U'12 Skipper reviews the St Joseph's game.

A great first half with only a few marginal errors caused us to be one down at half time. We tried hard in the second half, but after ten minutes St Joseph's scored again from a break. Two minutes later St Joseph's scored again when a shot from the edge of the area skidded through our keepers legs. But we didn't give up and within a minute "bang!" Daniyaal shot into the bottom left-hand corner. Ellis was unlucky not to score a second for Hulme. Unfortunately, St Joseph's scored two more before the end to make the final score 1-5. We could of and should of done better!

U'15 against St Joseph's

An injury depleted Hulme team started brightly against St. Joseph’s but couldn’t maintain the pressure and St Joseph’s started to take the upper hand. A goalmouth scramble found Hulme a goal down, and our stand-in keeper was unable to prevent St Joseph’s from extending their lead. At half time Hulme were 4-1 down. Hulme started the second half more agressively and managed to claw their way back to 4-3, but took their foot off the pedal and allowed St. Joseph’s to take control once again. The match ended 7-3 to St Joseph’s. Nathan Coverley was named Man of the Match.

Greater Manchester Schools Cup - Result

U'13 County Cup
St Cuthberts 4 Hulme 1.
A match report will be posted soon.

Greater Manchester Schools Cup

Good luck to the U'13 who go to St Cuthberts in Rochadale in the 2nd Round of the County Cup.

Ollie's views on the St Joseph's win

Fantastic game on saturday boys,we played out of our skins.Everyone did well from Sam up to Tom.We did well to get in front just before half time , from Will's rebound.Then James worked hard to win the free kick that I curled into the roof of the net from twenty yards.Then I think we just let our hair down for a minute and they scored , we just need to keep going all the way and keep pushing for that next goal.Brilliant game boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

U'16 - first game, first win

It had been a long time coming, but last season’s Oldham Schools’ Cup Champions were reunited for this encounter with St Joseph’s on Bigside. It wasn’t long before the players started to gel once again and play some flowing football. Tom Brooks’ long throw found its way through the defence to Osman Bushara who finished neatly to give Hulme the lead come half time. From the second half whistle, Hulme were dominant, with Robert Shaw bossing the midfield and Danny Mills making penetrating runs from deep. Hulme pressed home their advantage with Mark Eaton’s fine finish. Several late changes in personnel took time to bed down, giving St Joseph’s the chance to counter with just a few minutes left, and Hulme remained resolute in the face of late St Joseph’s pressure. For a typically stalwart performance at centre half, Luke Butler was named Man of the Match.

ISFA (North) Trials

Well done to the following boys who attended the ISFA (North) trials today:
At Under 16: Robert Shaw, Luke Butler and Thomas Brookes
At Under 18: Josh McConnell.
The squads selected for the matches aqainst Cheshire Schools will be posted on the ISFA website later today.
Click this link to see who was selected.

Saturday's results

Matches were against St Joseph's Sports College in Horwich.
U'16 won 2-1
U'15 lost 7-3
U'14 lost 5-3
U'13 won 2-1
U'12 lost 5-1
Well done to all the teams, especially the U'16 and U'13.
Match reports will follow

Have Our U13s 'Turned the Corner'?

At this point last year, the U13 team had losses of 1-9, 0-7 and 1-8 against Bolton, Grange and St. Joseph's respectively.

So far this season they have played the first two games with a bare 11 players due to injury and illness which makes a 0-3 loss to Bolton and 1-5 to Grange in the ISFA cup a reasonable turnaround. Considering we were 1 up against Grange and on top in the first half, that match could have easily been our first victory of the season. A lack of concentration and shape allowed 2 goals in 5mins which changed the match before half-time.

The wait for the 1st win of the season was not long in coming however, some hard work and commitment at training was in evidence on the pitch against St. Joseph's. Hulme simply wouldn't let them out of their own half. Hulme finally found their reward for defending from the front and keeping their shape with a 2-1 victory. The boys had chances to finish the game at 2-0 but decided to keep their manager on his toes by allowing a late goal for hope of a comeback from St. Joseph's!

