2008 - 2009 FIXTURES

SECOND TEAM FIXTURES

DATE	TIME	H/A	OPPONENTS	SCORE	SCORERS	L/C
13/09/08	15.00	A	FINLAY ROVERS RES	L 3 - 2	A Payne, C Hommer	L
20/09/08	15.00	H	CHELT SARACENS 1V	W 3 - 1	J Jones (2), C Hommer	L
27/09/08	14.00	A	LEONARD STANLEY	W 4 - 3	S Rogers, C Hommer, 2 x OG	CC
04/10/08	15.00	A	TIVOLI ROVERS	W 5 - 1	J Jones (2), M C Smith (2), C Hommer	L
11/10/08	15.00	H	SMITHS ATH. 111	W 3 - 1	J Jones (2), B Williams	L
18/10/08	14.30	H	CHELT SARACENS 1V	W 2 - 0	J Jones (2)	LC
25/10/08	14.00	H	MATCHPLAY REEVES	W 2 - 1	M C-Smith, T Barton	CC
01/11/08	14.30	H	ELMBRIDGE OB	W 2 - 0	T Barton, J Jones	L
08/11/08	14.30	A	FC BAROMETRICS RES	L 4 - 1	OG	L
15/11/08	14.30	H	CHURCHDOWN P'THERS	D 2 - 2	J Jones, T Green	L
22/11/08	.	.	.	.	.	.
29/11/08	14.30	A	KINGS AFC RES.	W 3 - 0	J Jones, H Wilks, OG	L
06/12/08	14.00	A	STRATTON UNITED	W 3 - 2	M C-Smith (2), T Barton	CC
13/12/08	13.45	A	ST MARKS CA	.	.	LC
20/12/08	13.45	A	ST MARKS CA	L 2 - 2 (4 - 2 pens)	C Homer (2)	LC
03/01/09	13.45	H	AFC PHOENIX	W 3 - 0	O Bues (2), T Barton	CC
17/01/09	14.00	H	FINLAY ROVERS RES	W 8 - 0	M C-Smith (3), A Gyde (2), C Homer, T Green, J Potts	L
24/01/09	14.00	A	CHELT SARACENS 1V	W 5 - 2	T Barton(3), B Williams, J Cooper	L
31/01/09	14.00	H	TIVOLI ROVERS	D 1 - 1	J Jones	L
14/02/09	14.30	H	ANDOVERSFORD RES	P - P	.	L
21/02/09	14.30	A	ELMBRIDGE OB	L 6 - 3	T Barton, J Jones, J Cooper	L
28/02/09	14.30	H	FC BAROMETRICS RES	D 0 - 0	.	L
07/03/09	14.00	H	FC BAROMETRICS RES	W 3 - 2	D Payne, M C-Smith (2)	CC
21/03/09	15.00	H	KINGS AFC RES.	D 0 - 0	.	L
28/03/09	15.00	A	SOUTHSIDE	W 2 - 1	M C-Smith, M Hartley	L
02/04/09	18.15	A	SMITHS ATH. 111	W 2 - 0	M C-Smith, O Bues	L
04/04/09	15.00	H	BROCKWORTH ALB 111	W 4 - 2	J Gadsby, A Gyde, O Bues (2)	L
11/04/09	15.00	H	BREDON 111	W 1 - 0	M Courtney-Smith	L
14/04/09	18.15	A	BROCKWORTH ALB 111	W 1 - 0	M Courtney-Smith	L
18/04/09	15.00	H	SOUTHSIDE	D 1 - 1	O Bues	L
21/04/09	18.30	H	ANDOVERSFORD RES	L 2 - 0	.	L
23/04/09	18.30	A	BREDON 111	L 3 - 2	T Green (2)	L
25/04/09	15.00	A	ANDOVERSFORD RES	L 2 - 1	A Gyde	L
02/05/09	15.00	A	CHURCHDOWN P'THERS	.L 3 - 0	.	L
05/05/09	T.B.C	A	STONEHOUSE TOWN	W 4 - 0	S Rogers, A Gyde, OG, M C-Smith	CCF

