Our Partnership With Girls In Football

SportTrades are pleased to announce our partnership with the organisation Girls in Football.

The partnership hopes to help increase the investment within the women's game from grassroots level upwards.

Clubs who are interested in benefiting from our agreement should contact or visit the Girls in Football website.

This partnership will enable us to search for sponsorship and funding for your club. This service is free to the club, however a 15% commission rate will be charged upon a successful search.

For further details please contact Polly Courtney at Girls in Football

Sol y Fubtol: Five Defeats Out Of Five For Rojillos

RACING SANTANDER B 3 LANZAROTE 0

28th September 2009

Its five out of five for U.D. Lanzarote. A record they will certainly not be proud of, suffering their fifth consecutive league defeat, this time to Real Racing´s Primera Liga sides B team.
Racing took only six minutes to open the scoring. Striker Luisma´s shot deflected off a Rojillo defender and past the helpless Lanzarote keeper Floro. The early goal sprang life into a nervous Lanzarote side and the Rojillos began to look more comfortable especially in central midfield.

Just as Lanzarote were beginning to flourish Racing scored their second on the half hour and totally destroyed any confidence that the Rojillos had left. Luisma beat his defender and crossed the ball dangerously across penalty area and fellow striker Sergio Canales gratefully blasted home from eight yards.

In added on time Lanzarote had a couple of good chances to reduce the deficit, the best of which came from Ayoze Pérez whose header was deflected away for a corner and Santi Torres who was just beaten to the ball by a defender in the six yard box with the goal gaping. Lanzarote went into the half time break a little unlucky to be two goals down.

Lanzarote came out for the second half with a much more aggressive attitude. José Manuel began to look more himself flying down the left wing but unfortunately the Lanzarote strike force were unable to finish the good work created by the winger.

Racing´s goalkeeper Mario Fernández was now the busier of the two keepers and made several timely interventions preventing the Rojillos gaining a foot hold in the game. Manager Carmelo Hernández switched tactics at the break and Lanzarote were playing with an attacking midfield with wingers on both flanks and strikers Miguel Yunes and Rosmen up front. Unfortunately with all this possession the Rojillos could not increase on their three goals scored in the opening six games of the season.

Lanzarote pushed forward and in doing so left their defence bare. In the 75th minute midfielder José Picón crossed to the far post and Sergio Canales buried the ball low into the goal scoring his second of the day and securing his side’s 3-0 home win and moving his team up to second in the table.

Lanzarote are now second from bottom and the next two games are critical. First is at home versus Conquense who are three points and three places above the Rojillos and the following week an away match against bottom club Cacereño.

Victory on opening day of the season on the 30th of August is now a distant memory as reality has set in. September has been awful. Five games played with only one goal scored and not a point on the board reminding Lanzarote this is going to be a long and painful season.

Carmelo Hernández has a tough job on his hands but only two things are needed. Restoring confidence and finding someone who can stick the ball between the sticks. Easier said than done when you are playing the best of Spain’s youth players who are hungry for the nod of a first team call up.

Sol y Futbol: Rojillos Defeated By Atlético Youth

LANZAROTE 0 ATLÉTICO MADRID B 4

24th September 2009

It is extremely difficult to determine whether the quality of teams Lanzarote have faced has been above average or simply the Rojillos are way out of their depth. Lanzarote were taught a lesson in the art of passing, control, keeping possession, finishing and about anything positive you can do on a football park for 90 minutes yet again.

The youth of Atlético Madrid simply tore apart Lanzarote with players that will be pursuing their careers in Spain’s Golden league.

The Madrid side began the game the much brighter of the two sides as Lanzarote struggled to hold onto the ball. Lanzarote´s big man upfront Rosmen got drawn into the defence and therefore when the ball was cleared it came straight back. Lanzarote´s defence has come under much criticism lately but with the first line of defence being attack and with only three goals scored in five matches the back four are always under pressure which eventually will burst and leak goals.

The Conejeros (locals) incredibly weathered the storm and from the 20th minute entered into their best spell of the match. After five consecutive corners right back Ayoze Pérez fired in a shot from 20 yards but Atlético´s keeper Nacho saved well and parried away for another corner.

