Ashbourne Aztecs Junior Charter Standard F.C.

Aztecs Tame the Cougars

Newhall Cougars U 18’s 0 Aztec U18’s 4

For the first half hour Aztecs knew they would have to dig deep and perform to their capacity to take the points, as Newhall competed well and it was a world class save from Billy Akers which prevented the home side from taking the lead.

Ross Hunter on the left defended resolutely and provided some effective passes for forwards Sam Froggatt and Will Tomkinson to feed on. With 10 minutes of the half remaining Alex Drummond and Tom Cresswell linked up to provide Dave Sadler with an opportunity to head home which he despatched confidently.

This spurred Aztecs on and just on the stroke of halftime Scott Sears sent Sam Froggatt away and the striker slotted in the second, ending the half 0-2.

Newhall continued to ask questions of the Aztecs defence but the purposeful central pairing of Adam Lomas and Liam Walton-Gibson, ably supported by fullbacks Callum Refern and Ollie Sanders  and acrobatic Akers ,stifled any hopes of a comeback.

Richard Archer made a number of probing runs on the left which ended in Froggatt running in to bustle home the third.

Drummond, Sadler and Cresswell were a highly effective trio in midfield putting in both telling tackles and passes. A superb free kick from Lomas found Mitch Coxon in the box who headed in the fourth and Aztecs went marching on, in a game, which tested their credentials. Aztecs consolidate their lead at the top but next week is Cup duty away to Belvedere.

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Ashbourne Aztecs Leopards u9's 2

Chesapeake                                         3

The Leopards hosted Chesapeake in another tough league encounter . Both teams started brightly and the game was evenly matched .
Aztecs slowly got more and more into the match, helped by resolute defending by Ben Pattinson and William Birkett . They were helped as ever by fine goalkeeping from Aaron Kingaby .
The midfield trio of Tommy Cockayne , Leo Cooper and Jack Beresford were also getting more time and space to put Chesapeake under pressure with several attacks. This resulted in the Leopards taking the lead through an excellent low shot from striker Calum Wood making it 1-0 .
This shocked Chesapeake because no sooner had the game restarted that an attack lead to an equaliser for the opposition . 1-1 . The Leopards continued to press for another goal but the score remained the same upto half time .
Chesapeake started the 2nd half much better than the Leopards. The home team were battling hard , it was Chesapeake that scored again to make it 1-2 . Aztecs continued in the same manner,  making it hard work for Chesapeake . The 3 substitutes of Alex Cheetham , Jacob Wibberley-Howe and Jack Harding were now on the pitch . They got straight into action and battled hard for an equaliser .
Chesapeake now were on top and with the wind at their backs they scored a third goal , 1-3 . The leopards did not let their heads drop and persisted in tackling well and tried hard to get back into the game . Another attack that started in defence with Will Birkett who passed the ball into Leo Cooper . The central midfielder released Calum Wood who fired another low shot right into the bottom corner of the net to make it 2-3 .
The leopards sensed that an equaliser was just around the corner and pushed hard for that all important third goal . Alas the leopards ran out of time and the match finished in defeat , 2-3 .
This was another fine performance from the Leopards who continue to show great spirit and determination . It is credit to whole squad that they play their football with this spirit and never let their heads drop . It is very pleasing that they battle hard right to the final whistle.

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Melbourne United Blue Sox                   0

Ashbourne Aztecs Juniors u9’s               3

Aztecs were first out of the starting blocks with a couple of attempts at goal by James Donlan and Charlie Land; both however were saved by Melbourne’s ‘in form’ keeper.  It was Luke Zona for Ashbourne who was first to score, his shot on goal deflected slightly off Melbourne’s defence, but luckily found the back of the net 0-1 to Aztecs.  A ‘high leg’ in the box resulted in a penalty for Melbourne, which was taken and saved admirably by Ashbourne’s keeper, Ben Johnson.  Good passing between James Donlan and Tyler Burton along the length of the field resulted in a final cross to Charlie Land, who struck the ball with such pace that it surely found the back of the net;  giving Aztecs their second goal.  A substitution of Josh Lee followed into defence with Luke Zona coming off in midfield and Adam Leigh moving from defence to mid.  Adam Leigh worked tirelessly in both defence and midfield, but was brought off in the second half and replaced with the fresh legs of Joe Mee.  A further substitution was made with George Martin coming off for Joe Miller, giving all players a fair chance on the pitch. Second half continued just as the first despite the changes to play, again excellent passing, moving into space and lining shots up for each other, came from Charlie Land, James Donlan and Tyler Burton.  The latter had a couple of attempts in quick succession at goal, one being a header which went over the top of the cross bar and the second being a ‘one on one’ from a run through from midfield, but again the Melbourne keeper cleaned up nicely.  It was James Donlan who put the game to bed with his excellent goal into the top corner.  In the closing stages Melbourne tried to pull a goal back, but Ben Johnson for Ashbourne saved the ball confidently.  Man of the match went to Joe Mee, who as a fairly new player into the team, held his midfield position well, put in some good tackles, shots and passes throughout his time on the pitch.

Team:  Joe Mee, Joe Miller, George Martin, Josh Lee, Luke Zona, Tyler Burton, James Donlan, Ben Johnson, Adam Leigh & Charlie Land.

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Ashbourne Aztecs U10's 1

llestree Barcelona         3

Aztecs started the game positively and there were chances early on for Joe Reed and Matthew Pepper but despite great defending by Kye Gordon and Jack Bill it was Allestree that scored the opening goal through some good football of their own. Ashbourne didn't let this get the better of them though and Will Topham came close just before a Jake Ridley shot was deflected into the net to equal out the score. Ashbourne looked set to score more and some fantastic play by Luis Zambrano and Joe Reed in the middle nearly put Aztecs in front but an unfortunate high leg in the box meant a penalty to Allestree and they wasted no time making it 2-1. Despite being on the back foot Aztecs played some fantastic football and had some great chances but also did some brilliant tackling with Kye Gordon and Liam Warner, seconds before the final whistle went, Ashbourne failed to clear a corner and Allestree scored their third. The lads played fantastically and should be proud of themselves! Well done boys keep doing what your doing and results will come!

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Remember, remember the 5^th November, not for gunpowder treason and plot, but because the under 12’s moved to ‘top spot’.

Ashbourne Aztecs u12’s          8

Loughborough Emmanuel      1

Aztecs got off to a blazing start with a goal from the right by Tom Hodkinson.   Sam Legrice also tried his hand from the right, but was denied by Loughborough’s keeper.  From the goal kick, Oliver Reed picked up the ball for Aztecs in midfield, fed through to Kaylem Ocran, who went on an amazing run down the wing and scored out of the reach of the keeper, 2-0 to Aztecs.  Richard Rosewarne put in a couple of good runs but the Ashbourne side then started to sit back and lose their sense of urgency. Loughborough had a couple of attempts saved by Jordan Burton, Aztecs’ goalie, and any attempts to approach Loughborough’s goal were cleaned up by their keeper.  The battle was really in midfield, each team trying to gain control of the ball.  Daniel Morton, Oliver Reed and Sam Legrice were all trying to feed the ball through to the goalscorers up front, as were Loughborough. Just prior to half time, the visiting team pulled a goal back and they must have gone in feeling quite positive and that a ‘come back’ was on the cards.  This wasn’t to be as an ‘own goal’ at the start of the second half gave Aztecs the edge, the addition of Ben Warner, Kacper Stoch and Bradley Clowes to the team, brought back Ashbourne’s sense of determination, and from this point they never looked back.  Tom Hodkinson’s 2^nd goal and Aztecs’ fourth; was brilliantly achieved by dribbling round the keeper and placing the ball neatly in the bottom corner.  Kaylem Ocran, also for Aztecs, then caught the keeper off his line and scored quite comfortably into an open goal.  Next to add his name to the scoresheet was Ben Warner with a shot perfectly set up by Tom Hodkinson.  A one on one situation between Loughborough's keeper and Ashbourne's Tom Hodkinson led to Hodkinson casually chipping the keeper and the ball dipping just below the cross bar for his 'hat trick'. Although it may seem that all the play was upfront for Aztecs, this wasn’t the case, Ashbourne’s defence in the game was outstanding.  Will Smith was having an excellent game, skillfully taking on players, dribbling past them and striding out towards the midfield. Jack Dean, Will Campbell and Bradley Clowes were clearing everything which came their way.  Harry Zona, after a couple of shots wide of the post, managed to score from the right taking Aztecs lead to 8-1.  In the latter part of the game it looked like Aztecs were going to achieve double figures with Kacper Stoch and Tom Hodkinson combining well, followed by the impressive duo of  Oliver Reed & Harry Zona.  The final whistle blew, a comfortable win for Aztecs, 6 out of 6 league games unbeaten, taking them to the top of division 1.

