2012 Fixtures

 Weekly Dome sessions  start up again on Tues 3rd January, 6.15-8pm.

Next 11 a  side match is a friendly vs Effra on Thurs Jan 12th , 8pm.

We've got a Stadium pitch booking pencilled in for Mon 23rd Jan.  This will be either a friendly or possibly the Cup Quarter Final - to be confirmed in early Jan.

Thanks to everyone for making this  a really  good year for Southside FC.

Quarter Finals

We're through to the Quarter finals of the M.I cup.
We've qualified as best runners up, thanks to our fantastic  8-0 victory over Ladywell in November.
The Quarter final matches will be played in Late Jan/Feb 2012.

Southside 0, MRC Ewell 4

We're not out of the cup yet. We could still sneak through on goal difference if a couple of other results go our way.
It was freezing cold and blowing a gale last night. We kicked off , playing into the howling wind and driving rain. In truth we never really got our game together. Despite lots of effort, we didn't keep our shape  and  didn't keep possession. On the rare occasions that we got the ball out to the wings it looked like we could score at will but  these moments were all too rare. I was happy to go in to half time  just 0-1 down. In the second half, the Ewell goal was under siege for 15 minutes as Southside looked set to draw level. Unfortunately we got hit on the break, and slipped to a 4-0 defeat as we tried in vain to take the game to the opposition
We didn't deserve to take anything from the game but the 4-0 the scoreline is a bit hard on us.
For me though, there were lots of positives. We had a really big squad - 17 people arrived in plenty of time for kick off, despite the weather and the lure of Chelsea v Man City.  Charlie and Big James made really positive debuts. In a rare start, Montel impressed on the left wing. It was a really difficult night but i went home feeling happy with the attitute and application  of the whole squad. Not everyone could play as many minutes as they wanted but  no one made a fuss. Special thanks to David , Owen and Alex who  came along to support the squad.
If we do  get into the quarter finals we'll have to improve our football  - we've got more than enough ability to  raise our performace level - but our team spirit and hard work give us a solid foundation to build on.
See you all next Tues in the Dome.

Southside 4, Effra Academicals 6

Ermm.... usual stuff.  2 mins to kick off, not enough players. Trying to borrow players from the oppo.
Start with 2 injured players and no subs. 1-0 down after 2 mins. Equalise a minute later. Lots of effort but not much composure for the first 45 mins. Lucky to go into the break only 3-1 down.
Second half much better. We tried to take the game to Effra but caught on the break by their very quick front line. With 10 mins to go we were were losing 6-2. Could have been even worse but we didn't give up. A free kick from Reece made it 6-3 and a clinical strike from Scott (his third of the night) spread panic in the Effra ranks. At 6-4 Effra were out for the count but were saved by the final whistle.
 We're nearly a really good team  but 5 defeats in our last 6 games tell us that we're not there yet.
We're still in the cup so lets make sure that we get a result against Racing Ewell on Dec 12th to take us into the quarter finals.

Last night's team:
Geoff, Peter, Little James, Phil, Danny,Big Paul, Nik, Reece, Dane,
Scott, Glenn, Big Mark D,  Big Mark B, Yusuf.

This week and next week

Great Dome session this week. 22 players. 3 teams.We've got a really strong squad at the moment.
Next week we're in the dome on Tuesday from 6.30 and then we've got a match against Effra on Thursday, 8.30pm kick off.

Last reminder for kit orders - I've got 1 last yellow shirt available now for £5.
I'm going to make a new order  next week so bring cash to training if you want a red or yellow shirt.
(You can have a blue shirt too if you want one)

We'll pick the team for Thurs after training on Tues. See you then.

Southside 8, Ladywell 0

Great performance, fantastic result.Brilliant Cup tie.
Everyone played their part in  a dramatic return to form for the mighty reds.
Ladywell are a decent team but we controlled the game from start to finish.
Our defence was solid throughout. Geoff barely had a save to make. Bobby and Malek worked together wonderfully in midfield, combining graft and guile in equal measure.
Goals from Reece (2) and Scott earned us a three goal cushion by half time.
Ladywell raised their game for a period in the middle of the game, but Southside were resolute. A fourth goal  deflated Ladywell and from then on it was a case of how many.
Scott's four goals took his tally this year to 30 and Reece's two goals put his total into double figures. Two  excellent second half strikes from Danny White  were the icing on the cake.
Well done to everyone.
Our next cup game is against MRC Ewell on Monday December 12th , on the stadium Pitch at Palace.

Found Footage

I found this footage on You Tube. Click here to see  10 mins of action from our most recent game vs Effra. It doesn't look too bad - much better than i remembered it. Both of our goals  are on the film and only one of theirs.

