of the traps very well and after a couple of half chances by Lee Rangers, Stubbington scored and to be fair it was everything they deserved. Lee Rangers huffed and puffed but a lack of work rate counted against us all. Then just before half time Dan lee hit a shot from some 40 yards that looped over the Stubbington keeper and we equalised. To say that the manager was relieved was an understatement.

Second half started after a stern talking to at half time. Nathan Carvell in goal was excellent and Tom Griffin marshalled his defence of Freddie, Aaron and Tom Law who came on for an unfortunate Addison. The midfield of Will the two Jacks and Thomas played average in the first half, but pulled themselves together in the second half. Glenn and Dan lead the line and to be fair Dan was unfortunate not to get MOM, just pipped by Jack Jurd. Nathan Daniels came on for Fred and Nathan came on for Dan. Matty came on for Will who was injured and the team played like a different team in the second half.

After a great fight by Stubbington, Lee started to score goals and Dan finished with another hat trick and he is still on course to score 30 for the season a great achievement. Tom Law, Glenn Woods, Fred Saunders, Nathan Daniels and Thomas scored 1 apiece.

The game was well won in the end, but the team need to work harder off the ball as well as on the ball. Having said all that I was really pleased with the second half performance and we need 3 points from the last 6 available.

Well done each and every player, thanks for the support from the side and here’s hoping we can win the league on the 10th April.

See you all Wednesday.