Next Match:
01/04/08 14:00

The U18s are next in action next on Tuesday, 8th April when they visit second bottom Milnthorpe Corinthians. The Lancashire FA U18 Floodlight League fixture was originally earmarked for Tuesday, 11th March but was called off due to a water logged pitch. 

Mike Sumner briefs the players at training last night

"The lads are looking forward to a return to action after a few weeks away from competitive football" commented Mike Sumner. "We did play a friendly last week against  local side Pulcinella's and lost 2-0.  I used the game to try a few options. Four of the Under 15 side were brought in and they really stood to the challenge. I even came on for the last five minutes myself! Seriously, we will be looking to take something from the Milnthorpe game as our results have been below standard recently" Sumner went on to say.   

Matty Mecklenburgh returns to the squad after recovering from an ankle injury picked up two weeks ago against Colne.

 

Out for the Season:
01/04/08 14:00

Right back Ollie Kelly is out for the next month with a badly bruised foot and looks unlikely to figure again until pre-season. "Ollie is out for four weeks and that effectively means the rest of the season" said U18s manager Mike Sumner. "It's a loss" he added. 

Kelly, who has appeared for Town reserves this season, has been told he can return to light running in a few weeks.
 

Fleetwood Town U18s 0 Colne U18s 6:
Monday March 17th 2008 | Lancashire Floodlight League
Report by Derick Thomas

Fleetwood Town U18s went into this Lancashire FA U18 Floodlight League fixture looking to improve recent form which has seen them take none of the points from their last three home games.  The three opposition teams have combined to net seven goals, with Town’s Sam Hargreaves replying with a single consolation against Kendal Town. Fleetwood went into the evening without Ryan Adderley, already ruled out through injury, and Ollie Kelly who failed a late fitness test. Colne had moved into Fleetwood’s third place with a recent 3-1 victory at Burscough.

The visitors were 1-0 up inside the first five minutes.  A move from inside their own half ended with a fine block from Danny Hogg, only for the loose ball to land at the feet of a Colne player for an easy tap-in.  Town’s Mike Booth was clipped just inside the opposition box a couple of minutes later, but the referee waved play on. Fleetwood didn’t really recover from these two early set backs and went on to give Colne too much space and time on the ball.  Mike Jarvis had a good spell on the 20 minute mark.  He first made a solid tackle to break-up a Colne move and then frustrated another opposition move with a well-timed back header to Hogg. Accurate Colne passing and untidy home movement resulted in their second goal just after the half hour with a low shot ending in the right hand of the Fleetwood goal. Jamie Haydock then received a caution for an off the ball incident after Fleetwood had already won a free kick on the left. Town continued to press forward with an Adam Sumner long-range shot going wide.  The home side were lucky not to go down to 10 men just before the first half whistle. A Fleetwood hand made contact with the ball inside the box, but the Colne effort was already heading towards an open goal to make it 3-0.

 Colne continued looking for goals in the second half and went 4-0 up 15 minutes after the restart.  Their fifth goal was a penalty 10 minutes later. Number six was the best of the match when a free kick on the Colne right was floated and met with an accurate effort on goal.  At the restart after the last goal, it was encouraging to hear the shout 'Come on Fleetwood, let’s get a goal' from inside the Town half. Despite conceding six goals, home keeper Danny Hogg was confident holding crosses during the game and made several key stops, including a diving save to his right within the opening two minutes. Adam Sumner put in a good performance and didn’t give up - even after the last goal went in. Matty Mecklenburgh joined the list of Town injuries after taking a knock on the ankle.

Several key Fleetwood players were below par this evening and Colne were given too much time and possession throughout the game. These last four performances are in stark contrast to early season results, which saw Fleetwood take third place in the first half of the campaign. 