Dome session , 18th October

Great session this week. 20 people. Really good debut from Haben and  good to see Glenn and Big James starting to attend regularly. Brilliant effort and commitment from everyone involved.

Next Tues 25th is the last Dome session before our first Cup game on 31st.
We'll pick the squad after next Tues.

Please bring in any  plain red Southside shirts - double check that you haven't got any stuck in the back of your wardrobe. We can't play a cup game in bibs!
Bring money for new kit if you want me to order any for you - yellow tops now @£10.
Red  shirts with  name/number  @ £15 short sleeves, £17 long sleeves.

Cup fixture confirmed

Our first Millenium Cup fixture has been confirmed.

Monday October 31st, vs Ladywell FC.
7.30pm Kick off
Crystal Palace Athletics Stadium, grass pitch.

Should be a really good game.

( We also have a stadium pitch booking for Mon 5th December, which will either be for the Cup game against MRC Ewell or for a friendly.)

kit order

Let me know if you need me to order any new kit.
There's not much cash to subsidise shirts at the moment so prices from now on are:

Red shirts (with name , number and badge)  - short sleeve £16 / Long sleeve £19
Yellow shirts ( badge only)       - Short sleeve £12/long sleeve £15

Cash required before i order I'm afraid.

Dome session , 4th Oct.

Good session this week. The Yellows edged it  despite a late comeback from the reds.

Attending: Phil, Alex H, Owen, Thomas, Idris, Shane, Sam, Nik, Reece, James, Mark D, Fabio, Lewis, Cet.

Southside 0, Londrines Sports Club 3

We were a bit of a shambles to be honest.
No goals  and only two shots on target all night. Confusion reigned on the pitch as  Southside players ran round like headless chickens for 90 minutes. Someone should sack the manager!
At half time it was 0-1  and we  felt we were still in the game. Bobby and Jon had worked hard in Midfield, whilst Reece  and Mark B  performed well at centre back. It was great to see Lewis make his comeback after a one year absence and also i really appreciated Reece's offer to cover in goal until Geoff arrived.
After half time things went from bad to worse. The post match inquest  started on about 55minutes and continued on  pitch until the final whistle. Londrines  took advantage and  only Geoff's  heroics in goal  kept the score respectable.
I'm glad we haven't got any more competitive matches for a few weeks - we can relax and enjoy playing at the Dome  for a bit.
Thanks to everyone for all of their hard work , despite the run of disappointing results. Good times are just around the corner.

Dome + new fixtures

 Good news. We've secured our block booking of the Dome for another year. Weekly sessions start next Tues 4th October, 6.45-8pm. £5 per session payable in advance on the night. Everyone welcome but please do confirm attendance by text in advance.
  Also I've booked a re-match against Effra on  Thurs November 17th, 8.30 kick off.
I'm trying to secure the pitch for our cup games against  Ladywell and MRC Ewell. Possible dates are Mon Oct 31st , 7.30 K.O and Mon December 5th, 8pm Kick off. ( to be confirmed)
See you  on Tuesday.

Southside 2, Effra 5.

This was a really good, even contest for an hour.
It was 1-1 at half time. Younes  had levelled the scores with a  coolly taken penalty,  after I'd gifted Effra the lead. After the break Reece put us ahead with a well taken goal and things were looking good. Then Effra scored. Then we lost our shape , our discipline and started bickering with each other. The inevitable followed. Effra took advantage, playing good football to achieve a substantial victory and revenge for the 11-1 defeat we inflicted on them in the summer.
No time to  worry about this game. We're playing a Brazilian team on Monday ,so lets learn some lessons and sort ourselves out for  this exciting challenge.

M.I Cup 2011 Draw

Southside Fc are one of the four seeded  teams in this year's Milenium Invitation Cup.
We have  been drawn in a group with Ladywell FC and with MRC Ewell.
Ewell topped our group last year so it will be a good challenge.
Fixture dates  to be confirmed - hopefully we'll play Ladywell in October and then MRC Ewell in November or December.

Match v Effra this Thurs

 We've got an extra match this week- Against Effra - 8.30pm kick off on Thurs at Palace.
The game will be much tougher than the 11-1 victory in the summer. We'll need to play really well to get anything out of the game against a side who have won five and drawn one of their last seven games.
 Anyone wishing to be included in the squad must text or e-mail their availability in advance.
Anyone who just  turns up on the night will only get a game if we  are short of players.

I'm trying to sort out  the problems with the dome bookings and will let everyone know when the Dome sessions can resume.

See you all on Thursday.

