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Harvesters  0     Enfield Town A  9    
Hemel Hempstead  0     Denham United  6    
Luton Town  2     Harpenden Blues  1    
Tottenham Hotspur Blues  8     Queens Park Rangers  0    

Due to illness, the Spurs squad had three players missing, so Manager/Coach Peter Maynard drafted in two new players, Danielle Cunningham and Emma Tammaro, to make up the shortfall and they both produced outstanding displays on their debuts.

Spurs started the first half facing a strong wind and conceded a goal after only two minutes.  During the build up to the goal, one of the opposing attackers appeared to blatantly control the ball with her arm and almost everyone except the referee saw the offence.

It would have been understandable if the Whites' heads had gone down, but after six minutes they battled back.  Louise Waldock won the ball in midfield and found Rachel Brier just inside the penalty area with a glorious through ball.  Rachel ran on and fired in a shot which struck the post and then, following in her own shot, buried the rebound.

Emma had a couple of good runs down the left resulting in two good crosses in to the box and Claire Clough had a long range shot well saved by the Harpenden keeper.  The first half ended all square.

At half time Peter and coach Clive Bassett demanded a major improvement in the second half and the Whites responded with all the players gaining in confidence as the match went on.  This half was mainly all one way traffic with the Whites winning six corners with none against.

Lauren Holman produced another faultless performance in goal; her handling and distribution was superb and on two occasions, she dived bravely at opposing attackers feet as they bore down on goal.  The defence held firm and the midfield worked tremendously hard and won most of the 50-50 balls.

The winning goal came midway through the half, when Louise won a free kick on the right, Kathleen Jackson swung over a wicked cross which the Harpenden defence only half cleared.  Rhiannon Bassett running in, hit in a glorious left foot shot to give Spurs the three points.

Carly Mackey was rightly chosen as player of the match for her tenacious performance in defence, but once again special praise must be given to Danielle and Emma on their debuts.

DAVE BRIER

Enfield Town A  7     Cambridge City  0    
Hemel Hempstead  0     Luton Town  3    
Queens Park Rangers  5     Harvesters  0    
Denham United  2     Tottenham Hotspur Blues  3    

This morning Spurs U12 Whites were at home to Hemel Hempstead and Manager Peter Maynard and coach Clive Bassett had the luxury of selecting the team from a squad of 14 players, unlike last week, due to illness, when they only had eleven players. 

The Whites started the game with only six of the squad having played together last season and this showed in the first twenty minutes as they tried to penetrate the Hemel defence, but to no avail.

Lauren Holman, as usual, instilled confidence in her defenders with her command of the penalty area and made a couple of good saves early on.  However, after ten minutes, Spurs went 1-0 down to a good goal by a Hemel striker.  A few minutes later it should have been 2-0 and probably game over, as an opposing attacker broke through, but Rhiannon Bassett made an exceptional last ditch tackle to concede a corner.

As the half went on Spurs started to produce some passing movements which ended in two good attempts on goal by Kathleen Jackson and Claire Clough.  Then in the final minute, Louise Waldock, who had worked tirelessly hard in midfield, won the ball on the left and found Shakira Waithe, who coolly lobbed the ball over the keeper from 14 yards to equalise.

Kathleen, who had caused problems down the right for the Hemel defence since the interval, created a further two goals.  Firstly finding Shakira just inside the area, who ran on and buried a crisp low shot in to the bottom corner of the net.  Then not long after, she made a good run and cross, which ended with Alicia Michaels volleying home with virtually her first touch of the ball soon after coming on as a substitute.

At the end of the game, Peter awarded Shakira player of the match for her midfield performance and two stunning strikes. Well played The Whites, four breathtaking goals and we are now equal third in the league table.

DAVE BRIER

Tottenham Hotspur Blues  8     Harpenden Blues  0    
Enfield Town A  5     Denham United  0    
Luton Town  1     Harvesters  2    
Cambridge City  1     Queens Park Rangers  2    

After only four minutes, a fine through ball by Danielle Cunningham found Claire Clough, who instantly unleashed an unstoppable shot into the left hand corner of the net.  Four minutes later and Spurs were 2-0 up, with some smart play on the left side of the penalty area.  Shakira Waithe played the ball back to the on-running Kathleen Jackson, who chipped the ball over the keeper from fifteen yards - a superb move and finish.

The Whites were playing their best football of the season so far, any attacks the opposition had were comfortably dealt with by the home defence.

