Murieston United Reds 2001

Coaches - Stephen Barclay 07711 847160 / James Armstrong  07770 806848

 Dougie Dalziel 07754 887587 / Craig Frame 07917 460513

 Latest News

*** NEW *** Training; Training restarts on Monday 2 August.  Please arrange to meet at the clubhouse at 18:00.  We will be training on the 3G astroturf. 

*** NEW *** Season 2010 / 2011 - The good news for the forthcoming season is that our performances in 2009 / 2010 have merited us with a place in the top league once again.  Our first match is scheduled for Sunday 15 August, when we will be competing in the Polbeth tournament. 

Vacancy -  We currently have 1 vacancy within the team and our intention will be to hold an open trial (date to be confirmed) for interested players.  We are particularly interested in recruiting a specialised goalkeeper.

Summer Newletter; The summer newsletter is now available, please speak to Stephen if you haven't received one already.

Reminder - Please remember to bring along the boys old umbro training kit, this will be recycled for use by the soccer school. 

Murieston Reds v Celtic in the Community 23 June

We finished off the season in style with a  7 - 4 win against Celtic in the Community.  Highlights of the evening included Ryan scoring from his own half and Harry finishing off a great team goal after some neat passing.  Matthew was on target as usual and Luke was Captain after his prevoius man of the man performance.  We'd also like to wish Andrew a speedy recovery after breaking a finger in the game against Whitburn.

Broxburn Athletic Colts v Murieston Reds 21 June

We managed to scrape out a draw after a late goal from Matthew when it was looking like we might lose this.  On another very warm evening, there was a red hot start to the game with two goals inside the first 90 seconds but thereafter the game fizzled out to resemble an end of season match.  It has been a long first season for the boys and we are now seeing some tired bodies and minds.  The coaches man of the match this week is Luke.  The difference today was that Luke remained focussed throughout the match, he worked hard to support his team mates and put in some great tackles, well done to Luke

Murieston Reds Dads v Murieston Blues Dads 20 June

The Murieston Reds coaches and dads celebrated fathers day with an 11 a side match on the new 3g astro surface against the blues dads and coaches.  It's not often that we complain about the heat, but it made the match difficult for the old timers!  The reds won the match 10-5, despite finishing the match with 10 men after James' dismissal for voilent conduct (thanks to some outragous simulation from Martin Scott) .  Thanks for everyone's support, we had a great turnout to see us lifting the trophy

Murieston v Whitburn 14 June

Similar to Saturday, we went ahead but gave away a two goal lead and ended up losing the match 5-4.  The most disapointing aspect of the game from the coaches perspective was our lack of passing.

Murieston v Grangemouth 12 June

After going 3 goals up, we were disappointed to only get a draw from this match.  Things could have been different if only we had been able to hold on for the two minutes before half time.  But it wasn't to be and Grangemouth were able to score twice in quick succession.  Overall, we had significantly more chances than Grangemouth but our failure to finish these and a lack of alertness at the other end meant that we let Grangemouth back into the game.  So far, that's 4 wins, 4 losses and 2 draws.  So come on boys, lets have a final push to try to get some results from our final three games.  

Murieston Tournament 5 June

What a beautiful day and a great tournament!  We ended the day with 2 wins, 2 draws and a defeat.  The tournament presented us with an opportunity to give the boys more game time and try them out in different positions.  It was great to see Adam Jukes again and the terrific support from parents and grandparents. 

Bathgate Rose v Murieston 29 May

What an exciting game and a great win!  This game was all about the opening and closing 2 minutes of the game; we had a blistering fast start to the game and were 2 goals up inside 2 minutes.  Matthew opened the scoring with a stunning chip shot over the keeper from outside the box and Harry followed up with a second after the keeper spilled a shot.  Harry added to this with a great strike off the inside of the post for our third goal, which everyone on the sideline thought was going well wide.  Winning games isn't all about goals though, it's about commitment and passing.  Robert and Ryan have formed a solid defensive partnership in recent weeks.  They used the wings to pass to Kieran, Ben and Andrew with the occassional direct ball straight through to Matthew or Kyle.  In midfield we tackled for every ball and our passing game is returning again.  Luke and Kyle came on after 10 minutes and maintained the quality to earn our 3 - 0 half time lead.  It could have easily been more, as we went close to increasing our lead several times.

