Under 9s Swallows - 2004-05

Sat Mar 19 - Friendly
Ledbury Swifts Swallows - 2 (Bramley, Green)
Ashleworth - 3

Goals from Callum Green and Liam Bramley gave the Swallows a respectable scoreline in this closely fought match against Ashleworth. This was a return match for one of the Swallows' earliest encounters and after losing that match 9-4, the closeness of the result shows a real improvement in Ledbury's performance over the last five months and the team's managers are hoping to this continues as they hope to make their formal entry into the Herefordshire Junior League as the Under 10s Rangers next season. 


Sat Jan 22 - Friendly
Pegasus Juniors Seconds - 1
Ledbury Swifts Swallows - 6 (Broughton 3, Green 2, Other)

Ledbury Swifts Swallows U9’s started the first half by far the stronger of the two teams. This led to the first goal by Tyler Broughton. Pegasus pulled a goal back just into the second half, however, sterling work from Adam Dalley, Nick Bilton in defence and Rhys Hunt in goal kept a clean sheet for the rest of the game. Ledbury's strong midfield of Josh Williams and Callum Green continued to battle away and feed Tyler Broughton up front. A further 4 goals were scored, 2 each for Callum Green and Tyler Broughton. With 10 minutes remaining Callum James and William Blackaby came on to seal the 6-1 victory to Ledbury.

Sat Dec 18 - Friendly
Credenhill Reserves - 2
Ledbury Swifts Swallows - 2 (Broughton 2)
Although by the time the Swallows played the weather was even colder, both teams contributed to a very lively game with lots of 'thrills and spills' from two evenly matched sides. With new additions joining the squad for this season and the resulting improved balance of skills, the Swallows are now starting to establish a stable formation. This was very evident during the game, particularly in defence where Rhys Hunt, Charlie Bilton, Nick Bolton and Adam Dalley are creating a solid foundation for the team. During the first half both teams played some good end to end football with Will Blackaby, Josh Williams and Callum Green creating some good opportunities for Tyler Broughton, Callum James and Cameron Britton in attack. Tyler in particular caused a lot of problems for the Credenhill defence and his determined running and persistence ultimately resulted in a fine goal for the Swallows. As was to be expected, in this evenly matched game Credenhill managed to force an equaliser before the break and the first half ended with everything even at 1-1. The second half started in the same way as the first with the Swallows midfield making some great forward passes for Broughton and James to run onto, but the Credenhill defence kept managing to force them wide and away from goal. However, it was only a matter of time before Tyler would evade them and indeed he did just that; after five minutes of the second half he collected the ball just inside the Credenhill half and made a determined run down the left wing. He managed to squeeze past two defenders and forced the ball over the goal line past the advancing keeper. For the balance of the game Credenhill surged forward trying to score the equalising and the Swallows battled doggedly in defence to keep them out. The visiting supporters were kept on their 'toes' as numerous goal mouth scrambles almost resulted in a second goal for Credenhill. There was a high degree of inevitability that they would ultimately manage to score an equaliser and this is just what happened as a late defensive slip by the Swallows led to an equaliser in the dying seconds of the game. With the game ending in a fine 2-2 draw, both teams confirmed their commitment to play a return fixture in Ledbury in early 2005. This was an excellent game that was enjoyed by everyone involved and provides a great start to the Christmas holiday period.

Sat Dec 11 - Friendly
Bartestree Under 8s - 0
Ledbury Swifts Swallows - 1 (Broughton)
The match consisted of three fifteen minute periods in order to give both teams the opportunity to play as many players as possible. The game was a closely fought with the Swallows building on their recent good performance at Mitcheldean with some excellent passing. This excellent passing led to several attempts on goal, but with both defences on top, Tyler Broughton and Callum James were unable to get that all important final touch and the first period ended without any goals. In the second period the game continued to be very tight with Adam Dalley, Nick Bolton and Charlie Bilton playing resolutely in defence for the Swallows. Eventually the midfield presence of Will Blackaby, Josh Williams and Cameron Britton began to tell and they created a goal scoring opportunity for Tyler Broughton to tuck away to give the Swallows a 1-0 lead. The final period of the game continued in very much the same way as the previous two with both teams effectively canceling each other out. When the final whistle blew the Swallows were delighted to have protected their narrow lead and to score a well deserved victory. Nick Bolton was named the Swallows player of the match for his sterling work in defence. 

