Sunday 13th December: U15 v Highworth Town Juniors T

A disappointing return to action after the recent run of bad weather, as we were out-played by Highworth. We were unable to outpace their defenders and were caught out by the speed of their strikers, whilst allowing too much space in midfield.

The first half was notable for the number of chances that Highworth either missed or Luke saved in breathtaking fashion. To only be one goal down at half time could have acted as the trigger for a second half comeback, but it wasn't to be and we failed to score for the first time this season.

Captain and Coaches' Awards: Luke, for his goalkeeping heroics.

Squad: Luke, Oli, Will, James, Matt C, Matt J, Jonny L (captain), Frank, Dom, Jack, Matt R, Ryan, Dan and Tom

Sunday 15th November: U15 v Hungerford Town

This turned out to be a very tight, evenly-matched and entertaining game. Hungerford are a strong, physical side and opened the scoring from a corner with their first attack. The team responded well and gradually played its way back into the game, before Jonny L equalised as the ball first hit the bar and then bounced about in the box. A superb cross from James gave Jonny a clear opportunity to side-foot home for the second. A defensive lapse led to Hungerford restoring parity before the break.

The sceond half remained very competitive, although Wanborough probably had the better chances, with a couple of shots going across the goalmouth. The game looked as if it would finish all-square, but a sublime chip from Jonny sealed all three points for Wanborough, as well as his hat trick.

The whole team attitude was excellent, with some strong tackling and full commitment from all players, especially those who played in unusual positions. Particular mention goes to Jack, who caused all sorts of problems in attack, and Jonathon, who gave his all in defence.

Coaches' Award: Jonny L, who didn't just score all the goals, but worked tirelessly for the whole game.
Captain's Award: Matt C, who slotted in at centre back brilliantly.

Squad: Luke, Oli, Will, James, Matt C, Matt J, Jonny L, Dom, Jonathon N, Jack, Matt R, Ryan, Tom and Chris

Sunday 8th November: U15 v Stratton Youth (table-topping performance!)

The performance in the first half was disappointing, although two goals from Jack gave Wanborough a 2-1 half time lead. The second half was a different matter with numerous chances being created in a superb team performance leading to further goals from Will (3), Luke, Jonny L and Matt R.

With Penhill losing to Highworth and Marlborough's match postponed, the win takes Wanborough to the top of the table!

Coaches' Award: Will, for an excellent performance capped by a hat trick.
Captain's Award: Jack, for creating all sorts of problems in attack.

Squad: Luke, Oli, Will, Toby, James, Matt C, Matt J, Jonny L, Frank, Dom, Jack, Matt R, Ryan and Dan

Sunday 1st November: U15 v Ramsbury

It was another fantastic team performance in another close battle against Ramsbury. On the balance of play this turned out to be a well-deserved win. The first half was very even, with James finishing off an excellent cross from Jonny L to continue his fine scoring spell. Unfortunately we conceeded shortly before half time, but it was good to see that heads did not go down and everyone continued to play their part.

The second half was almost all one-way, as the Ramsbury goal was peppered with shots. The finishing let us down, as the game should have been safe before Will followed up his own shot to net our second goal. The only time that Ramsbury put the goal under pressure in the second half was during the last ten minutes, so Luke (and, briefly, Matt) did not have much opportunity to show off their goal-keeping skills!

It was once again a team performance that contributed to the result, with every player working hard, closing the ball down and getting involved in some excellent passing moves, and finally securing a win at Hooper's Field!

Division 3 Table
1 Penhill Knights - 12
2 Marlborough Town Youth - 12
3 Wanborough Juniors - 10
4 Ramsbury Juniors - 7
5 Hungerford Town - 6
6 Lydiard Youth - 6
7 Highworth Town Juniors T - 6
8 Stratton Youth - 0

Captain's Award: Oli B, who had an assured game in the centre of defence.
Coaches' Award: Ryan, who had his best game for the club in keeping the Ramsbury forwards at bay.

Squad: Luke (captain), Oli, Will, James, Frank, Jonny L, Dominic, Jonathon N, Jack, Dan, Matt R, Ryan and Tom

Sunday 18th October: U15 v Ramsbury

The game was very tight with neither team creating any clear chances, our defending was strong and we matched them in midfield. In the first half we definitely were the more creative team, we were shooting from outside the box and in general getting more scoring opportunities than Ramsbury. James scored after approx 30 minutes with a left footed ‘thunderbolt’ at a very tight angle. It was a really well taken goal - following a bit of a goal mouth scramble, James was in the perfect position to pick up the loose ball.