Southside 1, Brixton3

" I would have saved that".. announced Geoff, arriving even more fashionably late than usual , as i picked the ball out of the net.  1-0 to Brixton.  We had been holding out under pressure against a very good visiting side for 20 minutes before  a Brixton attacker curled a shot into the top corner to end the deadlock.
Brixton found the net again soon after - clearly offside, but to general amazement the ref  gave the goal.
Geoff took to the pitch, shortly followed by Big Paul, who plugged a big gap in Midfield.
From this point onwards, Southside  were at least equal to Brixton. Only Southside's strikers will know how they missed a number of excellent chances to score.
At half time, the mood was positive and  Southside went on to dominate the second half. Still we couldn't score, until Mark D surged through midfield  and burst the net with a clinical strike from 20 yards out.
We had chances to level the game , but with the clock running down,  Brixton scored another  disputed goal to make it 3-1.
 Southside probably deserved at least a draw, but in truth we should take  lessons from the way Brixton played. Their well organised , simple passing game offers a template for us to follow.
A second defeat  in a week then, but  a much improved performance and much better team spirit  than was evident on Monday.
 We're at the Dome for the next couple of Tuesdays, before we return to action against a Brazilian team on Monday Septemeber 26th

Southside 3, Grafton 6.

Oops! 3-1 up after 15 minutes, Southside players lit their cigars and put their feet up to ponder  yet another excellent victory. Why wait till full time to celebrate? Grafton, hardly believing their luck poured through the huge gaps left by Southside all over the pitch. Soon the  game was level. Complacency turned into panic  among the Southside ranks; 3-4, 3-5, 3-6. As Grafton's 65  year old striker celebrated his 3rd goal, i knew we had reached a new low.
  It wasn't all bad. A depleted squad  made space for several new players who all worked hard. Nikki  at left back was one of the few players to show composure on the ball.
We haven't become a bad team overnight, and with a bit of hard work,  performances will improve.

Southside 4, Inter Sutton 2.

It was great to kick off the season with a well earned win against a Sutton team who never give up.
We held a narrow 1-0 lead courtesy of Scott , when floodlight failure brought the game to a temporary halt.
When the Palace staff finally managed to turn the lights back on the game resumed and the goals started to flow. Fabio  squeezed home a shot through a crowded penalty area and Perre  scored the first of two to make the scoreline seem comfortable. Sutton fought back  with two goals, and also hit the bar as they battled to bring the scores level. Perre notched his second to  take the game away from Sutton.
The best 'goal' of the game came as Reece ghosted in at the far post to connect with a great cross from Perre. Inexplicably though, the ref chalked the goal off.
We were rusty last night after the summer break,  but there was lots of effort and we played well in patches.
Dome starts again next Tuesday.

Goals: Scott1, Fabio 1, Perre 2.

Saturday Fixture

We've been challenged to an 11 a side match on Saturday 10th September - on Clapham Common. It's against Brixton FC - they're a good team who play football the right way so it should be an interesting challenge for us.
text to confirm availability.

5 a side league?

Southside FC could enter a team into a 5 or 7 a side league. This would be an opportunity for some of the more competitive players in the squad to get together and try to win a competition.
We'd need a volunteer to run this - and the games are relatively expensive  - usually £7ish per player per game.
There's a really good 7 a side league in Balham on Sunday evenings that's got a waiting list and a 5 a side  league on Thursdays at GOALS in Beckenham with spaces available now.
If we entered a Southiside team into a league it would be in addition to the usual Tuesday Dome sessions and the Monday/Tuesday 11 a side games.
Over to you - the club can provide an initial cash float to get things started but after that it would  need to run independent of the rest of the club.
Just an idea - let me know if anyone fancies taking a lead on this.

Park Life

Really good session last night. Honourable draw against a team of Rugby players.
Next week we'll meet behind the Windmill pub as usual but we'll probably play a bit further into the common where there's a better playing surface and more space.
I'll bring  the last of the new stock off yellow tops and some bibs.
See you all next week.

New kit

I should have the new kit by the end of the week. Red tops for Milky, Mark B, Cet, Billy, Reece plus 1 spare XL shirt. Also 12 new yellow shirts available for £6 each on a first come first served basis. Bibs £1 each.
Hope to see everyone on Tues

Football on the Common

Over the summer break, some of the squad plan to  keep playing every Tuesday, 6.30-8pm(ish).
Meet near the Windmill Hotel (see map) on Clapham Common Southside.  Everyone welcome & it's free.

Summer Break

Southside FC's summer break starts now. We'll return to action on Mon 22nd August on grass at the Athletics stadium. Dome sessions will resume late Aug/early Sept.

FC Inter 2, Southside FC 3.

Congratulations to everyone for Finding the venue in deepest Surrey. We started very well, racing to a 3-0 lead. Really we should have made a  cricket score but instead we lost focus and ultimately we were lucky not to throw our lead away. Two goals from Reece and one from Scott  were just enough to  nick a win against a physical and direct  FC Inter  side. Despite having lots of ability all over the pitch we got drawn into reacting to FC Inter's  style of play rather than sticking to our own short passing game. We did create bundles of chances - Kevin was unlucky to have an excellent goal chalked off wrongly for offside but Inter created a few good chances too  as we committed too many players in attack.
I've got mixed feelings about this game - Suffice to say that i'm really looking forward to a few weeks off  before we return to action on August 22nd.