Well done boys, you all played out of your skins this week. The hard work to become a much better side starts now........

St. Cuthbert's in the Greater Manchester Schools' Cup on Tuesday (away), 3.30pm k.o. Meet in the pavilion after afternoon registration. Parents more than welcome to watch. Let's make it a second!

Matches on Saturday 26 September

Matches this weekend are against St Joseph's Sports College, Horwich.

U'16, U'15 and U'13 are at home and should arrive by 9.30 am

U'14 and U'12 are away and should arrive by 8.40am
(Please note the away matches are being played at Thornleigh College in Bolton)

Good luck to all five teams

U'13 Skipper reflects on Grange

Well done boys , in the first 20 minutes we were all over them and we could have won the game but we can't give up and let our heads go down. Sam, you were brilliant in net and made some great saves. Ben you did well because you were out of position.Tom you did really well up top , great finish from my pass. Heggi just keep your head in the game don't get your head down. Hamza you also had a good game , marked your man well. Really though boys we could have done better , me and the centre backs should'nt be covering for everyone.

Hulme progress to the next round..

First round of the cup was always a hurdle Hulme fell at many times, especially in recent years. The Welcome return of permanent manager Mr Marshall meant the boys were in the best possible position going into the game with the intention of sending Malvern back to Bristol and out of the tournament. Mr Mairs decided to carry on from Saturdays win by training the lads before kick-off, hoping to achieve a similar result. The game started and immediately the lads begin to battle, both sides came close to scoring, and both sides seemed really up for this prestigious game. Mid-way into the first half Hulme gave the ball away and a cross came in to be met by an unmarked Malvern player leaving Tyler with no chance, we were 1-0 down. From then on out Hulme stepped up their work rate and threw everything at Malvern, with no joy. Going into the changing room at half time, the boys were anxious, and fretting over a repeat of last years first round result. However after very wise words from both Mr Marshall and Mr Mairs, the boys seemed to be back in the right frame of mind to go out on the pitch and take the game by the scruff of the neck. Almost immediately after the re-start, Bradley Norcross floated a free kick into the box which Zak Forster pounced on to smash home and tie the game at 1-1. This was the lift the boys needed and after more close chances we received a free kick around 30 yards out towards the touch line. The ball was whipped in by Adam Myers only to evade every player including the keeper and nestle in the bottom corner of the net giving Hulme a 2-1 lead. The boys then persisted not to let Malvern convert again and fought like warriors to keep the lead. The game ended 2-1 to Hulme after a solid performance. The football was no where near as good as the boys are capable of producing but due to the hard work of every man we emerged winners. As a wise man re-quoted after the game "they say a good team can play rubbish and still win games" this point was indeed proved on Tuesday. Man of the match Jordan Marsh has an outstanding game at right back. The lads now look forward to an overnight trip down south, hopefully, against Eton College.

Boodles ISFA Cup - 1st Round Result

Hulme 2 Malvern College 1

Hulme scoreres: Zak Forster, Adam Myers

Hulme Man of the Match: Jordan Marsh

Notable perfomances: Danny Harrop, Danny Orr, Bradley Norcross, James Summers.

Managers comment: I had hair before this job! A good result in the end with a very important equaliser one minute into the secod half, well done Zak. Some good rear guard action at times after Adam's free-kick goal. Overall, the boys done good!

We await the Captain's report with anticipation.

For other first round action click this link to the ISFA website.

A Few Pic's from the Sixes

Mr. Counsell kindly took a few snaps of the seniors at the ISFA sixes, Chigwell.

Mr. Marshall's 'This is how you play sixes' talks seem to be the theme of the day, even old boy Josh Higgins visited to listen to the words of wisdom! Alessio didn't seem as interested later and in the knockout stages Bradley decides to have a well earned rest with the St. Columbas' keeper!

Good luck in the ISFA Cup against Malvern today gentleman.

PDB prediction: 3-1 Hulme, Summers first goal!

