GRASSROOTSIssue #01

Summer football: The way forward?

Cove BC v North Star! Match report inside

Summer Football: Time to make the switch?

Contents:2 - Washout

3 - Summer Football?

4 & 5 - Culter Derby

CONTENTS:3 - Washout4&5 - Cove BC v North Star Match Report6 - Summer Football

2

Washout

The snow we had across the country a few weeks ago had largely melted by the weekend, but this left football clubs with another problem.

Overnight rainfall on top of this meant 17 games fell foul of the weather

that week-end.

These pictures show the state of the pitches in Sheddock-sley on the Saturday morning.

3

COVE BC U13s 9NORTH STAR U13S 3

Cove BC came out on top in an entertaining game against North Star on Sunday morning. The home side were deserving win-ners although the 9-3 scoreline was a little harsh on North Star. Before kickoff there was a per-fectly observed minutes silence for Remembrance Sunday.

Cove started the brighter of the two teams and they took the lead in just the sixth minute. Lewis Coutts twisted and turned on the left wing before coming inside and finding the top right corner with a great looping effort.

It was 2-0 just two minutes later, a well-worked move starting with a throw-in on the right and cul-minating in an easy finish from close-range for Dylan Main.Cove looked to be cruising, but North Star hauled themselves back into it in the 16th minute.

Josh McDonald showed great fight and determination, before cutting inside and getting his shot away which took a deflec-tion on its way past the keeper.

They say goals change games and that was certainly the case here as it now the visitors’ turn to dominate play. In the 17th min-ute McDonald was put through

on goal, but the youngster sliced his effort well wide. The result-ing goal kick though landed right at the feet of McDonald who more than made up for the miss by lobbing the keeper brilliantly from miles out, bring his side level.

North Star almost took the lead on 25 minutes, and McDonald almost got his hat trick, cutting

4

inside from the right and firing his shot just wide.

Cove had been pinned back, but they fought their way back into the game and retook the lead three minutes before the interval. North Star were on the attack but a Cove broke the length of the pitch at speed. It fell to Cameron Wed-derburn to keep his cool and slot past the keeper and the youngster dually obliged.

On the stroke of half time Cove restored their two-goal advantage thanks to a fien near post header from Connor Towler.

HT: Cove BC 4-2 North Star

North Star came flying out of the traps in the second half, and McDonald went close in the 39th

minute with a shot on the turn flying just over the bar. The home side added a fifth on 44 minutes though, a low shot from the edge of the area by Owen Gray sneak-ing under the keeper.

Two minutes later it was 6-2. Shaun McCard raced away down the left and struck a terrific shot across the keeper into the net.

The points looked to be safe for Cove, but North Star pulled a goal back on the hour mark. A Lewis

Willox free kick from wide on the right missed everyone in the box and found its way straight into the bottom corner.

Any thoughts of a comeback though were soon halted as Cove notched their seventh goal just a minute later, a Lewis Coutts shot from inside the box. The visitors’ were looking tired now, and Cove took full advantage. Connor Towler added his side’s eighth with a great strike right into the corner from the edge of the box.

Rhys Barbour then rounded up the scoring with a superb indi-vidual effort to make it 9-3. The youngster showed some impres-sive footwork to jink his way through the North Star defence before hammering the ball home from close range.

All in all, a convincing victory for Cove in the end, but the score line was certainly harsh on North Star who never looked out of the game until the very closing stages. Both sides played some very nice football making for a competitive game with some cracking goals.

FT: Cove BC 9-3 North Star

5

SUMMER FOOTBALLThe recent onset of wintry weather has seen a lot of youth games in the region called off over the last few weekends. The snow three weeks ago led to flooded pitches when it melted and 17 games had to be postponed. The week after that frost took hold and a further 19 games were called off. This weekend has offered some respite with all but two games making it, however with so many postpone-ments so early in the season, the topic of summer football has once again been raised.

The concept has been mooted at the highest level of Scottish foot-ball where teams play in stadia with professional, well-maintained

pitches; so by comparison, the pitches at grassroots level have no chance of being playable through-out the winter months. If SPL pitches can’t cope, what chance have these pitches got?

With a long and

bleak-looking winter ahead, some people argue it’s time to change the set-up in this country so that our football is played in the summer months and the closed-season period falls in winter when most pitches are unplayable anyway.

6