Next Mon - Away Fixture

Next Monday's games is an away fixture against FC Inter in Sutton . The pitch is at Nonsuch High School, Ewell Road, Cheam, Surrey, SM38AB.
The pitch is 3G Astro -  You need to wear astro trainers as boots with studs are not allowed at the ground.
See map. Please text to let me know your availability for the match.

Dome Back in Action

We're back in the Dome tomorrow from 6.30-8pm as usual.
My phone has crashed so  i can't send texts to remind people - please spread the word.

A couple of weeks ago we had to play on the outside pitch next to the Dome. Here's a few seconds of, frankly, not very exciting footage.

All the goals

Turns out Bilal's film contains all 12 goals. 11 of ours plus Effra's consolation goal.
All of the first half goals are on this clip.
In  order of appearance look out for goals from ; Martin1st, Martin 2nd, Scott 1st &Tariq:

I'll post the second clip containing the second half goals  in a bit (Second Half- Scott 2nd, Martin 3rd, Scott 3rd, Effra Goal, Yus, Billy, James, Martin 4th.)

If anyone wants a DVD copy just let me know.

Stat Attack

Left peg sharp shooter Scott has scored 20 goals in just 10 games  over the past 4 months.                                                                      

Southside 7, Grafton 0.

Another really good team performance. Well done lads. For the first half hour we controlled the game and never looked like conceding.It's not often i can say that!
Initially players on both teams struggled to  get used to the wet conditions. We created, and missed, a host of chances before  Scott and Reece put us comfortably ahead before the break. 2-0 at Half time.
In the second half  we stepped up a gear and took the game beyond Grafton's reach.Scott added two goals to complete his hatrick. Reece scored a second to cap an excellent performance. Tariq notched another good goal and Bilal rolled back the years with a great goal from a spectacular overhead bicycle kick. Grafton never gave up and created several good chances of their own but we held on to keep a second clean sheet in 3 games.
Four late arrivals and 2 late pull outs  created the opportunity for some new players to make their debuts. Aurelio, David and Younes all made their mark in a game where all 18 players worked really together.
The game was played in  an excellent spirit and Grafton, despite a heavy defeat, are really keen to set up a re- match.

Team: Phil, Yusuf, Mark D, Billy, Aurelio, Reece, Oz, Oguz, James, Younes, Dane, Bilal, Malek, Tariq, David, Scott, Sam D, Fabio.

First Goal

Here's the first goal from the 11-1  victory v Effra - the first of Martin's four.

There are two more that i still haven't uploaded, both from the first half. in the end, i"ve found 11 of the 12 match goals on bilal's tape - just Tariq's strike missing I think.

Once i work out how to put Hi res films on the blog, and find some spare time, i'll put them all up on the blog together in one highlights package.

More goals

Here's Yus's goal along with goals from Billy , James and the best of four from Martin. Also check out  Yusuf's near miss lob.

There are still a couple of goal's to go. Watch this space

Judge For Yourself

Bilal watched the footage of this goal 4 times and thought the ball had hit the bar. I watched it and though the same. Then I slowed the film down and to my amazement i could clearly see the ball bounce back off the inside of the net. And to think Bilal says we're not up to Sky Sports standards yet.

It's not so clear on this compressed file, but for  anyone who still has doubts , just watch it on DVD and you'll be converted. Great goal Yus!

I'll upload more goals tomorrow if i get time.

Yusuf's Goal against Effra

Hi Bilal,
Thank you for updating the Blog with the videos :) Goals looking good. Shame my smacker wasn't recorded :(
I'll just have to score another one like that for the camera :)
See you Monday.
Yusuf

Editorial balance

For the sake of editorial balance, here's the Effra goal

goal3

Here's another one of Scott's - I think we've got the other one on tape too.

Goal2

Here's another  goal from Bilal's video vaults. One of Martin's four.

Southside FC 11 v Effra 1 - video one

Here's the first of the video footage from last week's game. Sorry for any goals that were missed. We aren't up to Sky Sports standard - yet!!! I just wanted a video of my kids and I playing a match together and what a great game to pick!!!

There's some nice goals and I'm sure you'll enjoy watching it. The Yusuf goal debate will rage on!!!

Great performance by all the lads but for me the man of the match has to be Geoff. He made crucial saves at the right times.

Anyway don't let me babble on - you can see for yourselves!!