As the Rojillos were beginning to enjoy themselves, tragedy struck. The brilliant Congolese left winger Cedric was adjudged to having been tripped just inside the penalty area and the referee ordered a spot kick to the visitors. Lanzarote keeper Floro made a valiant attempt as the ball was blasted to his right but the strength of the shot proved sufficient as Floro got a good hand on the ball but only succeeded into pushing it onto the inside of the post and in.

Going into the break at only a goal down the Lanzarote crowd were still optimistic. Many of the Conejero crowd decided to stay at home and watch a full league programme including Real Madrid and Barcelona but many of the expats and tourists to the island decided to ignore the league cup matches and support the Rojillos which emphasized the importance of foreign fans.

Man of the match Cedric was constantly taunting the Lanzarote backline with his jinking runs. The young lad has already made one appearance for Atlético´s first team at the age of 16 and looks certain for a future in top flight football.

That optimism lasted till just over the hour mark. From a corner the tall and talented centre forward Ibrahim superbly headed his side into a two goal lead. Five minutes later and Lanzarote´s first ever British player Ian Robinson got his chance. Unfortunately for the Barnsley boy this was not going to be a memorable debut.

Up until this second goal Lanzarote looked as though they might be able to retrieve something from the game without seriously threatening Atlético´s keeper Nacho. Right winger Toñito never gave up on the cause and looked the most threatening player for the Rojillos. On many occasions the winger beat his left back and produced quality crosses but the Lanzarote forwards could not find a way through a very well organized Madrid defence. Four minutes after Robbo´s arrival and the visitors were 3-0 up. The usually faultless and composed centre back Kamara misjudged the run by the impressive midfielder Perea and with keeper Floro stranded he delicately chipped over to make certain of the outcome of the match.

Sub Borja Gonzalez completed the rout in the final minute. Lanzarote were sentenced to their fourth consecutive defeat with this four nil morale destroying defeat and are now in the final relegation position, fourth from bottom. The number four does not seem to be Lanzarote´s lucky number.

Up next for the Rojillos is a worrying away match against Real Racing B. The third placed side has yet to concede a goal at home and Lanzarote are yet to score away, though Lanzarote can live in the hope that football has a tendency of turning a form book on its head and this is probably why we all love it so much.

Boro Through To Third Qualifying Round

SPORTTRADES F.A.CUP TRACKER, Stage 4 :Windsor & Eton 0 Farnborough Town 1

Boro ended the Royalists run of 3 appearances in this seasons F.A.Cup with a 1-0 win. Windsor & Eton put up a good fight to continue their participation in the competition. Farnborough, who are top of the Zamaretto Premier League, were too strong. On 13 minutes Jack King tapped in to give Boro the lead and ultimately the match. Farnborough now go into the the hat for the 3rd Qualifying Round of the F.A.Cup, more importantly they progress to Stage 5 of the SportTades F.A.Cup Tracker. Windsor & Eton though remain top of the Trackers Merit Table with 3 appearances.

The Tracker Stage Results.

Stage 1 Barkingside 1 Bowers & Pitsea 4
Stage 2 Windsor & Eton 3 Bowers & Ptsea 1
Stage 3 Thamesmead Town 1 Windsor & Eton 2
Stage 4 Windsor & Eton 0 Farnborough Town 1

The Tracker Merit Table

Appearances/Away Wins/Goal Difference

1: Windsor & Eton 3 - 1 - +2
2. Bowers & Pitsea 2 - 1 - +1
3. Farnborough Town 1 - 1 - +1
4. Thamesmead Town 1 - 0 - -1
5. Barkingside 1 - 0 - -3

Farnborough will travel to Heybridge Swifts in the 3rd Round Qualifying. The Swifts progressed to this round after overcoming Blue Square South League side, St Albans City. The tie will be played on 10th October.

