Cove Youth FC

After an outstanding victory against 3rd place California last week, the boys went into the game with a lot of confidence against the team that beat them 5 - 0 earlier in the season .The game started off all Liphook, but Cove soon got into, what was the last game of the season for them. The boys were looking to finish off on a high, to end a brilliant season .The game was really tight but Liphook looked like they would get the first goal, but never got past Tom who was amazing once again. The Cove defence of Michael, Prabil, Marcus, Callum and Tyrell who together all season were amazing . Matty got the best chance of the half, but was denied by a great block from Liphook, denying him his fifth goal of the season. HALF TIME : COVE 0 - LIPHOOK 0 Second half was underway and Cove looked stronger through the middle with once again great midfield performances from Ryan, Scott, Jamie, Shaun, Luke and Connor who gave a strong Liphook midfield a tough time. Liphook dominated the first 20 minutes having chances from almost everywhere but by the last 10 minutes Cove held on and played some comfortable football in the end . The boys held on to infuriate a Liphook team who were going for the title An amazing season boys, next up who will be champion of the Go-Karting .
FULL TIME : COVE 0 - LIPHOOK 0 MAN OF THE MATCH : TOM

After a great game last week, Cove looked really confident going into a game they lost 6 - 1 at the start of the season. The game was underway and after the first 10 minutes California were constantly in the Cove half. Soon Cove got into the game and started to give the strong California back line a tough time, and were rewarded through a giant clearance from Marcus who found Matty on the edge of the box and struck a sweet shot in to the top corner, 1 - 0 COVE. With the end of the first half looming, California pushed hard but never got past Prabil, Marcus, Callum, Michael and Tyrell who all had another great game. HALF TIME : COVE 1 - CALIFORNIA 0 Cove went straight into the second half, which was a big battle against a strong California midfield .Soon Cove got their chance and took it brilliantly, Matty picking the ball up in midfield and dribbled past 4 players to tuck past a helpless keeper, 2 - 0 COVE.The game was all Cove, but 5 minutes later California got a free kick right on the side line which curled into the top corner past Tom who again had a blinder, 2 - 1 COVE. Again another awesome performance from the wingers of Luke and Connor and the central midfield of Scott, Sam and Shaun.Great work down the wing from Ryan ended with Scott getting a corner, and for Prabil to score again from it, 3 - 1 COVE.With 5 minutes left the game was up for California, and after a short goal kick which was intercepted by Scott, who tucked home for his 10th goal of the season, 4 - 1 COVE. Amazing game boys, keep it up for the last game of the season next week .
FULL TIME : COVE 4 - CALIFORNIA 1 GOALS : Matt (2), Prabil and Scott

After a confusion with the pitch, Cove who were supposed to play at King George the 5th playing fields, ended up back at oak farm and would host local rivals Fleet Spurs for the second time in five weeks. Straight from the kick off Cove got a corner and Scott found Sam to score in the first 30 seconds, 1 - 0 COVE.Soon Cove were in charge of the game and scored again through great work from Ryan to set up Scott, 2 - 0 COVE.Fleet Spurs came back and scored through great work from their winger, who whipped the ball across goal and their striker scored, 2 - 1 COVE. The game was really tight but just before the interval, Scott whipped in another great corner and Prabil smashed it home, 3 - 1 COVE. HALF TIME : COVE 3 - FLEET 1 The second half was underway and Cove went straight in once again, and were rewarded with Scott whipping in another corner, this time it was Marcus who scored, his first goal as a Cove player, 4 - 1 COVE. Cove were in dreamland and got another goal through a great run by Ryan, and ended up with ball in the back of the net, 5 - 1 COVE. Fleet pushed on and scored from a great corner which looped in on the front post and ended with the ball being poked past Tom who again had a awesome performance, 5 - 2 COVE.Great performances from the whole defence of Luke, Callum, Prabil, Marcus, Michael and Shaun, but Cove still wanted more goals and Connor supplied one, with a cool finish from close range after great work from Matty, 6 - 2 COVE.Another great game again for Jamie, who suffered a horrible nose bleed at the start but battled on and again was a rock in midfield. The game was up for Fleet and 10 seconds before the end Ryan scored again after another corner from Scott, 7 - 2 COVE.Amazing performance guys ,best we have seen all season .
FULL TIME : COVE 7 - FLEET 2 GOALS : Sam ,Scott ,Prabil ,Marcus ,Ryan (2) and Connor

