Bolton Kickz entertain Blackpool
Bolton Wanderers Kickz project recently welcomed their close neighbours from Blackpool for a friendly game at the Eddie Davies Academy.
Due to transport arrangements Blackpool where only able to bring 8 players, this was not a problem as in true Kickz spirit Bolton had agreed to lend them several players.
The game started at a steady pace with both teams taking their time to get use to the vast amount of space. Bolton and Blackpool’s projects both take place on small sided pitches so to have the space afforded by the academy pitches was a grand luxury.
Bolton settled the quickest passing the ball well, using the whole team and keeping the ball for long periods. Blackpool took a while longer to settle but that is no surprise this was their first competitive outing since the project began in July.
Bolton had the better of the first half and had managed to build a 7-0 half time lead with several good team goals. A few changes were made at half time, and the players received instructions from Kickz coach Dave Maclean, as although ahead there was still room for improvement.
The second half started brightly for Blackpool and they scored two quick goals, this was good for the game and both teams played better football both defensively and whilst on the attack. Bolton managed to score four more goals in the second half and ran out 11-4 winners in the end.
Although the result was flattering to Bolton both teams played good football and it will help both projects being given chances like this to play on the great facilities that BWFC have at their Academy.
The Bolton team was made up of young people from both our Castle Hill & Power League projects, the game allowed Kickz to break down postcode barriers with all the young people being united through football and enjoying their experience.
To find out more about the Kickz project please Click Here
Sunderland Kickz
Bolton Kickz U16’s squad welcomed their counterparts from Sunderland to play in a friendly match over the summer break.
The match was played on the 3G pitch at Bolton’s Academy allowing the players the chance to experience the facilities that Bolton Wanderers Academy players get to use.
Bolton had a large squad with 17 players in total this was made up of young people from both the Kickz projects. The majority of the team came from the long running Castle Hill project but we also introduced players from our new Breightmet project which operates out of the Power League centre in Leverhulme Park on Friday nights.
The lads had a twenty minute warm up where they got to know each other prior to the game, being put through their paces by experienced Kickz coach Lee Thomas.
Sunderland kicked the match off and it started at a steady pace with both teams keeping the ball and getting early touches. The teams looked evenly matched throughout the first quarter with Sunderland eventually taking the lead.
Bolton kept their heads up and kept playing passing football, which was working well, they managed to get a goal back, however Sunderland soon chalked up another to lead 3-1, although it’s summer the clouds had gathered over the Eddie Davies training ground and an almighty shower saw Subs and coaches cowering in the dug outs, the players carried on regardless and Bolton took advantage scoring a well worked goal.
The teams went in at half time with Sunderland winning 3-2. Bolton made a few changes at half time to allow all the young lads at least 45 minutes of pitch time.
The second half got underway with Bolton pressing for the equalizer which they soon found, this time the lads carried on pressing and got another early goal to go into the lead for the first time during the game.
Sunderland never gave up and had kept playing good football throughout; this was again to pay dividends for them when they scored the equalizer. Both teams carried on attacking and it was an entertaining game, Sunderland had the edge in front of goal and converted the chances they made for themselves while Bolton couldn’t find that final touch.
The final score was Sunderland 7 Bolton 4, even though the lads lost they can be proud of their efforts, next week they will be taking on the Blackpool lads and hopefully will record a victory over our near neighbours.
To find out more about kickz session times please click here
Kickz Cup 2011
Bolton Wanderers Kickz project entered two teams into the 2011 Kickz cup, recently held at Liverpool Football Clubs Kirkby Academy.
This was the North West qualifier with the winning team taking their place in the national finals to be held at the new Wembley Power League.
As well as Bolton teams from projects at Liverpool, Everton, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers Wigan Athletic and Manchester City took part in the tournament.
Both the under 14’s and 16’s played some good football at times but both teams struggled to convert possession and pressure into goals.
As well as the football side of the day each team was required to provide at least two volunteers, who assisted in the running of the teams, making sure the players knew where they needed to be as well as assisting the coaches in the team structure.
The young people who took part really enjoyed the experience of playing at one of the top training facilities in England. The under 16 team will continue to work hard and train for an upcoming game at our very own academy facilities against a Sunderland Kickz team.
Kickz began in 2006 and has been running from the Castle Hill Youth Centre 3 times a week ever since. If you are interested in attending sessions then please click here.
Aston Villa U19 National Cup
Bolton Wanderers Kickz U19 squad recently took part in an invitational tournament at Villa Park the home of Aston Villa.
20 teams took part in the tournament split into groups of four, with the winners and runners up of each league going through to the quarter finals.
Bolton’s first game was against Aston Villa; Wanderers started the game well, passing the ball around and raced into a 2-0 lead. However Villa began to get a foothold in the game and eventually the pressure told and they managed to get the game back to 2-2. This re awakened the Bolton team who looked more likely to nick the winner, but with the clock running down and only seconds remaining Villa had a counter attack and forced the winning goal with the last kick of the game.
Bolton regrouped and looked at where they had gone wrong prior to their second game against Leyton Orient. However in a closely fort game the London team came out 1-0 winners, while Bolton played some good football they couldn’t get the final ball in for the chance to score.
Watford where our next opponents and looked a strong physical team, to match this they also played excellent football, moving and passing the ball around with ease. Due to their excellence they soon raced into a lead and never looked back, Bolton never stopped trying but they just couldn’t match the superior Hornets.
Bolton’s Final match was against Portsmouth, the game was played in a good spirit with neither team having won a game, Bolton like in their first match went into a 2-0 lead, the test was now on, would they be able to hold on? Portsmouth got a goal back following a acrobatic volley that flew into the net, Bolton stood strong though this time and continued to play their game scoring a third goal. The end was near and victory was insight, but Bolton decided to make the end exciting by giving the ball away and allowing Pompey to score. Luckily there was not enough time on the clock and Bolton held out for the win.
