27th March - Elsenham 0 - TRFC 1 (Mason)


27th March - Elsenham 0 - TRFC 1 (Mason)

With the season over we played a friendly against an unbeaten and big Elsenham u8 side.

Elsenham started strongly but the Thaxted midfield and defence soaked up the early pressure well. Thaxted started to gather momentum with some good passing and tackling and created a couple of good chances with Edward and Mason both going close. The 1st half was end to end and with the extremely hard working midfield of Samuel, Joe and Mason along with the partnership of Angus and Christopher in defence, we kept elsenham from having any real chances.

Felix was left just to mop up a few back passes and stray balls.

Thaxted came out the 2nd half the much stronger team and dominated for the next 10 minutes, Edward dazzled past 2 defenders and had the keeper to beat and passed unselfishly to Mason who was in position to coolly slot the ball home to make it 1-0 to Thaxted. Elsenham piled on the pressure with 10 minutes to go and the Thaxted team had to rally round with Toby and Ellis coming on to shore the defence and midfield up. Toby came close with a great free kick and Ellis braveheart was there to stop the Elsenham pressure with some massive tackles.

This was a great strong performance from 9 excellent footballers against a team of big boys and you could see why elsenham were unbeaten.

Joseph Osborn won man of the match for a strong tackling all round display but the trophy could have gone to any of the boys. This friendly game was finished off with a penalty shoot out for fun and keeper Felix was magnificent with some unbelievable saves.

This was a great game to cap off a great season for Thaxted Rangers U8s.

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14th March - Maldon Town 0 - TRFC 3 (Edward 2, Ellis)

In the last game of the leagues season, the Blues produced a commanding performance to romp home 3 - 0 winners.

With Samuel and Mason both injured, we only had 7 players, but they played like 7 heroes.

Captain Toby Fletcher was a "wing wizard" on the right and Ellis "skills" Sidders on the left, gave a new balance to Joe "General" Osborn in the middle.

The Rocks, Angus Gemmill and Chris Donlon were always in command, with Felix "Englands No.1" Robarts only touching the ball 3 times.

Eduardo Wilson was a lively threat, scoring 2 lovely goals and setting up Ellis for the 3rd in the last minute.

A solid win and solid performance.
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7th March Tiptree 1 TRFC 1

A hard fought game of very few chances ended all square. Sporting their new yellow kit in the sunshine, Thaxted started well. Captain Ellis Sidders led his team and midfield partners in roving attacks. Edward and Mason combined well on numerous occasions. Tiptree struggled to cope with the skill and attacking force of Toby, with the whole team built on the defensive might of Samuel and Angus.

A quick goal after half time saw TRFC 1 - 0 down. Joe and Chris rampaged into action and a combined team effort saw a deflected effort squirm beyond the excellent Tiptree keeper.

Englands number 1 Felix was rarely troubled but as always, concentrated throughout and was there when needed.

Edward nearly won the game for TRFC with a wonder shot that smashed the goal post, but it wasnt to be.
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14th Feb - TRFC 3 Notley Youth 1

A fantastic win for Thaxted U8 Blues.
1 - O down at half time but a wonderful 2nd half performance saw the Blues come back to win 3 - 1. Edward Wilson scored 1, Mason Allington scored 2. Chris Donlon and Joseph Osborn were superb in midfield. Ellis Sidders won a marvellous header to Toby Fletcher who created the 3rd with a wonder flick to Mason for his 2nd. Samuel Skinner and Angus Gemmill were amazing in defence as was Felix Robarts in goal.


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7th Feb - Rayne 2 TRFC 0

A truly unbelievable morning !

TRFC must have had over 25 shots, half of which were on target, Rayne had about 4!

Forget the result, the boys played great football on a very poor, very small pitch.

Felix had a solid performance, making some good saves and was unlucky with both goals. The first a goalmouth scramble, the 2nd a wicked deflefction for an own goal.

Toby started on the right of midfield and made many good runs, almost scoring on a couple of occasions. Chris and Angus were great and coped well in defence with a good Rayne striker.

Mason worked hard and would have had 5 or 6 on another day were it not for the Rayne keeper. Ellis put in some great challenges, making strong runs into the box, nearly grabbing a goal.

Joe and Samuel were excellent in midfield, both unlucky not to score and deservedly shared the man of the match trophy.

The difference in the teams was the Rayne keeper who was absolutely outstanding.

Fair play to Rayne, they defended in numbers and held on for a memorable win.

