Year 3/4 Football Tournament

On 6th March eight children from years 3/4 played for Balladen in the annual Fearns Football Tournament.

The team was: Rhianna; Chloe; Ben; Mario; Hamza; Daniel; Dominic and Lewis.

The first match was against a very strong Crawshawbooth side.  We fell behind to an early goal but battled hard with Ben, Daniel and Lewis strong in defence.  We managed to get back into the game with some good passing in midfield and should have had a penalty in the last minute when Mario was pushed in the back.  Unfortunately the Ref didn't give it and we were denied a deserved draw.  Mr Stanton was too "distraught" to talk to Sky Sports after the match.

Second match saw us play Holy Trinity, in what was a superb team performance, saw us run out 2 nil winners with two goals from Mario.  Chloe and Dom worked tirelessly in midfield with Rhianna solid in goal.  Hamza linked up well up front when he came on.

The results meant we finished second in our group.  A very pleasing performance from all involved.  Fantastic teamwork and sportsmanship - a real credit to themselves and the school. 

Wednesday 16th May 2012

Girls School Football League

Balladen vs Haslingden

3:30pm kick-off at Balladen

Managers Report

Our second league game pitted us against a strong Haslingden team.  The girls played some really good football creating a hatful of chances which unfortunately their keeper saved or went just wide.  A fluke goal that bounced off Shauna's knee put Haslingden one nil up at half time.

Second half went the same way as the first with Balladen creating chance after chance.  We were unable to score and Haslingden scored two breakaway goals resulting in a flattering three nil win for the away team.  A special mention must go to Chloe from year 3 who put in a "man of the match" performance in her first game for Balladen.

The girls once again gave a committed performance and I can't believe we didn't win the game never mind not score.

Mr Stanton
Proud Football Coach

Wednesday 3^rd May 2012

Girls School Football League

Balladen vs Constable Lee

Managers Report

Balladen played their first ever girls league match against a very strong Constable Lee team.  In what was an entertaining match we narrowly lost 4-2.  Jessica scored a great goal direct from a free-kick and Katie scored a Lionel Messi type goal running from the half way line before calmly slotting the ball in the bottom corner.  The girls played their hearts out and came off the field at full time completely exhausted.  Molly played well in goal pulling off some great saves.  Shauna, Annie and Leah were like giants in defence.  Ginny and Tia worked their socks off in midfield and Rianna considering she is year 3, "played fantastic" when she came on as a sub.

A very pleasing performance which bodes well for our remaining three games.  The girls should be very proud of themselves.  I know as their coach I feel very privileged to work with them.

Mr Stanton
Football Coach

Wednesday 21st March 2012

Rossendale Schools 6 a-side Football Tournament

Managers Report

We came into the competition on the back of that heavy defeat against Waterfoot.  I was looking for a reaction from the players showing me how much playing for Balladen means.

Our first match against Constable Lee ended up in a 1-0 defeat.  It was a game we could have won with Lewis S hitting the post.  Our backs were against the wall and only a win in the next game versus Thorn would keep us in the competition.

A scintillating attacking performance saw us win 5-0 with goals from Lewis S (3), Jayme and Ryan ably assisted by Yotyiam, Ibrahim and Alfie.  Balladen were back in business with the players showing amazing character.

Next up was Haslingden, Josh in goal kept the opposition from scoring and despite some great play we were unable to find the back of the net and the game ended 0-0.

Last game was against St. Bart's and once again we had to win to keep in the hunt for winning the group.  The players dug deep especially Luke in defence played some great football chased the ball down to win it back, scored a great goal through Lewis and won 1-0.

Unfortunately Haslingden and Constable Lee drew the last game 0-0 and we finished second in our group.

The team were a credit  to the school and should be very proud of their efforts in finishing runners up in a very tough group.

Mr Stanton
A happy football manager

March 19th March 2012

Balladen v Waterfoot

Managers Report

Our final league game of the season pitted us against a very strong Waterfoot.  Unfortunately we didn't perform as a team and slumped to a 9-1 defeat.

The less said about the match the better and as manager take full responsibility for the result and vow to put things right for the 6 a-side tournament on Wednesday 21st March.

Mr Stanton

A despondant Football Manager  

Thursday 15th March 2012

 Girls 6 aside Rossendale Schools Footbal Tournament

Managers Report

A date that shall forever be etched in Balladen football history.

