Over 60s Yellows
Manager: Bob Hodges
LATEST MATCHDAY, Sept 5
Results
Falcons walkover vs Norwich
Falcons 1 (Ackery), Romford 0
Falcons 1 (Ackery), Wakering 1
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Friendly:
Falcons 2 (Thornton, Hodges), Cheshunt 1
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Eastwood Falcons Yellows 60s ended their league season in fine form to secure 3rd place in the table missing out on runners-up by one point.
In the first game Falcons were due to face Norwich but their opponents withdrew giving Falcons a walkover 3 points.
Next up were Romford. Falcons started on the front foot and dominated possession. After a couple of near misses from Gareth Ackery and Gary Bell, Falcons took the lead. A good passing move ended with Gareth playing a one two with Bob Hodges and firing low and hard into the corner of the net. The rest of the half was all pressure by Falcons with Gary, Bob and Colin Foley all going close to increasing the lead. In the second half Romford came out strong but good defending by Tim Fewster, Gareth and Marc Waldron in goal kept the opposition at bay. As the half went on Falcons regained the upper hand but could not add to the score resulting in a 1-0 victory.
Other results meant that Falcons were two points behind second place Cheshunt . A victory was needed against league leaders and eventual champions Wakering. The game was hard fought with both teams defending well. Midway through the half Falcons took the lead with a powerful superb strike from distance from Gareth which flew into the top corner despite the keeper getting a hand to it. Falcons defended with determination for the rest of the half to go into half time in the lead. Wakering started the second half with a high press trying to stop Falcons playing out from the back through the middle. Marc had to make a couple of good saves . Eventually midway through the half the pressure paid off as Falcons had a pass intercepted and Wakering equalised. The rest of the game was high intensity but neither team could score a winner, the game ending 1-1.
Falcons had secured 7 points from 9 to finish one point behind second placed Cheshunt.
As Cheshunt and Falcons had only played twice due to the no show of Norwich, the two teams played a friendly. Falcons started strongly and dominated early possession. Eventually Falcons took the lead when a fine dummy and turn by Barry Thornton allowed him space to place the ball left footed into the corner. In the second half Falcons increased their lead when Colin Foley broke down the right and squared to Bob who had escaped his marker to side foot the ball into the top corner. Late in the game a penalty was awarded for Marc running in his area in trying to stop a corner being awarded. Cheshunt reduced the deficit and soon after the game ended 2-1 to Falcons.
It had been productive day for Falcons in the intense heat and a good set of unbeaten matches.The squad on the day was Marc Waldron, Tim Fewster, Gareth Ackery, Bob Hodges, Colin Foley, Barry Thornton and Gary Bell.
A good end to the season and a creditable 3rd place in the table.Thanks to all who represented the squad this season, to Billericay for hosting and to all the referees. Time to look forward to the league cup in October.
National Cup
Regional Final August 12
Norwich 4, Falcons 1 (Hodges)
Falcons 60s travelled to Carrow Road to face the reigning 60s national champions. On arrival the squad were surprised to see how small the pitch on the adjacent Carrow Park facility was. The actual playing surface was much smaller than our pitch, the goal area was rectangular and much smaller than the semi circle area we are accustomed to ( evidenced by the fact the penalty spot was a good metre and a half outside) and the goals were about a metre wider. So the squad would have to adjust quickly given Norwich play and train on that pitch.
In the early exchanges the game was very tight with both teams defending well. Norwich then began to dominate possession and knew how to use the pitch to pin us in when we were in possession in defence. Eventually the pressure paid off and with about 9 minutes gone Norwich scored with a well worked free kick. Eastwood battled to get back in the game and Tim Fewster , Gareth Ackery and Steve Hearne defended well, ably backed up by John Watson in goal. At half time the score remained 0-1.
The second half continued to be very tight until midway through when Norwich scored a second much to the disbelief of all the Eastwood players who were convinced the scorer ran into position before firing past John. The team were even more disgruntled as the player had already been warned for two other offences and had continued to commit fouls and running offences without receiving a card from the referee. This second goal was a defining point in the match and opened the game up with Eastwood needing to be more attacking. Consequently Norwich went on to score twice more before Gary Bell and Barry Thornton combined to set up Bob Hodges who side footed low past their keeper to peg one back. Eastwood tried to narrow the gap further and their keeper saved well on a couple of occasions from shots from Gareth from free kicks. However Norwich played some good possession football to see the game out and it ended in a 1-4 defeat.
Despite the fact Norwich seemed to get the rub of the green on some refereeing decisions and their prior knowledge and experience of the pitch , they were the better team on the day even if the score was not a true reflection of how tight the game was. Eastwood wishes Norwich all the best in the National finals. It had been another good run in the National Cup with the 60s reaching the regional final for the 3rd time.
Squad: John Watson, Tim Fewster, Steve Hearne, Gareth Ackery, Barry Thornton, Gary Bell, Bob Hodges and Norman Tree.
2023 RESULTS
April 18
Falcons 2 (Thornton, Ackery), Southend 1 (Thornton o.g.)
Falcons 0, Chelmsford 0
Falcons 4 (Bell 2, Ackery, Tree) Billericay 0
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May 9
Falcons 0, Cheshunt 0
Falcons 1 (Foley), Norwich 0
Falcons 1 (Bell), Norwich 0
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June 20
Falcons 1 (Thornton), Romford 3
Falcons 2 (Bell, Tree), Southend 1
Falcons 0, Billericay 0
Falcons 1 (Bell), Wakering 3
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July 4
Falcons 1 (Bell), Orient 0
Falcons 1 (Thornton), Cheshunt 2
Falcons 0, Chelmsford 0
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Sept 5
Falcons walkover vs Norwich
Falcons 1 (Ackery), Romford 0
Falcons 1 (Ackery), Wakering 1
Friendly:
Falcons 2 (Thornton, Hodges), Cheshunt 1
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​National Cup
April 18
​v Billericay drew 1-1(Bell)
Won on penalties 3-2
June 22
Falcons 2 (Foley, Bell), Norwich 4 Sports 1
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August 12, Regional Final
Norwich 4, Falcons 1 (Hodges)