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Ashbourne Aztecs Under 13s           3

West Hallam Juniors Under 13s      2

Aztecs won this hard fought contest to book their place in the semi-final of the cup. They were competitive in midfield from the kick-off, with Sam Birks and Josh Dutton enjoying good possession. Dan Lee and Regan Major were winning everything in the centre of defence and this enabled Ashbourne to settle into their passing game, with some slick interplay between Lewis Pepper, Matt Griffiths and Charles Owens. Liam Scott showed some great bursts of speed on the right and earned a corner, which he took himself. The half-clearance fell to Lee, who struck the ball cleanly for his first goal this season. The home side nearly doubled their lead when Lewis Pepper hit a cracker against the post. Aztecs then took their foot off the pedal and let the opposition back into the game, when a long shot from the right looped over keeper Conor Sherry to level the scores. After West Hallam lost one of their players with a dislocated shoulder, the game ebbed and flowed from end-to-end until a misunderstanding between Bart Banks and Regan Major enabled the away side to sneak a second goal before the break. The managers demanded a big second half from Aztecs and they responded positively with more intelligent play in midfield. Substitute Will McDonald-Lowe was effective on the right wing and linked up with Billy Owens, Birks and Banks several times. Major then set up another attack with a towering header which was picked up by Banks who rounded the keeper and tucked away the equaliser. The next 15 minutes were tense as both sides worked hard to get the upper hand. Sherry was called upon to deal with several shots including one from close range. Dutton and Major also made vital blocks and clearances. Jacob Brown and Ross Keeling both played their part in driving Aztecs forward and chances began to come – a shot by Charles Owens and several dangerous corners from Birks and Scott. Eventually Aztecs created the breakthrough as Keeling and Dutton managed to set up Birks for the winner. A final cross from Scott was met by McDonald-Lowe at the far post and he thought he had got a fourth, but he was adjudged to have strayed offside and the final score remained 3 – 2.

TEAM : Sherry, Banks, Pepper, Lee, Major, Scott, Keeling, Dutton (captain), Birks, Griffiths, B.Owens, McDonald-Lowe, C.Owens, Brown.

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Sunday 30th October: 

Spondon Dynamos Yellow Sox      3

Ashbourne Aztecs u9’s Juniors      3

Aztecs got off to a great start with three strikes at Spondon’s goal by James Donlan.  The first was saved by the goalie, the second went just wide of the post, and the third again was denied by the goalie.  The tables turned quite quickly though when Spondon scored from their first attempt on just 5 minutes into the game.  From that point Aztecs were chasing the game, Spondon were attacking the Aztecs defence, George Martin who was having a great game, was being put under constant pressure, as was defender Josh Lee and Ashbourne’s goalie, Ben Johnson.  A perfect cross from Charlie Land to James Donlan resulted in the equaliser for Aztecs and they were back in the game.  Luke Zona was brought on as sub just before half time in an attempt to try and get in front, but all to no avail, the result remained 1-1.  The second half Spondon came out the stronger team; they scored two more goals in quick succession.  Again Aztecs were chasing the game and Spondon must have thought they had this one in the bag.  Ten minutes into the second half Joe Mee was subbed on for Aztecs, changes were made in defence, midfield and upfront, by the repositioning of players.  From this point a greater sense of urgency was injected into the Ashbourne side.  Charlie Land was on the attack when he was brought down by Spondon, thus creating a free kick for Aztecs.  The shot was smashed into the back of the net by Land, he meant business.  With one minute remaining, Adam Leigh threw the ball into James Donlan, who set up a perfect cross for Tyler Burton to slot through the goalie’s legs and into the back of the net.  30 seconds to go, everyone pushed forward but both teams had to settle for a draw and one point each. The Manager and coaches were very proud of their lads for battling to the end and holding onto their 3^rd spot in the division.  Man of the match went to Tyler Burton for the equaliser.

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Ashbourne Aztecs Pumas u9’s 1

Pegasus Youth                           5

A disappointng result to an exciting match when Pumas lost their sixth straight game but generated more chances than in the all the previous five games combined.

In an effort to get more attack Pumas changed to 2-2-2 formation. Goalkeeper Jack Banks yet again made a string of fine saves despite being under the weather, well done Jack.

At the back were Thomas ‘The Wall’ Barkes and Regan ‘Destroyer’ Ford. They both did well to hold the attacking Nottingham based forwards. Regan had a particularly good game especially when Pumas were pushing hard late on.

The change in formation put a lot of onus on midfield to battle hard. In that respect Pumas had Conor Phillips as the mainstay holding the centre as much as possible to free up his partners George Lee Mallinson or Eric Prince to get forward to support the attack. However George had to come off from half time feeling ill.

Pumas played with two forwards with the pacey Thomas Harris pairing up with Mawell Bishop or Theo Rodgers. The forwards caused plenty of problems and Pumas had good chances to score.

The early exchanges were pretty even but a goal from a smart passing exchange led to a Pegasus goal and about 15 minutes in it was 2-0. Pumas continued to press and after several good moves resulting in a few goalmouth scrambles plus the frustration of some good efforts by Harris and Bishop being saved they got their reward. A nice move freed up Thomas Harris on the right he cut in and powered a fine strike from the right.

This galvanised the team and the five minutes both sides of half time were very exciting as Pumas and Pegasus traded blows. In fact the physical aspect of the Nottingham team resulted in a string of fouls as Thomas Harris, Conor Phillips and Maxwell Bishop were dumped when attacking. One challenge resulted in a free kick on the edge of the box, which must have been close to a penalty. The resulting free kick from Thomas Harris was hurriedly cleared.

However as appears Pumas' fate a deflection from a corner flew into the top corner and Pegasus had regained authority. Pumas continued to push hard but by commmitting too many forward it left the midfield to Conor Phillips to run solo and Regan to man the pumps at the back. Two late counter attacking goals resulted in a pretty comprehensive victory for Pegasus.

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Aztecs Give it Five

Aztec U18’s 5 TS Sports U 18’s 1

The score line was kept respectable by some outstanding goalkeeping from the away team. Early on the game was even until Charles Mann converted a penalty and moments later Tom Cresswell crashed in a shot, which was turned in by Ross Hunter for 2-0.

Ollie Sanders  hit a blistering shot just over the bar and Scott Sears saw his unstoppable volley saved by the keeper and the half ended 2-0.

After half time Aztecs began to dominate play with Charles Mann, Sam Froggatt and Will Tomkinson all going close, however it was Tomkinson who added the third from a Mann cross.

Billy Akers in the Aztecs goal put in a competent performance as usual and Callum Redfern, Mitch Coxon, Adam Lomas and Liam Walton-Gibson were both solid at the back and penetrating when they went forward.

Pressure eventually told when Froggatt rounded the keeper to make it four and Aztecs were cruising. But they were caught napping when TS Sports hit a fine individual goal for 4-1. Harry Wibberley and Tomkinson lashed in some telling crosses from the right and Richard Archer step over’s teased the defenders on the left.

Kyran Bell, Archer and Hunter were both denied by some outstanding saves but Mann secured the game when he slotted home the fifth for 5-1, which puts Aztecs in top spot.

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Ashbourne Aztecs Leopards U9’s             1  

Little Eaton Diamonds U9’s                       4

A tough afternoon for the Leopards as a solid performance from the Little Eaton Diamonds saw them run out comfortable winners in the end.

Leopards went into the match missing some key players but they started the game strongly with Aaron Kingaby in goal well protected by Will Birkett and Tommy Cokayne in defence.

Owen Bailey was battling hard to get hold of the midfield along with Calum Wood and Sam Glossop on the flanks. Captain for the day Alex Cheetham was the lone forward working hard to pressurize the Little Eaton goal.

Leopards could have taken the lead when Owen Bailey played in Calum Wood for a shot on goal that the keeper could only parry but Taylor Platt, who had just come on as sub, saw his follow up hit the post before being cleared.

A Leopards corner was then well flighted by Calum Wood and Owen Bailey got in a powerful header that was somehow blocked on the line. Sam Glossop following up also saw his effort cleared as Leopards just failed to get that all important first goal.