Again we started the stronger after the break with some lovely passing moves up the right wing between Dan, Will and Jonny L and lots of shots, with some of them on target! James then scored again coming in on a Jonny L cross. The game was now really hotting up with Ramsbury throwing everything at us. Luke was quite outstanding in goal and after another 5 minutes Dom scored only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.

Straight from the free kick the ball was hoofed up field and following a desperate scramble Ramsbury managed to nick one back.

20 minutes to go and Ramsbury now had the upper hand, they were more creative and hungrier than we were and were relentless in attack. Luke B pulled off some quite magnificent saves, Matt R and Ryan were tireless and cut off attacks before they got to Luke, as a team we were a little shaky and a little panicky and with 5 minutes to go they scored the equaliser and though it pains me to admit it it was all that Ramsbury deserved.

The efforts that Ramsbury made in forcing the equaliser now took its toll and we finished the stronger team creating two clear chances. All in all I would say that the result was a fair reflection on an excellent game, so well done to everyone.

Development points
- We were not first to the ball often enough
- Our first touch let us down too many times
- Shooting on target
- More fitness!

Good Points
- A great all round team performance
- Positional play was much better
- We finished the stronger team despite the set back of Ramsbury’s equaliser

Captain's Award: James for an excellent attacking display.
Coaches' Award: Luke, who was magnificent in goal.

Squad: Luke, Will, James, Matt C, Jonny L, Frank, Dom, Jonathon N, Jack, Matt R, Ryan, Dan and Chris

Training Update

There will be an extra training session at Hooper's Field at 2pm on Sunday.

Training will start at The Liddington on Thursday 15 October from 8pm to 9pm. All players will need to wear trainers suitable for astroturf.

Sunday 4th October: U15 v Penhill Allstars

It was another tight, competitive match against Penhill and a very narrow defeat in the end. We were short of a number of players who were either ill or injured and, on the balance of play, it was probably a fair result. Although the team worked hard, we didn't make quite enough use of the width of the pitch and allowed Penhill too much room in midfield.

The positives were Luke's first goal of the season, after we had gone behind, and the general competitiveness of the team. It is noticable that there is still not enough communication on the pitch and this is an area that needs to be improved.

Captain's Award: Dan, who had an excellent game in defence.
Coaches' Award: Matt J, who also worked hard to keep their attackers quiet.

Squad: Luke B, Oli B, Will, Toby, Matt C (captain), Matt J, Jonny L, Gregor, Dom,
Matt R, Ryan, Dan and Chris.

Sunday 27th September: U15 v Ramsbury

Most of the game was very evenly-matched, it was just a brief spell early in the second half that proved decisive. We got off to an excellent start with Matt C's superb strike from the edge of the box, before Ramsbury struck their own beauty. Jack then put Wanborough back in front with a header from Jonny's fine corner, but we again allowed Ramsbury back into the game with two more goals before half time.

In the second half, Ramsbury managed to spring the offside trap too easily and their two strikers hit some more cracking goals. However, we did score the final goal with a first headed goal from Will.

The whole team worked hard, but it was noticable that some players were still carrying minor injuries and were not able to play to their usual high standard.

Coaches' Award: Matt C, for holding up the ball well and keeping up his record of scoring in every game.
Captain's Award: Tom, who had a fine game putting in some great crosses from the right.

Squad: Luke B, Will, Matt C, James, Matt J, Jonny L, Frank, Greg, Dom, Jack P, Matt R, Ryan, Dan (captain) and Tom

Upcoming U15 Matches

Training on 1 and 8 October will start at 6pm. Training will be back at The Liddington from 15 October.

As it's getting near the end of the month, I'd be grateful if everyone could confirm availability for the following matches by the end of the week:

4 October - Penhill (2pm home)
11 October - TBC
18 October - Ramsbury (away)
25 October - TBC
1 November - Ramsbury (2pm home)

For the sake of clarity, can I also remind everyone that (because of the numbers that we currently have in the squad) no new players should attend training without either the player or their parents speaking to either Pete or Jon beforehand.

Sunday 20th September: U15 v Marlborough Town

This match was characterised by a magnificent team performance, particularly in the second half. We were probably unlucky to be 3-0 down at half time, as they took their goals very well and we had a few chances ourselves that could have gone in. The second half resulted in a superb 5-1 win going up the hill, to give a narrow 5-4 victory overall.

