C of E - Latest News

More great news for Middlesbrough Girls' Centre of Excellence came on Friday 30th April as U16 stars Jess Round and Ellie Christon were selected for the England U17 training camp commencing on May 24th at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre. Round had been involved in the U15 camp 2 weeks ago for the first time, while Christon had not featured for England due to injury for several months.

Craig Nicholson said, "It is unbelievable news! Jess has only recently been involved in the England set-up, so to make the progression so quick shows just how impressed they were with her. Ellie has had a tough time with injury but has been very competent since her return. They have really pushed on over the last 2 or 3 years these two and they are getting their just rewards for it".

Saturday 2nd May 2009 saw 125 players, parents and staff from Middlesbrough Girls' Centre of Excellence take to the road for their annual end of season tour. The girls took part in a tournament on the Saturday arranged by Blackburn C of E which involved five C of E's including themselves, Blackburn, Crewe, Everton and Wolves. The weather was fantastic and everyone got a chance to see the quality in a different region.

"All 5 centres were of very good quality, as you would expect. I think our younger teams performed magnificently and really showed what they could do. The older girls found it very difficult against some very well organised teams. Everton in particular were very strong" said director Craig Nicholson.

On Sunday 3rd, having stayed the night in Birmingham, the girls played an exibition match against Liverpool C of E at Aston Villa's playing facility, Birmingham University. Another night in Birmingham then brought round a trip to Pride Park on Monday 3rd to watch the Woman's FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Sunderland.

"We did the same last year and the girls really enjoyed watching the game between Arsenal and Leeds. This year I thought the game was a little more competitive and a better spectacle. It was a strange game for some of the girls because they were watching a group of players at Sunderland that last year they were playing against and in some cases playing with! It just shows the reality and progression of where these girls actually are'.

'All in all it was a brilliant 3 days and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it!"
Craig stated further.

The U16's have one more game to play on May 30th against Coventry and West Riding C of E's then the season will come to an end with an annual presentation evening.
Trials for next season will be held in June. If you are interested please contact Craig at [email protected]

On Saturday 26th April the girls played their final game of the 2008/9 fixture programme against North Yorkshire C of E. For the second Saturday running the sun was glorious which made the conditions a bit tougher for the girls. The U10's and U16's played at the home venue in Eston, while the U12's and U14's did the travelling South.
 
Andy Cook of the U14's said, "It was a very tight game from start to finish and it got a bit scrappy at times. North Yorkshire have improved alot since the last time we met at the start of the season. Our girls did very well though and deserve a lot of credit for their hard work".
 
The girls now look forward to their end of season tour which commences early next Saturday morning.

Sunderland were the opponents for the girls' penultimate game of the season. The U12 and U16 squads travelled to Houghton-le-Spring with the U10's and U14's playing at home. Sunderland always prove to be a tough test for each of the age groups and today was to be no different.
 
Emily Toase, who took charge of the U12's for this game, said, 'These lot have been playing superbly of late, they showed a very pleasing performance against Newcastle last time out but today rivalled that outing! They were excellent from start to finish and there were some fine individual performances. Nic and Amy have done very well, their understanding of 9v9 was very impressive, especially as they haven't played it for very long'.
 
The girls play their last game of the fixture programme next Saturday against North Yorkshire C of E. The week after that the centre is travelling to Blackburn, Birmingham and Derby as part of their end of season 3 day tour.

Middlesbrough Girls' Centre of Excellence played against Newcastle in their 18th competitive fixture of the season. The U10 and U14 squads made the trip to Newcastle's venue at Northumbria University while the U12 and U16 squads played at Eston.

It was a lovely day for football and Director Craig Nicholson witnessed a superb performance from the home U16 team. "Newcastle only had 10 players available which meant we had to play 9v9, which isn't ideal at this age group but any playing time is better than no time. The girls found themselves with lots of time on the ball and with great space available and because of that they used the ball brilliantly at times and put some neat passages of play together'.