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24th Jan – TRFC 2 (Edward, Joe) Heybridge 1

Another solid performance throughout the whole team. The boys played some wonderful football and it was only a matter of time before this paid off. Following superb passing and moving between Edward and Samuel, Edward smashed home for 1 - 0.

Heybridge were a good side and following some long range shots well saved by Felix, Thaxted were undone for the second week in a row by a great individual goal by the opposition. Angus, Chris and Samuel all did well in defence, Chris` marauding runs causing the opposition many problems.

Joe had a great game throughout, always looking up and making the right decisions. Mason and Ellis both went close to adding a second and both gave good midfield performances. Joe worked an opening for himself in the penalty area and smashed the winning goal in the bottom corner.

Toby came on and gave a wonder performance with skill and pace causing Heybridge many problems. He beat player after player and put in many good crosses.

A solid performance against a good side, a great sporting event !
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17th Jan – Fennlands Utd 1 TRFC 1 (Mason)

A beautiful morning provided us with the weather for our first game in 5 weeks.

We set off at a slow pace which was understandable having not played for so long. Joe, Mason and Edward were the attacking force down our right. Fennlands also attacked our right meaning a lot of tracking back for Samuel with excellent cover from Angus.

TRFC made all the attacking with Chris getting forward and unlucky not to score after an excellent run. At last our play paid off and we passed the ball forward to Mason who scored in the corner.

Felix had very little to do in the first half, yet was concentrating and in the right place to make an important save with an “important part of his anatomy”.

Ellis replaced Samuel and got stuck straight in and Toby replaced Mason to provide new attacking flair. Edward worked very hard attacking and also man marking Fennlands “big booter”.

A more even 2nd half saw TRFC go close again, but then Fennlands broke and they scored a fantastic individual goal. A hairy last 5 minutes saw Felix make another good save.

Chris Donlon had another excellent all round performance and just “nicked” man of the match, however it should be said that all 9 were excellent.

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13 Dec Thaxted 1 Sporting 77 1

A cold bright morning saw Thaxted produce another gritty performance, full of strong character and desire.

Thaxted were down to a bare 7 until Charlie Parkin and Erik Bullock stepped into the team as subs.

Thaxted domnated the first half limiting Sporting to just one chance. Samuel and Chris were solid in defence and gave good cover to Edward Joe and Ellis to get forward.

Toby worked as the lone striker making many good runs and skills.

0 - 0 at half time and Thaxted were still snoozing when Sporting got a corner which took a wicked deflection and fell to the feet of their best player. Felix couldnt do anything about the goal, 1 - 0 to Sporting.

For the 2nd time this season, the Blues were 1 - 0 down totally against the run of play to Sporting.

But the character of the lads shone through and they stepped up a gear as a team and rightly scored an equaliser. The game then swung end to end with chances to both to teams.

Then the moment of the match ! Sporting pressed in the final seconds, unleashing a shot that was going into the bottom corner until the mighty cat Felix flew to his right to make save of the season.

A great game, even overall and a great team performance.
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29 Nov Thaxted 1 Raven Youth 0 (Edward)

For sheer guts and courage, this was performance of the season. In torrential freezing rain, with 3 out of the 8 playing players sick, Thaxted played superb football throughout.

From the kick off, Thaxted let the ball do the work and played some great passing football. Mason and Edward worked really hard and really well together the whole game and both went close on numeous occasions, whilst the majestic defending rocks Angus and Chris kept Raven at bay throughout.

Samuel and Joe were strong in the tackle, passing the ball around and in the middle of everything and when Ellis replaced a sick Samuel, he too was superb.

Thaxteds finest keeper was rarely troubled, but when called to do so, Felix once again showed why hes such a great keeper.

The goal had to come and it was a great shot on the turn from the edge of the area that smashed into the corner of the net by captain and Man of the Match Edward.

At the end of the game, the boys were frozen, soaked and most of them ill, but they battled on and were brilliant !

