FIXTURES AND RESULTS

 

SUNDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER 2009
HILDA PARK VIPERS 18 - COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS 2

Well, the start of a new season and a new team, the 7-a-side Lions have been transformed into the 11-a-side Rockets and our first foray into the full version of the game was an eye opener. Our first game was away to newly formed Hilda Park Vipers and although not a big side we found out within the first few minutes they were a very quick side, within 5 minutes of the start a ball over the top was latched onto by 1 of there 3 quick forwards to give them an early lead but the Rockets thundered back with a quick reply. A long range free kick from outside box was well struck by Phillip Metcalfe and re-bounded of the keeper and after a goal mouth scramble Sam Miller stabbed the ball home to grab our first goal and the equalizer. But that joy was short lived as time and time again the pace of the Vipers attackers caused us problems, but heads never went down and strong defending keep the score respectable at half time.

The second half started much as the first had finished but despite the goal count rising the boys kept going and when in possession we played some good flowing football that raised spirits, but the long ball over the top continued to cause us problems as the Vipers kept looking for more goals, to the credit of the lads they wanted to keep playing and see the game out when asked if we should finish the game early. That spirit and determination was rewarded with a second goal 10 minutes from time when again more good passing in midfield from Charlie, Richard, Lewis and Keiran saw the ball end up at the feet of Sam Murphy who’s cool finish showed a touch of class for his age.

The game ended with many tired legs but with an encouraging performance to build on, when we had the ball we played some attractive football and the never say die attitude was a pleasure to see. Bring on next week.

Man Of The Match - Richard Vincent

Goals - Sam Miller and Sam Murphy

SUNDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER 2009
COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS 1 - JARROW WARRIORS 4

Our second game of the campaign was our first home game of the season and saw Jarrow Warriors take on the Rockets, Jarrow are just in their second season so a good test was expected. The game started fairly evenly with both sides having chances in the early minutes of what looked like it would be an end to end game but the first real chance fell to Coxhoe after a break down the right found McKenzie in the clear but his well struck shot hit the post and rebounded to safety. Jarrow also had chances but good defensive work and fine saves from Ellis kept it at 0-0 until a free kick was awarded to Coxhoe just outside the box, Richard hit a shot that was too hot for the keeper to hold and McKenzie followed up to put the ball in the back in of the net. 1-0 to the Rockets and that's how it stayed till half time, the second period was similar to the first half with chances for both teams and the next goal would prove to be key, unfortunately it was Jarrow who got it to bring things back level and worse was to follow as they continued to press forward and took the lead with 15 minutes to go. We still created chances and a volley by Sam from a well worked corner almost got us back in it but with tired legs towards the end of the match and us pressing forward to try and get an equaliser we got caught twice late on to give Jarrow a 4-1 win.

Scorer : McKenzie Long

MOM : Charlie Pearson

SUNDAY 11TH OCTOBER 2009
SOUTH MOOR JUNIORS V COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS

Sunday saw the Rockets face their toughest test yet, away to an unbeaten South Moor Juniors who have been together for 8 years and have been scoring goals for fun this season and to make matters worse we were down to 10 men due to illness and injury. The weather didn't help with a swirling wind making judging the flight of the ball difficult for stand in goal keeper in Lewis for the first half, South Moor started strongly but after some early missed chances and good saves they started to play the type of football that has got them to the top of the league. Flowing moves saw them score a succession of quick goals and as half time approached a series of questionable off side decisions from a poor ref gave them a healthy half time lead from the 38 minutes played !!

A change of keepers at half time with Kieran going between the posts didn't help the score line much, despite a string of fine saves the goals kept coming but to their credit the lads heads didn't go down and when we got the ball we played some good football, passing the ball around with confidence with Charlie, Richard and both Sam's all having good touches. It was always going to be tough at the back but Cameron, Jordan, Joe and McKenzie all battled hard to make it as difficult as possible for the opposition, who it is fair to say will not be in the 4th division for long.

The final whistle came as great relief but praise was given by another referee who was watching and a member of opposition to say that the lads were a credit to themselves and did not let their heads go down during the game - thoughts echoed by myself, yes it was hard and nobody likes getting beat by so many but remember this was only our 5th game at 11-a-side and as a team. Keep up the effort and let's see how far we can go by the end of the season.

Score - who cares.

MOM : McKenzie Long

SUNDAY 8TH NOVEMBER 2009
BRANDON UNITED 6 - COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS 3

For the first time in a long while the Rockets had the luxury of a full team plus a sub for the trip to Brandon, a team who we played many times at 7-a-side and always had free flowing high scoring games and this was to be no exception. The match started with Brandon applying pressure to the Coxhoe goal early in the game and a break away lead to their first goal within 5 minutes of the start. This lead was extended further by Brandon as we started slowly but the second goal seemed to spur us into action as a break down the right hand side lead to a shot at the near post by Sam which was parried and fell to McKenzie to fire home to get us back into the game. However a break by Brandon within 2 minutes of the re-start saw their striker run into the box and the referee award a penalty for something that only he saw, this was put away to restore Brandon's 2 goal advantage.