U'15 Manager looks back on Grange match

Calvin Wong and Luke Hopkins grasped the opportunity to step into the breach as our numbers had been depleted by injury and illness. Also, in the absence of goalkeeper Andrew Tarpey, Ben Rothery and Bradley Cryer agreed to do a half each in goal. Hulme created several clear cut chances in the first half but, against the run of play, Grange’s centre forward narrowly beat Ben Rothery to a speculative long ball to give Grange the advantage. Ben jogged off to retrieve the ball from the back of his goal while the centre forward lay polaxed on the ground. Brad Cryer’s well placed header into the top corner converted Jake Riley’s perfect cross to bring the scores level. Sam Clark’s strong run into the box beat four players and his cool finish gave Hulme the lead come half time.
There were chances for both teams in the second half but Hulme were determined to keep Grange at bay, giving Brad Cryer a clean sheet in goal. Sam Flanaghan’s efforts were commendable once again and Jonathan Lobley put in a gritty display in his first full game of the season. Hulme should have converted from Nathan Coverley’s fantastic free kicks from deep and Jack Shepherd’s long throws into the box. There was no doubt that the outstanding player on the day was Jake Riley who was named Man of the Match. He received a well deserved round of applause from his team and the supporting parents who had turned out in force.

Boodles Cup 1st Round - Tuesday 22 September

The 1st XI play Malvern School at home in the first round of the Boodles ISFA Cup this Tuesday. The game kicks off at 2pm and all spectators are welcome.
Good luck lads.

Results Saturday 19 September

The matches this weekend were against Grange School, Northwich.

1st XI won 2-0
Man of the Match: Bradley Norcross
Scorers: James Summers (pen), Bradley Norcross

2nd XI drew 1-1
Man of the Match: Sam Booth
Scorer: Luke Butler

U15s won 2-1
Man of the Match: Jake Riley
Scorers: Bradley Cryer, Sam Clark

U14s lost 0-10
Man of the Match: William Brown

U13s lost 1-5 (2nd round Rensburg Sheppards ISFA Cup)
Man of the Match: Sam Wilson
Scorer: Tom Travis

U12s lost 1-5
Man of the Match: Ben Walton
Scorer: Callum McNally

1st XI result against Grange

This weekend Hulme played the Grange School from Northwich. Heading into the game off the back of a hard game at Shrewsbury, the lads were hoping for a good result. Before the game had started, the lads were somewhat nervous due to the lack of Mr Marshall as he was being a real gentleman this weekend. Our first game without the permanent manager was always going to pose a true test of character. However, his replacement was a man who needs no introduction, having previously taken the reigns as substitute manager, Mr Craig Mairs was the likely candidate. He proved his worth throughout the game, from the pre-match warm up, speech, coaching, substitutes and comments, the lads will be sorry to see him go. From the first kick the boys were 110% dedicated in putting everything into the game. A flury of half-chances proceeded throughout most of the first half where Hulme dominated with Grange hardly having a chance. At the break the lads were a little disappointed not to be leading the game but Mr Mairs assured the boys the goal would come. We came out in the second half raring to prove a point and after more agonisingly close chances, in particular a superb shot on the turn from Josh McConnell, Zak Forster was brought down by the keeper and Hulme were awarded a penalty. I stepped up to the mark and slotted home to give us a 1-0 lead. No more than 5 minutes later, and a full array of chances Hulme received a corner which was floated in beautifully by Bradley Ashford, only to be powered home by Bradley Norcross for his first goal of the season (maybe career) From then on out the heads of the Grange players started to drop as Hulme dominated more coming close to increasing their lead. An incident towards the end of the game almost clouded an excellent game from Hulmes point of view but was shortly cleared up. The game finished 2-0 to Hulme. Man of the match Bradley Norcross had an outstanding game at centre half showing immense physical presence and capped off his performance with a goal. Credit should also be given to Jordan Strong, Daniel Harrop and Daniel Orr who all had outstanding games. Hulme can take many positives from today's performance and look forward to the ISFA cup game on Tuesday. The 1st XI would like to thank Mr Mairs for his services this weekend.