We seemed to take off foot off the gas in the second half and lost 3 goals without reply, it would have undoubtedly been more had it not been for some stunning saves by Jack in goal.  Some last ditch tackles by Andrew, Ryan and Robert also prevented a number of goal scoring opportunities.  We had a number of chances to score but made life difficult for ourselves before Matthew finally scored in the final two minutes with a great shot off the post.  A great team effort and result, well done.  Man of the man was really tough this week, because everyone played so well.  After much debate, Matthew is our man of the match but Jack deserves a special mention too.  

Murieston v Mid Calder Colts 22 May

Kyle kicked off the game as captain and we started strongly.  The match flowed from end to end until Mid Calder took the lead with a great strike from long distance, possibly against the run of play.  We missed a number of good scoring chances, one particular effort springs to mind after a great though pass from Adam Frame and as a result we went into the break 1-0 down.  We continued to miss goal scoring opportunties and were punished when Mid Calder scored again with a great individual effort this time.  Based on recent form, the omens weren't looking good but the boys remained positive and Matthew managed to pull a goal back.  A second goal followed soon after from Harry.  At this point the match could have gone either way with both teams coming close, I lost count of the number of times we hit the post!  With less than 2 minutes left, Dougie made a call to switch Andrew from defence to midfield.  Almost immediately Mid Calder got in behind us and came very close to scoring, moments later Andrew did one better when he scored the winner.  But make no mistake, this was a team effort; we saw a great contribution from both goalkeepers in Ben and Jack, a strong defence display from Ryan, and Robert, good energy in midfield from Adam, Luke, Andrew and Harry and running from Kyle and Matthew up front

This was a hugely enjoyable game of football, which was made even more enjoyable with a last gasp winner.  The coaches' Man of the Match this week was a standout with his tackling, running, energy and enthusiam, not to mention a great goal to win the game; well done to Andrew.

S

BFC Linlithgow Ajax v Murieston 15 May

We started the match strongly but despite this Linlithgow took the lead against the run of play.  However, the difference this week was that the heads didn't go down.  Our response was to work harder and it was great to see goals coming from all positions; Harry in Midfield, Ryan & Ben in defence and Matthew as striker.  Most pleasing of all was a return to a passing game and our use of the width of the pitch.  Playing the ball to the wide players, stretches the opposition and creates scoring chances.  We came from behind in the last few minutes to earn a draw and whilst there is a feeling that we could have won this; it's just good to get a team performance and see us back to the form that we know we are capable of.   

It is important that we see continous development and improvement and the man of the match this week has been our most improved player since the turn of the year; Kieran.  Well Done Kieran.

S

 BFC Linlithgow Porto v Murieston 8 May

We knew that promotion to the top league would be tough, but we've been hit by a double whammy in the last few weeks; a drop in form and consecutive fixtures against some of the strongest sides.  Despite another loss, there is always something positive to take from every game.  Jack's great performance in goal earns him man of the match, with Kieran running him very close with a strong game in defence.  Andrew also chipped in with another great goal.  On the flip side there is concern that we are losing too many goals at set pieces, despite practicing against this every week in training.  Our primary concern though, is our lack of competitiveness.  This was evident on Saturday where we came off second in most of the 50/50 tackles.  Again this is something which we've been trying to rectify in training recently.  We've asked the boys to work hard for one another to get the results back on track.  

 Murieston v Livingston Hearts 1 May

This was definately a game of 2 halves.  The first half was tight, with Muri taking the lead when Harry finished off a loose ball in the box.  Livingston pulled one back just before half time taking us into the break level.  We were hopeful going into the  second half and even more so when Andrew scored a great individual effort, but our heads went down at 2-3 and we never seemed to recover.  It's tough to lose 3 games in a row, but it isn't always about winning.  The last couple of weeks have seen good improvement espiecally from Luke and Kieran.  We've been trying to focus on technique in training recently but this seems to have been at the cost of our passing game. We are going to go back to basics for a couple of weeks to try to regain this.  Man of the match is Andrew for his tackling and his goal.

Lastly, a special mention to goes to Saturday's captain Adam Jukes - Adam we are going to miss you. You were a great member of the team; always well behaved, you did your best every game and worked really hard for your team mates.  Good luck.