Little Eaton then found a way back into the game and took the lead when a corner was only half cleared and the ball was drilled home by the man on the edge of the area.

Jack Beresford came on to try and bolster the defence but Leopards couldn’t stop another Little Eaton break from finding the net and they went in at the interval 2-0 down.

Leopards tried to re-group at half time but it was again the Little Eaton midfield who got on top and two more flowing moves saw them pick holes in the Leopards defence and go into a four goal lead.

Credit again to Leopards though who never know when they are beaten and again they tried to claw something from the game and grew stronger the longer it went on.

A lovely passing move involving Alex Cheetham and Taylor Platt saw the latter play in Calum Wood on the edge of the box and he fired past the keeper to pull one goal back.

Sensing there may be a way back into the game Leopards continued to push and with a little bit of luck there could have been more goals but the game ended in defeat against a very good Little Eaton side who continue to climb the table.

A tough match for the Leopards but they once again kept going to the end and the team spirit that is building well this season was once again on display. Man of the Match was Tommy Cokayne for his tough tackling and never ending hard work.

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Ashbourne Aztecs u10's             2

Duffield Dynamos Eagles            3

Aztecs got off to a bad start in their game on Sunday when the opposition scored an early goal before Ashbourne had chance to wake up and start playing. This was, however, the very important wake up call they needed and pressure was piled on the opposition in defence and there was some great play in the middle from the midfield by Matt Pepper and Luis Zambrano and some fantastic individual work by Lee Cranstone which saw Aztecs nearly draw level. Duffield hit on the break though and despite some fantastic football from Jack Bill and Joe Reed Ashbourne found themselves 3-0 down at half time. Ashbourne came out at half time knowing they shouldn't be 3-0 down and started off well, a brilliant corner by Ben Wainwright was headed in by Joe Reed and minutes after some great determination and passing by Adam Wildgoose and Jake Ridley lead to a great
strike by Kye Gordon getting Aztecs back into it. Ashbourne could have scored lots more but the oppositions defence stayed strong and their goalkeeper saved a fantastic free kick from Adam Wildgoose.

Saturday 29th October:

Ashbourne Aztecs Under 13s           1

Hilton Harriers Under 13s                6

As in previous league games, Ashbourne fell to another away defeat after a game of two distinct halves. In the opening 25 minutes, they were bright and made life difficult for the home side, who were not allowed to settle. The central midfield trio of Sam Birks, Regan Major and Josh Dutton complemented each other well and were able to get wide players Ross Keeling and Max Winbow into the game early. Up front, Charles Owens had another great half as the lone striker and put Aztecs one up with a clever shot which drifted past the Hilton keeper. He could have had a second when he produced a smart shot but the keeper turned it round the post at full stretch. Hilton then stepped up a gear and were lively on the right flank but Lewis Pepper and Dan Lee snuffed out any danger with some timely tackles and interceptions. Josh Bailey made a welcome return at right back where he was strong in defence as well as setting up some attacks with his long throws and free kicks. He was supported by Ben Wildgoose who covered well as the right-sided centre-back. Billy Owens was his usual reliable self, catching everything in the air and tipping a drive round the post for a corner. The whole defence were well organised and concentration was good until a Hilton cross was deflected out to the edge of the penalty area. In attempting to close down the shot, Major was unlucky to handle the ball and Harriers were relieved when they converted the spot kick just before the interval. Despite keeping Hilton at bay for another ten minutes, Aztecs could not maintain the momentum they had created in the first half. Jack Dean replaced the injured Pepper and Bart Banks came on for Winbow. Both worked hard to help stem the tide of attacks, but it was inevitable that the home side would eventually take the lead which they did with a soft cross-shot. Hilton then imposed themselves in the middle of the pitch, snuffing out the earlier threat of Dutton and Birks. Whilst Major forced the ball out of defence, Keeling, Dean, Lee and Wildgoose found it difficult to clear their lines and Harriers were soon 3 - 1 ahead from a corner. Lewis Jones came on and added a bit of spark on the right wing. Aztecs continued to try and play attractive passing football, with Owens, Birks and Keeling all getting into good attacking positions, but the hosts were quick on the counter and punished Aztecs with another goal. The visitors never gave up and worked hard to track back in midfield, but Hilton showed their strength as the impressive Charlie Austin bagged his third and fourth goal of the match. Ashbourne are improving each week, but will need to overcome their defensive second-half frailties if they are to progress further.

TEAM : B.Owens, J.Bailey, L.Pepper, D.Lee, B.Wildgoose (captain), J.Dean, R.Major, J.Dutton, A.Birks, R.Keeling, M.Winbow, C.Owens, L.Jones, B.Banks

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Following an excellent performance in the cup, the Lions continued with a skillful display in the league this week.

In the first minute, an excellent thirty yard left wing cross by Jake Sims was side footed home by Peter Linley. This perfect start gave the Lions confidence with the lively wingers of Jake Sims and Peter Linley constantly causing trouble for the Mackworth defence.

Midway through the first half, Marcus Lumbard collected the ball in the middle of the park, dribbled through four tackles before firing the ball into the roof of the net for 2.0. Shortly afterwards the same player again beat several defenders, before seeing his powerful shot go just wide. With the attacking play becoming dominant Jake Sims again found himself with space on the left to deliver an excellent pass into the path of Marcus Lumbard who ran through to make the score 3.0.

Several lapses in concentration allowed the away side several half chances which were expertly dealt with by Alex Cranstone and his defenders, before a lob right on half time, made the score 3.1.

The second half was much the same with some intricate passing allowing the Lions to create chances for the forward three. Just when the Lions thought they were comfortable, Mackworth broke clear, only to find Alex Cranstone unbeatable. As the nerves were starting to show, the combination of Jake Sims and Marcus Lumbard again undid the defence, and when a perfect pass was played to the on running Marcus Lumbard, he completed his hat-trick and the Lions fourth.

The confident passing was now starting to flow regularly and when five players combined brilliantly to put Jake Sims through on goal, only a good save denied the Lions from the perfect goal.

The Lions relaxed towards the end and two quick goals for Mackworth brought the score to 4.3 and a nervy finish, which the Lions held out to be worthy winners. Special mention goes to all the players this week for an excellent performance both in attack and defence.

Team

Alex Cranstone, Oscar Wainwright, Ben Bryan, Marcus Lumbard (captain), Bradley Keeling, Dominic Simpson-Allsop, Callum Hellaby, Tom Dixon, Peter Linley, Jake Sims, Matt Fearn, Ben Gregory

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Sunday 23rd October:

Etwall u9's                                              3

Ashbourne Aztecs under 9's Juniors 3

Ashbourne lost on penalties 2-1!

Mackworth 8

Pumas         0

It was a tough cup draw which paired the Pumas against group 1 leaders Mackworth, who had amassed 24 goals in their previous three wins without conceding any.

Yet again an exceptional performance in the first half from Pumas led to their talented opponents turning around with a slender two goal advantage. Dogged defending with tough tackling from the trio of Regan Ford, Conor Phillips and Thomas Barke at the back largely kept their opponents at bay with Jack Banks making several great saves and displaying brave goalkeeping. Midfield was where a lot of hard work was needed as this Mackworth team is a talented bunch. Eric Prince, Theo Rodgers with Nathan Yardley, Morgan Nicholls and Brody Bates on rotation did their upper most to gain possesion. Up front Maxwell Bishop worked tirelessly and there were plenty of promising attacks including a fine long range effort from Eric which just went over the bar.

The second half began with a tough opening five minutes as Mackworth threw everything into trying to put the tie out of Pumas grasp. This included a third goal, which just crept in past a diving Jack Banks, and soon after followed a fourth from the penalty spot after what looked a harsh decision for handball. A series of injuries and rotational tinkering by the coach followed which led to a lack of cohesion in the middle, as we couldn't keep a settled pairing on for long and four goals in the final five minutes resulted. 

There were some bright spots in the second half which included a penalty save by Jack, a Conor freekick diverted wide for a corner by a defender's deflection and a through ball chased by Morgan which the Mackworth keeper was just quick enough to prevent Morgan connecting.

Pumas are unlikely to meet such a fine side often in the future and can take pride particularly in a stirring first half performance.  It was also appreciated that the Mackworth coach took time after the game to tell the lads how spirited he thought they were and how impressed he was with their never say die attitude.

