Guildford Saints 5 Guildford City Lions 2

A great win for the boys today as they beat our local rivals at Guildford City. In a match we always knew was going to "difficult" the boys put in an excellent performance and a delighted Kevin had this to say afterwards;

"The boys were lucky with the weather as the later kick off meant that the heavy rain had abated and we only had the wind to contend with. Saints kicked off playing with the wind and within five minutes we had gone ahead with a free flowing move which Tom finished with a emphatic shot into the roof off the net. Ten minutes later and it was 2-0 with Tom and Julien combining to "lay it on a plate" for Alex M to finish off. We then seemed to relax a bit too much and City hit the post and Josh pulled off a couple of smart saves. Saying that we should have increased our lead but instead of taking the shots on we tried to walk it in too often. Our defense though was fantastic with Matt, Ben and Chris playing extremely well. Mike D was having a good game and Tom was extremely lively up front.

Second half and with Nathan and Ollie coming on we continued to take the game to City, but it was City who pulled a goal back when Ben, in attempting to clear a corner, flicked a header passed Josh. Still we surged forward and, with Ross receiving treatment for a nose bleed, Matt stepped up and, against the wind, buried a free kick into the roof of the net. City came back at us strongly and again hit the post and then weak defending allowed a City forward to fire past Josh for 3-2. City looked to have their tails up but Tom had other ideas as he raced up field and from a narrow angle scorched a shot past the 'keeper. Things started to get a little fractious with City players diving and their crowd continually disputing the referees decisions but the boys stayed focused and eventually, from a Matt Burton corner, the ball was turned into his own net by a City player to give a final score of 5-2.

There were some great performances today from a number of lads. Josh, Ben, Chris, Matt, Mike, Tom and Connor all caught the eye and our football at times was a joy to behold. When we play like this there are not many teams that can live with us. Unfortunately the match was soured for me by the actions of the City assistant manager who aggressively accosted me as I left the field to walk over to another game insisting that the referee was "biased" and "a cheat" and that we had "taken the mickey" out of his players. His tone when he said "you wait 'til you come to our place" was extremely aggressive and concerning but is only what we have come to expect from this particular City team over the years. Fortunately as a team we rose above this intimidatory behaviour today and we beat City by playing the better football and by taking the chances when they arose."

Man of the Match - Tom Richards

Goodbye & Thank You

Sadly we've said "Goodbye" to a couple of Blues players this week. Kane has decided to try his luck down the road at Guildford City and James B is making the even shorter trip over to Burpham to play his football for the rest of the season. We thank both players very much for all their efforts over the past few seasons and genuinely wish them well with their new clubs... except when they're playing us, of course!!

Also massive thanks to Dads Gareth (goalkeeper coaching) and Chris (referee) who have both contributed a lot of their own time to assist the Age Group and will both be missed. We wish them all the best too.

Farnham Utd 1 Guildford Saints 3

A late afternoon kick off saw Saints at Farnham with a squad of 13 as Ross had gone sick. The ever reliable Matt Burton filled in at left back and Seb started on the right with Jamie moving inside... and right from the start Saints were up for this!! As early as the 5th minute Tom Richards burst into the Farnham area and got his shot away which was parried by the 'keeper but Mike D was following up and tapped home for the lead. Saints looked really in control of the game with Christian, Martin, Matt and Ben not really having much to do as the midfield of Alex M, Seb, Jamie, Julien and Mike controlled the middle of the park. Tom was really lively up front and we nearly had a second when he burst through but pulled his shot and moments later when Seb just couldn't finish a fine run. However we suffered a lapse in concentration in defence and got square instead of being staggered and as a consequences a ball over the top caught us out just before the break. 1-1 at half time.

The second half saw Joe R come on for Julien and Connor replacing Jamie We pushed on up the hill and started again brightly and both Seb and Alex storming through only to be thwarted by last ditch tackling. In goal Josh had little to do but was safe with everything he did have and Josh's kicking was extremely good today. Ben suffered an injury when making a tackle and we need a shift in positions to cover. Matt went into the middle and Joe went into left back. Almost immediately after this Tom was released after a neat interchange and again put the ball away with ease. Saints then had another couple of chances with Tom getting chopped but carrying on only for the 'keeper to save with his foot. With time running out Tom made a great run down the left where he crossed and Julien rose and headed home.1-3 and game over.

A really good display today although we must try and sort out the defensive errors.

Man of the Match - Mike Donne

Farncombe Youth 1 Guildford Saints Blues 1

Looking back on this match we actually played bloody well!! Keith, the Farncombe manager, shook my hand at the end of the match and mumbled something about "another rubbish performance" from his team but I think he does them a disservice... we actually didn't let them play for large periods and - for once - we kept possession well... and what a difference it made!

