Town Emerge Victorious from the Valley of the Wolves

Four first half goals settled the tie in the favour of Rothwell as they extended their unbeaten run to 8 games.

On large pitch with a slope more suitable for downhill skiing than football town kick off playing up hill into a biting wind. The coaches were hoping to reach half time level so they could take advantage of the slope in the second half. Despite the tough conditions Rothwell started strongest and were in the lead after five minutes. Some good work form Kaden in the middle of the field won the ball and Harry Caton delivered a short pass to Sam Pears who found himself with a yard of space just inside the box which was enough to turn and place a low shot which beat the keeper and ricochet in off the bottom of the far post. Woodkirk responded well and launched a strong attack but the defence which has been so solid over the last few matches remained so and protected Jacob in goal. The Wolves forced a couple of corners which again were dealt with efficiently by Rothwells back line who were winning every tackle and every header. Another Wolves attack was quickly stopped and a quick ball was played forward to Sam Pears on the half way line. Sam turned his man brilliantly and released a ball into the right channel Where Liam King had made a good early run beating the offside. The Woodkirk left back got back to challenge Liam who held the ball up well and played a ball back to Jacob Bues who played a first time ball into Sam Pears. In a similar position to his first goal Sam hit another shot towards the far post. this time the keeper seemed to have it covered, but a great late run from Kaden Sharlotte saw him challenge the keeper strongly on the far back post and managed to poke the ball home making it 2-0 to the visitors. Both teams continued to play good football, but with Harrison Jones winning every header, Oliver Walker giving the strikers little room and the two wing backs Michael & Kai stopping attacks building in the wide areas it was Rothwell who looked the most dangerous and came closest with Kaden and Harry Caton both finding themselves in good positions in front of goal but not finding the final finish. Woodkirk then found a breakthrough as they pushed men forward and a fortuitous bounce of the heel of the winger split Michael & Harrison for the first time and a strong run and shot brought them back into the game at 2 – 1. Jacob Bues and Liam King combined well on a number of occasions and Liams intelligent runs into space got the better of the Woodkirk defence and kept the pressure on the home team. Another Rothwell attack was scrambled to safety and as the Wolves looked to counter Michael Throp dispossessed the man with the ball and with some quick foot work managed to keep to avoid a strong challenge and lay the ball off to Jacob Bues out wide. Jacob delivered a great cross which Harry couldn’t connect with, the ball then fell to Sam Pears who played it back to Jacob. This time a deep cross aimed at the far post was bravely met by Sam Mulvaney who timed his run perfectly to get to the ball ahead of the keeper and made it 3 – 1 to Rothwell. That turned out to be the last kick of the half as the referee blew the whistle straight after kick off.

The second half started as the first had finished with both teams playing good passing football. Although the wind had died down, playing downhill the Rothwell coaches were confident of scoring again. However it was Woodkirk who started stronger and forced Rothwell back. The defence remained solid and Jacob Murray commanded his area well dealing with anything that threated his goal. Dan Etchells, who had played in all positions on the right during the game, used his pace and hit a great shot from the corner of the goal area but unfortunately was not on target. Sam Van Den Briele, introduced as a second half substitution looked strong as supported the defence on the right and looked to release Dan in an advance position. Despite more pressure on both goals the second half remained goalless and Rothwell earned a well-deserved 3 – 1 win to take all the points. Sam Pears takes the man of the match award with a great performance

The win sees Rothwell move into 5^th and within touching distance of a place in the top three. Next week see the team travel to play Yorkshire Amateurs who will be looking to bounce back from a 9 – 0 defeat to Garforth.

29.01.2012 Royston Dynamos 2 – 6 Rothwell Town

At last it all comes together !

Having gone a number of games without a win, the team rocked up on a cold morning in Barnsley to play Royston Dynamos who had gone the last 10 games unbeaten and had climbed to 2^nd in the league.

Well, like all good things that unbeaten run came to an abrupt end as Rothwell Town hit the Dynamos for six.

After going behind 2 – 0 in the first 15 minutes to goals against the run of play, the Rothwell Town midfield started to get hold of the game with Euan, George, Alex, Harry and Ryan all putting in a lot of work to pick up their men and support the forwards.  Charles picked up a goal after following up well to a shot from Rhys and then a fine move resulted in a shot from the edge of the box from Euan which hit the bottom corner only for the referee to disallow it.

The second half started well with a flurry of goals with Josh hitting 2 excellent goals and Charles completing his hat trick with 2 more goals.  While every second ball was being won by the Rothwell Town team Royston were stunned and could not stop the sixth and best goal of the game.  After a good tackle by George and a neat 1-2-1 between Harry and Alex, Harry fired in from a tight angle with the goalie marooned.

In the last 10 minutes Royston found their Dynamo and really put the Rothwell Town back four of Dom, Rhys, Lewis and Dan under pressure but marshalled by Robert they were unable to make a comeback and Town were able to see out the game for a fine win.

Goals: Charles 3, Josh 2 and Harry.

