WE NEED YOU!

Posted by admin on May 15, 2012 under News | Be the First to Comment

We are currently planning for the 2012/2013 season and are looking for players to join the club in all age groups, we especially have a requirement for new recruits in next seasons Under 16 age group, if you are interested in finding out more information, please send an email through this website, we look forward to hearing from you

The Longest Match of the Year!

Posted by admin on April 11, 2012 under News | Be the First to Comment

Score:- Stratton Youth Blue 105
Stratton Youth Red 105

At 7am on Sunday morning the players, coaches, parents and friends of Stratton Youth gathered in the idyllic setting of Rendcomb College to embark on a football challenge in aid of Sport Relief and the club.
The object of the game was to play a continuous 12 hour football match which would feature the entire club, there would be 2 teams; The Reds and The Blues and the score would be recorded.
The teams that kicked off featured coaches and parents and was an interesting affair as a number of players were cursing the clocks going forward and subsequent lack of sleep, some good football was played in the spring mist and in spite of not having a great deal of the ball the Blues completed the first session with a 4.0 lead, then at 7;40am the Under 9’s were introduced by Coach Dave Cook as part of a totally seamless process….which led to about 36 players on the pitch aged between 8 and 60!…..gradually the older group left the pitch and the standard of football improved markedly, and as the under 9’s exited the arena at 9am the score was 13 goals to 10 in favour of the Reds.
The sun was now definitely up and the beauty of the surroundings at Rendcomb were evident, everyone was aware of how privileged we were to be playing football in this weather in these surroundings, Cliff Hawtin’s Under 11’s were now carrying the baton and they didn’t disappoint the large supporting crowd by scoring several very good goals in taking the Reds to a 16 – 15 lead.
Stratton Youth has 2 teams at the Under 12 age group and as they were introduced into the game the numbers increased to about 20 a side as the age group transition took place, but as the game settled down and the Under 11’s took their deserved rest Rob Hills Under 12’s entertained us all with some flowing football and above all played with a smile on their face, by now the temperature was an unseasonal 21 degrees and getting sufficient fluids on board was a priority for the players, and the goals continued to rack up and by 11:40 as the Under 6’s took centre stage the score had moved onto 32 – 25 in favour of Reds.
As the 5 year olds would struggle on a full size pitch, the goals were brought in to shorten the pitch as the game took place, this section was great to behold as the stars of the future under the tutorage of Rob Grace and Alan Moorcroft demonstrated just how much fun is possible with a football, and when their period of play concluded they were greeted with a very warm round of applause, and the Reds still had a 49-44 lead.
Parents were now setting out their picnics and enjoying the tremendous football fare on offer, in order to give some of the lads a break, a few parents stepped back into the arena and joined the game, little did they realise they would be doing this for a further 7 hours!
Mark Wright’s Under 13’s were now playing as the 12 hour game reached its midpoint, the attitude of the players was yet again superb, but the game took a turn as the Reds lead disappeared and the Blues came back to lead 61 goals to 58 as the Under 14’s took over, the temperature was still in the 20’s and the football was almost Brazilian, The Under 14’s coach Gary James brought himself on to demonstrate to his lads ‘how it should be done’, this was met with justifiable derision from players and spectators alike, but to Gary’s credit he managed to play for 20 minutes.
At 3pm with score at 71-77 to Stratton Blues the Under 14’s made way for the Under 15’s and the pace noticeably slowed as the older heads quickly realised they needed to conserve energy and 2 of the Under 15’s, Max Lukaweckjy and George Thrussell had been playing on and off for 9 hours, but the lads dutifully completed their leg and with the score at 85-83 in favour of the Blues they made way for The Under 16’s at 4:20.
The Under 16’s produced an entertaining game that at times tested the resolve of the referee, this was particularly apparent in some of the antics of Reds Goalkeeper and Assistant Coach Gary Tarlton who was lucky to stay on the pitch, but the football did the talking and the silky skills of the lads was apparent and as they welcomed Paul Harris’s Under 18’s onto the pitch at 5;40 the score had moved onto 101-96 in favour of the Blues.
Paul’s lads did remarkably well and should be applauded for the way they went about the game, as the temperature had dropped a few degrees they picked up the pace and played out the session in a thoroughly entertaining manner, the Reds came back and nearly took the honours but as the church clock struck 7pm the scoreboard read Stratton Reds 105- Stratton Blues 105.
The 12 hour Football Marathon had ended but the memories will remain of a great day!
The event was held to Raise money for Stratton Youth and Sport Relief, and as yet we don’t know how much we have raised, but the winner was definitely the Club, we had a fantastic turnout and everyone enjoyed themselves, this was due to the hard work of the organisers, particularly Alan Moorcroft and the generosity and kindness of Rendcomb College in allowing Stratton to use their fantastic facilities.