'We haven't been scoring too many goals this season and one of the reasons is that we don't have enough efforts at goal, particularly from distance. But the girls have come up trumps today with 4 or 5 goal fantastic goals. We are very pleased with the display", said Craig.

The girls now only have 2 games left of their original fixture programme, against Sunderland and North Yorkshire, but some attention has been turned to the recently confirmed season end tour where the girls will play some extra games. More details to follow.

Saturday 28th March saw the girls pit their wits against a very strong Leeds Utd set up. it was the first time all four teams had played against each other because of the horrendous weather over Christmas, so the girls were keen to show off their talents. U10 coach Steph Libby managed a very action-packed game.

"The girls started really well and played some very nice football. I think Leeds saved their best players for the middle third and we went to sleep a little bit and didn't perform as well as we could have. We got control back in the final third of the game and ended up with a positive ending to the performance", she said.  

Saturday 28th February seen the girls pitting their wits against a tough Sunderland set-up. The U10's and U14's did the travelling this week to Houghton-le-Spring with the other two age groups playing at the regular Eston venue, the oldest of which was set up for a very physical rematch after a brutal encounter earlier on in the season.

Mark Dick of the U16's said, "The girls worked very, very hard today but couldn't seem to catch the breaks. They never got into their stride really and didn't show the fluency they have displayed recently. They very much matched Sunderland physically though and that is pleasing to see".

Jo Bullen, head coach of the U10's said, "It was the first negative result we have had all season. A few of the girls took it as a bit of a shock but it's all part of the learning curve. They will have learnt more after that game than most this season".

The girls play next on Saturday 7th March against West Riding C of E.

The weather played an integral role yet again for the centre on Saturday 7th February as the Eston home venue was again cancelled due to frost. That meant that only the U12 and U16 squads were playing, they were entertained at Newcastle's home venue at Northumbria University. It wasn't all doom and gloom though!

Mark Dick of the U16's said, "The girls played exceptionally well at times and showed great passing sequences to move up the pitch. We are very proud of them, it was an excellent game to watch and be a part of".

Regarding the U12's game, assistant coach Nicola Reed said, "They are improving week by week at 9v9 and played particularly well in the 2nd and 3rd periods of the game today. It's a big step for them and they are still learning about their positional roles and responsibilities on the larger pitch".

Next Saturday see's a rescheduled game take place with only the U10's and U16's playing against Leeds at home (weather permitting). The U10 and U14 fixture from today has been rearranged for Saturday 1st April.

Middlesbrough Girls' Centre of Excellence finally got a game played on Saturday 31st February when they travelled and played host to East Riding Centre of Excellence. The weather had been causing havoc of late and the girls hardly trained leading up to Saturday.

"It's a frustrating time for everyone involved at the moment. The weather is threatening to cancel everything we do. The girls' had no training sessions before this game, so to play as well as they did is a huge accolade. It says a lot about what they are doing away from the centre which is a big part of their learning pathway", said director Craig Nicholson.

The girls' next game is scheduled against Newcastle United C of E. Fingers crossed the weather won't disrupt this one!

The weather had another impact on the schedule on Saturday 10th January as the home games against North Yorkshire were thrown in doubt because of frozen pitches. The referee's agreed to start both games, with the U12's having to move from their 9v9 to a softer 8v8 pitch, only for both games to be abandoned. The U14 pitch had dangerously hard goalmouths which were proving quite hazardous and after the 2x20 mins periods the U14's game was stopped for the same reasons.

However, the U10's and U16's managed to play all of their games away at York on the outdoor 3G facility. Craig Nicholson said, "It has always been the same, this time of year is a big obstacle for the season and lots of training and games get cancelled or thrown in doubt. It's always the biggest shame for the team that has had to travel, my apologies and sympathy go to York but they were very understanding. We havea  bit of a break now so fingers crossed we may have no more cancelled or abandoned".