UPDATES FROM THE ICE MAN

Ice Man Updates by Pete Lewis

With the Chieftains not in action this weekend, it was left to their second side the Warriors to take centre stage, and centre stage they did indeed take. Travelling to the Isle of Wight is never easy for any side as the small home ice advantage catches out most teams that visit there. The Wightlink Tigers are a tough side to beat and this game was no exception.
Less than 5minutes were on the clock when Daniel Staples took a hard hit into the boards and play was suspended while Staples was prone on the ice and awaiting an ambulance. It has later been confirmed that all is well and he is just taken a bit of a knock and will be a bit sore for a couple of weeks. Roughly half an hour later play resumed and the Warriors were determined to win for their fallen comrade. Ben Osborne took the lead on 6 and a half minutes for the Warriors. Less than a minute later and it was 1-1 when veteran Tony Blaize responded for the Tigers.
Jason Coles had put the Tigers in front before the end of the period, but the Warriors took control of the second period scoring 4 unanswered goals thanks to Adrian Woodyard, Ricky Mills, Max Bennett and man of the match Lee Hounslow. Hounslow went on to score again in the final period, along with Dan Raven.

The Chelmsford Warriors return to action on Saturday night at home against the Cardiff ENL Devils, facing off at 5:30pm.

Meanwhile the senior side, Chieftains, return to the ice on Saturday 26th at “The Hive” in Bracknell against the Hornets. The Chieftains will be looking to put in a more convincing display than when they met last weekend and had to come from behind to gain a point in a tough 2-2 draw. The Chieftains should welcome back tough guy BT Williams who will no doubt beef up the team’s physical abilities. On Sunday the Chieftains are at home to the Peterborough Islanders, with the game facing off at the usual time of 6:30pm.

Chieftains coach Dean Birrell said “We know what Bracknell will bring to the game and how they will want to play it. It’s up to us to prove we are a better team than the Hornets, but we’re not expecting it to be easy at all. Of course we’re wanting 2 wins this weekend and I am confident we have it within ourselves to get those wins”.

Sol y Futbol: Rojillos Suffer Third Straight Defeat

ALCORCON 2 LANZAROTE 0

21st September 2009

U.D. Lanzarote suffer their third straight defeat by A.D. Alcorcon in a game where the Rojillos offered very little threat in the opponents final third.

Lanzarote were intent on improving on their defensive errors committed the previous week. The Madrid side dominated possession but the Lanzarote defense held firm and with keeper Floro in fine form a breakthrough for Alcorcon was going to prove difficult.

The Rojillos were level going into the break but in the second period the Alcorcon frontline kept up their bombardment and finally in the 70th minute the defense and keeper Floro were beaten.

In the closing minutes Floro saved a penalty but the rebound fell kindly for striker Borja who made no mistake with the follow up and Lanzarote were sentenced to another defeat.

Lanzarote will face the talent of the youth from Atlético Madrid B side this Wednesday evening at 8.30pm in Arrecife and will be searching for an end to this dismal run.

The early pace setters are Lanzarote´s victors from last week Guadalajara who made it four wins from four with a 3-1 win against Universidad and Leganés are second trailing by three points. The Rojillos slip to 15th with their three point tally.

England's Sexes Enjoy Football Success

SportTrades Adam Dennehey Writing:

Roughly every fortnight, I will write on the blog about a current talking-point in British Sport at the moment. As you should all know, the last fortnight or so has been a good one for both of England’s football teams. The men’s team under the astute leadership of Fabio Capello have qualified for the 2010 World Cup with 2 games to spare in Group 6. The Women's team have also had success in the European Championships getting to the final of the tournament before losing to the reigning champions Germany 6-2 in the final.

The men’s team under Sven-Goran Eriksson and then Steve McClaren really failed to inspire the fans and media alike. Now under Capello's authoritarian style the team have bonded and now are playing like a team. The recent 5-1 win over Croatia at Wembley was probably England's best performance since their last victory of that scoreline - that iconic win in Munich over Germany in 2001. With a system that’s bringing out the best in Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney, England should at the very least target the semi-finals in South Africa. That’s not to say that they will do so, but there's no reason why we should be scared of facing sides of the calibre of Argentina, Portugal or even France. After all those three sides form of late hasn’t been great and unlike our defence they are shipping goals.