Starting with a 4-4-2 formation the Blues took the game to Farncombe right from the first whistle. Ellis looked lively in a little "hole" behind main striker Alex W, and Mike P and Tom tackled tigerishly to win back possession on many occasions. Early on a flu-ridden Jack was replaced by Joe and he had an excellent match tracking back to support George as well as joining the attacks. In defence we were very strong. Marcus attacked the ball with much more confidence and Jacob was his usual commanding self. George and Chris both played well, covering when required and winning vital tackles regularly.

Just before half time Alex W put us into a well earned lead after a period of intense pressure on the Farncombe goal. Ellis in particular was a constant threat. Moments later though Alex O saved superbly so that we remained ahead at the interval.

A number of substitutions around the half time break seemed to disrupt the balance and momentum of the side and Farncombe came back into the game a bit more. Midway through the half they equalised when a corner was completely missed by Alex O and poked into his own net by Mike B but after this it was all one way traffic as the Blues laid siege to the Farncombe goal with Ed & Mike B, in particular, surging forward at every opportunity. Unfortunately, despite numerous chances, we were unable to score what would have been a deserved winner.

Farncombe resorted to a couple of very crude challenges towards the end but I was pleased that we rose above this and continued to play the better football - it's a sign of the progress we've made this weekend that I'm a little bit disappointed at the final result when we would have taken a draw with both hands before this match!!

Very pleased with the team as a whole. Alex O again did very well in goal as cover for Nathan and Ellis, Mike P and Tom all played very well today. The defence looked much more secure as well - and what a difference it made to see Marcus going for and winning his headers plus getting some strong ball winning tackles in too. We have a weeks break now but I hope the boys can come back with the same determination and effort when we play Grayshott in two weeks time.

Man of the Match - Marcus Taylor

Additional Blues Squad Numbers

We can confirm that additional squad numbers have been issued to the following players;

19 Dominic Dubois 20 Ellis Wilcox
21 Chris Clement 22 Tyler Owen
23 Rob Butter

These players all remain Wild Cards at the moment. The next squad review is in November 2009.

Guildford Saints Blues 1 Claygate Royals 4

Back down to earth with a bump as Claygate rattled four goals passed us in what can only be described as a disappointing Blues performance. With a couple of changes forced on the side through injuries Alex stepped into goal and Mike B returned to midfield. The Blues however started really poorly in drizzly rain at the Varsity and were 3-0 down after 20 minutes. Going forward Ed was the primary threat but, as usual, his control was poor and it was Alex W who had the only shot of any real note.

In the second half we made two changes with Ellis making his debut and Dominic replacing Jack. Unfortunately within a minute of the restart Claygate went four up after some good strong running from their striker and a quality finish from an angle. After this, in the centre of midfield, Mike Petri "woke up" and Tom O began to dominate and the Blues started to look more threatening. Blues won a penalty when Mike P made a great run but had his legs taken from him as he drove into the box. Typical of his performance and the Blues' day though, Ed blasted it over. Shortly after Alex W replaced Ed and Ellis moved up front to join him with Jack rejoining the game on the wing. There were periods after this change where we played some good football but our end result was poor until some great interchange between Ellis and Alex W put Dominic through to score a well worked goal.

I was very disappointed that we didn't give Claygate more of a game. We were effectively out of the game within the first twenty minutes and this made for a long and frustrating afternoon. In the second half we played better but still we showed only glimpses of our real potential. Ellis & Dominic both made positive impacts today and Tom O and (in the second half) Mike Petri both played well. Up front we only really looked threatening in the final quarter as Ed was stranded up there on his own for much of the match. We face a very tough game next Sunday at Farncombe and we are going to have to improve a lot on today's efforts to even get close to a result there!

Man of the Match - Tom Oldland

Guildford Saints 1 Burpham 1

Saints salvaged local pride when they grabbed a last gasp equaliser against Burpham. In a game that the Saints dominated it was only what they deserved in a match that saw Burpham only trouble Josh twice. Kevin's match report is below;

"Although we were pretty disjointed today we bossed the game for much of the time. The only shot on target, other than the goal, Josh saved well, so when you think that we restricted the opposition to only two shots on target over 80 minutes that's not too bad. What was evident, however, is that once again we were running down blind alleys and not playing the simple ball like we did last week.

Saints thought they had taken the lead when the ref shouted "play on" and Mike D crossed for Tom to power a header past the 'keeper, but the linesman had his flag up and after consultation the referee inexplicably reversed his decision and awarded a free kick to Burpham - this was incredibly disheartening and, even when the referee tried to explain why he had changed his mind at half time, that just puzzled me even more!! Although we went close a couple times we could not find the back of the net. We might not have found the net... but Burpham certainly did when a speculative shot from outside the box skidded out of Josh's hands and into the goal shortly before the interval.