Saturday 13th December turned into a very poor day for the C of E as all four games ended up being cancelled. The U10 game was postponed early on due to lack of Sheffield Utd staff, so the remaining 3 teams all travelled for their respective games. However, bad weather over night had left the facilities in a bit of a mess and the game was called off with the players and staff halfway to Sheffield.

"It has turned out a very wasteful morning. It's frustrating to be told so late on, especially when we were travelling such a distance but these things do happen. My apologies go out to all the players, parents and staff that wasted their mornings. It means the girls now have an even bigger wait until their next game", said director Craig Nicholson.

The girls now have no remaining fixtures in 2008. It has been a fantastic first half of the season and we now look forward to what 2009 will bring for the centre!

Saturday 29th November was a great day for Middlesbough Girls' Centre of Excellence as they hosted all four age groups at Eston Academy against Lincoln C of E. On what was a very frosty and foggy morning the venue was packed full of players, parents and coaches for what turned out be a very challenging set of games.

"It's always nice to see different teams come up here to play us, we actually did the trip down there last season. I think all 4 age groups found the games very tough today against a very good set-up from Lincoln. They will have got a lot out of those games which is what this scheme is all about. The weather was kind enough to us and both sets of players at all ages seemed to be playing with a smile on their face which made it a cracking morning!" said Director Craig Nicholson.

Next week see's the girls up against Leeds United.

Middlesbrough Girls' Centre of Excellence are looking for a goalkeeper for their U16 age group. Due to unforseen circumstances they have been left with no players with goalkeeping experience at this age and with three quarters of the season yet to play they find themselves in quite a predicament.

If you are or you know a goalkeeper with club experience who fits into the U16 age band then please contact Director Craig Nicholson at [email protected]

Saturday 1st November saw the girls compete against Newcastle United with the U12 & U16 squads at home and the U10 & U14 squads away. The girls hadn't  played a competitive fixture for 3 weeks and they don't come much tougher than local rivals Newcastle.

Steph Libbey of the U10's watched a very impressive game at Newcastle. "The girls played tremendously together. We had been working on 'pressing from the front' in training and it was excellent to see the girls applying the coaching to their games. They showed nice interplay and have gelled really well for a team full of new players. They were very impressive!", she said.

The girls play their next fixture against Sunderland next Saturday.

After a 2 week break Middlesbrough Girls' Centre of Excellence endured their third competitive fixture of the season against Hull C of E on Saturday 11th October. A marvellous day of sunshine provided the girls with the ideal opportunity to get back into the swing of things and put their training and coaching to the test.

Centre Director Craig Nicholson was required to referee for the U10s' game and said, "The girls actually went a goal down but showed fantastic spirit to get back into the game for such a young crop of players. They played some really exceiting football at times and you could see just how much they have improved already over the first 2 months of the season. A lot of credit must go to Jo and Steph who are doing a marvellous job. There are some real stars of the future in that team!".

The girls play their next games against Newcastle United on Saturday 1st November.

Middlesbrough Girls Centre of Excellence got their season underway on Saturday 6th September with a tough opener against Sheffield United. With the U10's & U16's playing down at Sheffield and the U12's & U14's at home, United proved to be a very challenging first game and a real eye opener for the new recruits of the fantastic standard they are now playing at. The girls from all 4 age groups made a very impressive start and showed some real quality in what was a very wet and windy morning at both venues.

U16 Head Coach Mark Dick said, "the girls did very well in the horrible conditions. Some of them have really looked after themselves over the summer break and they showed some great quality at times against a very good opposition."

After the games Centre Director Craig Nicholson reflected on what was a very good start to the season. "I could see the girls who have just joined us were quite nervous and didn't really know what to expect. I had the chance to watch most of the U12 and U14 games and once the girls got into their strides the quality of both age groups was very good. The girls who have just joined us have added some excellent attributes to the teams and they should all be very proud. I heard from the other coaches that the U10's and U16's were very impressive also."

Middlesbrough Girls Centre of Excellence will face their next test against North Yorkshire C of E next Saturday.