Bilal

(* Just one goal on this clip - plenty more to follow)

Update

Palace have confirmed that  the Stadium pitch will be out of action until after the Athletics Grand Prix - This means that our next game on the  grass  stadium pitch will be the tournament on Sat 20th August.
The match vs Grafton next Monday will go ahead as planned, but we'll play at Dulwich. (Meet 7pm for a 7.30 kick off)
 Good session last  night - we're in good shape as a team but we  mustn't get carried away. We've  got to earn each victory by keeping our shape, and working hard on and off the ball.
  I've watched the film of  last week's match - there's some great footage. As soon as i get time i'll  start putting some clips up on the Blog.

Football Marathon

We've been invited to take part in a charity football marathon at Crystal Palace on the stadium pitch.
More details to follow. Watch this space

training/change strips

 One year in  and I'm still having to bring a bin bag full of spare tops  to lend people at training.
Enough's enough so we're investing in some bibs and a a set of change tops.
Squad members can choose either to buy a bib (£1) or a change top (£5 with club badge plus extra £5 if you want  number and name printed)
I haven't decided which colour to go for .
The last order of 7 Red tops should also be delivered in the next 7-10 days so bring your cash on Tuesday if you've ordered one.

Southside FC 11, Effra 1.

What a great way to celebrate our 20th 11 a side match of the year!
Effra put out a decent side but we blew them off the park. The game wasn't as one sided as it sounds but we played by far the more effective football. Our finishing was fantastic, but what pleased me most was our positive attitude and our work rate.
Everyone remembers the goals but  any victory  is built on hard work, discipline and good teamwork. Cet, Reece , Bilal, Sam D and Danny White worked tirelessly all night  to create a platform for victory. Geoff, as ever, produced a string of saves to keep us in the game and knock the belief out of the opposition.
Big thanks also to Oz who played at short notice to cover Reece and James's late arrival.
Two top glass goals from Martin, a deflected strike from Scott and a clinical finish from Tariq built an insurmountable 4-0 lead by half time.
In the second half we kept the work rate up, kept our discipline and before long Effra's spirit was broken and the goal's rained in. Two more goals  each from Scott and Martin, a brilliant, if controversial long range effort from Yusuf and  cool finishes from  Billy and James completed the  victory.
Effra managed a  goal and also hit the bar but in truth there was little to console  an Effra team who were shell shocked at the final whistle. It's almost a year since Effra spanked us 8-4 at Dulwich in our first ever match.What a difference a year makes.
Well played lads. I'm really proud of the work rate and effort from everyone last night.

Team: Geoff, Yusuf,  Cet, Billy, Phil, Oz, Bilal, Martin, Tariq, Danny W, Reece, James, Sam.

Goals: Martin 4, Scott 3, Tariq 1,  Yusuf 1, Billy 1, James 1.

Southside 4, Dynamo Kebab 0.

Against all the odds we actually started quite well. Alex Howard slotted in seamlessly at centre back and Mark B, on his debut, fitted in nicely at left back.  Lee, also making his debut, covered in goal  before moving to centre back after  Geoff arrived fashionably late. Kebab didn't  put us under too much pressure in the first half. We didn't create too much either though, inexplicably resorting to long hopefully balls time and time again.
At half time the team talk was simple - stop  chipping at the ref and stop playing long balls. Well, we managed one out of two. Suffice to say that i want only our captain to talk to the ref about decisions in future.
The football in the second half was fantastic - it always is. Loads of effort all round  and plenty of quality too. Martin, on his Southside FC debut, was a constant threat up front and deserved a goal - the Kebab keeper read Martin's pen all the way but it was so well placed he couldn't do anything about it. Two  well struck goals for Scott and a third goal in three games for Reece took the game out of sight. The contest ended up as 10 a side - the less said about that the better for now, but we will be having a chat about that soon. It was great to see Sam making his return after several months out injured. Big thanks also to Shane who played for both teams.
That's  six wins out of eight  in the last 3 months and a first clean sheet in 19 attempts. Great stuff.
We're well on the way to being a half decent side - For me though , the most important thing is that we conduct ourselves correctly at all times when we represent our club - we've got a bit still to learn on that count - but  i can't fault the effort and the quality of football on show. Well done lads.

Team; Geoff,  Mark B, James, Lee, Cetin, Alex H, Daniel K, Rees, Martin, Bilal, Sam D,  Shane W,Yusuf, Scott, Danny W.
Goals; Scott 2, Martin 1 pen, Reece1.

Dome 17th May

23 people attended last night - loads of enthusiasm,  but pretty chaotic.
We'll need to keep our shape, and concentrate on playing simple pass and move football if we want to get anything out of the game next Tuesday. I know we can do it. See you  all next week.

Goals Goals Goals!