SECOND TEAM 

RESULTS & REPORTS

Tuesday 5 May 2009

GFA Minor County Cup Final

Charlton Rovers Res 4 - 0 Stonehouse Town III

Goalscorers:
Steve Rogers
Adam Gyde (pen)
O.G
Matt Courtney-Smith

Charlton Rovers Reserves became the first Rovers senior side to ever win a County Cup, when they beat Stonehouse Town 4 - 0 at Brimscombe & Thrupp's ground near Stroud. The team had done remarkably well to reach the final, knocking out the top teams from the Stroud league and the Cirencester league along the way.
The team lined up with the flexible 4 - 4 - 1 - 1 formation with Dave Payne playing in the hole as he has done for the last 10 years.
Rovers couldn't have asked for a better start when after only a couple of minutes Dave Payne broke down the right behind the Stonehouse defence and squarred the ball to skipper Steve Rogers to slot home.
This invigorated the Rovers team, who constantly hassled  the Stonehouse Team whenever they had possession.
Stonehouse's main threat was from their speedy striker and their tactic which had served them well in the cup and league of launching long balls for him to latch onto failed, due to the aerial presence of Josh Gadsby and the speed of Ben Williams. They resticted Stonehouse to pot shots from 30/40 yards which never troubled Chris Courtney-Smith in the Rovers goal.
After 25 minutes tom Middleton twisted his knee and was replaced by Mike Davies who had been unlucky not to make the starting XI.
The game became bogged down in the middle but when the ball was spread to the wings Tom Green and Matt Courtney-Smith looked dangerous.
Shortly before half time Tom Green cut inside from the left beating his defender  and was then brought down in the box for a clear penalty.
Up stepped Adam Gyde who handled the pressure excellently and buried the ball into the top right hand corner giving the keeper no chance. 
Rovers finished the half very confidently, so had to make sure they did not get carried away. Stonehouse tried to rally in the second half, but Rovers were equal to everything that was thrown at them and as fatigue set in Rovers started to look much the stronger side. Rovers got their third  after a cross whipped into a crowded six yard box, was nudged in by a Stonehouse player.
Dave Payne was then replaced by Olly Bues and was given a great reception by the crowd as this was his last game for the club after joining in 1995.
The electric pace of Olly bues and constant hassling from Steve Rogers and Jordan Cooper showed that Rovers were not going to let this game slip away. Rovers were unlucky not to add more to the scoreline when they were given offside when clean through on goal on a number of occasions.
With 10 minutes remaining player/manager Rich Berry came on and Rovers added their fourth and final goal of the game when Matt Courtney-Smith was put clean through by Olly Bues and he rounded the keeper to slot home and secure the victory.


Saturday 18 October 2008

Junior Charities Cup 1st Round

Charlton Rovers Res 2 - 0 Cheltenham Saracens 1V

Rovers have now gone to many seasons without a cup final apperance, so they started this match hoping that this could be the start of some silverware. The return of Harry Wilks at centreback added some steal to the side, and for the first 20 minutes Rovers played total possession football which was lovely to watch but wasn't opening up the opposition as expected. This changed when a through ball was handles by a Saras defender and Jay Jones slotted home the resulting penalty for his 7 th goal of the season. Despite dominating most of the first half , Sara's slowly started to get back into the game and had some good chances just before half time, but were denigned by the quick reflexes of keeper Jason Harries. The second half started better for Rovers as they started being more direct with the ball and mid-way through the half Jay Jones got his third brace in a row, to put Rovers 2 - 0 up. A head injury to Jordan Potts brought Kieran Mortell into the game and he proved to be a threat to the opposition, but despite further chances it remained 2 - 0. But at least it was Rovers first clean sheet of the season