round up

Posted by Gordon Varley on February 27, 2012 under News | Be the First to Comment

Chippenham U/18s 2 v Stratton U/18s 0
Stratton were unable to contain top of the league Chippenham, despite a great all round team performance, neither side could break the deadlock, although Chippenham created many scoring chances, but Man of the Match, Tim Craven in goal, pulled off numerous saves to keep the score 0 – 0 at half time.
Stratton’s work rate was to be commended but they seemed unable to create any clear scoring chances, as Chippenham held a solid back line. Chippenham managed to break the deadlock and unpicked Stratton’s defensive line, they then increased their lead through a penalty. Stratton kept their heads up and kept working right to the final whistle but for no reward.

Highworth Town U/16s 2 Stratton U/16s 0
Top of the table Highworth maintained their challenge for the title with a good defensive display, and scored through Connor Berry & Fraser Evans, Stratton put in a good performance but could not break them down at the back, Luke Parsons was mom.

Old Town U/15s 4 Stratton U/15s 0
Manager Cliff Thrussell was left bewildered after this performance, his team put in a good training session, the day before, but were unable to get going against a side below them in the league standings.

Stratton Youth U14s 3 Salisbury City U/14s 5
This was the original game of two halves. In the first half Salisbury passed the ball and moved with real urgency putting Stratton under huge pressure and scoring five goals before the break. James Cox did get a goal back for Stratton who must learn that you have to be at your best from the start at this level. Salisbury could easily have been further in front but for the very impressive Stratton keeper, Ben Alexander,who carried on his fine form.
After the break Stratton bossed the show and kept Salisbury in their own half for much of the period. Another goal from James Cox and a superb 30 yard curling free kick from the impressive Dan James gave the home side hope. Stratton kept pushing on and were unlucky not to get something from the game.
The second half was a display of pure enthusiasm and drive and skills to match from the Stratton boys and their coach was left wondering what could of been if they played like that for the entire match. Stratton lost the reverse fixture 7-1 so they are making real progress!
Brilliant sunshine and a great atmosphere was enjoyed by both sets of players and supporters….well done to them all!

Golden Valley Rangers U/12s 3 Stratton U/12s 2 (county cup QF)
Despite two goals from Tom Pudifoot, Stratton A lost 3-2 after extra time against GVR Chalford in the County Cup. Stratton had the greater possession in the first half but were caught out by a long clearance over the defence that was anticipated by the GVR striker who finished well. The second half was more even, Tom Pudifoot brought Stratton level with a trademark run and shot from the left but they immediately conceded a corner and were slow to react to a cross in to the box as GVR bundled the ball over the line to go ahead for the second time. Stratton had lost the tireless Louis Hinds to injury, a number of players were tiring and no further subs available but Harry Skelton, Joe Speak and Matt Hopkins continued to drive Stratton forward. With one minute of normal time left, Pudifoot broke free and despite his initial shot being saved he collected the rebound to take the game in to extra time. The deciding goal came when Stratton failed to deal with another corner that was scrambled home and GVR were able to see out time.

Chisledon U/12s 2 Stratton U/12s 4 (9 v 9)
Stratton B produced an excellent all round display to beat Chiseldon 4-2. Top scorer Tristan Parker scored twice with Dominic Hilliker and Jordan Haste completing the scoring
Stratton U/11s 0 Highworth U/11s 3
A, Leon Summers hat-trick separated these 2 teams, with manager Cliff Hawtin maintaining they were not 3goals better than his team, his side not able to find the target the only difference.
Stratton U/9s 0 Swindon Supermarine 6
Having won the reverse fixture 1-0 Stratton were caught on the hop when the visitors scored in the opening minute, the home side were then unable to get into the game conceding another before half-time, before being over ran in the second half.