Scott says he's scored 16 goals for us. He's probably right. I've included all of the goalscorers that i can remember in the results list on the side of the page. Have a look and see if i've made any mistakes.

Southside FC 6, Metropolitan Housing 3.

I'll write a full match report later but if you want to know what happened last night, you might as well just read last Thursday's match report. Terrible start - people arriving late as per.
2-0 down after 10 minutes, Geoff kept us in the game until finally, midway through the first half we started to play football - we draw level , dominate the rest of the game, scoring for fun. Everyone goes home happy.

Team: Geoff, James, Mark D, Cet, Dan K, Perre, Yusuf, Billy, Big Paul, Dane, Ade, Fabio, Scott, Dan, Phil.

Goalscorers: James 1, Fabio 1, Scott 2, Reece 1. (The dubious goals panel's going to have to meet to decide on the sixth goal - a cross shot that deflected in off an MHP defender)

Watch this

Here's  a bit of footage from this week's match. It's filmed from behind our goal so you'll need to put your specs on to see our attacks. Great clips of the Mighty Geoff in action. Most of the footage is from the first half hour as we were struggling to get a foothold in the match. It's well filmed though and gives a good flavour of the match. Big thanks to our camerawoman for  making the film.
On Monday we've got Metropolitan Housing in an 8pm kick off. It's going to be a really tough game and competition for squad places will be tight. Let's try to get as many people as possible down to the stadium to cheer the team on.

James scores

There's quite a bit of good footage from the match. here's a quick clip of James's goal. I'll try too put upload some more footage if i get time.

Southside 3, Effra 2.

What a great game!  Fantastic team spirit, bundles of effort and plenty of good football. Every single player put in a really good shift for their team last night. Well done lads.
As usual, it didn't start well. Five key players dropped out at the last minute and a couple of people arrived late. A patched up Southside team took 10 minutes to settle in, by which time Effra had raced to a 2-0 lead. Effra looked poised to run away with the match, but as so often happens, we steadied the ship, dug in and then started to play. James ghosted in at the back post to score an excellent goal. Effra were rattled. Effra tried to bully their way back into the game, with numerous bad tackles going unpunished. Southside continued to work hard and to play good football
At half time we believed we could win. We dominated the second half. Reece brought us level and then Scott's emphatic finish made it 3-2. Despite a couple of late scares, we continued to dominate until the end.
Congratualtions to Cetin's friend Paul, who made an accomplished debut.Also big thanks to Yusuf who slotted in at Centre mid, forming a really effective partnership with Billy. This is was my favourite Southside performance.

Team: Geoff,James,Mark D,Cetin, Alex H, Paul, DanK, Reece,Yusuf,Billy,Dane,Scott, Fabio.

Southside 2, Dynamo Kebab 7.

Spanked 7-2 by the mighty Dynamo Kebab. What can I say? First of all apologies for my inept performance in goal – 90 minutes of falling over , waving at footballs as they sailed into the back of our net isn’t what I had in mind when I planned for the match. Unfortunately Geoff, Alex H, Junior and Neill R were all unavailable. I think we need a new 5th choice keeper.

It wasn’t all bad……although it was almost all bad.

6 players dropped out at short notice and it was good that we could find 5 replacement players on the day. Everyone did their best and there were some good performances. Dane was excellent all game playing at full back and fully deserved his goal. Scott got on the scoresheet too, reacting quickest when the kebab keeper parried a second half penalty
On another day we could have scored half a dozen goals - in the last 15mins of each half we created bundles of clear cut chances but it just wasn’t our day.
Kebab were everything we weren’t – well organized and patient, they simply waited until we committed too many players forward and lost our shape, and then hit us on the counter attack.
Too often when we had possession, all of our players ran away from the player with the ball instead of making themselves available for an easy pass.
Never mind. It was just a friendly and so long as we learn from our mistakes it’s no problem.
No Dome tonight. Next session is next Tuesday. Next matches are on 5th, 9th and 24th of May.
See you all next week.

Effra 3, Southside 2.

Thanks to everyone for  coming down to play at such short notice last night. It was a bit chaotic to  say the least and we didn't hit top form but still it was a good close game. We  took the lead against the run of play but struggled against the pace of Effra's attack. Promising debut's from Mo, Ade and Junior and good performances from squad players like Reece, James and Dane bode well for the future.
We were really unlucky not to get something out of the game. The Effra winner should have been disallowed and Danny White was unlucky not to grab a second goal when his  brilliant long range strike crashed off the bar with the Effra keeper beaten.
  The Effra lads have bet me that Scott won't score against them next match. Scott, you know what to do.
I'm really looking forward to the match on Monday against Dynamo Kebab. Let's relax and  show them what we can do.

Goal!!!