The main feature of the game was the commitment and teamwork that every player put in. Added to that was some good second half finishing - two from Matt C, one from Jonny and two from Dom - coupled with a bit of luck (the fourth goal, for example), and some strong defending. It was good to see that not only did we come back to level at 3-3, but our heads did not go down when Marlborough took the lead again; there was still a belief that the match could be won, which turned out to be fully justified.

Captain's Award: Dom, who put in a fighting performance both in defence in the first half and attack in the second, rounding it off with the winning goal.

Coaches' Award: Dan, who was rock-solid in defence and also got well-involved in some good attacking moves down the right wing.

Squad: Oli B, Toby, Matt C, James, Matt J, Jonny L, Frank (captain), Dom, Jack P, Matt R, Ryan, Dan, Tom and Chris

Sunday 13th September: U15 v Lydiard Youth

Another good competitive match, but one in which we were unable to claw back the early two-goal deficit. The passing and competitiveness continues to improve, but we need to be more clinical in our finishing and tighter in the middle third of the pitch.

The goals came from Matt C and Dom, and both involved some good passing moves.

Coaches' Award: Frank, for his vocal encouragement and running.
Captain's Award: Oli B, who had an excellent, faultless game in defence and midfield.

Squad: Oli B, Will, Toby, Matt C, Matt J, Jonny L, Frank, Dom, Jonathon N, Jack P, Matt R, Ryan, Dan, Tom

Training Update

Details for next Sunday's match against Lydiard Youth will be confirmed later in the week. In the meantime, training will start at 6.30pm this week due to the night's drawing in.

For those players who do not have a standing order mandate set up, please bring a cheque for £120 to training.

Lastly, many thanks to Nick Chevis and First Group for sponsoring the new match kit, which looked very smart yesterday (photo on the website). The match kit is for matches only. Please wear the full clean kit for matches – do not mix and match with any plain black shorts/socks. The kit remains the property of the club and is intended to last two seasons - the Wasps kit should only be worn when playing football with the club. Please take care of it and note the manufacturer's advise about washing the shirts without fabric conditioner (as this gradually dissolves the printing).

Players should wear black/yellow to training (not their very expensive favourite match kit). This helps develop team spirit and helps us identify them as we train in a public space. I know that there are a few players without the training kit and we are in the process of ordering some additional sets so that everyone has a set.

Sunday 6th September: U15 v Hungerford Town (updated)

An excellent performance against a team relegated from Division 1 last season, saw the U15s pick up their first points of the season. The whole team played superbly against a strong, physical Hungerford side.

Matt C opened the scoring on his debut, before Jack P doubled the lead before half time. The score at the break ought to have been much higher, with four or five other players having great chances to find the net, however it didn't matter in the end as Hungerford could only manage one goal in a scrappier second half.

Room for improvement:
1. Use the width of the pitch more effectively to stretch play.
2. Be more clinical with chances in front of goal to put the game beyond doubt.
3. Be more communicative on the pitch to ensure all balls are dealt with.
4. Play to the whistle - do not stop and call "ref" when you spot an infringement.
5. Increased fitness levels needed to last the full 80 minutes.

Plus points:
1. We won and the whole team enjoyed playing football!
2. Excellent team spirit - no critical voices.
3. Some great passing moves from defence through midfield to attack.
4. Heads were kept high, even when the opposition scored.
5. We were effective in dealing with the long ball and headed the ball well.

Captain's Award: Toby, who had a great game and pulled off some excellent saves.
Coach's Award: Matt R, who was strong throughout and used his fitness to help plug any gaps.

Squad: Luke B, Oli B, Will, Toby, James, Matt C, Matt J, Jonny L, Frank, Dom, Jack P, Matt R (captain), Ryan, Tom

Ready to post

The Wasps website is now updated for 09/10 season.

Memory Lane: The First Wanborough Wasps Matches

As a couple of our original players are retiring this season, I thought it would be good to take a trip down memory lane to the first matches played by Wanborough Wasps' team!

The first game was played by an under 7/8 team against Cricklade and the second was played by an under 8/9 against Marlborough Town. Both games were played in early 2004, with the match against Marlborough resulting in the first goals and the first win by Wanborough Wasps.

See how many of the players you can recognise and best wishes to Oli H and Luke W:

Update

The website is currently being updated for the 09/10 season

End Of Season

Well done to everyone who took part in the tournament today. There were some very good performances. Both teams deserve credit for the way that they played: the A team who worked hard in a very tough group and the B team who scored a few goals and had a win and a couple of draws.