Man Of The Match: Jay Jones

Saturday 11 October 2008

Charlton Rovers Res 3 - 1 Smiths Ath III

Rovers started the match with the aim of adding to their 3 match winning streak, which as they only won 3 league matches all of last season was all the more impressive. With Harry Wilks unavailable it was time to try the Williams brothers as the centre back partnership for the day with older brother Sam back from uni. Steve Rogers was still mising through injury and so the midfield enforcer role fell to the impressively named "DAISY", which was enough to strike fear into the heart of the opposition. The teams growing confidence started showing straight from the kick off with some solid teamwork from everyone. It was only a matter of time before Rovers were going to take the lead which they did through Jay Jones, who got both of Rovers opening goals, to give the team a useful 2 - 0 lead. However missed opportunities upfront meant that the game was still not over and against the run of play Smiths pulled one back. The ball just managed to avoid Jason in goal and nestled in the bottom corner. But rather than crumble Rovers got on with the game and soon had their 3rd when Ben Williams picked up the ball on the half way line, ran down the right wing and crossed the ball, only to see it loop over evryone including the keeper and hit the top corner of the net. It could have been more after the ref (I Courtney-Smith, no less) awarded Rovers an indirect free kick inside the box for a backpass, an amusing 5 minutes were wasted whilst Smiths continued to encroach the 10 yards everytime it was taken, which gave the other players a well deserved rest. For the rest of the game Rovers showed good composure to see out the remaining minutes of the game to record their fourth win in a row. For his tireless running and tackling Mike "DAISY" Davies won man of the match, but again it was another good squad performance for all to be proud of.

Saturday 4 October 2008

Tivoli Rovers 1 Charlton Rovers Res 5

The reserves started the game trying to increase their winning streak to 3 games, something they haven't achieved for well over a year.
With 2 key midfielders out of action Jose Berry had to shuffle the pack and added 2 youngsters from the 3rds to the squad.
The new centreback partnership of Harry Wilks and Ben Williams put in a solid performance and when the Tivoli strikers did manage to get a shot off the ever agile Jason 'The Hulk' Harries
put them off with his bright green top.
The first 20 mins of the match was a tightly fought contest with neither team getting the upper hand. The threat of the pacey Charlton frontline of Charlie and Jay was starting to cause problems for the slow Tivoli defence. The first chance fell to Charlie who should have slotted home within the 1st 5mins when through on goal, but his mishit shot went to the keeper.
The first goal came from a jinking run from Jay who was eventually brought down after the defender had 2 swipes at him and the ref immediately pointed to the spot, it was a clearcut pen and not even the opposition could complain.
Up stepped Jay to slot it to the keepers left, and its 1 nil.
The 2nd came again from a Tivoli defenders lack of mobility as he brought down Jay for the 2nd time in the box, despite the pleas from his team-mates of not to bring him down, another clear-cut penalty was given. Jay held his nerve to give a carbon copy finish to his first to make it 2 nil.
The 3rd came from a set piece when Dave 'old man' Payne looped in a cross infront of the static keeper a big leap from Harry Wilks glanced the ball onto Charlie who poked home from close range.
At half time it was a good 3 nil lead but the pressure was on not to let things get complacent as Tivoli are a handy side and didn't deserve to be 3 down.
Charlton began the 2nd have solidly again and showed no intentions on letting the lead slip.... by too much as a looping miss hit shot from Tivoli managed to nestle in the Charlton net, to give Tivoli a small bit of hope that they could get back in the game.
Some good stops from Jason again in the second half kept team spirits high and shortly into the 2nd half the introduction of Jordan Potts for his debut helped keep Tivoli on the back foot.
The midfield partnership of tough tackling Dave Payne and last season’s top scorer Matt C-S was starting to run the show in the middle, and after a goal mouth scramble Matt C-S grabbed the 4th.
With Kieran added some fresh legs up front, and with the game safe Rich 'Jose' Berry brought himself on, which had the immediate effect of the 5th goal, with the Tivoli side all pressing forward to try and get another consolation goal a throughball saw 3 Charlton players through with just the keeper to beat. Matt C-S took charge and smashed the ball into the net to make it 5.
Charlton showed good concentration and team spirit to what all agreed was the best team performance in over a year. Ben Williams won man of the match as the 16 year old stepped up from the 3rds and showed maturity beyond his years to start what will hopefully be a solid partnership at the heart of the Charlton defence, although it would be fair to say that the award could have gone to any one of the 14. Lets hope this continues next week against Smiths.

Man of the match: Ben Williams

Saturday 27 September 2009

Leonard Stanley Reserves 3 - 4 Charlton Rovers Reserves

Still buzzing from last weeks demolition of Saracens an upbeat Charlton Rovers Reserve side made the long journey to Leonard Stanley and were encouraged to find a good playing surface, which made a welcome change from playing at home. This early optimism was dealt a couple of blows when owing to work commitments, injuries and the sleeping off of hangovers (Don’t worry Tom, your secret is safe) Rovers were left with a bare 11. Yet the opposition had included several of their very successful first team in their squad; but the determination and mental strength of this Rovers side was evident when rather than crumble they resolved to beat all before them. It was a big challenge for the caretaker management team of Evans & Houllier (a.k.a. Rogers & Harries) but with the experience of Director of Football, Dave Payne to call on and this strong team spirit we fancied our chances.