In the second half Saints tried to step up a gear but, to their growing frustration the referee again ruled out a legitimate goal when Tom R's free kick squirmed under the 'keeper only for Mike D to be judged offside despite the fact that he was running back towards our goal. Even though I tried to change things around nothing seemed to be working and it was not until the last minute that Julien crossed the ball and Mike D volleyed home against his former club. This was nothing more than Saints deserved - although I view this as two points dropped rather than one gained!

We really need to play to our strengths which is to keep it simple and play at pace. If we do that then we can outplay most sides, but we also need to realise that we need to win our personal battles throughout the 80 minutes to achieve positive results."

Man of the Match - Mike Donne

Badshot Lea Blades 1 Guildford Saints Blues 1

The Blues were at best disjointed today but still deserved to come away from this game with the points against a resolute Badshot side. Having being beaten 8-1 last weekend it was no surprise that Badshot came into their first home league match of the season with a determination not to concede and for much of the first half the Blues found themselves under pressure in possession and forced into rushed passes and silly mistakes. It made for a scrappy game and, admittedly, it was against the run of play when a Badshot defensive error left Alex W one on one with the 'keeper and he coolly lobbed him for the Blues to take the lead.

In the second half it was a much better and more open game. The match swung end to end with both goalkeepers in fine form. Badshot thought they'd found a way passed the excellent Nathan but Jack was back on the line to clear only for the Blues to then break superbly for Jack to loop his left foot shot over the 'keeper who somehow got his fingers on to it and push it on to the bar. Ed also found the Badshot 'keeper in excellent form with two trademark breakaway runs and shots that were both superbly saved. Eventually the Blues defence, marshalled brilliantly by Jacob & Marcus, was breached with a fine Badshot equaliser. There was still time for Saints to mount a counter attack as Jack skipped passed the right back, whipped a cross in to Luke whose pass left Alex W with the goal at his mercy. Again though the Badshot Lea 'keeper made a fine save and in the end a 1-1 draw was a fair result.

There were some good performances today from the Blues. At times we looked like the Keystone Cops but our battling spirit and determination often got us out of difficult situations... plus the fact that we have the best goalkeeper in the division playing for us (although his "title" certainly came under threat from the Badshot 'keeper today!!). Mentions today also for Alex W who was a continual attacking threat, Luke who put in a much better defensive performance and Tommy O in the centre of the park who competed strongly throughout even when things weren't going our way. Mike P also had an improved performance.

Man of the Match - Nathan Wells

Guildford Saints 5 Ascot Utd 1

A much better result for the Saints this weekend. Kevin's match report follows;

"An early morning kick off saw Saints at Ascot for their second league game and Saints stormed into lead as early as the first minute with Tom Richards firing in after a neat interchange. Saints had to wait until the 25th minute for the second which saw Ross Pearn, who had moved to the left of midfield after replacing Julien, intercept a ball, carry past two players and then square the ball to Tom for his second. Saints did come under pressure from Ascot but this week the defending from set plays was much better with posts marked and every Ascot player picked up. 2-0 half time.

Immediately from the kick off Saints continued to take the game to Ascot and Tom R was able to turn provider as he cut a ball back for Jamie to muscle his way past the two centre backs and fire home. 3-0 Saints. Tom then completed his hat trick by finishing another flowing move involving Alex, Nathan, Connor and Ross. Midway through the half Tom added a fourth when he again burst through and rifled a shot home. Ascot came back and a little lax defending allowed their striker to run through and shoot past Josh, who had otherwise been impeccable, for a consolation.

This was a much better performance from Saints full of passing and movement, commitment and energy. What was really pleasing was the amount of communication going on between the players, including the subs who came on. Substitutions today were Ollie for Christian, Joe for Julien, Connor for Mike D and Nathan for Ross.

Man of the Match - Tom Richards

Action from Blues v Staines Town

Pictures from Sunday's match uploaded to Flicker now - link is on the Right Hand Side of this page. Many thanks to Phil Bicknell (Karen's brother) for these excellent shots.

Saints featured in the Surrey Advertiser

This weekend's edition of the Surrey Advertiser (3/4 Oct) features match reports and a squad picture of the Saints

Weekend Preview - 4/10/09

For the Blues Alex Oldland will step in for the injured Dan Price (shin splints). Marcus Taylor returns to the back four. Mike Bell replaces Mike Petri in midfield and Ed Davis takes over from Chris Smith on the left. Kane makes his first start of the season up front.

For the Saints Ollie Tilley returns to the squad replacing the unavailable Seb Edwards. Changes are likely as Kevin looks to shore up the defence after last Sunday's disappointing defeat.

Saints kick off at 10.30am at Ascot Utd and the Blues play Badshot Lea Blades kicking off at 12.30pm.

Good luck to both our sides this weekend