Matches this weekend - Saturday 19 September

Matches this weekend are against The Grange School from Northwich.

1st XI and U'15 are at home - 1st XI arrive by 9:15 and U'15 team by 9:30

2nd XI, U'14, U'13 and U'12 are away - arrive by 8:25

Good luck to all teams, but especially the U'13 who are playing Grange in the second round of the Rensburg Sheppards Independent Schools Cup.

ESFA U'15 - the Boss has his view.

Having overcome the intimidating physical presence of the Calderstones team, Hulme began to match their footballing ability, but by this stage the opposition had already taken a two goal advantage through unforced errors. Calderstones extended their lead but Hulme faught back bravely before half time to 4-2 with Sam Mellor’s excellent free kicks creating several opportunities. The second half was a much more evenly balanced affair and a superb free kick from Tom Taylor brought Hulme back into contention. They created more opportunities from long throw-ins but Calderstones scored a fifth to seal the victory in the latter stages. Had we not been so intimidated in the first ten minutes, and gifted them two soft goals, this match would have been much more closely contested.

A bleak Wednesday

Senior results v Shrewsbury School

1st XI lost 2-0 Man of the Match: Josh McConnell

2nd XI lost 5-0 Man of the Match: Fraser Hadfield

3rd XI lost 7-0 Man of the Match: Will Sanders

The Under 15 team went to Calderstones School in the first round of the English Schools Cup:

Calderstones 5 Hulme 3

Match reports for all of today's games should follow.

U'12 Captain shares his thoughts on the Bolton Match

The U'12 team travelled to Bolton for their first game of the season. The squad of fourteen had never played together and Bolton were an outstanding team. From the beginning of the game you could tell Bolton were stronger. They had alot of movement and we found it hard to defend. By half time Bolton were leading 5-0; not a good first half for Hulme.
In the second half Hulme got their act together and look much stronger. We defended many attacks and a superb goal scored by Danyaal Naheem soon followed. It was a goal that easily matched the skill of Bolton. Well done Danyaal!.
The final score was Bolton 7 Hulme 1. Considering none of the Hulme players had played together before - and in fact barely new each others names - scoring one goal and not allowing more than 7 in was a fair result overall. Man of the Match was Bradley Cruse. Well done lads!
By Chris Stringer

Obi's thought's on Bolton game

The U'14 team were going into the match against Bolton school knowing that it was going to be a tough game. A replacement keeper, Laurence Gard, who last year won Player of the Year as an outfield player faced his first game in net. Bolton were a passing team but we got stuck into them, but despite our efforts Bolton took the lead. Our boys kept pegging them back from a goal lead until it reached the point that Bolton led 5-3. Hulme's goals were scored by William Forbes following up from a corner; Jack Nutter's guided header and Ross Miles' deflected shot from the edge of the area. For the rest of the match Bolton were penned back into their own half. Adam Wilk made a great turn in the penalty box and scored bringing it to 5-4. Then with just five minutes remaining I went on a run and scored the equalising goal. Man of the Match was Laurence Gard. Well doe boys!

Mr P reflects on U'15 @ Bolton

Both teams were missing key players for their first games of the season played in glorious early Autumn sunshine. The first ten minutes were evenly balanced with chances at both ends, but thereafter Bolton gradually found their form. The commitment and discipline shown by the Hulme team was encouraging, exemplified by the work ethic of Ben Rothery up front. A string of fine saves by Andrew Tarpey kept the scores level come the half time whistle.

Bolton’s dominancy grew in the second half but some last ditch tackling and the impressive goalkeeping of Man of the Match Andrew Tarpey illustrated Hulme’s determination not to let Bolton score. With only minutes to go Sam Mellor’s excellent strike would have secured an unlikely victory but for an excellent save by Bolton’s goalkeeper. The final result was 0-0.

1st XI Captain reflects on Bolton Match.