Following on from the men's success has been the women. Hope Powell's team performed fantastically during the 2009 Women's Euros and were unlucky to lose by a margin of 4 goals in the final to Germany. For highlights of this match go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/women/8249716.stm. The girls had put up a good fight to get back to 3-2 following Kelly Smith's terrific goal, only to concede 3 goals in the later stages of the game whilst going all out for a goal. It was a brave performance from the girls and (unlike the men's team) there should be no shame in losing to the Germans who have won the last 2 World Cups and the last 5 European Championships.

In the last couple of days it's been announced that starting in the summer of 2011, there will be a professional Women's Super League. This is great news for the Women's game and if a suitable broadcaster can be found, there should be no problems in the sport gaining the publicity and fan attendances that it deserves to be getting. The Super League was originally intended to start next summer but due to financial uncertainties, mostly surrounding the demise of the suspected league's broadcaster Setanta it was announced in April that this league wouldn't be happening. Thankfully for everyone involved with the game, this blow is only delaying a great opportunity for 1 year, which in a way will give the FA more time to fund and organise the league better.

The FA's Chief Executive Ian Watmore is of full support for the league and knows that the announcement could not have come at a better time for the sport: "If we can build on this success then I reckon there's a tipping point where women's football could really take off'. Commenting on the potential of the league, Watmore feels that fans would have to play their part adding 'If we can get more football fans to see women's football at the highest level, I think they would get behind it and it could become as big as any women's sport around the globe".

I hope that Watmore is right. Women's football is highly popular in the States with its professional league (the WPS) the best in the world with most of the top players including England's Kelly Smith playing there. In Germany, the game is also taken seriously. If our girls are to continue to be competitive in tournaments they need to adopt a similar approach to the Americans and Germans and continue to go move forward.

In conclusion there is much optimism in both forms of the beautiful game. The men's team are looking forward to a World Cup in which they are rightly amongst the favourites to win the competition. There's also a host of young players in the squad like Theo Walcott, Ashley Young, Aaron Lennon and James Milner who will all be aiming to play a part in the Finals. As for the Women's game there looks to be a bright future ahead! Hope Powell has laid the foundations for the team with good performances in the last couple of major tournaments. With the Super League being announced for 2011 it can only increase the quality and competition between the teams and will give our girls a great chance of going further in those tournaments.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote Defeated By League Favourites

LANZAROTE 1 GUADALAJARA 2

13th September 2009

Two enormous errors inside the opening 15 minutes gave Guadalajara their third consecutive victory confirming their status as one of the favorites for promotion.

The visitors made their intent clear with a strike on goal within the first five seconds of the match. In the 5th minute striker Gustavo Souto blasted over from inside the six yard box. The Guadalajara striker was going to prove to be the thorn in the side of a shaky Lanzarote defence.

Moments later and Lanzarote almost took the lead. A volley from winger José Manuel from the edge of the box was brilliantly finger tipped away to safety by the impressive Nuñez in the Guadalajara goal. From the resulting corner a catastrophe occurred. Most of Lanzarote´s defence were up for the corner but Maciot played the ball short which was superbly read and intercepted by the visitors defence. Lanzarote had been caught and within seconds Gustavo Souta inflicted full punishment as he buried the ball past Lanzarote´s number one Floro giving his side a 0-1 lead.

The Rojillos winger José Manuel forced another good save from Nuñez in the 9th minute but five minutes later and Lanzarote were robbed of possession in the centre of the park, the ball was immediately distributed to the right wing to Rubén Cuesta and he instantly delivered an inch perfect cross to team mate Gustavo Souto who nodded home from five yards giving the Rojillos keeper no chance.

0-2 down and with the Lanzarote defence leaking like a burst pipe a moment of inspiration was needed. In the 22nd minute a thunderous 20 yard volley from Captain Vladamir flew in off the upright reducing the visitor’s advantage by 1-2. The remainder of the half was more subdued with no clear chances for either side.

Lanzarote dominated the second half and with the introduction of the temperamental striker Toñito a goal seemed certain in coming. The best of the chances occurred in the 70th minute. A perfectly weighted cross to the far post found the unmarked Toñito but the striker could not convert blasting over the bar from eight yards.

Lanzarote went in search of an equalizer and were leaving gaps at the back making it dangerous for a team of the strike quality of Guadalajara. Five minutes from time Gustavo Souta was brought down by keeper Floro and the striker looked odds on for his hat trick. His strike sent Floro the wrong way but at last his accuracy let him down as his low shot ran past the left hand post.