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Ashbourne U9's Leopards 4

Stanton Ilkeston u9's          3

The U9 Leopards played this cup match against unknown opposition in Stanton Ilkeston . Looking at their league form of previous weeks , it suggested that this would be a tough match .
As in previous weeks the Leopards started brightly and were on top straight away . The defence pairing of Ben Pattinson and Taylor Platt were stopping all of Ilkeston's attacks . They were helped by Aaron Kingaby who also was stopping the opposition from scoring .
The Leopards were also bossing the midfield with the trio of Calum Wood , Leo Cooper and Owen Bailey working hard to get that all important first goal . And it was Sam Glossop who went on one of his mazy dribbles , beating two players and calmly rolling his shot into the goal . 1-0
But because the teams were so evenly matched it wasn't long before Ilkeston equalised to make 1-1 . The game was really entertaining going from one end to the other .
Calum Wood beat two players on the right edge of the box and blasted his shot into the top corner of the net to make it 2-1 . At this point the Leopards should have made their advantage tell by scoring more goals but it wasn't to be . Half time .
Stanton Ilkeston started the 2nd half better and soon got an equaliser 2-2 . Ilkeston suddenly went up a gear and put the Leopards under some serious pressure . They had chance after chance and from a corner they scored a great header that a professional player would have been pleased with . 3-2
Credit to Aztecs they fought back well with Alex Cheetham , Jacob Wibberley-Howe and Jack Beresford tackling well in midfield and defence. Calum Wood got into a good position to cross and his cross shot was not saved and went in through goalkeepers hands 3-3 .
It was anybody's game at this point with both sides attacking at will .Sam Glossop got into the box but was brought down for a penalty . Calum Wood scored the penalty to make it 4-3 . Stanton Ilkeston immediately went on attack searching for an equaliser . A good series of passes gave them a chance to shoot . In the scramble in the box resulted in Aaron Kingaby saving at least two shots , Ben Pattinson blocked another and Owen Bailey eventually cleared the ball off his own goal line . The attack was stopped .
The final whistle came shortly afterwards and Leopards had won a hard fought cup tie 4-3 . All ten players played really well and kept battling 'til the end . They should be proud of their teamwork and spirit . A credit to themselves and Ashbourne Aztecs Football Club .

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Ashbourne Aztecs U10 `s 5

Sherwin u 10`s                   0

Ashbourne got through to the last 16 of the cup with a commanding win over a useful Sherwin team.Ashbourne welcomed back Elliot Murray who is usually unavailable because of Aston Villa commitments and he responded with a brilliant hat-trick.  The other two goals were well taken by captain Mathew Pepper, a sound base was secured by Jack Bill Will Topham Jake Ridley Lee Cranstone and Liam Warner with Ben Wainwright proving his versatility by having half a game in goal and half a game in midfield. Special mention goes to man of the match Luis Zambrano whose tireless display was fantastic, a smile never far from his face, he is everywhere!

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Saturday 22nd October :

Ashbourne Aztecs Under 13s                      1

Littleover Villa Under 13s                            4

Aztecs registered another home defeat against Littleover  but didn’t deserve to be on the losing side after another good quality performance. The visitors threw players forward in the first quarter, but the home defence of Billy Owens, Bart Banks, Regan Major, Dan Lee and Lewis Pepper stood firm and showed much improvement with their heading and clearances from set pieces. Pepper was also impressive going forward with a number of neat passes to set Matt Griffiths and Sam Birks free. As Aztecs grew in confidence, Charles Owens made some great runs and linked up with Liam Scott and Josh Dutton on the right hand side. Ashbourne struck the first blow when a loose ball was met with another accurate strike from Sam Birks to make it 1 - 0. Liam Scott nearly made it two when he almost converted a shot on the turn but it was blocked on the goal line. There were few goalscoring chances for Littleover  in the first half, mainly due to the dogged hustling of Josh Challinor and Josh Dutton, who both had excellent games in the middle of the park. But just on the stroke of half-time, Lee met a high cross with a good header but unluckily, it fell to a Villa boot and the away side were level. The visitors again came back at Ashbourne, with a number of penetrating runs on both flanks, however the full backs Josh Bailey and Lewis Pepper stuck tightly to their markers. Eventually the deadlock was broken by a long shot from outside the penalty area which Owens was unlucky not to save. Replacements Ross Keeling and Jacob Brown brought energy and commitment to the midfield as Banks and Birks both had to go off due to injuries. Villa started to pass the ball around , but Aztecs frustrated them as they continued to deny them any space. Jack Dean replaced Challinor and was immediately in action, using his pace and strength on the right. As Littleover broke on the counter attack, Bailey and Keeling doubled up to defend against the pacy left winger. But it was on the right that Villa finally breached the Aztecs defence with a flicked header at the near post. A fourth followed soon afterwards as Ashbourne’s energy levels dropped a little. However, Aztecs never gave up though, pushing forward on the left flank. Birks went on a great run and cut the ball back perfectly for Griffiths, but his shot struck the underside of the crossbar. Dean picked up the loose ball and sent it back across the six yard box but Birks could not quite reach it and the ball went narrowly past the post.

TEAM : B.Owens, Banks, Lee, Major, Pepper, Bailey, Dean, Challinor, Dutton, Birks, Scott, Keeling, Brown, Griffiths, C.Owens

        ********

Sunday 16th October

Aztecs Goal Blitz

Aztec U18’s 18 TS Sports u 17’s 1

The score line reflects a totally one-sided game and credit to the away team for battling to the end.

The statistics are worthy of a mention in addition to some player performances.

Half time read 4-0 with 15 goals being scored in the second half.

Scorers in order of goals Charles Mann 9 who could have had more but he totally dominated the attack; Will Tomkinson continues to improve with 3; Sam Froggatt 2 and could have been 6; Callum Redfern 2 adding to his first ever goal the previous week; Richard Archer 1 and provided some excellent crosses; Kyran Bell 1 in his first run out for the team. Defence and midfield of Ross Hunter, Harry Wibberley, Ollie Sanders, Liam Walton-Gibson, Mitch Coxon, Adam Lomas were highly effective, and Billy Akers in goal was bored.

Dave Sadler and Alex Drummond wrapped up the centre of midfield and were close to scoring their first but for some fine goalkeeping.

Enough said -except this is 6 out of 6 wins with Mann the League leading goal scorer with 17. 

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Cobra Oakwood U9’s                                  2        

Ashbourne Aztecs Leopards U9’s             2

Another strong performance from the Leopards saw them twice come from behind to take a point in an entertaining draw with early season pace-setters Cobra Oakwood.

A change was made in defence with Jack Beresford coming in alongside captain Ben Pattinson but the two of them soon struck up a good understanding to keep Oakwood at bay in the early stages.

When Oakwood did get through they found Aaron Kingaby in excellent form and he made three outstanding saves in the first half but he could do nothing as a well worked corner from Oakwood led to them finding a man unmarked in the box to slot home for 1-0.

Aztecs’ fighting spirit was in full display though, with Owen Bailey starting to get a hold of the midfield, Tommy Cockayne and Alex Cheetham causing lots of problems on the flanks, and Taylor Platt working hard as the lone striker.

Will Birkett came off the bench to add yet more steel to the midfield and following another mazy run from Alex Cheetham which saw him whip in a dangerous cross that found its way through to the back post, Birkett made no mistake to equalize.

 Jacob Wibberley-Howe came on to take over the lone strikers’ role and he worked very hard to keep the Oakwood defence busy and try to push forward in search of a second goal.

The sides went into the interval level at 1-1 but Cobra Oakwood started the second half brightly and another well worked move down their right saw them re-take the lead at 2-1.

The Leopards had to fight hard to stay in the game and some great defensive work from Pattinson, Beresford and Birkett (and a little help from the post!!) kept a dangerous Oakwood attack from adding to their lead.

Owen Bailey blocked a thunderbolt free-kick that looked goal-bound and broke up a lot of the Oakwood attacks as the Leopards began to get back into the game and look for a second equalizer.

Pattinson had a free-kick cleared and a couple of good moves ended in frustration as it looked like it wasn’t to be their day, but with a minute to go Bailey and Cockayne combined well to set Platt free and his ball through was met once again by Owen Bailey who slotted past the keeper for a well deserved equalizer.

Aztecs very nearly pinched it right at the end but Platt just couldn’t get on the end of a through ball and the keeper gathered at his feet.

All of the lads were excellent again and the work rate and commitment of each and every one of them really is second to none. Man of the match today was Jack Beresford for a commanding performance in defence.