We had St.Barts and Holy Trinity in our group.  After a goal less draw against Holy Trinity we needed to beat St. Barts to qualify for the semi-finals.  A fine goal by Jessica saw us win 1-0.  We played St. James in the semi's.  A tight game finished 0-0 and the match went to penalties.  Jessica, Tia and Molly all scored and we won 3-1 to get to the final.  The girls had played out of their skins to get this far with Molly yet to concede a goal, Shauna, Annie and Leah unbeatable in defence and Ginny,Tia and Jessica causing the opposition all sorts of problems with their passing , movement and work-rate.

The final pitted us against a strong Constable Lee side who had two professional coaches from Rossendale Valley coaching them.  The girls worked as hard as any team I have worked with, defended the goal as though their lives depended on it and the game finished 0-0 and so went to penalties.

After 4 penalties each the score was 2-1 to Constable Lee.  They just needed to score to win, but Molly pulled off a great save.  Ginny had to score to keep us in it and cool as a cucumber slotted the ball home.  Molly then saved again catching the ball that was destined for the top corner.  Jessica stepped up, scored and the crowd went wild.  Balladen had won and will represent Rossendale in the Lancashire Youth Games in May. 

There is not a coach anywhere who is more proud of his team than I am right now, a fantastic achievement from a great group of girls.

Mr Stanton
Balladen Football Manager

Monday 27th February 2012 

Balladen v Crawshawbooth

League Match

Manager's Report

Our third league game of the season pitted us against a strong Crawshawbooth side. 

Balladen started the game strongly and deservedly took the lead through a fine individual goal from Yotyiam.  Crawshawbooth equalised just before half time and it was 1:1 at the break.  The second half was end to end with Ryan defending brilliantly at the back, ably assisted by Lewis C and Paul with Josh making some important saves.  Alfie worked his socks off in midfield and his hard work enabled Lewis S to cut through the opposition defence and put us 2:1 up with an unstoppable shot into the top corner. Iby played some neat passes to link defence and attack and five minutes later Lewis W, making his debut, broke free on the left and played a great pass inside to Lewis S who slotted home to give Balladen a famous victory over the old enemy.

All nine players should be very proud of themselves, it was a superb team performance.

Wednesday 2nd November 2011

Balladen v St. Paul's, Constable Lee

League Match

Manager's Report

 The team was:

We welcomed a strong Constable Lee team to Balladen for our second league match of the season.  A tough first half saw us going in at the  break 3 nil down. 

Second half we played much better, eventually going down to a 5-1 defeat.  Our goal came courtesy of a great long range shot from Jayme.  We created a few chances which we were unable to convert into goals otherwise the scoreline would have been much different. 

Man of the match was Captain Alfie who put in a superb all round performance in the heart of midfield.

Thursday 13th October 2011

St Mary's v Balladen

League Match

Manager's Report

We made the short trip to St Mary's for our first league game of the season in good spirits  However, after a very poor first half performance we found ourselves 3 nil down at half time  Strong words were needed and we came out looking a different side second half, scoring a fantastic goal from Lewis after a cross field pass from Alfie.  We were unable to add to our goal despite some good play and 2 late goals from St Mary's meant a 5-1 scoreline to the home side  Lewis lollipop ran himself into the ground in a man of the match performance.

If we can start the first half like we have played the second half in our last two games then we should be a lot more competitive for our next game against Constable Lee.

Monday 3rd October 2011

Balladen v Crawshawbooth
First round of club competition

Manager's report

We played host to a strong Crawshawbooth side tonight - losing 4-1.

The team was:             

Josh in goal,
Luke and Lewis Lollipop in defence
Lewis, Jayme and Alfie in midfield
and Ryan in attack
subs: Jordan, Ibrahim and Paul

We were 2-0 down at half time, conceding the second goal just as the ref was about to blow for half time.  A cruel blow leaving us a mountain to climb in the second half.  We made some changes and came out fighting, taking the game to Crawshawbooth.  A delightful through ball from Alfie, followed by a great run and finish from Lewis resulted in us pulling a goal back.  We battled hard for an equaliser but were ultimately undone by two late goals producing a score line that flattered the opposition.

After a poor first half we played really well in the second half and can take plenty of positives into our league campaign which starts next Thursday. 

Special mention to Josh for a man of the match performance in his first ever game as goal keeper.

Mr Stanton
Balladen Football Manager