Here's Scott's ninth Goal in 4 games. Captured on film by Danny White in the 5-2 victory over Effra Effra Academicals

Southside 5, Effra 2

Great result Lads! Just got a text from Danny White  at Full time. Sorry i couldn't be there.
Goal Scorers; Scott 2, Fabio 1, Paul 1, Tariq 1.
Big thanks to  Danny and Fab for taking over in my absence tonight. Congratulations  to everyone - sounds like a really good performance.

Apparently there's some video footage so i'll try to get that up on the blog next week.

Anyone want to write a match report?

Summer football

Palace  are re-seeding the Stadium pitch  from Mid May - mid June.  The stadium pitch will  also be out of action in late July/early Aug for the Athletics Grand Prix.

Palace have confirmed that we can play on the Stadium pitch on Mon 9th May, Mon 20th June and Mon 11th July.
We'll probably also play two or three games at Dulwich College on the Astro - possibly May 24th and a fixture in early August.
From Mid/late August we'll go back to regular fixtures on the grass pitch.

From Mid May  we'll  we'll train on  Tuesdays on Clapham Common instead of in the Dome  and then return to our weekly Dome sessions in September.

I'm lining up a match against Metropolitan Housing Partnership, probably for May or June - If you know of any  other teams who'd like to play us, let me know now before i book teams in for the summer fixtures.

Dome, 29th March

Well attended, nice relaxed session - 18 people  so 9 a side.
Looking forward to the match v Effra on Thursday.

Dome, 22nd April.

Top marks to Big Paul and Geoff who attended training the day after the big game. It was a good session with 5 of Geoff's workers coming down to  make up the numbers.
I'll pick the team for next Thurs after training at the Dome on Tues.

Southside V Grafton Film

I filmed a couple of mins of the game on Monday - got 3 goals  - Can't believe i switched the camera off before Malek scored his  goal.  I don't think the Grafton Keeper and defenders would enjoy watching this clip.

Southside 8, Grafton 3.

Hard to believe that we went into the break 2-3 down. At half time everyone agreed that we needed to work harder and keep things simple but we were all confident that we would win. Our confidence was not misplaced. Within 20 mins of the restart Grafton were out for the count , 6-3 down , before briefly rallying. A fantastic point blank double save from Geoff  snuffed out the Grafton fight-back  and the Mighty Reds cruised  to their biggest ever victory. Excellent debuts from Billy and Alex P, a good shift up front from  Bilal and a dominant performance in Midfield from Big Paul were highlights of an exciting evening - Goal of the night went to Malek  with a beautiful second half strike  but  surely man of the match was the irrepressible Scott  whose four goals were no more than he deserved. Scott went home with the match ball - fair enough, it is his ball!  All great stuff  but we'll need to  improve our defending as a team and become more compact if we want to win against Effra next Thursday. Well done everyone, see you tomorrow.

Team. Geoff, Dan K,Chet, Billy, Alex Howard, Luis S, Alex P,Malek,Tariq, Big Paul, Perre, Bilal, Scott.

15thMarch Dome session

A record number of people attended this session. Great stuff. Really good to see lots of people arriving early. We hit the maximum number - 27- and then had to turn latecomers away. Just as well we had an extra set of shirts. We split into three teams - Red Team, Green team and White Team.  Everyone played each other twice. I think the Greens shaded it but  i wasn't really keeping score. Can anyone remember the score?
I'm picking a squad of 14  for the match v Grafton next Mon. I've booked the Dome next Tues as well so that everyone can get plenty of football next week.
Remember to text or e-mail confirmation in advance and bring your cash to guarantee a place at each Dome session

Southside 4, TPS 2.

Southside completely dominated  75 minutes of an exciting match last night. Well taken goals from Tariq and Danny White and brace from Scott were no more than we deserved. The 4-2 soreline did not flatter us - we could have won by an even bigger margin.
That said , for the first 15 minutes we were a shambles. When we took the lead on 10 minutes it was completely against the run of play. Geoff was out celebrating his wife's birthday and so it fell to Alex Hill to keep goal for the night.We offered Alex no protection and  he did well to keep the score down in the opening minutes. Two quick goals from TPS turned the match on it's head. The less said about both goals the better. The  most important thing is that everyone stayed positive and everyone kept working hard.
Soon the air shots and long balls gave way to simple, crisp, short passing. The team regained  a bit of shape  and soon we wrestled control of the game from TPS. From this point the match was joy to watch. 2-2 at half time, but we were all confident that we would prevail in the second half. It's impossible to pick a man of the match. Perre was unplayable on the wing, Daniel Knowles was a revelation at right back,Owen and Cet were rocks in defence  and Paul and James  both made assured debuts. Scott capped the evening with a great  strike from open play and then put the game to bed with a coolly taken penalty after Marcel was brought down in the box. It was a night when everyone played their part, on and off the pitch. The best thing for me was that all of the subs  cheered and supported their teammates all night - Kelvin, quiet as a mouse on the pitch, roared like a lion off it. Great stuff.
Back to the dome for the next 2 Tuesdays , then we've got 2 games in 10 days towards the end of the month.