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22 Nov Thaxted Rangers 2 (Joe, Edward) Silver End 1

An early start for thaxted saw them matched up against a good silver End side, the game started as close as we expected but Thaxted played some great football knocking together 8 passes to create an early effort, Thaxted soon took control and went 1-0 up thanks to some good work from Samuel and Edward to create a chance for mason to smash the ball against the post which came out to the edge of the box for Joe to fire home in the bottom corner and also claim the man of the match trophy.Thaxted created several chances but failed to improve their single goal lead in the 1st half. Once again Chris and Angus were superb in the defence playing with calmness and composure, Felix was a spectator in the 1st half but that soon changed in the 2nd half. Ellis came on for Samuel in the left midfield role and played very well, some good work from Mason saw Edward 1 on 1 with the keeper and slotted the ball into the bottom corner to make it 2-0. toby came on for Edward and although in an unfamiliar position adapted well and came close to scoring himself, Samuel came back on for Chris in the defence and played strongly, Silver End piled on the pressure in the last 10 minutes coming close when felix made a great double handed save, there was nothing Felix could do when Silver End smashed the ball home to make the final score 2-1. to Thaxted Rangers.


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Heybridge swifts U8 0 v 4 Thaxted Rangers blues U8

Thaxted started the game very strongly on this cold Saturday morning, the pressure was on for Heybridge from the start as Thaxted played some great football and soon found themselves deservedly one up thanks to some great work from the midfield trio of Samuel, Joe, captain mason and striker Edward Wilson, the first goal came from a Mason corner and was turned in by a Heybridge defender for an own goal. Thaxted were soon 2-0 up thanks to a very similar goal with joe putting in a great corner for Edward to finish sublimely. Again after some great work from the midfield Thaxted were 4-0 up with 2 great finishes from Edward to make his first hat trick of the season, Felix, chris and angus did not have too much to do in the first half but were immense in the 2nd half as heybridge rallied to get a goal back but Chris and angus stood like rocks with felix making some great saves to keep another clean sheet and get the man of the match award. Ellis came on for Samuel and played well keeping the heybridge winger under control, Toby fletcher came on for Edward who slotted into the right midfield role well with mason going into the strikers role and came close on 2 occasions and had it not been for the keeper would have had a brace himself, Edward came back on and played well in midfield for the final 10 minutes while Samuel swapped for angus in the defence and looked like a natural defender. Overall Thaxted thoroughly deserved their win and the football keeps getting better and better, the comments from the heybridge parents and team were very good and all of the boys should be proud of themselves for their progression.




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01 Nov Thaxted Rangers 1 Fennlands Utd 0

Thaxted battled hard in an even match in awful conditions.

A solid first half from both sides saw 0 - 0 at half time thanks to Felix Robarts who made an important save.

Thaxted grew in the 2nd half with Captain Chris Donlon and Angus Gemmill superb in defence. The midfield of Ellis Sidders, Joe Saych, Samuel Skinner and Joe Osborn were magnificent, working incredibly hard.

Joe Osborn laid a great pass on for Edward Wilson who coolly slotted home the only goal of the game.

Fennlands had won 6 out of 6 before this game and the Thaxted boys were superb to grab this victory.

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25 Oct - Notley Youth 2 TRFC 1
A very even contest saw TRFC matched up against a very good Notley team. The 1st half ended 0-0 with both teams going close, Mason and Edward both had glorious chances to take the lead but failed to beat the notley keeper, Notley had a couple of good chances as well but again failed to beat the impressive Felix Robarts in goal.

The 2nd half saw the goals coming, Thaxted played some neat football when Joseph set up Mason to slip the ball in the corner to make it 1-0. Thaxted held on for another 5 minutes but the concentration levels dropped in the Thaxted defence and they soon found themselves 2-1 down after some good Notley play but very sloppy defending.

Joseph came away with the man of the match award for a very solid performance

Overall the result was probably fair but with a few dubious refereeing decisions going against us.

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18 Oct TRFC 3 Maldon Town 0

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4 Oct - TRFC 4 v Rayne Youth 0

The 2nd game of the weekend saw Thaxted play against a strong Rayne Youth side. Thaxted made a great start going 1-0 up thanks to a composed finish from Mason Allington slotting home from close range after great work from the midfield trio. Thaxted dominated the 1st half with Chris Donlon and Angus Gemmill dominating the defence, keeper Felix Robarts was in control and the midfield of Samuel Skinner, Joe Osborn and Edward Wilson made the game look easy with their hard, industrious work paying huge dividends. Thaxted were soon 2-0 up from another great finish from Mason. Ellis Sidders came on in the 2nd half to replace Samuel and was like a terrier on the left hand side of midfield. The game was a much more even contest but Thaxted were soon 3-0 with a great goal from Edward Wilson. Rayne produced a couple of good chances to get back in the game but a good save from Felix and a miss at the far post kept the clean sheet. Toby fletcher came on for Edward Wilson and turned in a great performance and nearly scored with a run from the halfway line only to see his shot hit the outside of the top corner. Joseph Osborn was instrumental in this win with his hard work breaking the Rayne attacks up and starting our own attack time and time again. Samuel dropped back into the defence for the last 10 minutes and along with all of his team mates was solid as a rock. Thaxted rounded off a good contest with a superb goal to make another for hat trick from Man of the Match Mason.