Squad: Danny Hogg, Matty Gair, Adam Sumner, Matty Wood, Mike Jarvis, Marc Joyce, Matty Mecklenburgh, Jack Davidson, Mike Crossland, Mike Booth, Jamie Haydock Subs: Joey Newsome, Matty Roach, Rob Vincent, Ben Marshall, Jordan Holmes (all used)

Fleetwood Town U18s 0 Southport U18s 2:
Thursday March 6th 2008 | Lancashire Floodlight League
Report by Derick Thomas

Squad during pre-match warm-up

Fleetwood Town U18s were hoping to end a two match home losing run on Thursday evening, but ended up on the end of 2-0 defeat by Southport.   Despite the score line, the home team were able to leave the field after 90 minutes with their heads firmly held high. It was second playing third in this Lancashire FA U18 Floodlight League fixture. Town went into the match without Ryan Adderley who picked up a calf injury against Kendal Town last week. Southport started  the match following a recently impressive 3-0 home win against leaders Kirkham & Wesham U18s.

The home side showed their intentions from the first minutes when Jonathon Fazackerley, on his debut, was played through on the right and he put his shot low into the keeper. An early attacking build-up by Southport was frustrated when Matty Wood made a timely intervention after five minutes. The half played-out very much in the same fashion, with end to end action and efforts on both goals. Wood took charge of the home defence. With the back partnership of Jamie Haydock and  Matty Gair,  Matty Wood ensured Southport were frustrated again and again. Sam Hargreaves and Fazackerley interlinked after 25 minutes, but the resulting cross didn’t find a Fleetwood shirt. A few minutes later, neat passing between Gair and Fazackerley put Hargreaves through, but his effort ended in the side netting. Southport continued to attack and counter-attack, but lacked shots on target.  A good flowing first half ended goalless but not before Matty Wood cleverly left a loose ball for home keeper Danny Hogg to collect in the last moments of the half.  This completed a tidy goalkeeping display by Hogg.

The second half started with a good weaving move into the opposition box by Town’s Tom Kelly.  Kelly took on one too many defenders before he lost the ball. Four minutes later, Jack Davidson’s close shot was saved by the away keeper, who didn’t know too much about the attempt on goal.  Southport continued their pressure with a corner on 52 minutes. Joey Newsome had plenty of time to line-up a shot ten minutes into the half, but this went over the bar. A Tom Kelly header then cleared the latest of a series of Southport threats. Adam Sumner and Mike Jarvis were then key to a number of  moves from their own half into the opposition final third. The Southport pressure eventually paid-off when they took a quick free-kick and Chris Roberts was able to tap in from short range.  Ben Helme increased the visitors lead with under 10 minutes remaining.  Fleetwood continued to take the game to the opponents until the final whistle, but ran out of time and Southport took all three points.

'We matched Southport in terms of strength and ability.  The lads answered what was asked of them.  Unfortunately, the result went against us' said Town U18 manager Mike Sumner.  'It was one of the best performances of the year.  This was the first game this season were we finished without injuries, so that was one pleasing aspect' he went on to add.

Squad: Danny Hogg, Matty Gair, Jamie Haydock, Matty Wood, Mike Jarvis, Adam Sumner, Jonathon Fazackerley, Jack Davidson (Capt), Sam Hargreaves, Joey Newsome, Tom Kelly
Subs: Andy Bartholomew, Mark Joyce, Matty Mecklenburgh, Mark France

Mid Season Review:
By Mike Sumner | Manager

The journey started last summer when I was appointed Under 18 manager. Trial sessions for Fleetwood and Fylde-based youngsters soon followed. Local footballers were invited to showcase their ability and stake claim to a squad position. My previous knowledge of the local, junior football scene was to prove invaluable as some of the hopefuls were already known to me. The intention was to hold only one trial session.  This soon increased due to the huge interest. Indeed, the end tally was some 80 local youngsters and trials took place over a three day period. A squad of 21 players was finally selected.

This fantastic response taught me two things. Firstly, the recent success of Fleetwood Town, on and off the pitch,  had obviously struck a note in the local community.  This was shown by so many youngsters wanting to be involved with the Club.  Secondly, it was clear there was enough local talent for a Fleetwood Town U18’s side to compete in the Lancashire FA U18 Floodlight League.