The first fifteen minutes of the second half continued as the first half, with Spurs dominating all areas of the pitch and with only three minutes played it was 3-0.  Emma Tammaro received the ball on the left hand side of midfield and found Claire just in side the penalty area with a delightful diagonal pass.  In an instant, Claire ran on and rounded the keeper and coolly slotted the ball home.

Luton had a couple of good moves ending with Lauren Holman making fine saves.  In the final quarter of the match the Whites became complacent and in a ten minute spell Luton scored two well taken goals.  This produced a worrying final two minutes, but Spurs held on to gain their third victory in a row.

Manager-Coach Peter Maynard awarded joint player of the match to Lauren and Claire for their match winning performances.  He went on to say that the girls are slowly finding their feet and beginning to reap the rewards from the tuition they are receiving from all the coaches.

Well done again Whites, they made hard work of it, but we are now joint second in the league.

DAVE BRIER

Denham United  6     Cambridge City  1    
Harvesters  0     Tottenham Hotspur Blues  4    
Harpenden Blues  1     Hemel Hempstead  1    
Queens Park Rangers  4     Enfield Town A  1    

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Tottenham Hotspur Blues  10     Harvesters A  0    
Cambridge City  2     Hemel Hempstead  0    
Enfield Town A  8     Harpenden Blues  0    
Luton Town  1     Queens Park Rangers  12    

Cambridge City  6     Luton Town  0    
Hemel Hempstead  1     Tottenham Hotspur Blues  8    
Queens Park Rangers  v  Harpenden Blues  - match postponed - Home win awarded   

This afternoon Spurs U12 Whites travelled up the A1 to Hatfield to play Harvesters and came away with all three points after a hard fought 3-2 victory. 

The conditions were far from ideal, but Spurs coped admirably with the damp weather and the small sloping playing surface.  Lauren Holman once again had a competent game in goal, especially on two occasions when diving bravely at opposing forwards feet.  Rhiannon Bassett, Carly Mackey, Holly Dooling, Karla Simpson and Poppy Bennett were resolute in defence.  Rachel Brier, Shakira Waithe, Louise Waldock, Kathleen Jackson and Emma Tammaro were prominent in midfield. Claire Clough, Kiki Christofi and Player of the Match Melody Jones were a constant threat to the home defence. 

The first goal came after seven minutes when Rhiannon, wide on the right, crossed the ball high in to the six yard box, their defence could only clear the ball to the edge of the area, Louise running forward, hit a glorious first time shot over the keeper. 

Harvesters equalised with a well taken goal in the 25th minute. 

In the second half, Spurs had the advantage of the slope and in the 17th minute of the half, the Whites took the lead.  Good work from Kathleen on the left wing resulted in a corner.  In the practice session prior to the match, coach Clive Bassett had the players practicing corner routines and this paid off when Kathleen whipped in her trademark in-swinging corner.  Under pressure, the keeper could only parry the ball into the path of Rachel, who volleyed the ball home from eight yards out. But, the lead only lasted four minutes when Harvesters broke away and equalised. 

The tension was now unbearable, as the result could have gone either way.  But credit to the Whites, they battled on and grabbed the winner two minutes from full time.  Poppy, just inside her own half, played a marvellous defence splitting pass through to the on-running Mel, who from 12 yards out drilled the ball hard past the home keeper. 

At the final whistle, manager/coach Peter Maynard and coach Clive Bassett, praised the Whites for their commitment and 100% effort.

DAVE BRIER

Tottenham Hotspur Blues  5     Cambridge City  0    
Harpenden Blues  0     Denham United  5    
Hemel Hempstead  1     Queens Park Rangers  5    
Luton Town  0     Enfield Town A  13    

DAVE BRIER

Tottenham Hotspur Blues  8     Luton Town  0    
Harvesters  2     Cambridge City  3    
Enfield Town A  12     Hemel Hempstead  0    

DAVE BRIER

Enfield Town A  5     Queens Park Rangers  2    
Hemel Hempstead  0     Harvesters  4    
Harpenden Blues  0     Cambridge City  4    
Luton Town  1     Denham United  8    

DAVE BRIER

Enfield Town A  8     Harvesters  2    
Denham United  8     Hemel Hempstead  0    
Harpenden Blues  2     Luton Town  1    
Tottenham Hotspur Blues  4     Queens Park Rangers  1    

DAVE BRIER

Cambridge City  0     Enfield Town A  6    
Tottenham Hotspur Blues  2     Denham United  2    
Luton Town  1     Hemel Hempstead  1