All the lads knew it was going to be a big ask to come to Bolton and show them what we were made of, but at the same time show Bolton the respect they were due. Many times in past years we have gone to Bolton and played out of our skins, but somehow end up loosing 1/2-0… this year was different, and I think the pre season and the attitude of the lads has been ecstatic.The help that Garry, Craig and (of course!) Mr Marshall have all put forward has been a great help and that showed on wed. The first 10-15 mins Hulme were on fire. Keeping the ball and cutting open Bolton’s back 4. Possession in mid field was also good, and some good play by Danny Orr and Brad Ashford.20 Mins in Hulme receive a corner by a thunderbolt of a shot that was tipped over by James Summers (CPT Cummings). The ball was whipped in and after a goal mouth scramble, a shot was made by Michael Tomlinson which deflected off a Bolton player and nestled in the top corner, but I’m sure he’d like to claim it.As time went by, Bolton became stronger and stronger and eventually the time came when they equalised due to some good possession and team play. During the second half Tyler Moulton made some outstanding save to keep the score level to which we deeply needed to make sure our heads didn’t drop. Hulme kept battling and made some good opportunities but again there keeper stood tall and made some admirable saves.All in all, I feel we can leave Bolton with our heads held high with a good result under our belts in the first game of our campaign. GOOD LUCK TO THE LADS AT THE SIXES OVER THE WEEKEND, Sorry I couldn’t be there.

ISFA 6-a-side tournament

Mr Marshall and Mr Bolton, accompanied by Mr Counsell along with the squad of 9 boys ventured down to Chigwell in Essex this weekend for the ISFA 6-a-side tournament. We travelled down on Saturday afternoon and stayed at a Premier Inn which boasted lovely rooms and a very good carvery, Mr M was was most impressed. After a good meal and a round of poker the boys turned in ready for days events. We were drawn into a reasonable group with the exception of Repton who were a solid team. The first game was against Hampton School who proved to be a good side. The game was well contested and maybe with more composure the lads could have snatched a winner from the game. There was chances at both ends and Tyler made one fantastic save in particular to keep the game goalless. The second match was against Westminster, quote from Mr Marshall "if you loose to the team wearing pink I'm going home" The boys knew what they had to do. It looked as if Mr M would be taking the early bath after going one down in the first half. Yet after I converted a pass from Michael we drew level. Only for Michael to score himself after a scramble which saw 4 efforts be blocked before the ball finally rolled over the goal line. The lads then played the passing game well and kept solid at the back to ensure the result. The last group game and last game before the lunch hour, was against strong opponents in Repton (who were the eventual winners of the group). The game started promising and the boys began well only to be shot down with a good goal from the Repton striker who rounded Tyler for an easy finish. A moment of madness from Danny Harrop followed as he ran the ball the full length of the pitch only to be dispossessed in the opposition box, upon which he reacted by kicking out at the player earning himself a red card and a ban for the rest of the tournament. The four outfield men fought well for the remainder of the first half and then into the second half but Repton proved to strong utilising the extra man to win 3-0 overall. Hulme then entered to plate competition and were drawn against St. Columbas school who we played in the ISFA cup last year and were narrowly beaten. It was sadly a similar fate we suffered this year. After a bright start and an early goal from Bradley Ashford the lads began to sink into eleven-a-side football and produced an opening for an equalizer. Late on in the game at 1-1 we had a clear chance to kill the game off which wasn't taken resulting in the ball being spread up field gaining our opponents a corner which they converted sending us out of the tournament and to that early bath Mr M was so keen for. To be fair to the lads it was a hard task going down there expecting big things, they played well and put the effort in. They can take many positives out of today and also try to build on the negatives for the rest of the season. They look forward to a big fixture on Wednesday against Shrewsbury.

Sixes Results 2009

The Hulme results from today's Independent Schools Sixes at Chigwell School, Essex sponsored by a2om driving school were as follows:
Group Matches
Hulme 0 Hampton 0
Hulme 2 Westminster 1 - Hulme scorers were Michael Tomlinson and James Summers
Hulme 0 Repton 3
Hulme ended third in their group and went into the plate competition.