21 Feb 10 - Manor Colts 6 Cove United 1
After the narrow defeat last week, Cove went in with the confidence of beating Manor 4 - 2 at home early in the season, but with their 5 new boys the game would be tight. Manor went straight in and scored in the 5th minute after a great pass across the goal led to the player poking it in past Tom, 1 - 0 MANOR. Soon it was all Manor and Cove just could not make a break through the Manor defence. Manor scored again with the same player scoring from the same position after another great pass, 2 - 0 MANOR. The defence of Callum, Marcus, Prabil, Luke and Tyrell were constantly under attack by Manors three strikers and soon scored again after a great solo goal walked its self in to the net, 3 - 0 MANOR. HALF TIME: MANOR 3 - COVE 0 The second half started and Cove looked the more positive but for ages could not make a breakthrough. After a Cove attack, Manor made a break and calved through the defence to score once again, 4 - 0 MANOR. The Cove heads never dropped but conceded again after some great work from the Manor winger, 5 - 0 MANOR. Amazingly Cove were back in the game and scored through great work from Prabil to set up Matt for his second goal, as a Cove player, 5 - 1 MANOR. Cove kept the pressure up right till the end but again were caught on the break after a great through ball was scored by the player to get his hatrick, 6 - 1 MANOR. The Midfield of Matt, Shaun, Sam, Jamie, Connor and Michael really battled in the middle but never got a opening against a really tight Manor back line. Strikers Ryan and Scott again were really unlucky not to add to their goal tallies. Good game boys, lets hope better luck next time. WELL PLAYED!!!!!!
FULL TIME: MANOR 6 - COVE 1
GOALS: MATT
MAN OF THE MATCH: TOM

After our deserved victory over Fleet Spurs, the boys confidence what at its highest and again Cove started the better team with the ball constantly in the Hook half and soon we were rewarded. A handball in the box led to Scott tucking the ball into the bottom corner from the penalty spot, 1 - 0 COVE. Soon Hook got into the game and were denied by a amazing save from Tom who again played a blinder, and they also hit the post just before the end of the first half. Cove's backline of Michael ,Marcus,Callum ,Prabil and Tyrell held strong till the end of the first half.
Half Time : Hook 0 - Cove 1
The second half started and Cove were straight away on the backfoot and after a while Hook got what they had deserved, a great solo goal with the player going through 4 players to slot it home, 1 - 1. Soon the game was really tight and unfortunately a through ball saw the same player score again but it was unfortunately deemed off-side. Cove battled on but could not get past the amazing Hook goalie. The midfield of Sam, Luke, Matty and Shaun worked their hearts out to find a goal but were unlucky not to get the ball through for Ryan and Scott. Unlucky boys, better luck next time hay. GREAT TEAM EFFORT!
Final Score: Hook 2 - Cove 1
GOAL: Scott
MAN OF THE MATCH: Ryan

7 Feb 10 - Cove United 3 Fleet Spurs 0
After weeks of waiting, Cove got back to winning ways with a deserved victory over local rivals Fleet Spurs.Cove stormed in with an early lead from a great one - two between Ryan and Scott, which ended with Scott being one on one with the keeper and slotting it home, 1 - 0 COVE.Soon Cove went straight in and scored another from an own goal, after a great cross by Jamie, confused the Fleet defence, 2 - 0 COVE.Fleet Spurs hit back, but could not break down the brick wall defence of Callum, Marcus , Prabil and Tyrell, and also a great defensive midfield performance from Luke.Next came a quick attack from Cove, which forced a corner, seeing Prabil score a great volley, from a quick corner from Scott. HALF TIME : COVE 3 - FLEET SPURS 0 Cove started quickly again with Ryan hitting the post early on. Soon Fleet Spurs started to really put pressure on the Cove defence and had a goal disallowed for offside. A great midfield performance from Sam ,Connor, Matty ,Jamie and Shaun who tried to break down the Fleet Spurs defence again and again, but they held firm. Another great performance by Michael who stayed strong against the fast Fleet Spurs winger .Also another great performance from Tom who kept a clean sheet. Great performance lads ,hope we take that into future games, WELL DONE.
FINAL SCORE : COVE 3 - FLEET SPURS 0 GOALS : Scott, Prabil and an own goal
MAN OF THE MATCH : TYRELL

11 Oct 09 - Cove United 4 Hook Whites 3
Another weekend another stress iducing goal-fest! Things got off to a great start with Hook conceeding a free-kick on the edge of the area which Scott blasted in with ease. Cove continued with some good football and this looked like it might be a one sided match when Hook failed to clear the ball properly, it fell to Sam who curled a superb shot past the keeper to make it 2-0. However Hook never gave up and began to test our defence, the pressure was mounting as Hook hit the post and it was only a matter of time before they finally scored to make it 2-1 at half-time.
In the 2nd half Hook picked up where they left, putting our defence under pressure. They wanted it more and eventually scored to make it 2-2. This spurred the boys into action and soon after Ryan scored to make it 3-2. The lead didn't last long, as the game went from end to end Hook got their reward and it was 3-3. Ealier in the season the boys heads may have dropped, but the boys have learnt a lot and grown in confidence...the equaliser gave the boys another kick and Conner managed to squeeze his 2nd in 2 games, and the game ended 4-3.

Despite the score-line both keepers had a great game and Tom was given MoM although all the boys did extremely well!

