Author: thomhoops

AFC Cubo 3rd XI 1-2 Northern Town

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Date: Saturday 2nd Feb 2013

Starting XI: Bushy, Cucos, Ingle, Reed, Palacios, Vanderlight, Edwards, Haddon, Nixon, Neville, Griffiths

Sub: Smith

On a glorious February afternoon, Cubo thirds took on the mid-table Northern Town with Cubo looking to pick up all important points to support their drive to First Division safety. This would be the last home game for Cubo this season, and although having missed the last three weeks due to bad weather, the squad could only be described as rag-tag due to absences across the whole club. With two goalkeepers in the squad, Brett started on the right wing, providing physicality and a strong jump in both boxes. Cubo also appreciated the return of Pistol Pete Edwards, on a short break from his capitalist undertakings in China. Dave Nixon brought new options down bathe left wing, especially at a time when Henners’ knee limited his mobility.

After a difficult first five minutes filled with intense Northern Town attacking, the game settled into a proper rhythm. Cubo had the wind in the first half and broke the deadlock after a half hour as Jordan provided some support on the half way line before returning the ball to Bushy to clear upfield. Northern Town had a high line and their gobby centre half found himself caught out by the wind, with Henners chasing on to the loose ball and sweeping it in to the net after sending the keeper the wrong way. Haddon and Tongzhi Edwards gave solid support to the wings and the defence as Cubo went in at half time one goal to the good.

Cubo started the second half with ten players as Jordan dashed back to the changing room for a quick Jason Puncheon. Despite playing into the wind (no pun intended) in the second half, Cubo looked strong and continued to press. While the wind carried the ball quickly in the first half, the second half gave Cubo the opportunities to put the ball into the strikers’ feet as it held in the wind. Jordan went close on a number of occasions as he was able to find the space between the Town midfield and defence, and quick darts from Antonio down the left flank gave the opposition a number of problems.

Town were able to force a number of corner kicks from Cubo as their wingers got more of the ball, assisted by the breeze. After seventy minutes, a corner from their right was headed goalwards by the centre half. Ed Smith (who had replaced Dave Nixon on the left wing five minutes before) cleared it off the line, but was only able to nod it downwards. As it bounced back up and held in the wind, Ed was no match for their seven foot nine inch centre midfielder who nodded it in to the net past the stranded Bushy.

The game looked settled for the next fifteen minutes and both sides offered chances to go ahead. A lovely lofted ball from Luke into the space between their right back and centre half gave Jordan the chance to put the game beyond Town, but strong defensive work from their covering defence and keeper meant Griffith couldn’t connect properly and the ball limped wide.

Town grabbed the winner after consecutive corners at the Cubo end on the eighty-five minute mark. An inswinging corner caught Chris Reed unawares, striking him high on the arm. A harsh one to give, the referee blew his whistle and pointed to the spot. The Northern Town captain dispatched it past Bushy, inside his left post.

Cubo tried to threaten in the last five minutes, but couldn’t find the net.

Final Score: AFC Cubo 1 – 2 Northern Town FC

Scorer: Neville

Saturday 24th November – All 3 Matches Postponed

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All 3 matches for the 1s, 2s and 3s have been called off at Barn Elms following the heavy rain last night.

Enjoy your Friday night, I know most players live an almost monk-like lifestyle of dedicated abstinence before a match, so feel free to break the shackles.

Finally, a reminder that the club Christmas Party is next Saturday the 1st of December, with a ‘your Sports Personality of the year’ fancy dress theme. Get planning your costumes because there will be fines for poor efforts.

AFC Cubo 2nd XI 2-1 Claremont AFC

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Date: Saturday 10th November 2012, 2pm KO

Venue: Wimbledon Common Extensions

Starting XI: Gaz Stewart, Dave Wall, Ralph Wensley, Alan Clarke, Jim McGeown, Tom Hooper, Salty, Conor Callaghan, Pete Hill, Stevie T, Pete Smith.

Subs: Matty Kilner, Ben Rushall, Rich Crisp.

