Recreativo Juniors 2-1 Iseldon Wolves

Recreativo Juniors 2-1 Iseldon Wolves

Feb 22nd

Good things come to those who wait. And boy, have we waited a long time for this!
Our tenth league encounter finally saw us come away with a victory and after all the effort the players have put in since September, the celebration at the end was of volcanic proportions! Seismic turbulence would be felt tonight all the way back to Stoke Newington.
With players dropping out earlier in the day with illness and others away for half term, we took to the field with no subs, a first for us. This meant some of us played a full 40 minutes for the first time. The team held its shape beautifully. Jaden bossed the midfield, first to every loose ball, Storm made great inroads down the right flank and Louis grabbed the freedom to roam here there and everywhere, to cause panic in the Wolves defence every time he had the ball. His fine performance was topped off with two great goals. Lara and Daniel done sterling jobs as full backs. Despite Jaye slicing a ball into his own net, he kept his head up and performed superbly, safeguarding the Juniors’ goal for the entire second half. Eren and Zeki too, done their bit, up and down the pitch, determined and eager to keep the ball as the ref counted down the last few minutes. And then that fantastic sound as the ref blew the final whistle. Parents poured onto the pitch. Players were mobbed. Hugs and kisses. Hands were shaken, smiles cracked across faces. It’s what it’s all about. Good times. The rest of Market Road stood and wondered if an earthquake had struck as the player’s families and friends charged on from everywhere, a joyous whirlwind of happiness, relief and pride. In the dressing room afterwards we asked the players to remember this feeling and look forward to more times like this. We want more!

Man of the Match : Louis Dillon
Team: Eren Doldur, Lara Tollington, Jaye Paul, Daniel Garcia-Fernandez, Louis Dillon, Jaden Stephenson, Storm Gregory-Hickling, Zeki Bolat.

Recreativo At The Movies

Recreativo At The Movies
Feb 16th

It’s not just all about the football. The social side of our club brings the players together as friends away from the cooker pressure of first class football at Market Road! As the birthdays come round thick and fast, we find ourselves celebrating Storm’s 9th, sixteen of us in total squeezing onto the bus and heading deep into Arsenal territory to watch “Jumper” at Islington Vue. As always, we remind everyone that we should behave impeccably when going out as a team, but in truth we’re more than happy for everyone to go a little wild (as long as we don’t scare the grannies on the bus!).

The general consensus was that the film was “brilliant”, a kind of Matrix for a teenage audience. More than enough explosions, car chases and designer violence to keep this excitable bunch happy. We munch through copious amounts of popcorn and sweets and then all return to Storm’s for a Playstation session, more unhealthy party fodder and a Recreativo Juniors birthday cake. As Wallace and Grommit would say, “a grand day out!”.

Fulham Wanderers 6-1 Recreativo Juniors
Fri Feb 8th

With coach Jimmie Gregory refusing to shave until Recreativo get their first win, the team went out determined to get something from this game. An opening ten minutes saw the Juniors putting up a good fight. Eren Dolder made his debut in goal, making some decent saves and booting the ball forward at every opportunity. But the opposition were simply too strong tonight, playing a better passing game. At times we stood off and let them play the ball around, giving them too much time which inevitably led to goals for the Wanderers.
Storm rolled up his sleeves and got stuck in, playing a lovely through ball in the second half which led to a beautifully taken goal from tonight’s captain, Zeki. We know we are up against it every time we walk out on that pitch. But we look forward to the next game, determined to get our first three points. Assistant coach Anne-Marie won’t let Jimmie’s bristly chin anywhere near her! So come on Juniors, let’s win this next game!

Team (all played) : Eren Dolder, Zeki Bolat, Jaye Paul, Benji Barbour-Ricketts, Storm Gregory-Hickling, George Wakefield, Louis Dillon, Jaden Stephenson, Daniel Garcia Fernandez, Ollie Goldblatt, Sam Abdullah Kirton, Harry Butcher, Lara Tollington.