This Thursday (18 June) will be the final training session before the summer break.

Please see the e-mail regarding the Wanborough Fun Run, which is taking place on 28 June. Next season will place much more emphasis on fitness, so the Fun Run would be an excellent way to start the pre-season fitness drive! It would be good to have as many players (and their parents) as possible joining in - I will be!

Lastly, I'm delighted to say that the U14 team achieved second place in the sportsmanship table against all the other U14 teams. The U13 team obtained overall first place (out of every team in the league) and the U7 team finished first in their age group, but this represents a massive improvement on the previous year for the U14 team and is very pleasing, reflecting the boys excellent attitude and team spirit during the season.

Sunday 26th April: U14 v Stratton Youth

It was another very entertaining game and one in which we really deserved to take at least a point. Not only did the passing and commitment continue at the same level as in other recent matches, but it was good to see the team twice battle back from being behind and almost snatch a second equaliser. With performances like this next season, the U15 team will give many other sides some good close matches.

The first goal was the result of an excellent passing movement, with Luke B setting up Jonny L to score. Jack P climbed off his sick bed brilliantly to head in the second from another perfect corner. There were quite a few other chances that narrowly missed, but I felt that the season finished on a positive note and everyone should be pleased with their performances.

Thanks should go to all the players, including Oli H and Connor who came along to support the team, and parents for their encouragement, particularly Dave L who stepped into ref at the last minute and Dave T who has provided the team drinks again this season!

Captain's MOM: Dan, for another assured performance at both left and right back.
Coaches' MOM: Dom, for his outstanding performance in goal.

Squad: Oli B, Luke B (captain), Will, James, Matt J, Dom, Jon L, Jon N, Jack P, Matt R, Ryan, Dan, Chris and Luke W

Thursday 9th April: U14 v Shaw B

Some lapses in concentration in defence and midfield in the first half meant that there was some room for improvement in the second half, in spite of a cracking solo goal from Luke B. In the second half every player showed a much better commitment and enthusiasm, which got Shaw really rattled, until a couple of late goals restored their cushion.

The positives from the match were the great improvement in the second half, which led to goals for Dom and two for Matt J, due to the quality of the passing and keeness to win the ball. We still need to tighten up on the concentration and commitment for the whole match, including learning where the dangers lie and communicating within the team to ensure that all positions are covered and players marked.

Captain's MOM: Ryan, who had another strong performance in the heart of defence.
Coaches' MOM: Matt J, who was strong in defence and was very unlucky not to score a hat trick.

Squad: Will, Toby, James, Luke B, Jack B, Connor, Jonathan L (captain), Matt J, Dom, Jack P, Matt R, Ryan, Dan and Oli H

Sunday 5th April: U14 v Coleshill Juniors

A very entertaining match that we were unlucky not to gain a point from. The whole team showed great spirit to really take the game to Coleshill in the second half. The passing was excellent and it was great to see Jack B score his first goal from Luke B's free kick. Matt R got the second, but we could have a few others either side with a bit of luck and Coleshill were shut out of the game in the second half.

Captain's MOM: Jack B, for scoring his first goal.
Coaches' MOM: Dan, for some excellent defending against a strong attack.

Squad: Oli B, Will, Toby, Luke B, Jack B, Connor, Jonathan L, Matt J (captain), Dom, Jack P, Matt R, Ryan, Dan and Oli H

Sunday 29th March: U14 v Shrivenham & Watchfield

Although the final score was against us, this was generally a good performance from all the players. The opponents were a handful and the sunny spring weather was very tiring with no substitutes available.

There continued to be some good passing play, in particular in the lead up to the first goal, scored by Jonny L. Shrivenham then got on top, but we almost had the last goal when Matt R got the slightest of touches to Luke B's excellent free kick. As the Adver photographer was at the match, there may be some photos in Tuesday's paper...

Captain's MOM: Toby, for some excellent saves.
Coaches' MOM: Jack B, for his pass in setting up the first goal and hard work in midfield in the second half.

Squad: Oli B, Luke B, Jack B, Toby, Matt J, Jonathan L, Dom, Jonathon N, Matt R, Ryan (captain) and Chris

Sunday 22nd March: U14 v Highworth Town Juniors T

Another excellent team performance against Highworth, saw a well-deserved second victory of the season. Every player gave everything they had and the passing in particular was superb on a bouncy pitch. There was great character to come back from a goal down and then after conceding an equalising goal right on the half time whistle, after Dom's two goals had given us the lead. The second half was very impressive with plenty of chances created and four more goals, scored by Jack P, Oli B, Matt R and Jonny L.