Effra 3, Southside2

The Effra captain said he thought they were lucky to nick a win against Southside on Thursday.Congratulations to the squad of 12 who came close to getting a result against well organised opposition.
Big thanks to Yusuf and Danny White who took charge in my absence.
I wish I had been there to see Scott and Marcel put us 2-1 up. With a bigger squad we might have been able to hold onto our lead but it was not to be.
Our next game is on Feb 28th.We'll name the squad after training on Tuesday

Dome 8th Feb

Great session last night - loads of good passing and some excellent goals. Looking good for the match next week.

Dome 1st Feb

Well attended session this week - 20 people - the game was a bit disjointed with people drifting in from 6.30 to 7.15 , but still lots of fun. Next week  we'll get things a bit more organised and focus on teamwork.

Team news

The success of Southside FC  means that we have 20+ players wanting to play in each match. The feedback I've had so far suggests that the majority of people want to stick to 1 squad, and want to limit  match day squad sizes to a manageable number of about 15.  This  means, for the first time, that I won't be able to offer a place in the match day squad to everyone who trains at the Dome.
It's likely that we'll offer everyone the choice of being either a casual club member or a full club member.
To join as a full club member, all you need to do is buy yourself a club shirt - (Cost £12-£20)- then you'll get a squad number. (The Southside Chief Exec has bought 15 shirts for Southside staff and customers , so these 15  full club  member  spots will be available to Southside Staff and Customers ) If you don't join as a full member, you'll be welcome at the Dome every Tuesday,  but will only be eligible for match day squads if fewer than 15 full club members are available.
At the moment this is just a proposal.We can discuss this on Tuesday.

Get well soon Yusuf

A sad end to a great performance on the pitch last night for Yusuf, who left for hospital with a dislocated shoulder.Yus was injured in the second half of a pulsating encounter between Southside FC and Crown Agents.
Big thanks to the lads from Crown Agents who helped Yus until the ambulance arrived.
Most of our subs left early and so the team battled on with 10 men while I went to call an ambulance and look for a spare shirt so that Daniel knowles could get on the pitch to replace Yus.
Loads of great play on show - the last 20mins was probably some of the best football Southside have played  - solid at the back, and creating chances for fun up front.
Loads of positives as ever, but last night was a bit of a watershed and we'll need to restructure the club , of which more later.
Thanks to everyone for your efforts.Get well soon Yus.

Dome Session - 18th Jan

Great Session. Very well attended  with loads of good football on show.
I hope everyone's looking forward to the  11 a side match on Monday.

Best Fans in the world

Check out the Southside fans( subs) roaring the team on to glorious defeat from the main stand at the Palace Stadium on Monday. I only  filmed 30 seconds of the first half and 1 min near the end of the second half - My hands were too numb to operate the camera.
 Southside fans outnumbered Ewell fans 10-1: that's actual numbers, not a ratio! Great to See Scott's Dad and Yusuf's family  on the touchline too. Big thanks to everyone who braved the cold and wet to represent Southside on Monday.

Southside 0, MRC Ewell 2.

Southside crashed out of the Millenium Invitation Cup last night despite a valiant effort from the whole squad. Despite the scoreline, the match was actually very even. MRC Ewell went ahead in the first half after a Ewell forward crunched Geoff in goal with a crude challenge to make Geoff spill the ball. Southside battled on and were still in the game until late in the second half. Southside looked solid in defense until Ewell made the game safe with a flukey second.
  So we lost, but the team spirit on show was a vast improvement on last week. Everyone  worked really hard, exemplified by Chet who continued after being  pulled from the mud in the second half following a  big collision. We are nowhere  near reaching our potential yet.When we do we'll start scoring a hatful of goals.
Keep the faith. See you all next Tuesday.

Spain

We might have a chance to play in a friendlly 8 a side tournament in Southern Spain later this year. I've just heard that it's likely to be in October rather than April so we've got time to save up. Let me know if you're interested

Southside 0, Effra 2.

Fortunately we've got a great opportunity on Monday to put this game behind us.
We had a  lot of quality on the pitch but teamwork wins games and Effra's team spirit and organisation won the day. Despite some good passages of play, we were lucky not to lose more heavily against a side who were arguably weaker on paper than us.
Not to worry, football's all about BOUNCEBACKABILITY - so if we put in a great performance on Monday all will be forgotten and forgiven.

Big numbers

21 players, 100+ minutes, 20+ goals. Fantastic session to kick off the new year.
Thanks to everyone who attended and made it a great night of football.