Watford and Leyton Orient progressed from the group, and eventually the Watford team defeated Millwall on penalties to become worthy winners. Congratulations must go to all the young people who took part and showed a great advert for the KICKZ projects that are being run up and down the country.
Own The Cage
Kickz recently entered a team in the Nike “Own the Cage” tournament which was held at The Trafford Power League centre.
The competition attracted teams from the Manchester United, Stoke City, Oldham Athletic and Wigan Kickz projects. The format was winner stays on with the aim to own the cage for the longest period. The winner would then travel to London to take part in the national finals.
Manchester Utd were the team to beat in Bolton’s group and whilst several games where close the Bolton lads failed to conquer their Manchester counterparts. The team never gave up and continued to play good football passing and moving well with often only there shooting letting them down.
This was the first time the players had played together in competition but they had been well prepared by coach Lee Thomas. The commitment and dedication they put in was good and all the yong people enjoyed the night. Adam Gortrell was selected to play in an exhibition game; the teams were made up form a player from each team. They went to battle to show skills and techniques with the chance to win a £150 voucher to spend with Nike, Adam didn’t win but played a team game allowing others to showboat their skills.
During the tournament the organiser's gave the players the chance to trial a new trainer the Nike Bomba finale, this allowed the players to sample the trainer and feel how it was on the pitch, and several of the players took up this chance.
The Kickz project has again shown it abiltiy to offer a varity of chances to young people and keep them engaged at key times, whilst also increasing their fitness and social interaction levels.
Oldham Athletic Community Trust Tournament
Bolton Wanderers Kickz team travelled to Oldham last weekend to take part in the Oldham Community Trust Tournament.
The Bolton squad consisted of 10 players who had all been put through their paces prior to the tournament by Kickz coach Lee Thomas; He had worked on several key areas so that the team was as well prepared as possible for their campaign in which they were managed by Geoff Williams and Carl Pierce.
The tournament took place at Oldham’s 1st team training ground, giving the young players the opportunity to experience to play where professional footballers train on a regular basis.
Bolton’s group consisted of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wigan Athletic and Oldham with the winners of the group stage getting a place in the final.
Oldham Athletic were Bolton’s first opponents with the Wanderers squad settling into the flow of the game the quicker and putting into practice what they had been coached over the previous couple of weeks. Bolton managed to score 2 goals, the first by Josh T with Josh D grabbing a second; both were the end product of good passing moves involving the whole team.
Bolton’s second game was against Wolverhampton Wanderers who presented a totally different challenge. Bolton stood up to the bigger Wolverhampton team well, and managed to contain them for longs periods of the match with Louis playing particulary well in goal, unfortunately the opposition managed to break the Bolton defence in the final moments to win the game 1-0.
Bolton’s final game saw them take on their counterparts from Wigan Athletic. The game was played in good spirit with both teams needing to win the game to get into a play off. Bolton scored first in the game following some good close control by Lee-Max before he fired the ball low passed the diving Wigan keeper. Wigan managed to get a goal back following some good work down the left of the pitch. Bolton then took the lead for a second time, with a Connor playing a long ball into the box and the Wigan goalkeeper misjudging the bounce of the ball which found its way into the unguarded net. Unfortunately Bolton failed to hang on the lead and allowed Wigan back into the game. The game ended up as a 2-2 draw which was a fair result but meant both teams crashed out as Wolves topped the league following 2 victories and a draw.
All the team played well and in the right manner and this was reflected by them winning the fair play award, something which all the players should be proud of. The experience of playing tournament football will also set the lads up well for the National Kickz Cup which will take place later in the year.
Bolton Wanderers Kickz 5 Oldham Athletic Kickz 5
The game got off to a quick start as Oldham used their knowledge of the surface to their advantage, using quick passing and plenty of running to cause Bolton all sorts of early problems. However against the run of play Bolton launched a long ball forward and the Oldham centre back misjudged the bounce of the ball and used his arm to control it leaving the referee no option but to point to the spot. Dawson confidently stepped up and dispatched the ball firmly into the back of the net. This spurred the home team into action and they scored two quick goals to take the lead. Greenhalgh in the Bolton goal was being kept extremely busy by the Oldham forwards but he stood up well to the test making several quality saves unfortunately just before half time he was beaten again giving Oldham a 3-1 lead at half time.
.jpg)
During half time the Bolton team looked where they were going wrong and how to address these problems. After the restart however all these discussions must have remained in the dressing room as virtually straight from the restart the Oldham team scored. This goal finally bought the Bolton lads round. Good movement between Derbyshire and Kamara and a well delivered ball into the box saw Dawson strike home for his second of the game.
Bolton Kickz looking like they were finally getting back into the game were again undone by the Oldham forwards pace, the hustle and bustle of the forwards caused a Bolton defender to place the ball passed the oncoming keeper for an own goal making the score now 5-2.
Again good movement down the right wing and a ball into the middle of the park saw Kamara take one touch a fire a torpedo towards the goal from a full 25 yards out, the quality of the strike left the keeper with no chance and Bolton were again back in the game. Bolton were using the width of the pitch well and this time a flowing move down the left saw the ball played to Hewitt who took the chance to shoot and scored.
Time was beginning to run out now for Bolton and there were really testing the Oldham defence, it was intrinsic passing by the Bolton team that was the undid the lock to the Oldham defence, quick small passes brought about a ball in to the box, which wasn’t cleared leaving a loose ball at the back post where Hewitt popped up to knock the ball over the line to make the final score 5-5.
Both teams played very well and were a credit to both Kickz projects