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Ashbourne U10's                                    1

Belper Town Juniors Black Sox U10's   1


Ashbourne had a pretty even match this week with both teams having chances. Matt Pepper and Lee Cranstone pushed forward well in defence and Aztecs had chances saved by Belper's keeper. As well as Aztecs having chances the opposition did also and some great defensive work by Kye Gordon and Adam Wildgoose kept the score equal. The first goal came at the start of the second half when a poorly defended corner lead to Ashbourne going a goal down, however after going a goal down Aztecs woke up and chances fell to Luis Zambrano, Ben Wainwright and Jake Ridley but somehow the ball didn't hit the back of the net until a piece of great individual work by Liam Warner fell to Jack Bill and he managed to give the Aztecs a well deserved point. Again well done lads, keep up the good work!

**********

Ashbourne Aztecs Under 9’s Juniors     3

Duffield Dynamo Panthers Under 9’s    0

The home team sped off to an amazing start with attempts at Duffield’s goal coming thick and fast.  First to score was Luke Zona, the shot was set up perfectly by Charlie Land from a corner, and Luke Zona volleyed the ball straight into Duffield’s net.  A throw in from George Martin led to an attempt by Charlie Land, but this just tipped over the cross bar.  A second corner taken by Charlie Land to Tyler Burton was headed, but was just off target.  Crosses were coming thick and fast from Charlie Land, Toby Ainsworth just failed to complete his goal in the box.  Tyler Burton tripped in the goalmouth, the ref played on, and again Toby Ainsworth just missed the goal with his shot.  A third corner taken by Charlie Land went out to George Martin who had a long distance shot, but this also just missed the goal.  James Donlan then had a couple of attempts, the first was just blocked by Duffield’s goalkeeper, but the latter which was a deflection off the post from Charlie Land’s long range shot, James Donlan followed up nicely to complete, 2-0 to Aztecs.  The third goal was the goal of the match, an excellent header by James Donlan over the goalie’s head. As half time approached James Donlan was denied a further header goal as it went over the top of the cross bar.  The second half started much the same as the first with attempts coming thick and fast at Duffield’s goal, although this half Duffield were putting up much more of a fight.  Joe Miller did an excellent holding job in midfield, booting everything that came his way straight back up the pitch.  Any stray balls were cleared up by Nathan Munro and George Martin in defence.  Ben Johnson, Aztecs’ goalie, had more to do in the second half with Duffield trying also to get their names on the scoring sheet.  Acrobatics on the pitch followed with Joe Miller vaulting over Nathan Munro’s back, all in their desperate attempts to keep a clean sheet for their team.  Joe Mee did some good passing down the wing and Toby Ainsworth ploughed in to release the ball to Tyler Burton for a final attempt on goal, but all to no avail.  The score remained after full time the same as at half time, 3-0 to Aztecs. Great teamwork, but the man of the match award this week went to George Martin.

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Saturday 15th October

Heanor Juniors       5

Aztecs Lions           3

The Lions started the game in commanding form. Bryan winning the ball in defense, played to Gregory in midfield, who put the ball wide to Simms, who with a weaving run past 2 defenders, eventually curled the ball round the keeper and into the net.
Heanor then equalised the score with a scrappy shot after some great defending from the Lions and excellent goalkeeping from Cranstone.
The Lions kept going and keeping their shape, the back 4 of Dixon, Bryan, Wainright and Simpson-Allsop were solid, which frustrated Heanor.
A strong Lion's midfield, not letting Heanor play, through some good crunching tackles from Gregory, with Harrison and Barbour picking up the pieces, spreading the ball wide for Linley on the right and Simms on the left.
Lion's second goal eventually came from again good passing between Simpson-Allsop and Simms who eventually put the ball in the box for a easy tap in for Lumbard.
Again Heanor equalised making it 2-2 .
Lions started well after the break with changes made at half time Massey and Hellaby came on for Gregory and Harrison.
Heanor also made changes and upped their game.
Against the run of play after yet again excellent goalkeeping from Cranstone who kicked the ball forward, the ball broke in Heanor's box and Barbour ran through to put the ball in the net.
Heanor equalised again to make it 3-3 and then within a few minutes took the lead to make it 4-3.
Straight from the kick off the Lions attacked again, this time for Linley to be in the box unfortunately he put the ball over the bar.
Lions seem to switch off after this and Heanor settled the match which finished 5-3.
It was a good battling performance from the Lions they were unlucky to lose, man of the match was Alex Cranstone.

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Ashbourne Aztecs Under 13s     8

Allestree Juniors Under 13s        2

This was a well deserved cup win which brought a welcome relief from a tough league campaign. Aztecs were on the front foot from the start and created several openings in the first ten minutes. Lovely passing and movement from Ross Keeling, Bart Banks and Josh Dutton opened up the Allestree defence, but shots from Sam Birks and Ross Keeling went straight into the goalkeeper’s arms. Ashbourne finally  broke the deadlock when the visitors failed to clear a Birks corner and Charles Owens hit a screamer into the top corner from outside the penalty box. The home side pressed forward to add to their tally, but were caught immediately on the break when a deflected cross looped up and Allestree were quickest to respond with a header past keeper Conor Sherry. After a nervy five minutes, the defence of Regan Major, Dan Lee, Bart Banks and Lewis Pepper regained their composure and remained really solid, with Billy Owens helping out by breaking up any Allestree attacks. Aztecs picked up their fluent attacking football again, and deserved to go into the interval 3 – 1 up, with goals from Dutton and Birks. Ashbourne maintained their intensity during the second half, with Matt Griffiths and Liam Scott combining well on the left. Banks then crossed for Birks to ram home his second of the match. Josh Challinor, Max Winbow and Ben Wildgoose came on as substitutes and all played their part in some great team moves. Dutton, Birks, Keeling and Griffiths were all showing good ball control in midfield and attack, whilst Owens’ work rate up front was impressive.  Dutton slipped Griffiths in and he made it 5 -1 with a deft finish. The away side never gave up and managed to claw back one goal when Sherry parried a shot, only for an Allestree striker to follow up with a tap in. Dutton then bagged his second when he volleyed home a pinpoint corner from Owens. On the odd occasion Allestree broke away, Major was commanding in his tackling and clearances. More mazy dribbles by Griffiths and Keeling made more scoring opportunities, with Birks and Winbow shooting over and Owens striking the cross bar. Major then started a move from the back, which was flicked on by Dutton to Keeling, whose shot sneaked under the goalkeeper’s body. Another corner from Owens then drifted through everybody and hit the far post.  Scott’s energetic performance was finally rewarded with a long shot into the bottom corner. Aztecs kept playing attractive football till the final whistle which was very encouraging.

TEAM : Sherry, Banks, Pepper, Lee, Major, Wildgoose, Keeling, Dutton, B.Owens, Birks, Scott, Griffiths, Challinor, C.Owens, Winbow.

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Sunday 9th October

Riverside                      0

Aztecs Leopards u9’s   2

After the last couple of matches where the Leopards had started slowly, the managers Paul and Lee stressed it was important to make a better start today, this advice the Leopards took on board and followed through.

They started brightly with Calum Wood and Sam Glossop causing Riverside's defence problems.  Also the defence of Will Birkett and Ben Pattinson for Aztecs were as solid as ever, not letting the lively Riverside forwards anywhere near Aaron Kingaby's goal.

Leopards were on the attack all the time. Midway through the first half the breakthrough came. Sam Glossop found himself in the left hand corner of the pitch with two or three defenders around him.  He used his excellent dribbling skills to drift along the byeline to square it for Leo Cooper to tap it over the line 1-0.

The Leopards continued attacking until half time looking for another goal. They started the 2nd half as the first, very positive and brightly.

This was turning into an impressive performance keeping Riverside away from their goal. The trio of Owen Bailey, Jack Beresford and Taylor Platt were working hard and finding a lot of space in Riverside's half of the pitch. It was only a matter of time before the Leopards got a second goal.

An attack led by Calum Wood down the right flank resulted in the ball making its way to Taylor Platt's feet, he turned sharply and shot towards the bottom corner, beating the goalkeeper and heading across the line. Owen Bailey followed up to hammer the ball into the net, but the original shot from Taylor had already crossed the line 2-0.

The Leopards continued to press for more goals, the only shot Riverside managed to get during the whole game was a free kick which was expertly saved by Aaron Kingaby, and credit to him he was still alert after having not a lot to do. 