The Cubo 2s have had a difficult start to the season and went into this November fixture with Claremont still seeking their first win of the season, despite a very encouraging preseason. Pete was able to name arguably his strongest 14 of the season with Gaz Stewart back from his studies and back in nets, while a spine of Alan &Ralph, Salty & Conor and Stevie and Pete Smith up top looked very good on paper.

Dave Wall was asked to play at right back where his composure and desire to get on the ball gave the team a good platform to play out of defence, especially given the fact that the opposition only had 10 men for the duration of the match.

Cubo were able to move the ball comfortably, using the extra man intelligently although the boys in Baby Blue were still guilty of trying to force the killer ball a little bit early. Pete Smith was buzzing around into the channels and with Stevie T dropping in between the lines to pick up the ball and link play, there were plenty of options for Cubo’s ball players – particularly Conor who was showin for the ball at every opportunity.

The deadlock was broken midway through the first half when a fine ball from Ralph down the inside right channel found both Hooper and Smith in behind the Claremont backline. The latter, despite carrying the burden of a prematch Nando’s, was able to get their first and although his first time effort was well saved, he calmly rolled the rebound in from a tight angle. 1-0 Cubo.

The lead was soon doubled when another move down the right saw Hooper again evade his marker. He squared the ball to Smith who forced another good save from the keeper. Stevie T was able to pounce on the rebound and find the onrushing Wensley who had Rolls-Royced up the pitch from centre half to crash the ball into the roof of the net with his supposedly weaker left foot.

Claremont forced a good save with his foot by Stewart after the ball was given away, but the keeper was left with little chance just before half time. The typically busy Thethy had a moment to forget when a blind pass from midfield went straight to Claremont’s lone striker who duly advanced on the Cubo goal before slipping the ball to his left where the arriving player converted to reduce the arrears.

Cubo had been pouring forward and might have put the game out of sight but instead they found themselves with a solitary goal advantage at the break.

Understandably nerves set in a little bit in the second half with Cubo playing a bit more directly in an attempt to ride out the win. Matty Kilner and Rich Crisp were introduced and freshened the side up, with attempts from both men scrambled clear by the visitors. Pete continued to threaten and second half substitute Ben Rushall and Jim were offered space to move into from full back.

Despite failing to score again Cubo were relieved to ride out the majority of the second period without incident and confirm a much needed and deserved three points.

Final Score: AFC Cubo 2nd XI 2-1 Claremont

Scorers: Pete Smith, Ralph Wensley

Man of the Match: Ralph – a goal and an assist from centre half and an assured display alongside Alan at the heart of the defence.

Manager’s Thoughts: “Pleased to finally get a deserved win under our belt. We showed character to ride a nervy final 10 minutes. Great performances through out and looking forward to building on it next week.”

Match Report: Thom Hoops

Kew Antigua FC

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Fellow Cubans,

For those looking to gain more match fitness, improve their game or simply attempt to play another 90 minutes when shockingly hung over (see Robert Sadler), then we may have the club for you. Ironically, our link to them is the aforementioned….Robert Sadler.

Kew Antigua (http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/kewantiguafc/) have 3 Sunday teams, are a well run club with good lads, and are in need of players, so if you fancy playing extra football get in touch with Sads at:

iamrobsadler [at] gmail dot com

 

Crescent Rovers 0-1 AFC Cubo

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Date: Saturday 22nd September, 2012

Venue: Wallington Sports and Social Club, Croydon, KO 3:00pm

Starting line up: BVDL, Joey Darlington, Chris Grayson, Oli Watkins, Hung Nyguen, Jonny Patterson, Chris Gray, Mark Bradley (C), Paul Every, Mike Cain, Ryan Shedwick

Subs: Ian Clarke, Ben McGeown, Richard Gough

Cubo 1st XI notched their first win of the season away against Crescent Rovers, in doing so the Cuban’s broke a run of seven league games without a victory, dating back to last seasons 3-2 success over Virginia Water. This was also our first clean sheet since beating Weston Green Sports 2-0 way back in early March.