However the Rockets never game up and in an inspired few minutes just before half time we had a deflected shot from Charlie find the back of the net to reduce the deficit and then another strange decision saw us award a penalty just on the stroke of half time. Birthday boy Richard stepped up and confidently smacked the ball into the top corner to complete a remarkable come back to get us into half time at 3-3.

The second half saw us kicking up the slope and Brandon started as well as they did in the first half but some fines saves in the Coxhoe goal by Jowey (The Cat) kept us in the game, as the pitch begin to cut up it got harder for both sets of players but they both battled on and created chances at both ends. A very exciting game to watch but in the end the lack of support for the defence cost us dearly with Brandon scoring 3 unanswered goals in the second half despite chances for Sam, Lewis and McKenzie to bring us back onto level terms. A much improved performance which was definitely helped by having 12 players and a heroic performance between the sticks by man of the match Kieran.

Goal scorers : McKenzie Long, Charlie Pearson and Richard Vincent

MOM: Kieran Jowett

SUNDAY 13TH DECEMBER 2009
FELLING MAGPIES 17 - COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS 2

It was nice to play a game without any wind or rain to spoil things however the fact that we only had 10 men again meant it was going to be an up-hill struggle against Felling Magpies, a team in the top half of the division, a cause that wasn't helped when we conceded a very early goal in the first couple of minutes. However after that the lads worked hard for each other and for the next 10 minutes we managed to keep a clean sheet thru some strong defending from Cameron, Jordan and Joe, good goalkeeping and poor misses from the opposition. The Magpies then took control for the rest of the half and with some dubious off side decisions they increased their lead up to half time.

Two injuries to our back four didn't help the situation but Phillip and Jordan battled bravely on and with some positive encouragement at half time we started the second half as the better team and actually took the lead (well in the second half at least) with some nice play from Richard, Charlie and McKenzie the ball end up at the feet of Sam who broke clear to coolly slot the ball past the Magpies keeper. The Magpies responded with more pressure of their own which resulted in a ball fired across goal being hammered into the bottom corner of the net by Jowey !!!! - he says he'd forgotten we turned around at half time, can only think he thought he was now centre forward and no goal keeper ??

The Magpies carried on there scoring with a number of break away goals as we tried to keep a high line, however a second Rockets goal was the highlight of the second half. More good interplay and a mazey run from Lewis saw a scramble on the edge of the Magpies box with the ball falling at the feet on McKenzie who poked home a shot from a tight angle to double our scoring in the game. As usual the lads never gave up and with further injuries to Charlie and Richard towards the end of the game we did well to finish with 10 players and deserved the praise from referee, opposition manager and parents at the end of the game.

Scorers : Sam Miller, McKenzie Long and Kieran Jowett ??

MOM : Jordan Topping

SUNDAY 7TH FEBRUARY 2010
WEARSIDE FC 9 - COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS 0

At last another chance to play some football with an away trip to play Wearside FC who beat us 21-0 last time around and with only 11 players and a water logged pitch it looked like it was going to be another long day at the office which wasn't helped as we gifted the opposition a goal within 30 secs of the start of the game. But with a new formation and a sweeper in place to try and stem some of the goals the lads picked themselves up and began to get into the game, the surface made passing and good football difficult but a least we gave it a go and we defended with a new found resolution. Wearside increased their lead half way thru the half and added a further 2 before the half time whistle went.

An injury to Richard meant a slight re-shuffle as we moved into the second half but the lads still looked determined not to let the score get out of hand and the defence of Jordan, Cameron, Jacob, Phillip and Joe plus some inspired saves from the keeper kept heads high and allow us to have a series of chances in the second half with Richard, both Sam's and Charlie all having attempts on the Wearside goal with some mazy runs from Lewis easing the pressure that was mounting on the Coxhoe goal. A series of poorly defended corners with no one picking up the runners allowed the opposition to add to their lead in the second half but the spirit of the team was not broken and at the final whistle a score of 9-0 was 12 goals better than our last outing against the same team - a big improvement and one of the best games we've played in terms of commitment and determination in very heavy conditions. Keep it going.

MOM : Cameron Dewey

SUNDAY 14TH FEBRUARY 2010
COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS 1- EASINGTON DISTRICT KITES 9

The game was our first of the season against Easington who we had played 7-a-side but with only 9 players it looked like it was going to be a very long day but a very sporting gesture by the opposition manager allowed Jamie to play in goal and Curtis to play in defence to make the sides even. That was how the game started with both sides not wanting to give anything away but 2 early goals did not dampen the spirits and good work down the left hand side from Charlie and Richard always looked dangerous for us and it was that combination that set up our goal with Charlie being up ended in the box for a penalty. Up stepped Phillip and the outcome was never in doubt as he smashed the ball into the roof of the net. As usual going forward we looked strong with nice interplay between Sam, McKenzie and Sam giving us number of chances in the first half but we were unable to add to our goal tally.