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AZTECS PUMAS u9’s  1 

DERWENT                    3

Another step forward for Pumas as they scored their first goal of the season in a highly competitive tussle against the Chaddesden based Derwent team, who had just the one defeat in their league campaign to date. This was a performance of great heart and team spirit and we are building a good team here.

Jack Banks returned to take up his position as goalkeeper with Thomas Barke, Bradley Pegg and Morgan Nicholls rotated in defence, captain Regan  Ford played holding midfield, George Lee-Mallinson, Conor Phillips and Eric Prince rotated the wide midfield roles and upfront either Maxwell Bishop or Theo Rodgers played the lone striker position.

Yet again the increasingly disciplined Pumas proved a tough nut to crack in the first half. When the Pegg - Barke partnership which in future will be referred to as 'The Wall' was breached, the Destoyer Ford was on hand to mop up. Pumas were also becoming more confident and had plenty of attacks, corners, shots on goal and provided a lively threat throughout. Ford had a great lob Beckham style in the first half aiming to catch the Derwent keeper off his line, only to see it narrowly bounce wide. The battling display led to Pumas turning around level.

The second half was more open and both teams threatened but it was a bullet header from a great Derwent corner that broke the deadlock with the highly reliable Banks given no chance. A second followed again from a well taken corner. This time a Pumas defender did well to get his body to the ball but a deflection off his shoulder ended up in the top corner. Somehow or other with seven minutes of the second gone Pumas were two down.

Commendably the team spirit, which is Pumas top attribute, kicked in and rather than cave in Pumas pushed forward with greater urgency than ever. Rodgers was proving a threat being hard to knock off the ball and Prince had a great run down the left which ended up with a thudding tackle. After good runs through by Phillips and  Bishop, Pumas got right back into the game with a good run by Lee-Mallinson, squared to Rodgers who fed Phillips on the edge of the box, Phillips then drilled it home right in the 'danger zone' for keepers low and to the left. 

The galvanised Pumas threw everything they could into the final five minutes and looked the more likely to score, however Derwent hit a speculative effort right on full time which Banks got across to, but unfortunately could only push into the net off the post.

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Aztecs U10's                  1

Spondon Rovers Colts 2

Aztecs’ start to the game was positive and the play through the midfield of Will Topham, Ben Wainwright and Luis Zambrano was excellent. Lots of pressure and superb crossing from Joe Reed lead to a well deserved Aztecs goal scored by Kye Gordon.  Spondon weren't giving up without a fight and man of the match goalkeeper Lee Cranstone kept Ashbourne in it with some fantastic saves. Aztecs went into half time 1-0 up but after the opposition came back stronger and despite some great defending by Adam Wildgoose and some off the line clearances by Jack Bill, Spondon equalised and soon got their winner. Aztecs had the last 5 minutes to equal things out and almost did with some fantastic shots by Jake Ridley and Liam Warner just going wide.  Aztecs give 200% every game and are unlucky to have lost the last couple, management and parents should be proud of their boys.

********** 

                 A First for Redfern

Midway U 18’s 1Aztec U18’s 9

An under strength Midway were quickly blown away by Aztecs who dominated this game throughout.

Will Tomkinson headed in the first and Ross Hunter and Sam Froggatt could have added more, but it was Froggatt who hit the second.

Soon after Mitch Coxon crossed for Charles Mann to slam home the third and just before half time Mann headed in to make it 0-4.

Dave Sadler and Alex Drummond controlled midfield and Ollie Sanders, Adam Lomas, Liam Walton- Gibson and Harry Wibblerley protected keeper Akers who had a relatively quiet game.

Midway through the second half, Tom Cresswell picked up a loose ball in midfield and seeing the keeper off his line struck a fine looping shot from 45 yards into the net.

A rash challenge from Akers presented Midway with a penalty, which they despatched for 1-5.

Aztecs stepped up a gear and a Coxon free kick struck the post for Callum Redfern to steal in to score his first ever goal for Aztecs.

Will Tomkinson struck a well taken seventh and Cresswell beat 2 defenders to hit a low dive for the eighth.

The game ended with Froggatt beating the off side trap with his speed and rifle in the final ninth making it 1-9 to Aztecs.

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Heanor Juniors Rangers                0

Ashbourne Aztecs u9’s Juniors    1

In pre match warm up the Aztecs under 9’s seemed a bit slow off the mark, but once the starting whistle blew, they came out all guns blazing.  They were pushing forward and the majority of the play was in Heanor’s half, it was only a matter of minutes until Luke Zona scored from close range for Aztecs.  The teams were equal in ability which gave the spectators an exciting, entertaining and yet nail biting match to watch.  Aztecs under 9’s had four new players in their midst, Toby Ainsworth, Joe Miller, Adam Leigh and Joe Mee, but they all played like true professionals, the team spirit was immense.  Experienced players such as Josh Lee, James Donlan, Luke Zona, George Martin and Tyler Burton continued to set up great passes for the newcomers and Aztecs were unlucky not to score any more goals throughout.  In the latter part of the second half the Manager strengthened the defensive wall and a last minute outstanding save from Aztecs’ keeper Ben Johnson prevented the under 9’s conceding a draw, and instead coming away champions.  Man of the Match Ben Johnson.

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Saturday 8th October

Ilkeston Juniors Under 13s        10

Ashbourne Aztecs Under 13s     1

Aztecs suffered their heaviest defeat in the last year against the league leaders and title holders. Yet they were the better team in the first quarter. Crisp passing between Bart Banks, Ross Keeling, Josh Dutton and Charles Owens was pleasing on the eye. Regan Major and Billy Owens were also effective in midfield with their tackling and chasing down. Matt Griffiths and Liam Scott were busy on the left. It was therefore against the run of play when Ilkeston scored first as the right winger got behind the defence and tucked the ball past keeper Conor Sherry. Ashbourne showed their resilience with an immediate equaliser, set up by a superb through ball by Dutton, which Keeling ran onto and drilled into the net. Sherry was getting great distance on his kicks, which Owens was heading on or holding up well. Despite resolute defending by Dan Lee and Bart Banks at the back, Aztecs undid their good work as they conceded three sloppy goals from set pieces and went into the break  4 – 1 down, which flattered the hosts. Ilkeston settled into their rhythm better in the second half, not allowing Ashbourne any time on the ball.  The pace of their forwards was causing problems for Ben Wildgoose and Jacob Brown, even though they were dogged in their determination. Lewis Jones came on in the right wing position and showed some lively touches, but the home side were now breaking down their left with confidence and unleashed two powerful shots to make it six. Aztecs’ work rate could not be faulted as Owens, Major, Keeling and Dutton tried to close down space in midfield. However, tiredness was beginning to tell and loose marking allowed Ilkeston to increase their lead with a header from another set piece. An eighth soon followed when Sherry could not keep out a near post corner. The last ten minutes saw a deluge of red shirts launching high balls into the penalty area which Aztecs were not really comfortable with all match; two of these crept their way right across the goal and into the net to bring up double figures, but Aztecs never gave up and battled to the final whistle after another disappointing result.

TEAM : Sherry, Banks (captain), Lee, Wildgoose, Scott, Brown, Keeling, Dutton, B.Owens, Major, Griffiths, C.Owens, Jones