Sat Dec 05 - Friendly
Mitcheldean - 6
Ledbury Swifts Swallows - 4 (James, Broughton 2, Green)
Mitcheldean made the most of their home advantage and some good local support in the early part of the game and in so doing played some very enterprising football. It took the Swallows a little while to sort their formation out and to begin playing well. But just as things were starting to come together for the Swallows, Mitcheldean won a midfield battle and moved the ball quickly forward up the middle of the pitch before scoring with a strong rising shot into the back of the net. A second quickly followed and it began to look like the Swallows were in for a very difficult game. However, Ledbury never gave up and eventually their hard work began to pay dividends. A move that started with some creative work in midfield by Callum Green, followed by a mazy run from Tyler Broughton and a firm shot from Callum James gave the Swallows their first sign of hope. Unfortunately Mitcheldean responded quickly and scored two further goals to lead 4-1. Despite this setback the Swallows kept plugging away and just before half time another well worked opportunity led to Tyler Broughton being brought down in the box. Tyler's penalty was parried by the goalkeeper, but he ran forward and stab the ball home to reduce the deficit. Then just before half time Mitcheldean scored a fifth goal to go into the break leading 5-2. After a good team talk from Tim Green, the Swallows started the second half in a very purposeful manner and played some very attractive football. Indeed they had much the better of the game only to concede a sixth goal after five minutes. This seemed to bring the very best out of the Swallows. From that point on Rhys Hunt looked very secure in goal, Charlie Bilton, Adam Dalley and Nick Bolton were solid in defence and Callum Green, Cameron Britton and David Daniels created a great midfield platform to feed Tyler Broughton and Callum James in attack. Halfway through the second half, a strong run down the left of the pitch by Callum Green and some swift inter-play with two colleagues enabled Callum to score a fine and very well-deserved goal. This was quickly followed by a well-taken corner for the Swallows which Broughton was able to force home and bring the score to 6-4. With time running out the Swallows went all out for more goals, but despite some great efforts they would just not come. Not surprisingly Mitcheldean tried to take advantage of the extra space this created only to see Rhys Hunt make a superb diving save in the last few minutes of the game. This was an excellent friendly and enabled both teams to try out new players and new formations in great surroundings.

Sat Nov 13 - Friendly
Ledbury Swifts Swallows - 2 (Brooks, OG)
Ledbury Swifts U8s - 1 (Bennet)
The weather conditions remained bright and sunny and the ground conditions showed some sign of improvement after the earlier match played by Ledbury Swifts and Greyhound City Sports. The Ledbury Swifts Under 8's started very brightly and quickly took the Swallows by surprise with Ian Bennet scoring a fine goal for the Under 8's. However, the Swallows gradually worked their way back into the game with Josh Williams, Charlie Bilton, Will Blackaby, Adam Dalley all making important contributions. Eventually the constant pressure created by the Swallows paid off and Sam Brooks was able to score an important equaliser to send the teams into the half time break all square with a 1-1 scoreline. With everything still to play for - both teams started the second half brightly and a tightly fought contest ensued. Rhys Hunt, playing in goal for in the second half, made some important saves for the Swallows and Callum Green, Nick Bolton, Callum James also made impressive debuts. Once again the pressure created by the Swallows and particularly by Brooks led to an own goal on part of the Under 8's to give the Swallows a 2-1 lead. The Swallows were able to hold onto this lead and run out 2-1 winners when the final whistle was eventually blown. Just as in the previous match this contest took place in an excellent spirit and Josh Williams was named the Swallows man of the match by the parents.


Sat Oct 30 - Friendly
Ashleworth - 9
Ledbury Swifts Swallows - 4 (Broughton 3, Britton)
On Saturday 30 October 2004, the Ledbury Swifts Swallows team embarked on their second competitive match of the season with a friendly match against Ashleworth at Ashleworth's Woodpecker venue. The match took place on a bright and sunny morning and on a very good pitch. Both teams started the match in a very positive manner and the first 20 minutes involved some gripping end to end play. Swallows and Ashleworth both played some good flowing football with crisp passing and as a result several good goal scoring opportunities were created. Ledbury were able to convert 2 of these chances with Cameron Britton and Tyler Broughton both getting on the score sheet. Unfortunately Ashleworth also managed to score twice and hence both teams went into the half time break with a 2:2 scoreline in their minds. As in the last game between these two sides, Ashleworth came out strongly in the second half and demonstrated their skill and commitment by scoring another 7 goals. Swallows responded with another 2 good goals from Tyler Broughton, however, Ashleworth proved to be too strong and ran out 9-4 winners. This was another excellent match played in great spirit by both sides. Swallows are looking forward to playing Ashleworth again at some stage and wish to thank both sets of parents for their great support.