The second half was more of the same as Easington increased there lead but as usual the ever reliable and unflappable Joe and Cameron keep things on a even keel at the back and with Jamie now playing behind the back 4 in goal !! we handled the pressure well. I was a difficult day up front for Jowey as he had the work of two men but stuck to his task well on a rare outing up the field, the second half was difficult with no subs and as time went on we started to look a little tired and as the tackles started to get stronger we ended the game with only 10 men after a very bad and late tackle from behind meant Charlie could not finish the game.

On a plus we had our first hat trick of the season as Cameron claimed his 3rd MOM in a row.

Scorer : Phillip Metcalfe (Pen)

MOM : Cameron Dewey (Hat trick Hero)

 

SUNDAY 28TH FEBRUARY 2010

COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS 0 - BRANDON UNITED 15

What could have been our first chance of points following recent performances turned into a bad day at the office as we faced our old friends from Brandon, over the last few years we have had some well fought and very exciting games against then however with only 10 men it was always going to be difficult. This was made even worse with an injury 20 mins in, up until that point we had done well and kept Brandon at bay but with effectively 9 men the pressure and heavy conditions told.

MOM : Joe Nixon - and well deserved.

SUNDAY 7TH MARCH 2010
COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS V WHITBURN WASPS

SUNDAY 14TH MARCH 2010
CONSETT AFC COMETS V COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS

SUNDAY 21ST MARCH 2010
GATESHEAD SAPIPA ORANGE V COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS

SUNDAY 28TH MARCH 2010
COXHOEUNITED ROCKETS V PETERLEE HELFORD REDS

Well what a day, the sun was shining but it was blowing a gale and it looked like that wind was going to spoil the game, we kicked off into the wind and it began the same as usual when we conceded an simple goal within 3 minutes of the start. But today was going to be different as the 11 men in the blue shirts worked together and as a team for the first time in a long while and got their reward when some good play thru' midfield ended up at the strikers feet - he hit a rocket from outside the box that even into the wind was too hot for the keeper to handle and it flew into the back of the net to bring it back to 1-1. An end to end game followed with both sides having chances in the remainder of the first half with Joe missing our best chance from a corner however Peterlee made the advantage of the wind tell and went into half time 2-1 up.

 

At half time the emphasis was on getting the ball out wide and to use the space that was available and also how important the next goal would be and that next goal went the way of the Rockets with only 2 mins gone in the 2nd half as Sam Murphy coolly finished after some good work down the left hand side. That goal seemed to give the whole team a lift and with a new found confidence we started to knock the ball around with some style with a series of good passing moves that ended with a ball out wide to Richard who had space and time to get forward into the box and once there he hit a great shot that even the Peterlee keeper couldn't stop. What to do now - we were leading a game for the first time this season !!! would the nerves get the better of us with 15mins still left to play ? Peterlee had their chances but a combination of poor finishing and some fine 1 on 1 saves from Jowey meant our goal was not breached again and things just got better and better as Richard ran riot on the right wing to score another 2 goals in similar fashion to complete a fantastic hatrick.

 

The final whistle was met with cheers from both parents and players as the mighty Rockets recorded there first win of the season - a massive turn around from the 9-1 result in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. Even the opposition manager said he was happy that we'd won a game so well done to everyone and it just goes to show how important a bit of team spirit is - let's keep it going until the end of the season.

 

Rockets 5    Peterlee Helford 2

Goals :    Sam Murphy 1, McKenzie (Dawson) Long 1, Richard Vincent 3

MOM:    Hatrick hero Richard

SUNDAY 4TH APRIL 2010
SHERIFF HILL V COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS

 

TUESDAY 6TH APRIL 2010

COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS V HILDA PARK VIPERS

SUNDAY 11TH APRIL 2010
COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS V CONSETT AFC COMETS

 

TUESDAY 13TH APRIL 2010

SAFC FOUNDATION PUMAS V COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS

 

SUNDAY 18TH APRIL 2010
COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS V FELLING MAGPIES

 

TUESDAY 20TH APRIL 2010

WHITBURN WASPS V COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS

SUNDAY 25TH APRIL 2010
EASINGTON DISTRICT KITE V COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS

 

TUESDAY 27TH APRIL 2010

COXHOE UNTIED ROCKETS V SOUTH MOOR JUNIORS

 

SUNDAY 2ND MAY 2010

JARROW WARRIORS V COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS

SUNDAY 9TH MAY 2010

COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS V GATESHEAD SAPIPIA ORANGE

 

SUNDAY 16TH MAY 2010

COXHOE UNITED ROCKETS V EASINTON DISTRICT KITE