                       ********** 

12 GOALS FOR THE UNDER 12’S

Melbourne United                              2

Ashbourne Aztecs u12’s                   12

Sam Legrice, Aztecs’ captain, opened the scoring for the under 12’s on Saturday with a neat chip over the Melbourne goalie’s head.  Tom Hodkinson followed up with a tremendous second, whilst Richard Rosewarne and Harry Zona had four shots between them denied by Melbourne’s ‘on form’ keeper.  Sam Legrice’s second goal was driven into the bottom left corner and with the scoreline being a comfortable 0-3 up to Aztecs, the first of five substitutions was made.  Daniel Morton was replaced by Ben Warner in defence, followed quite swiftly by Richard Rosewarne leaving the pitch in favour of Kaylem Ocran.  Tom Hodkinson scored the fourth for Aztecs which was almost a mirror of Sam Legrice’s earlier goal in the bottom left corner.  Will Farr added his name to the score sheet, not just on one occasion, but with two goals brought Aztecs in at half time leaders by 6 goals to 0.  The second half started slower on the goal front, Archie Shaw came on to replace Jack Dean and Jack Bowers, who had joined in the latter part of the first half, made his first attempt at goal, but the ball went  just wide of the right post.  Tom Hodkinson was the first to score in the second half and almost had another when a shot was cleared off the goal line by Melbourne.  Tom’s fourth goal was a close call for offside, but the goal was given by linesman and referee alike.  Jack Bower’s next shot at goal deflected off Melbourne’s defender but was awarded to Jack.  Archie Shaw then tried his hand at goalscoring but the long range shot was saved by Melbourne’s keeper.  Melbourne were finally getting into the game, a couple of good attempts were saved by Aztecs’ keeper Jordan Burton but then their third attempt was initially saved, but as the goalie failed to hold onto the ball, it fell into the back of the net for Melbourne’s first goal of the game.  Tom Hodkinson added two more goals to his tally, Will Smith pushed forward from his original position in defence to midfield and this resulted in a second goal for Jack Bowers.  Although Kaylem Ocran put in some good crosses and lined up good goals for everyone else, he didn’t this week manage to put any goals away for himself.  Bradley Clowes cleared Melbourne’s next attempt off the line by the right post and Will Campbell continued to defend solidly. As the game drew to a close, Oliver Reed reentered the pitch, Will Farr had an attempt at goal saved by Melbourne’s keeper, Sam Legrice put in a solid tackle, bringing Melbourne’s winger to the floor, but it was Melbourne who scored a last minute goal which brought the final score to 2-12 to Aztecs. 

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Sunday 2nd October

Burton Rams – 1

Aztecs u16    – 8

The wins keep on coming for the u16 with a convincing return win.

The lads pressured from the whistle and within five min Aztecs took the lead with an opener from striker Shorthouse.

However while the lads were still thinking of the opener, Burton Rams took advantage and a long ball over gave them the equaliser within two min.

With a midfield of James Ingram, Josh Dales, Josh Timms and Dan Lear it was like playing six up front and goals from Smith and Shorthouse made it 1-3 going into half time.

With a second half change of the back four to Harry Hellaby, Liam Watson, Josh Timms and Jordan Walton- Gibson to keep the door shut it made the midfield pair of Josh Morris and Josh Dales dominate play.   Jake Smith completed a hatrick and Layton Shorthouse scored an amazing five goals. Not forgetting keeper Mansfield who after saving a couple of long range shots even came out of his area for a couple of saves !!

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               Aztec U18’s 6 Anglesey Swifts U 18’s 0

Aztecs swiftly demolished Anglesey within the first 20 minutes and then went to sleep for a spell. In fact within 10 seconds, Charles Mann rounded the keeper to see his shot rebound off the post. Moments later Mann headed on for Dave Ebbrell to beat the offside trap and slot home his first. The second was a carbon copy of the first, Mann header to Ebbrell who slammed in his second, 2-0.

Aztecs continued to press forward and Sam Froggatt who regularly terrorised the way defence, crossed for Mann to hit the third.

Fluid football on the right saw Harry Wibberley and Dave Sadler combine to send Ross Hunter away and his pin point cross found goal hungry Ebbrell who headed in his hatrick and Aztecs fourth.

Alex Drummond was as tenacious as ever in midfield and defenders Adam Lomas, Liam Walton-Gibson, Mitch Coxon and Wibberley were unbreachable .For long periods Billy Akers in goal was a spectator but when called on pulled off a terrific save to maintain the clean sheet.

Roll on substitutions enabled the squad to show their talent and after a slow start to the second half, Ebbrell broke free several times to test the keeper but it was Richard Archer who made it 5-0 with a well; taken left foot drive.

Tom Cresswell and Ollie Sanders provide support from the back on both flanks, which enabled Scott Sears to constantly harass the defenders and provide a telling cross for Will Tomkinson to hit the sixth.

Both Tomkinson, Mann and Sadler were denied by some fine goalkeeping and the woodwork in the last quarter but the game ended 6-0 to Aztecs, making it 4 out of 4 wins.

        **********

Aztecs Pumas u9’s 0

Belper                     4

An inexperienced Pumas team played on a hot early autumn afternoon with outstanding effort that you felt only pride at their collective will to win. Where blocks of strong shots led to brave blocks from Samuel Robinson and George Lee Mallinson knocked them off their feet epitomised this growing team spirit.

The team started with the goalie gloves being picked up by usual first pick attacker Conor Phillips in the absence of Jack Banks. In front of Conor Phillips was ultra reliable Thomas Barke who paired up with Nathan Yardley, as usual partner Bradley Pegg was rested. In the middle was captain Regan Ford who was linking in with Morgan Nicholls and George Lee Mallinson both aiming play wide. Up front on his own today was Maxwell Bishop. On the bench ready to put in maximum effort were Samuel Robinson and Brody Bates. Today's heat meant there was a need to rotate to enable water breaks thus all nine played their part.

The first half was very even with chances few and far between. The onetime Belper engineered a strike on goal Conor Phillips somehow managed to tip a fierce shot onto the bar and away to safety. Yet again great teamwork and effort against a well drilled experienced opponent resulted in a level score line at the turnaround. Pumas are becoming better organised, especially at set pieces and before long that elusive victory will come their way. All are due recognision but Thomas Barke is turning into a formidable defender with him and Conor Phillips communicating really well to cover the Belper threat, Maxwell Bishop did extremely well in moving into space as being lone forward requires concentration and plenty of running. Regan Ford led the team well organising the midfield and always trying to pass rather than just lunch it. It is also worth commending the application and sheer will to win little George Lee Mallinson displayed this afternoon. 

Yet again the halftime break, where the buzz of playing well subsides, was Pumas' downfall. An early ricochet led to a Belper lad clear and despite Conor Phillips closing him down the forward slipped home the chance well.  Pumas then chased the game a bit trying hard to apply pressure and this led to a breakaway second goal around halfway through the second period. A one on one saw Conor Phillips diving at the striker's feet and somehow the stumbling forward flicked it into the empty net even though he was unaware initially of his success! Such are the margins in this sport. A tiring Pumas let two further goals in during the closing moments to give the final scoreline a more comprehensive appearance than merited.

                          ************

Ashbourne Aztecs U10's 2 - 3 Spondon Dynamos black sox

Aztecs faced the unbeaten team at the top of the league and started off the stronger side with lots of chances for , Matthew Pepper, Lee Cranstone and Jake Ridley but the first goal came with some great passing and a good strike by Joe Reed, the opposition seemed asleep and this enabled aztecs to push for a second and that was exactly what they got when Ben Wainwright scored a cracking goal from a tight angle on the right hand side. Ashbourne went into half time with a comfortable 2 - 0 lead but they soon realised it wasn't won yet as soon into the second half despite some excellent defending by Liam Warner and Adam Wildgoose, a misunderstanding in the box made the score 2-1 and this raised the oppositions confidence and another was scored straight after. Aztecs were tiring and hot but Spondon were still looking for the winner and found it through an excellent bit of individual football. Aztecs pushed and pushed and nearly had an equaliser through Jack Bill and Luis Zambrano but the game finished before they had chance. A good game lads!

The under 10's receive new tracksuits thanks to a generous donation from Paul & Tina from the Shoulder of Mutton

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Ashbourne Aztecs u9’s Juniors  2

Melbourne Utd. Blue Sox           1

Two equally matched teams had a close encounter on Sunday 2^nd October at the Racecourse in Derby.  Charlie Land opened the scoring for Aztecs with a brilliant goal, his celebratory run along the length of the pitch amused the spectators from both sides.  As the game progressed, Melbourne managed to pull a goal back despite brilliant defending from Nathan Munro, Josh Lee and Adam Leigh.  At half time the results and the play remained even at 1-1.  Melbourne’s number 10 was giving Ashbourne’s James Donlan a run for his money in the second half, but despite the beating sun and intense pressure, Aztecs never relented.  It was Tyler Burton’s great goal from the right of the penalty spot that took the Ashbourne team in front once again.  Joe Miller was brought on with Toby Ainsworth to replace tired legs, Joe had an excellent game stopping everything that came his way and booting the ball back down the wing.  Both players helped keep up the pressure in a tough game.  The latter part of the second half tested Ben Johnson’s goal saving abilities which he confidently coped with to retain the under 9’s win.  Man of the match was awarded to James Donlan.

Team:  Charlie Land, Tyler Burton, James Donlan, Nathan Munro, Josh Lee, Adam Leigh, Ben Johnson, Toby Ainsworth & Joe Miller.