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03 Oct - Sporting 77 1 v TRFC 1

Thaxted Rangers continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 1-1 draw away to Sporting 77. Thaxted started the game with an enormous gale behind them which proved to be very difficult to play with. Thaxted dominated the 1st half with numerous chances but failed to hit the net. The defence of Chris Donlon and Angus Gemmill along with keeper Felix Robarts had little to deal with. The midfield trio of Samuel Skinner, Joe Osborn and Toby Fletcher worked hard to create chances but along with Mason Allington could not finish them off. Sporting 77 played very well into the wind and capitalized on some good midfield work to go into the interval one up.

Thaxted came out strong in the 2nd half playing against the wind and made some tactical substitutions with Ellis Sidders and Edward Wilson making an impact and very soon were level with a great finish from Ellis after very hard work from the midfield. Again Thaxted had numerous chances but it was one of those days with chance after chance going begging. Angus Gemmill came away with the man of the match trophy after a solid no nonsense display at the heart of the defence.
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27 Sep - Raven Youth 0 Thaxted Rangers 4

A strong performance from Thaxted saw them control a difficult game through solid team effort and some great finishing.

Great skill and passing between Angus Gemmill and Samuel Skinner down the left set up Joe Osborn to smash home the 1st goal from outside the box.

Mason Allington getting on the end of great work from Toby Fletcher scored the 2nd.

Great keepers concentrate throughout and Felix Robarts was at his excellent best making a great save at 2 - 0 that could have altered the game.

Solid defending from Chris Donlon fed through to Edward Wilson saw TRFC win a free kick on the edge of the area. Up stepped Mason again to smash it in the top corner.

It was just left to man of the match Joe Osborn to round off a fine performance by beating 3 players and driving the ball into the bottom corner to make it 4 - 0.


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20 Sep - Silver End 1 - TRFC 4
Thaxted won a tough match against a good Silver End side by playing a great passing game.
Samuel Skinner broke the deadlock smashing home from outside the area. Quick thinking Toby Fletcher then created 2 goals for Joseph Osborn. Silver End pulled one back which the excellent Felix Robarts couldnt keep out. Captain Chris Donlon and Angus Gemmill were superb in defence and good team work from Ellis Sidders and Mason Allington teed up Edward Wilson to score the 4th. A superb team effort was capped off by an outstanding performance from man of the match Samuel Skinner.


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Thaxted 3 Tiptree 0 - 13Sep

A slow start with little to cheer about in the first half meant the sides were equal at 0 - 0. However, things were about to change.

Thaxted made the perfect start to the 2nd half. 4 neat passes and the ball was in Tiptrees net. Angus and Chris played the ball out, through the midfield of Samuel, Joseph (Captain) and Ellis and Mason turned and rifled in the bottom corner.

The 2nd goal again through good football saw Tiptrees keep unable to hold a fierce drive from Mason.

Felix was called upon to make a couple of good saves to keep Thaxted in the leade and then Edward wrapped it up with a good finish.

A much improved 2nd half, a victory and clean sheet is all you can ask for on the first day of the season.

The Man of the match for the last game of last season was the winner of the first man of the match for this season, Chris Donlon. Always in control, always looking up for a pass and solid throughout !

MOM 27 Mar - Joe Osborn



The Future England Team - Thaxted Rangers U7 Jun08

Manager: Blues - David Skinner
H: 01371 830587
M: 07766 364657
david.skinner@barclays.com


Senior Coach: Brad Osborn
H: 01371 870401
M: 07973 814311

Assistants: George Simmons

Training Schedule:
No Training 27 mar


Coming Fixtures:
Sat 27th March - AWAY to Elsenham - Kick off 10.30am (Friendly)
meet - 09.30 Farmhouse Inn Monk Street



Team Sponsor:
B.S.Osborn Ltd.
Tel: 01992 447 600
www.bso-electrical.com

Squad:
Edward Wilson
Joseph Osborn
Ellis Sidders
Felix Robarts
Samuel Skinner
Christopher Donlon
Mason Ellington
Toby Fletcher
Angus Gemmill