Chances fell to both sides in the first half, BDVL made a phenomenal save to his right from close range, his strong hand pushing the ball round the post when a goal seemed inevitable. Mike Cain looked as dangerous as ever in the first 30 minutes and was unlucky to hit the bar with a well-timed lob.

However, Mike’s afternoon was to end much earlier than expected following a ‘tackle’ that would not have looked out of place in a UFC ring. Moments before the referee failed to stop play for an obvious Cubo foul, so a Crescent defender, who was no doubt feeling aggrieved by the lack of a whistle, took matters into his own hands and poleaxed Mike on the edge of their box. Happily two trips to the hospital have since concluded that he has suffered no long lasting damage, although the doctors have advised him to ditch the ridiculous deep v t-shirts that he persists with wearing.

Ian Clarke broke the deadlock on the 72nd minute, arriving late into the box to side foot home Ryan Shedwick’s low cross following a mazy run by the winger. Clarkey could actually have scored minutes earlier when he found space from a corner to crash a header onto the underside of the bar; such a goal would clearly have been preposterous, thankfully the ball did not cross the line.

Further odd refereeing helped Cubo towards the end of the match, the ref deciding to waive play on after BVDL had dashed out of his box to smash a Crescent player who was clean through on goal. A borderline yellow or red, and a definite foul, was instead given as a Cubo throw! The Crescent bench were understandably disappointed with the decision.

Final Score: Crescent Rovers 0-1 AFC Cubo

Scorer: I. Clarke

So, a win at last for the boys in blue (and white) – one best summed up by Ian Holloway:

“To put it in gentleman’s terms if you’ve been out for a night and you’re looking for a young lady and you pull one, some weeks they’re good looking and some weeks they’re not the best. Our performance today would have been not the best looking bird but at least we got her in the taxi. She wasn’t the best looking lady we ended up taking home but she was very pleasant and very nice, so thanks very much, let’s have a coffee”

Man of the Match: Mark Bradley. The stand in skipper was a calming authority over the new look midfield and forward line.

Brentside 0-3 AFC Cubo 3rd XI

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Date: Saturday 22nd September

Venue: Wandsworth Common, KO 2pm

Starting line up: Richard Bush, Nick Tubb, Antonio Valencia, Ralph Wensley, James Ingle, Henry Neville, Timmy Field, John Watson, Conor O’Callaghan, Ben Young, Paul May

Subs: Satal Thethy, Tim Jones, John Glenn

Scorers: May, Young 2

After a difficult Thursday juggling players between teams due to a sudden holiday and injury crisis across the club, some good news on Saturday morning saw Conor bring old friend John Watson into play, and Bushy return earlier than expected from holiday. A very strong line up resulted as Cubo 3rds took to the field against Brentside, unbeaten and yet to concede, scoring 8 in their previous 2 games.

Playing uphill on an unforgiving, hard pitch; under a hot sun, Cubo struggled in the first 15 minutes, Brentside twice going close with long balls through to their wide men. However, as the half wore on, Cubo began to look more threatening, especially on the counter. Watson and Big Paul combined well to release May into the box, Paul shot narrowly wide, Ben blazing 85 yards over the bar when it seemed easier to score, from pretty much directly under the cross bar. With the defence marshalled well by Ralph, Jimbo stepping authoritatively forward to intercept play, and Nick and Tonio easily covering the Brentside wingers, Cubo took control. Like lads. A long clearance from Bushy saw Paul released down the right hand side. Gassing their 6 foot 10 centre back, not for the first time, he slotted the ball across the goal into the bottom left corner. Half time 1-0 The Cubo.

Half time felt strange without the usual display of imaginative profanity from Turner. It was actually positive. It seemed to work, as Cubo started the second half as they finished the first, in control. A rare break from Brentside saw a cross from the right wing canon off the head of their striker onto the cross bar, but apart from that, the blues remained on top. Conor especially stood out with intelligent movement and strong running. A pass from Antonio down the left wing again released Big Paul, who steam rollered over a couple of challenges, and unbelievably, and to the incredulity of everyone watching, actually passed the ball, cutting it back to Ben who slotted home from the penalty spot. Ben said it was a mis-hit shot from Paul.