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Saturday 1st October

A heat wave at Mappleton on Saturday morning made Ashbourne Aztecs u12’s a little hot under the collar, but for more than one reason.  Aztecs were first to attack Allestree’s goal with a long range shot from Captain Sam Legrice.  Kaylem Ocran followed up but missed the goal by just inches.  A good pass from newcomer Tom Hodkinson to Kaylem Ocran should have lead to Aztecs’ first goal, but this was blocked by Allestree’s defence.  Good heading in midfield by Jack Bowers and Sam Legrice led to Tom Hodkinson taking his first shot at goal, but again this was just wide.  It wasn’t long before Kaylem Ocran set up another goal for Tom Hodkinson, this time Tom completed, 1-0 to Aztecs.  Swiftly Kaylem Ocran again set up another goal but this time for his fellow team mate, Will Farr, to hammer in the back of the net, 2-0.  Daniel Morton was back to full strength working hard on the pitch with Oliver Reed, Will Smith and Jack Dean keeping the ball away from Aztecs’ goal.  Aztecs were doing all the attacking in the first half, another shot went just wide of the post and when Will Farr tried to follow up, found himself and the ball out of play.  The third goal for Aztecs came just before half time with the ‘goal of the match’.  Tom Hodkinson leapt above the keepers hands at full stretch and headed the ball neatly into the top corner (as featured in the photograph).  Second half, a corner taken by Sam Legrice was placed with precision, but unfortunately no-one was there to follow up for Aztecs.  Substitutions were made late on to release players for a rugby commitment and Aztecs lost their whole team shape.  Two goals followed quite quickly for Allestree, one where the goalie was caught off his line and the other followed from a goal mouth scramble.  Harry Zona at the other end tipped his shot over the top of the cross bar and Richard Rosewarne was denied a great attempt by Allestree’s keeper.  End to end play followed with Allestree again having a shot at an empty net and completing nicely, 4-3.  In the last few minutes Jordan Burton pulled off an outstanding save to finish the game with a win for Aztecs, however the last minute pressure for spectators and players alike was a little too much for comfort.

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Ashbourne Aztecs Lions 3 v 3 Etwall United

With the Lions under orders to bring their scoring boots, the players took to the field in determined mood to follow their manager’s instructions.

The early exchanges were competitive with chances at both ends. Marcus Lumbard was unlucky with a double chance that was cleared off the line, before Jake Sims just missed a cross with the goal open. At the other end Etwall were creating chances only to be deterred by keeper Alex Cranstone and some last ditch defending.

As the second half started, and scoring boots secured, the Lions followed their manager’s half time instructions with two brilliantly taken goals. First Marcus Lumbard weaved his way through several challenges before firing into the net to give the Lions the lead. Shortly afterwards, his strike partner Jake Sims, beat three defenders before executing an excellent lob over the keeper from 20 yards to make the score 2.0. Etwall, feeling aggrieved by the scoreline, broke away twice to level the score to 2.2.

With the crowd excited, and goals flowing, Bradley Keeling, collected Jake Sims’s corner, to turn and fire the ball into the far top corner for 3.2.

Just as the final whistle was about to blow, a third breakaway for Etwall produced the equalizer and the final score 3.3. The performance was excellent from both teams on a very warm day.

Alex Cranstone was named man of the match for his commanding goalkeeping display.

Team

Alex Cranstone, Oscar Wainwright, Jake Massey, Ben Bryan, Marcus Lumbard (captain), Bradley Keeling, Alistair Barbour, Dominic

Simpson-Allsop, Callum Hellaby, Tom Dixon, Peter Linley, Jake Sims, Matt Fearn

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Toton Under 13s                               4

Ashbourne Aztecs Under 13s            2

Aztecs were very unlucky to come away with nothing in their first away match of the season after a tremendous team performance. They got off to a flyer with a goal inside the first few minutes. Sam  Birks chased down a ball up front and slipped the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs to make it 1-0. Ashbourne built upon their lively start with some neat passing and movement between Bart Banks, Josh Dutton and Ross Keeling, creating a number of good chances for Charles Owens, whose pacy runs forward were a constant thorn in the side of the Toton defence.

Max Winbow put in a good shift on the left and pressurised Toton into making mistakes. Regan Major played a new holding role which allowed Birks and Dutton to get into more attacking positions. Keeling was also causing problems from the right wing and soon set up Owens, who made no mistake with a crisp shot into the net.

At the other end, several runs by the home side demanded decisive tackling by the back four of Bart Banks, Dan Lee, Ben Wildgoose and Lewis Pepper, but they could not keep out a near post corner which was adjudged to have crossed the line. Shortly afterwards, Billy Owens made two great stops and set up a number of attacks with his accurate goal kicking.

Ashbourne were the team coping better with the very hot weather conditions, but they were vulnerable to the overlap on Toton’s right hand side. Replacements Matt Griffiths and Jack Dean came on to bolster that area of the field. Griffiths was soon into his stride and would have scored had it not been for a smart save by the Toton keeper. Keeling, Dutton, Birks and Owens all saw shots creep the wrong side of the post. At a time when the Aztecs’ midfield five were dominating the possession, Toton found a bit of space and unleashed a rocket shot to equalise just before the break.

The second half was a tale of missed opportunities for Aztecs. They were controlling much of the play in the vital areas with Lee, Wildgoose and Dutton  all tackling and intercepting well. Keeling and Birks were able to release Jacob Brown and Charles Owens with some lovely diagonal passes. Josh Challinor joined the midfield with some timely tackles and passes. Banks  and Birks joined up well but neither could find the final ball when Brown was in a good scoring position. Owens then had several one-on-one chances but lacked the composure to find the back of the net.

As legs tired and the heat seared, Toton became the more dangerous team on the counter attack. Their right sided players easily got past the Ashbourne defence. As in previous weeks, Aztecs were unable to clear their lines and despite Owens best efforts in goal, they conceded two own goals in a loose ten minute spell. This was a bitter pill to swallow after such a committed performance by every member of the squad.

TEAM : B. Owens, B. Banks, D. Lee, B. Wildgoose, L.Pepper, J. Dean, R. Keeling, J.Dutton, R. Major (captain), S. Birks, J. Challinor, M. Winbow, M.Griffiths, J. Brown, C. Owens.

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Sunday 25th September

ASHBOURNE AZTECS U14    8 - 3   STANTON ILKESTON U14

This was a cup match played at Mappleton, from the kick off Aztecs were on the attack, Sanders and Wainwright having shots saved by the keeper. As the game wore on Stanton came more into it and created chances Dawson pulling off a number of saves. Just before half time sander broke through the defence and slotted the ball past the keeper to open the scoring. From the kick off Aztecs won the ball Wainwright powered through and smacked the ball into the net for the second. Within another minute Aztecs were through again Sanders beating the keeper for number three, Stanton were glad to hear the half time whistle.

Stanton started well attacking Aztecs, Dawson saving comfotably, off a long kick Pricket latched onto the through ball and shot into the bottom corner for number 4. Wainwright recieved the ball in mid-field and laid a perfect pass for Sanders to run onto and smack it past the keeper for his hatrick and number 5. Now with nothing to lose Stanton attacked in numbers and in a five minute spell pulled two goals back, could this be the fight back ?. Bond played a great pass through the defence perfect for Wainwright who took it on and smacked in the sixth, Stanton scored again for 6 - 3. Partridge who was moved from defence to play up front picked up a pass from Mc Hugh and stabbed it past the keeper for number 7, five minutes later a through ball from Wainwright saw Partridge net again to finish the scoring at 8 - 3. It had been a good match well contested by both teams with an excellent attitude to playing good football.

TEAM: Kieron Dawson, Kyle Bond, Eddy Donnely, Nick Partridge, Mike Leason Max Wainwright, Benjo Laurie, Aiden Prickett, Tom Mc Hugh, Tom Poxon and  Ben Sanders

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AZTEC U16        6

BURTON RAMS 0

Under 16’s followed their 10-0 triumph over Winshill last week with a convincing win over Burton Rams.

Aztecs were on the attack from the whistle and with Alex “Mojo” Munroe Jones firing on all cylinders at the moment, it wasn’t long before he scored the opener for Aztecs.

The goal was soon followed with 2 more from Jake Smith and Josh Timms with both goals being assisting from winger James Ingram.

With Smith injured, Ryan Cundy was soon taking over the attack and fed Layton Shorthouse his opener.

4-0 at half time, the Aztecs defence of Dan Lear, Jordan Gibson, Liam Watson and Matt Burnhope stood strong and another clean sheet was the aim.