Even the unusual ‘sporting gesture’ team handshake before the game couldn’t throw off this Rovers side who started positively with some lovely football being played by Daly, Rogers and Payne. Supported by some great interchanges with wide boys Charlie and Jordan and it wasn’t long till we forced a corner which was delightfully floated in by the cultured right boot of Payne straight to the head of Daly, who’s clever movement left him free with the goal gaping, sadly the sun must of momentarily blinded him as he pushed his header just over the bar. A break from Leonard Stanley soon after forced Harries into action, spreading his frame to block the attacker’s site of goal he got a firm hand to it and pushed it over. Rovers set about taking control and really had Leonard Stanley on the back foot as they played some great attacking football with even the full backs Middi and Daisy pushing on well to support, the pressure soon told and it wasn’t long till a ball came back to Captain Marvel Rogers who struck a 40yard pile driver with the precision and control of an exorcet missile sparking mass celebrations. This inspired Rovers to keep probing as Jack Cooper and Maldini Willgoss kept it solid at the back, more good interchanges saw Charlie swoop in to the box leaving himself free to coolly slot home his 3^rd goal in 3 games. Sadly after some exceptional tackling and breaking up of play the midfield rock Steve Rogers suffered a sprain to his ankle, but such was his commitment to the cause he played on, all be it a slightly slower pace. As is becoming a character of this Rovers side another goal was sought and with the pace of Jay being a constant problem to the Leonard Stanley defence they decided to save him the bother of scoring by netting themselves.

With a half time lead of 3 - 0 Rovers were aware that we couldn’t sit back as not having subs and by now Steve hobbling around like pensioner on a promise we knew it required a big effort. As the second half got underway there were chances for both sides as Harries was forced into another save at his near post as Leonard Stanley strengthened their side with more first teamer’s and in his determination to win Captain Marvel further crocked himself in a tackle, but again he bravely battled on as he was moved up front. Sadly a break from Leonard Stanley found its way through and a ball split the resolute Rovers defence and was headed in. Rovers kept creating chances and Payner’s probing passes were testing the opposition but somehow they kept us at bay. Despite some more terrific defending including Middi taming one of their best first teamers Stanley again found a way through and a good or possibly lucky finish coming as they struck the ball just inside the post and shortly after they produced an equaliser. At this point Rovers, rather than fall apart, took control of the game again and created chance after chance in the last 10 minutes as Daly, Payne and Homer all had good opportunities but somehow they stayed out.

Extra time was required and by now Steve had to concede defeat and come off so it was left to 10 tired men on a hot day to run back out to the backing of the steel drums that had provided a samba rhythm to suit our football all afternoon. Picking up where they left off Rovers set about winning this game and eventually the pressure told as for the second time that day Leonard Stanley again decided they could take no more and put the ball in the back of their own net with an impressive long range lob of their vertically challenged keeper.

After the turn around the experience of Dave Payne playing like a young Teddy Sheringham (in homage to Dave’s new found heading ability) in holding the ball up was vital and a tired but impressive back four of Cooper, Willgoss, Middi and Daisy held out well with Paddy and even Jay back helping them out. With time nearly up Leonard Stanley found a gap and came through on goal forcing Harries into another block sparking chants of ‘Neville Southall’ from the hat wearing mascot, Gydey on the sidelines.

Given the start you’d be forgiven for thinking we nearly threw this game away but given the injury to Steve and the lack of subs on a warm day this was not the case. But better than that this team deserves respect for not choking when losing a 3 goal lead but playing there way back into it and winning – never say die – brilliant.

Man of the Match was awarded to Jason Harries in goal but the reality is there were 11 winners that day.