Last 16 of the plate knock out competition
Hulme 1 St Columbas 2 - Hulme scorer was Bradley Ashford.

Hulme man of the tournament was Josh McConnell.

The full squad was; Tyler Moulton, Josh McConnell, Danny Harrop, Danny Orr, Alessio Scappaticci, Adam Gledhill, Bradley Ashford, Michael Tomlinson, James Summers.

Managers comment: The boys did well considering how sixes is so different to the normal football they play. It's amazing how basic errors cost you goals, games and your place in the tournament. Remember that for next year!

For a full report on the whole tournament please click this link to the ISFA website.

U'13 Captain reviews the Bolton game

Well done boys we should all be pleased with the 0-3 loss because Bolton are an amazing side, that play brilliant football; it is a big improvement from 10-1 last season. Every single player had a good game on saturday. It was unlucky for Will geting injured in the first minute , Brandon was ill and Ross could'nt play so we had no subs. The defence had a good game keeping Bolton out. The midfield did well, but we just need to get the ball under controll and Tom did well to have a few chances on goal. Good effort boys.

Ollie Higgins

Saturday 12 September

Matches were against Bolton School
1st XI Drew 1-1
Man of the Match: Adam Gledhill
Scorers: Michael Tomlinson

2nd XI Lost 3-1
Man of the Match: Luke Butler
Scorers: Alex Blair

U’15 Drew 0-0
Man of the Match: Andrew Tarpey
Scorers:

U’14 Drew 5-5
Man of the Match: Laurence Gaurd
Scorers: William Forbes
Ross Miles
Jack Nutter
Adam Wilk
Obi Ebize

U’13 Lost 3-0
Man of the Match: Oliver Higgins
Scorers:

U’12 Lost 7-1
Man of the Match: Bradley Cruse
Scorers: Danyaal Naeem

Overall, a pleasing start to the season (this time last year we lost all of the games against Bolton!). Well done to all of you who played this morning.
Match reports should appear over the next few days so watch out for them. Especially the report on the U'14s - it sounds like it was a thriller!

a2om Sixes at Chigwell

Good luck to the nine members of the 1st XI squad who travel down to Chigwell School, Essex this weekend to take part in the Independent Schools Sixes sponsored by a2om driving school.

Matches - Saturday 12 September

Matches this Saturday are against Bolton School:
2nd XI, U'14 and U'13 are at home - players should arrive no later than 9.30 am
U'15 and U'12 are away at Bolton - players must arrive at school by 8.40 am
School uniform must be worn.

U13s, Hope you Were Watching?

After our little chat on Tues, I hope all the boys were watching the national sides qualification for South Africa in relation to how well they kept the ball? Ok it was easy to watch the pace of Lennon and sit back and enjoy as Lampard and Gerrard got their braces.... But did you look at movement off the ball and patience and strength on it by individual players?

This will be much needed on Saturday and here's hoping for a good start boys.

PDB

All Square at Bolton for the 1st XI.

The 1st XI's season got underway with a draw at Bolton.
Hulme took an early lead when Michael Tomlinson scored after a superbly delivered corner by Adam Myers. After that Bolton dominated possesion, but thanks to some stout defending and some excellent keeping by Tyler Moulton Bolton did not equalise until mid-way through the second half. After that Hulme got more into the game and tested the Bolton keeper, but he was equal to the task.
Final score: Hulme 1 Bolton 1
Scorer: Michael Tomlinson
Man of the Match: Adam Gledhill
Notable Performances: Tyler Moulton, Bradley Ashford, Danny Orr and Josh McConnell.
Managers Comment: A tough opener in the September heat. A good result but we need to look after the ball better.

Welcome to the 2009-2010 Season.

"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." Bill Shankly 1981.

Welcome to football at the Oldham Hulme Grammar Schools.

The aim of this blog is to keep anyone who is interested; pupils, parents, staff or anybody who comes across this blog about the football at Hulme.

This blog will contain results, reports, training information, match information, cancellations plus anything that the staff or pupil's feel will be of interest to the reader.

We hope you enjoy it!