Captain's MOM: Luke B, for his tireless running and tackling.
Coaches' MOM: Dom, for a real captain's performance, capped by two excellent goals.

Squad: Oli B, Luke B, Will, Toby, James, Matt J, Jonathan L, Dom (captain), Jack P, Matt R, Ryan, Dan, Chris and Luke W

Sunday 15th March: U14 v Greenmeadow B

Unfortunately the winning run came to a quick end, but Luke B got the important consolation goal. And so, looking forward to the next match...

Captain's Award: Ryan
Coaches' Award: Luke B

Squad: Luke B, Jack B, Will (captain), Toby, James, Connor, Oli H, Matt J, Dom, Ryan, Dan, Chris and Luke W

Sunday 8th March: U14 v Lydiard Youth (with team photo in the sun!)

In very difficult conditions, this was a superb performance from all fourteen players - everybody worked hard for the whole match and put in 100% effort, as I had asked for. The result shows what you can achieve if you all put your minds to it and gives a great platform to build on for the remainder of the season.

Dom capped one of his best games with the first goal, while Luke B scored the second and was unlucky to have his second half free kick disallowed. A special mention to Toby who performed really well to keep his first ever clean sheet for the team, but the whole squad deserves credit for the way in which the match was played.

Captain's Award: Luke W, who worked really hard when he was on the pitch.
Coaches' Award: Ryan, who had a magnificent game in the centre of defence.

Squad: Luke B, Jack B, Toby, James, Matt J, Jonathan L, Dom, Jonathon N, Jack P, Matt R (captain), Ryan, Dan, Chris and Luke W

Sunday 1st March: U14 v Marlborough Town (with team photo)

Ultimately a disappointing result given the excellent performance in the first half. It was great to see the team initially come back from a goal down, but in fairness it was the injury to Luke B that turned the match, as we conceeded a third goal just before half time and just after he went off. The second half performance was more disjointed and players started to look tired, to lose concentration and not communicate as much. Marlborough did score some excellent goals and the first half performance should give everyone confidence as to what you can all achieve.

Captain and Coaches' Awards: Jonathan L, for a very impressive goal-scoring debut and creating lots of problems for their defenders.

Squad: Oli B, Luke B, Will, Toby, James, Connor, Jonathan L, Matt J, Jack P, Matt R, Ryan, Dan, Chris and Luke W

Sunday 22nd February: U14 v Fairford Town Youth

This was another tough game against a strong, well-organised side. In these games, in particular, it is critical that every player puts in 100% effort for the whole of the time that they are on the pitch to give the team a chance. It is also important that players stick to the position that are given during the match and play the game in that role: if players get out of position it leaves gaps for the opposition to exploit and makes it much harder for the rest of the players.

Captain's Award: Matt J, who switched from attack to defence and put in some good tackles and runs.
Coaches' Award: Luke W, who put in a hard-working performance in midfield.

Squad: Oli B, Will, Jack B, Connor, Ryan, Oli H, Matt J, Dom, Jonathon N, Jack P, Matt R, Chris and Luke W

Sunday 25th January: U14 v Croft Juniors B

Another difficult game against a team at the top of the table. Unfortunately we didn't have much luck again and Croft gave a good example of how we need to improve our play to challenge these good sides: being more competitive in the tackles, passing the ball about and making space for our team mates to pass or move into.

Captain's MOM: Jonathon, who had an excellent game, repeatedly winning tackles against much larger players.
Coaches' MOM: Toby, who made some crucial saves.

Squad: Will, Toby, James, Luke B, Jack B, Peter, Matt J, Dom, Jonathon N, Matt R, Dan (captain), Chris, Luke W and Jack P

Sunday 18th January: U14 v Greenmeadow B

Generally this was a good overall performance against a strong side. The areas where we could improve from this match were mainly in our passing: making more space and movement to receive passes and looking up and trying to find a team mate with a pass.

Captain's MOM: Oli B, who played in defence, midfield and attack, scoring our goal.
Coaches' MPM: Connor, for his improvement over the last couple of games and good work with Dom in the second half.

Squad: Oli B, Will, Toby, Luke B, Jack B, Connor, Matt J, Dom, Jonathon N, Matt R, Ryan and Dan