Saturday 20 September 2008

Charlton Rovers Res 3 – 1 Cheltenham Saracens 1V

On a warm September afternoon Rovers said about getting their first win of the new campaign without influential manager and right back ‘Big’ Rich Berry or Midfield enforcer Dave Payne on a pitch that most farmers would’ve put the combine over first. Overcoming the blow of losing two big names Rovers gambled on the relatively untried at this level youth, of Matt Hill and Matt Payne with Rogers and Harries donning ‘Big’ Rich’s Managers coat in a role comparable with Evans and Houllier.

The game started brightly as Rovers confident attacking style heaped pressure on a lacklustre Saracens side, it wasn’t long until they conceded a foul and then in a training ground move Gydey found a Saracens player with his ball in who cleared it Jordan Cooper who jinked inside like a young Ryan Giggs and found Jay Jones who capped of a good spell of play with tidy finish.

Sadly the curse of Rovers taking a lead seemed to come into play, as Rovers allowed Saracens an excursion into our half and they scored what can only be described as a spawny goal which ricocheted up off of a Rovers body and over the head of Chris C-S in the rover’s goal.

Rovers responded positively and set about entertaining the season best crowd of 3 and soon another chance was created as some sweet footwork from Jordan created a gilt edged chance only for Steve Rogers to fluff his shot. Like a Lion moving in for the kill Rovers kept coming and a lovely unselfish squared ball from jay left Steve with the goal at his mercy and in a lenient mode he drilled it straight at the keeper’s body. So for the second week running it Charlie Homer who did the business with a stunning long range drive that somehow eluded several defenders, our strikers and their keeper until it appeared in the back of the net.

Whilst finishing was a problem all round it was encouraging to see a Rovers side create so many chances and largely dominate the game, with Gydey especially tormenting them every time he got the ball so it was no surprise when Rovers finally made the game safe when Middy played a Beckham like sweeping pass over the Saracens defence where Jays pace left him one on one with the keeper where he kept his composure to coolly slot home.

The only low point was when Gydey was forced off with just under 15mins remaining with an ankle injury that left him rolling around very theatrically forcing Rovers to call on the pacey youngster Harries to see the game out.

Everyone put in a good performance though Gydey possibly shaded being the Rovers star player. It was a good win though it was against a poor side but if we can improve our finishing we will cause teams problems this season.

Saturday 13 September 2008

Finlay Rovers Res 3 - Charlton Rovers Res 2

The 2008-09 season kicked off at last for the 2nds away at a lovely ground in Podsmead.
It didn't start well when 3 of the Rovers squad failed to show up, meaning that a quick reshuffle of the pack was required with Matt C-S filling in at centreback.
Another no show was the ref, so this role was filled by a Finlay player.
The game kicked off a started off pretty even, but the physical presence of the Finlay side did show, and pushed their home advantage.
The first bit of action was from a Finlay corner which was firmly met by the Finlay skipper but a great reaction save from Chris C-S kept the scores level.
However this changed when another corner was forced home by the Finlay striker.
The Rovers side were playing all the football, but when they tried to play they were soon chopped down by the nearest Finlay player, so foul after foul which rarely resulted in a freekick was the order of the game.
Al Payne shrugged off 3 strong challenges before being clipped just inside the penalty area, but the ref decided to play the advantage which was to watch Al eat grass.

At half-time the Rovers side needed to get to grips with the physical side of the game and were called upon to toughen up the challenges.
This seemed to help and Rovers were soon creating some good chances and hit the woodwork with a header from Matt C-S.
Unfortunately Finlay responded with a long ball over the top, which their striker coolly controlled before volleying home, this was a quality goal which the Rovers defence could do little about.
The 3rd Finlay goal followed yet again from a corner, which was also bundled home from close range.
So Rovers had the option of letting their heads drop or staging a fightback, they chose the latter option.
Another good run from Gydey whose legs were just a mass of bruises by this point jinked through a couple of Finlay players before passing to Jordy, who then hit a low cross which Charlie tapped in at the far post.
The next took a little longer and was from some sloppy Finlay defending which saw Al Payne scoring his first of the season.
The fightback continued with the Finlay centreback heading against his own crossbar, and then a thundering freekick from Dave 'Old Man' Payne which smashed against the crossbar and was then cleared.
As Rovers looked for the equaliser the tackles were coming in thick and fast, so when the final whistle went the Finlay players were very relieved.

Rovers now need to show the same kind of character they did in the 2nd half in the next few games to make sure they have a good season.