NEWS FROM FLEET TOWN FC FEBRUARY 2007
IN-FORM TEAMS AND DODGY DECISIONS KNOCK US BACK
Dear Supporter,
The rain continued into February and we faced some tough opponents on difficult surfaces. Russ Jones, our groundsman, worked wonders at times and we only had to postpone one home game. The month started in a disappointing way with a 2-2 draw at lowly Whyteleafe (2-2) - disappointing because we led 2-0 at half-time and in the second half our skipper Mark Pat terson broke his arm
We then lost 4-1 at home to the Metropolitan Police in a repeat of the score at their ground in November and this was a hard defeat to take, especially as we didn't deserve such a thrashing, however the lads responded in the best way possible by going to league leaders Dartford and winning 2-1 in front of over 1600 fans. One of our goals was scored by Tony Reed on his debut, having joined us the previous week from Kingstonian. Tony is a quality player and gives manager Andy Sinton new options in attack as we enter a critical part of the season.
Three days after the Dartford victory we played former league club Maidstone United in a re-arranged home game. Despite having 60% of the game they beat us 1-0 with, what even they acknowledged was a dodgy off-side goal. The crowd was our highest of the season (281) and we sold out of programmes and almost ran out of burgers!!!! Despite this the away fans returned to Kent happy as the win put them on top of the league a clear nine points ahead of us.
Our division has seen the leadership change several times this season and in the month both Maidstone and Hastings put together unbeaten runs to crash into the top three. Results elsewhere saw us slip to 6 th spot with a playing record of 13 wins, 9 draws & 7 defeats . Andy though is confident that we have the quality & team spirit to finish in the top five at least, and with 13 games left and 39 points to play for, every game is like a mini cup final as we strive to finish in a play-off position at least.
Away from the league we competed in two cups, progressing to the semi-final of the Basingstoke Cup (3-0 v R & B Sports) but exiting the Aldershot Cup in a thrilling 3-2 game against Badshot Lea.
Our big cup prize however remains the Hampshire Cup and we avoided the bigger clubs in the semi-final draw where we will now play United Services Portsmouth over two legs, the first leg of which will be on 14 th March and promises to be thrilling night for the club as this is the furthest we have ever got in the competition and we want to get to the final at AFC Bournemouth in May.
We have four scheduled home games in March :
- Saturday 3 rd v Cray Wanderers 3.00pm League
- Wednesday 14 th v US Portsmouth 7.45pm Hampshire Senior Cup
- Saturday 17 th v Kingstonian 3.00pm League
- Tuesday 20 th v Horsham YMCA 7.45pm League
DONT FORGET - the sponsors' appreciation match is on 17 th March. If you haven't confirmed please do so ASAP in order for us to get our catering precise! The day will start with a buffet from 1.00pm and presentations will include details of our new membership scheme, our new website and information on the Kit Aid programme that is run via our Colts section. It's a good event to do some networking at too, so if you can't make it yourself make sure one of your colleagues comes as your representative.
And news from the rest of the Club?
The FTFC Reserves are still in 3 rd spot despite not playing a league game in February! However cup glory continued when they beat Horndean 3-2 in their Hampshire Intermediate Cup game and now face Wellow in the quarter-final on 3 rd March.
The Youth team only managed a cup game in February and so slipped down to 6 th in their league. The cup victory (v Croydon - South Youth Cup) was deserved and goals from Lee Hamilton & Derek Renfrew (only 15 years old!) took us into the next round.
The Colts (Boys) club has also suffered postponements but as at the end of the month the u13 Reds, u9 Eagles, u9 Hawks and u8 Ospreys all top their respective divisions. The girls' u11 team top their division in the North East Hants Youth League, having won 13 and drawn 3 of their games so far. Our girls u14's and u15's are second in their respective divisions so hopefully we will have more trophies and success to report come the end of the season.
Finally the next Quiz Night at the Clubhouse is on March 9 th from 7.45pm.
Thanks for all your support so far, it's much appreciated by us all.
Up the Blues!
Mike Gardner
Commercial Manager |