4 Oct 09 - Cove United 2 Curley Park Rangers Flames 3
Wow! What a great game today. Without doubt, Cove’s best game this season. Some outstanding football and a great comeback proved an exciting match for all concerned. The first half started brightly with both teams playing to win. As usual, our boys got stuck in and a few chances went begging. Curley Park showed they were a strong side and an early goal proved they were not going to let us have an easy time. This did not dampen Cove’s spirits and some good tackling from our back four kept us in the game.
Curley Park kept at us and soon got their second goal, to put us two nil down. However, Cove responded well with Prabil and Marcus showing what a great centre of defence they are. Another great game from Tom kept the score line the same, with some quick closing down and good hand work. The first half came to a close with Cove coming back into the game. A good team talk from both managers had our boys fired up for the second half.
And what a second half it was! Initially the lads were slow to start and Curley Park took advantage to go 0-3 up. Soon after Cove moved forward with confidence and a brilliant team effort gave Luke the chance to give Cove a well deserved goal, which he took well. This was the beginning of a fantastic comeback with Connor narrowly missing from a well struck kick from outside the box. Curley Park’s keeper certainly had his work cut out, managing to get a hand to Ryan’s shot to keep them one goal ahead. The pressure was building and a super strike from Connor put us 2-3 and closing. The dying minutes of the game saw some great play from our midfield, giving our strikers plenty to work with. Some heart stopping moments in their goal area showed what a well rounded team we are becoming and the final score did not reflect what a superb performance Cove had put in.
A great game boys, well done !
MoM - Sam

27 Sep 09 - Cove United 4 Manor Vikings 2
After last weeks 5-0 loss we desperately needed something positive to build on, and with some positive match performances it was just a matter of converting chances into goals, we needed the boys to put on their shooting boots…and boy did they do that!!
The first half was largely one-way traffic with the Vikings keeper making some good saves, in particular from Scott whose 25 yard effort which was curling in was tipped wide by the excellent keeper. It was constant pressure and a couple of corners saw chances flashing just past the post.
Any counter attacks were snuffed out by the superb back-line which were solid and working well as a unit, Michael, Prabil, Marcus and Tyrell were not letting anything past them and with Sam, Jamie, Scot and Luke all working hard tracking back – it was really pleasing to see the great teamwork paying off.
Conner and Ryan were working hard up front – pushing for our first goal but ironically our first goal of the season was an own goal… and a spectacular one at that! Good work from Scott on the right wing, his good ball into Conner was intercepted by a defender who (under good pressure from Conner) somehow managed to curl the ball from about 20 yards into his own net, unfortunate but no less than we had deserved on balance of play.
Some of the passing and movement by the lads was excellent, obviously the hard work at training is beginning to pay off and the confidence on the ball is growing with every match. Calum and Shaun were brought on during the first half to allow a much needed rest from the heat and chance to recoup some energy for Michael and Luke.
Just before half time Manor Vikings proved how potent they are in attack by breaking against the run of play and levelling the score despite some excellent defensive work by Prabil. Just when it looked like all our hard work in the first half might result in no advantage Ryan managed to scramble in a goal after the keeper fumbled his initial shot. Half-time 2-1.
The second half started much like the first half with Cove putting pressure on the opposition, however Manor Vikings never gave up and began to impose themselves more on the match and started to test Tom who was as consistent as ever in goal.
Then, against the run of play a ball over the top to Scott found him charging through on goal and slotting home…3-1 to Cove and game over…or have I spoken too soon!?
Manor Vikings never let their heads drop and were playing some good football now, this was compounded by Cove maybe thinking it was all over at 3-1…either way eventually the pressure told and it was 3-2 and a grand finale was on the cards.
By now the one-way traffic was becoming unbearable, Tom was keeping us in the match but an equaliser looked inevitable. However with Manor Vikings pushing hard for the equaliser Ryan sprang the offside trap to put the game beyond doubt (and let the supporters relax a little!) at 4-2 with just a couple of minutes to go.
Well done boys, a great performance and well deserved win…each and every player played very well, let’s keep it up!

20 Sep 09 - Liphook Tigers 5 Cove United 0
A good start to the game saw Cove defending well with midfield in support. A cracking clearance from Tyrell saw off a good attack from Liphook. Unfortunately, Liphooks striker managed to score from a lucky back heel to put the game at 1-0.

Two changes in the first half resulted in Scott playing at the back, adding some welcome support to the defence. This gave Cove the momentum to move forward with the defenders giving good cover down the wings, putting some good balls up the lines. With the first half coming to a close, our keeper Tom was playing out of his skin, making three great saves to keep Cove still in the race.

The second half started brightly, with Sam playing some great football up the wing. Liphook came back strong and gained two more goals. Cove never gave up and were always looking to go forward with some good moves from Ryan and Scott. Towards the end of the second half Liphook poured forward giving the midfield and defence plenty to do. Once again, Tyrell played well and Tom proved what a great keeper he is, despite being knocked in the face.

Overall, Cove gave a good account of themselves and were always trying new things, giving Connor a chance to have a go at Liphook’s keeper. Despite the 5-0 score line, Cove always looked positive and were a credit to themselves. Even the mums were playing good football on the side of the pitch and some quality linesmanship made for a good game. Keep up the good work Cove and all the effort will start to show as we begin to impose ourselves on the other teams. Well done to everyone.