With 15 minutes to go, and with Brentside having used their 3 subs, Bushy claimed a ball under pressure from their striker. A collision resulted in the Brentside striker having to come off, leaving the home side with 10 men for the remainder. With Paul now having completely subdued the entirety of their back 3, yet another marauding run saw him AGAIN cut the ball back for the waiting Ben to socre his second, and final goal of the match.

Final Score: Brentside 0-3 AFC Cubo 3rd XI

Scorers: May, B. Young (2)

Massive thanks to Salty and Jonesy who a) navigated horrendous traffic to get to the game to act as subs (as without them we only really had 11) and b) played superbly when they came on, adding bite and tenacity to an already well-oiled midfield.

Man of the Match: Impossible to split Jimbo and Ralph – absolutely bloody brilliant the pair of them. So good, they were better than Paul with a goal and two assists, and Ben with two goals.

AFC Cubo 2nd XI 1-2 Union FC

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Date: Saturday 8th September 2012

Starting XI: Brett Vanderlight, Rick Utting, Pete Hill, Alan Clarke, Luke Haddon, Dave Wall (60 mins Rob McGarr), Satal Thethy, Tim Jones, Rich Crisp (55mins Stevie T), Ryan Shedwick, Terry Spokes

Subs: Rob McGarr, Stevie T

Cubo 2s hoping to build upon a couple of strong friendly perfomances made a solid start to the game retaining a lot of possesion with out being able to cut out any clear cut chances. After solid work from the midfield dynamos of Salty and Dave Wall taking the game by the scruff of the neck a couple of chances at the back post went agonsingly wide. Rick and Crispy were starting to terrorise the left flank when against the run of play it was in fact Cubo who were lucky to stay level with new international signing in the sticks (and contestor for best name in Cubo) Brett Vanderlight coming close to bringing down the nimble Union striker.

In the heat both teams started to struggle and Union came out to start the second half stronger. However it was Cubo who broke the dead lock with a cross come shot from Luke Haddon who floated the ball in side the far post with the aid of the deftest of touches from Tim Jones. The goal seem to rejuvenate Cubo who then looked to push home their advantage, starting to dominate possession again. Unfortunately disorganisation at the back left Union striker with a little too much space on a counter attack and he cooly finished over the keeper. Cubo then pushed again looking for the winner with Ryan Shedwick (recently revived from his death bed) starting to cause mischief down the right flank. Cubo came close twice, with Ryan first smashing the ball against the underside of the bar after a dazzling run and then Tel who worked tirelessly all game having  a goal disallowed after the ball was adjudged to gone out of play earlier in the build up. With minutes to spare Union again caught Cubo on the break and after shrugging the lone defender aside managed to slip the ball past the approaching keeper.

A hard fought start to the season for Cubo which deserved a point. Despite a number of new faces the teams showed promising signs and there are high hopes for the season. Club chef Salty rose above a number of strong contenders to take the Man of the Match award  putting in a tireless performance despite the heat whilst showing outstanding composure in possession.

Final Score: AFC Cubo 2nd XI 1-2 Union FC

Goal: Tim Jones (assist Luke Haddon)

Man of the Match: Salty

Match Report: Pete Hill

 

Subs for the New Season

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You should all have got the email about signing on fees for the new season. Membership this year is £65 which is very fair, while match fees will continue to be £5 for starters and £3 for substitutes.

Please contact new treasurer Gaz Stewart and pay asap as we have loads to pay for including pitches and league fees!

Bobby Moore Fund – an update

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This Saturday night saw the very plush St Stephens club, on Queen Anne’s Gate in central London, host the 3rd annual AFC Cubo and Cubo netball charity summer ball. As usual, we were raising funds for the Bobby Moore Fund and I’m delighted to report that a great night was had by all.

A combination of ticket sales, a raffle and the usual auction saw a cracking total of £2,985 being raised which will go towards the invaluable work of the charity researching the treatment and cure of bowel cancer.

Thank you to everyone who helped to organise the event, those who attended and finally the very generous donators of a number of excellent auction items. See you all next year!