Kirkfield Utd v Murieston 10 April

What a contrast to both our previous match against Livingston and our earlier game in the season against Kirkfield.  We competed well and were able to overcome strong opponent's.  Kirkfield are a good side who like to play a passing game, however we matched them equally throughout the first half.  It wasn't until the second half that we were able to take full advantage and win this game through some first class finishing.  Our build up play was good and learning from recent training sessions, we made good use of the width of the pitch.  Ben's pass set up Ryan with a goal and Harry made a good run to finish a rebound from Matthew's strike.  The Kirkfield defence found it difficult to cope with Matthew's strong running and he scored 2 great goals. 

Kyle worked hard up front to close the ball down when we were under pressure in the first half.  Our midfield comprising of Jack, Ryan and Adam F had to work particularly hard to win the ball.  Adam J, Kieran and Robert formed strong partnerships in defence along with 2 great goalkeeping displays from Ben (1st half) and Adam J (2nd Half). 

The coaches man of the match this week is Adam F.  As well as his tackling in midfield and defence, his passing was very good.

Murieston v Livingston BC 27 March

In contrast to our performance in Monday's training game, we fell below our recent standards.  The coaches stress to the boys that it is the performance rather than the result that matters, but we fell down on both counts this week.  We should have been well in front at half time but missed some simple chances and a momentary lack in focus led to Livingston taking the lead.  Livingston wanted to win this more than we did, they played as a team, won the 50 / 50 tackles and worked harder.  The coaches' man of the match this week is Harry.  As well as his passing, he spilt some blood for the team after taking a blow to the face.

It's a disappointing end to the week, but let's look forward to training. 

Whitburn AFC v Murieston 20 March

We practiced our finishing during training last week and it paid off with some great goals in the second half to win the match.  The first half kicked off with two very evenly matched sides and despite taking the lead ,it ended level.  We worked harder after half time and took control in the second half, scoring a further 4 goals without reply.

Picking a man of the match has been really difficult this week, we had two strong goalkeeping (and out field) displays from Ben and Adam J.  Some good set pieces from Ryan and a superb hat trick from Matthew.  Kieran and Jack passed well and worked hard getting up and down the pitch. Kyle's first goal is proving hard to get, he came close to scoring again this week.  Harry and Adam F both played well in defence contributing to our clean sheet in the second half.  However, man of the match this week is Andrew.  His two goals and great passing to set up one of Matthew's goals earns him man of the match.

SB

Murieston v Broxburn Colts

Great result boys.  We asked everyone to work a bit harder this week, and our efforts paid off with a great team performance.  Despite going a goal down at the start of the match, we remained positive and dominated the match.

We saw some great goals from Andrew, Matthew and Ryan.  Kyle went close on a couple of occassions too.   However there's still some work to be done on the training ground to improve our finishing.  We looked good defensively, with Adam and Robert's goal saving tackles.  Luke made an important contribution and showed us he can tackle.  The goalkeeper is one of the most important roles in the team and Ben made kept us in the match with some good early saves.

In midfield Jack, Harry and Adam F made some great runs supporting the forwards and helping back in defence  

Man of the match this week is Adam Jukes.  Adam passed the ball really well throughout the first half then went in goal where he played really well.

SB

Grangemouth BC v Muri

Unfortunately we didn't get the result we wanted, but there were some very encouraging signs and in particular our passing was very good.  We made a positive start to the game with good passing and this was a game we might have won with some better finishing.  The second half was always going to be difficult, coming back from a 3 goal deficit, but we rose to the challenge.  Ryan gave us a kick start, scoring directly from a corner, and we were the better team throughout the second half.  Every game is going to be tough between now and the end of the season.  We need to work together as a team, espiecally when we lose the ball, and everyone needs to get behind the ball.

Ben kept us in the game with great saves but Man of the Match was Jack.  Jack passed the ball well, did lots of running and scored two goals.  Well done Jack.

Fixtures

Training

Training is on Monday nights from 6.00 pm - 7.30 pm on the astro pitches at Murieston.  The boys should wear their club tracksuit, club training kit, appropraite astro boots or trainers, shin guards and a fluid bottle.

Coach Contacts

James Armstrong 07770 806848
Dougie Dalziel 07754 887587
Stephen Barclay 07711 847160

Secretary

Gillian Keir 07500 326859

Treasurer

Craig Frame 07917 460513