Man of the Match:  The whole team – great team performance with everyone playing to their full potential against a very good Royston team

Summer Tour 2012

Get your passports at the ready, the Rothwell Town under 12’s pre season tour is ready to roll again and this time we’re taking on Europe, well France anyway. After the success of last years tour we wanted to take the boys a step further and give them the experience of playing on foreign soil. The trip this year will include the following

• All Coach and Ferry travel (Same coach throughout the trip, we may be using Nigel again so jokes about getting locked in the toilet at the ready )
• 2 nights Bed & Breakfast in Boulogne
• 2 friendly matches against local teams

Date  - Depart Friday 24^th August (early morning), Return Sunday 26^th August (Evening)
Price – Currently the price is £150 per person. We can however reduce this significantly with additional fundraising. For example the recent bag packing raised £800, a percentage of this will be used to fund the trip, the actual amount depends on how many people travelling were able to help with the bag pack. I will also be sponsoring the trip through money I have raised through work (approx. £600). I would also like to hold another bag packing event specifically for the trip so any one travelling who also raises money will have a further reduction. With a little effort we can hopefully reduce the cost to under £100 per person.

Now is the time for some action. If you are interested in coming on the tour I need to know asap. Once I have an idea of who will be travelling I will get a full quote and come back out with the actual price (before additional fund raising) and ask for desposits.

Please let us know if you want to attend and how may will be travelling in your group by texting Stuart on 07710421900 or by Clicking here. I need all responses back by Sunday 19^th February

Rothwell show More Reasons to send Garforth Packing

Unbeaten since October 2011 Town were confident that they could reverse the controversial result the last time these to two teams met.

Garforth started strongest and some determined defending helped keep the score at 0 – 0. Rothwell kept their shape well and despite continued pressure Jacob Murrays goal was rarely threatened.

Rothwell had few opportunities to break but continued to work hard and started to get back into the game with the frontline putting the Rangers midfield under pressure. A Garforth corner was dealt with well and Rothwell were able to break down the right side with Jacob Bues beating the opposition left back and delivering a low cross which was deflected out for a corner. Kai Wheeler took the corner which was cleared by the defender only as far as Harry Caton who met the clearance with a sweetly struck volley from a yard inside the area which flew through the crowded six yard box and into the bottom corner. The goal seemed to knock Garforths confidence who stepped back and allowed Rothwell to attack. Town took advantage of the extra space with some quick passing. Jacob Bues was a constant threat down the right hand-side and had the Garforth defence worried. Another run and cross from Jacob was met by Sam Pears close in, Sams shot was well stopped but again the deflected clearance only made it as far as the edge of the 18 yard box and was met by Arnie Dooner who arrived late and drilled his first time shot hard & low, to make it 2 – 0. Confidence was rightly high and Town continued to press and look for a third. Gartforth showed little up front, and any breaks were quickly dealt with by a solid backline. The defence challenged for every ball and won every header & with the ball on the floor they looked to pass it out through the midfield. The third goal game 5 minutes from half time, when Harrison Jones won another header and Harry Caton collected the ball and released Sam Van Den Briele, who controlled well and found Sam Pears in an advanced position. Sam looked to play the ball out wide but the Garforth defence was solid. Sam turned well and laid the ball off to Harry Caton who had continued his run into a central position just outside the area. Harry hit a first time shot which curled back inside the keepers left hand post. Town had more chances with Kaden Sharlotte breaking through on a number of occasions but some last ditch defending prevented him getting his shot away. At 3-0 down and on the back foot, Garforth will have been pleased to hear the refs whistle which brought an end to a good half for Rothwell.

With the first half won, the Town coaches were keen to encourage the players to continue the second half in the same way and aim to win the second half. A first clean sheet of the season was up for grabs and would secure a great win. Within 5 minutes of the restart the clean sheet had gone when Garforths striker ran into the box unchallenged and squeezed the ball under Jacob Murray who was unlucky not to make the save. The goal lifted the visitors and Town started to look nervous and lost discipline and shape. A few last minute challenges and a goal line clearance by Michael Throp kept the score at 3 – 1. Jacob Murray bossed the area and as in the first half Rothwell slowly started to get back into the game. Following on from his goal in the previous game Arnie Dooner attempted another overhead kick but without the same result. Both sides continued to have chances but it was the Garforth Keeper who was busiest, with the Rothwell Keeper being protected by a solid defence. With the clock running down Garforth broke through and looked to make it 3-2 which would have set nerves on edge in the final moments. With the ball played ahead of him the striker only had the keeper to beat, Jacob Murray was quickly off his line and challenged bravely,  low at the forwards feet and denied him the opportunity. Rangers seemed to sense the inevitable and the remaining minutes were played out in their half with no real pressure on either goal.

At the final whistle Rothwell had earned a fantastic 3-1 win. All goals were taken superbly with the stand out strike being Harry Catons first which will challenge Arnies Overhead strike for goal of the season. The defence also caught the eye and worked really hard as a team,  looking solid throughout.  Michael, Harrison, Oliver & Kai all challenged for every ball, kept a good shape and looked to pass the ball out of danger. The link up play between them and the midfield contributed enormously to what was a great performance. Man of the Match went to Harrison Jones who remain cool under pressure throughout.