Recreativo Juniors 0-3 Crown & Manor Jan 18th

It seems that the whole of Market Road is gnarled up with traffic this evening as we search for somewhere to park and offload our excitable bunch of under 9s. It’s always a welcoming site, the floodlights cutting through the winter evening’s darkness, illuminating the dark green astro-turf. The now familiar colours of the various team’s kits flashing across the pitches. Groups of parents and supporters stand huddled on the terrace cheering and shouting as the early kick offs are reaching the final whistle and we await our turn to get out on the pitch.
We have a great game tonight. If we were ever too worried about our score lines, we would have packed up long ago. But what keeps us going is the spirit and drive shown by our players, the willingness to keep having ago. For the first half at least, we matched Crown & Manor all over the pitch. Zeki had a particularly good game getting involved in everything in midfield. Louis showed some lovely touches and skill. We told Benji to lose his smile tonight, go out there mean and moody and not let anybody get past him. He done exactly that and showed some real confidence that seemed to flow through the team. Despite going three down, it was a much improved performance. With the manager on the look out for one or two new players to add to the squad, the future does look bright for this very special football team. Confidence, a little more experience and a couple of new signings should hopefully turn things around for the second half of the season.

Team (all played) : George Wakefield, Sam Abdullah-Kirton, Jaye Paul, Benji Barbour-Ricketts, Louis Dillon, Zeki Bolat, Storm Gregory-Hickling, Jaden Stephenson, Harry Butcher, Daniel Garcia Fernandez, Lara Tollington, Ollie Goldblatt.

Recreativo Juniors 1-5 Fulham Wanderers
Fri Jan 4th

Maybe it was too much partying over the Christmas break, but we were a little slow out of the blocks this evening. The first ten minutes saw the Juniors defending deep in our own half, pinned back by countless Fulham attacking. Good defending, body blocks and tackles save shots against our gallant Harry in goal, though we were unfortunate not to clear the ball too far from our box which resulted in the Wanderers taking a 1-0 lead. In truth, some of our players were finding it hard to concentrate on keeping their positions. As the rain poured down we found ourselves in an all too familiar game of catch up. However, there were positives! Zeki Bolat made some fantastic tackles, never shying away from a 50-50 ball, Louis Dillon patrolled the left midfield with growing confidence and sustained concentration, which resulted in a goal just before half time and a superb free-kick in the second half that was just tipped over the bar. Despite a real effort from everyone we conceded four second half goals.

As always, we shook hands with the opposition at the end and trotted back to the dressing room. The post match team talk consisted of trying to concentrate on the positive aspects of our play and not where we went wrong. Two weeks before our next game. Bring it on! Well played Recreativo Juniors!

Team (all played) : Harry Butcher, Zeki Bolat, Jaye Paul, Benji Barbour Ricketts, Daniel Garcia, George Wakefield, Louis Dillon, Jaden Stephenson, Ollie Goldblatt, Storm Gregory-Hickling,
Lara Tollington, Sam Abdullah Kirton.

Christmas Social 2007
Il Bacio Restaurant Sat Dec 8th

The very lovely Il Bacio Italian Restaurant on Church Street, Stoke Newington was the place to be today as the rain poured down outside.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon, tucked up inside with players and parents from the team. And just for once, it did not matter if no one wore their shin-pads!

The players table was overflowing with margherita pizzas, chocolate and strawberry ice cream, endless cokes and lemonades, the players busy swapping ‘Match Attax’ playing cards and debating football. Jaden, surely, must win the best dressed player award! To the oldies table meanwhile, was brought some gorgeous dishes of pasta and pizza and fine tasting vino rosso. It was really nice for us all to come together for this great social, to pour over our first few months as a team together, to talk football philosophies and listen to Anne-Marie’s and Robert’s “doing a runner from restaurants” stories!
We raised our glasses to the team and look forward to more social events in the new year.

Team : Jimmie, Anne-Marie, Jackie, Robert, Maureen, David, Carl, Sophie, Steve & the Under 9s.

Primrose Hill 5-0 Recreativo Juniors
Friday 7th Dec

Despite a well drilled pre-match warm up and an eagerness to go on and get something from this game, the Juniors looked a little out of sorts tonight. We found it hard to get out of our own half. After we conceded our first goal, heads fell, shoulders sloped, hope diminished. We never really troubled the Primrose keeper, only managing two shots on goal the whole game. All our players tried their best and that’s all we can ask for.
A look through the other scores, the other divisions and age groups of this league shows that there are many other teams struggling to make a real impact. Let’s remind ourselves, we are still a new team, a team of mixed ability, but also a team of players who show the determination to get back out there and give it their all. We’re not going to throw in the towel just yet and the next game can not come around fast enough.

Team (all played) : Daniel Garcias-Fernandez, Louis Dillion, Zeki Bolat, Lara Tollington, Harry Butcher, Storm Gregory-Hickling, Benji Barbour Ricketts, Jaye Paul, Ollie Goldblatt, George Wakefield, Jaden Stephenson.