August pre-season showed there was plenty of work ahead.  Fixtures included a 13-0 away defeat to a Bolton Wanderers youth team, followed by a 4-0 home reversal against a strong Ashton United youth side.  When balancing the quality of the opposition, I wasn’t too disheartened by these results - the Bolton side included a recent £150,000 signing.

I’m writing at the mid-point of the season. The team is in a much stronger position and enthusiasm is high. Out of 10 games played, we have enjoyed five wins, One draw and suffered four defeats. We have 8 remaining league fixtures. Two games in particular stick in my mind as a yardstick of the team’s progression from the pre-season results.

Our best performance to date was a 2-0 league victory against an organised Burscough side back in October. Beating such a well-established team on their own ground certainly gave a wake-up call to other teams in the league.  A second sound indicator of our increasing capability was another away victory.  A solid team performance took all 3 points from Kendal Town in a well fought 3-1 win. Both these matches displayed an increasing confidence and determination from the lads. 

The start of February saw three league fixtures arranged at Highbury Stadium. The first of these was a 1-0 home defeat when Burscough took revenge for us taking three points from them back in October.  I felt we deserved a draw from that game.  United were quicker on the ball, but we had some good possession.

The weather unfortunately took care of the local clash against Blackpool Wren Rovers on Monday 18th February.

We entertained Kendal Town on Wednesday this week and lost 4-1.  It was a calm, clear night and we took the game to Kendal and created some good chances in a goalless first half.  The second half saw Kendal being quicker to the ball - a sign of their higher fitness levels - and dominance in front of goal. Town were also pegged back by positional changes and another different starting 11, again due to injuries and sickness.

Assistant Manager, John Hindle, has been key to our progress. John and I compliment each other and work well as a management team. John’s match-day preparation with the team is second to none. My job has been made a great deal easier by the response and encouragement from the Chairman, Andy Pilley.  Andy has provided some good encouragement and the U18 squad certainly feel part of the Fleetwood Town family. I would like to thank our sponsors, Richardson’s Fish Bar and Vincent’s Solicitors.  A big thanks, also, to Chris Allen Garages, the principle Club sponsor.

Overall, I’ve been impressed by the hard work and commitment from the lads. Why not come along and see for yourself?  Keep an eye on the match-day programme or check back here for forthcoming fixtures.
 

Fleetwood Town U18s 1 Kendal Town U18s 4:
Wednesday February 27th 2008 | Lancashire Floodlight League
Goal: Sam Hargreaves

Fleetwood Town U18s suffered their second defeat in a row last Wednesday evening when Kendal Town took all 3 points with a 4-1 win at Highbury Stadium. Conditions where ideal for football - a cold, dry night and good pitch.

Both teams took advantage of the good conditions and the first half ended with an equally balanced 0-0 scoreline. Fleetwood did create several good chances in front of the Kendal goal, including twice rattling the opposition woodwork. Kendal took charge of the second period.  Their higher fitness levels enabled them to be quicker to the ball and this enabled them to end the game 4-1 in front.  Sam Hargreaves, pictured right, netted the consolation for the home team.

Two penalty decisions - one at each end - provided the key talking points of the match.  Fleetwood were denied a spot kick during the second half when a foul was judged to take place just outside the box. The resulting free-kick was saved by the Kendal keeper.  The visitors scored from their penalty claim towards the end of the 90 minutes.

Ryan Adderley was the only Fleetwood player to suffer injury on the night.  'Ryan has torn a calf muscle' said manager Mike Sumner. 'We expect him to be out for around 6 weeks. We all wish him a speedy recovery', added Sumner.

Following this result, Fleetwood remain in third place behind Southport and leaders Kirkham and Wesham.  Kendal Town move up to fourth place in the Lancashire FA U18 Floodlight League

Squad: Tom Holland, Ollie Kelly, Matty Gair, Jamie Haydock, Matty Wood, Adam Sumner, Jack Davidson (c), Sam Hargreaves, Joey Newsome, Matty Mecklenburgh, Mike Ronson, Jordan Holmes, Andy Bartholomew, Mark Joyce, Mark France and Ryan Adderley.