Lanzarote could not capitalize on their good fortune and after their second successive defeat see themselves slip down to 13th position. Next week Lanzarote travel to Madrid and face unbeaten Alcorcon.

WINDSOR & ETON PROGRESS TO STAGE 4

Thamesmead Town 1 Windsor & Eton 2. The Royalists make it through to the 2nd Qualifying Round of the F.A. Cup after a tough win away from home. Thamesmead were ahead after 8 minutes, with a goal from Rikki Cable. Thamesmead held the ball well and had the greater share of possession, Three minutes before the break Royalists defender Andrew Fagan brought the score level going into half time.

The second half. Both sides had opportunities to take the lead. Finally Windsor & Eton’s second goal came after 61 minutes. Andrew Fagan calmly slotting the ball home, claiming his brace for the game. Thamesmead responded by piling on the pressure, and came close through Rikki Cable towards the end of the match. Windsor & Eton secured their third appearance in the SportTrades F.A.Cup Tacker, as they progress to Stage 4. Farnborough will be their opponents.

New Kids On The Blog

SportTrades have made two appointments this week. We would like to welcome Adam Dennehey as Media Executive. Adam will be the Editor of SportTrades Report, as well as working on projects 'Support your Local' and with the organisation Girls in Football.

Pete Lewis has joined us, as one of our National Account Managers. He will be working on a variety of contracts. He will also be responsible for developing our presence within Ice Hockey. You can read about his passion in his frequent posts as the IceMan in SportTrades Report.

We will be updating you on the progress of our adopted clubs, Barkingside FC, UD Lanzarote and Chelmsford Chieftains. Follow our features Support Your Local and F.A.Cup Tracker. If you would like to post reports about your club and become one of our adoptions, contact Adam via the blog or at info@sporttrades.co.uk.

Catching Up With The 'Side: Introducing Barkingside FC!

SportTrades are pleased to announce that we will be following Essex Senior League side, Barkingside FC this season. As part of our 'Support Your Local' initiative this year, every month we will be updating our blog and finding out what has happened to our adopted clubs in the last month. Here's the latest to do with Barkingside FC by Adam Dennehey.

The 2009/2010 season brings much optimism for everyone at Oakside. It's a new start for the club with Jimmy Flanaghan (the chairman/secretary of the club) in charge for his first full season at the club as well as new home and away kits. Last season was a season of two halves for the club. There was trouble in the opening months of the season with early cup exits, boardroom disputes and floodlight issues. However when the boardroom dispute was settled at the end of December, when Jimmy Flanaghan took charge of the club everything settled and everyone at the club helped get the club back to together.

Come the end of the season the team had finished a respectable 5th in the Essex Senior League and had even grabbed a piece of silverware - the Essex Senior League Challenge Cup. This season the target for Manager Tony Fenn is to win the league, but even at this level of football it isn't as easy as that.

'Side so far have drawn their opening 2 league games and suffered a disappointing defeat at home in the FA Cup to Bowers & Pitsea. However in the last fortnight there just might have been a major improvement in the team’s fortunes. Essex Senior League leaders Sawbridgeworth Town were beaten twice in the Challenge Cup Group stages with 'Side scoring 4 goals in both matches.

Lastly I would just like to mention Martin Meyers before the end of this post. Martin is a valued member of the committee and is a steward for the club in all their home matches. During the recent league draw with Basildon United at home on the 22nd of August, we were constantly speaking about the Oval test match in the Ashes.

As I am a big cricket fan myself, I had my radio on hand to listen to the game whilst reporting on the match. When Jonathan Trott was nearing the nervous 90s, I found Martin by the sidelines and handed him one of the earphones to listen to the cricket. Now whenever I recall where I was when Trott got his 100 and Graeme Swann bashed 63 runs to help set England on their way to winning that test and the Ashes. I'll always remember that I was behind one of the goals at the Oakside listening to it on Test Match Special with Martin asking me 'when do you think Strauss will declare like, we've got enough runs in the bank'. That’s the wonder of Barkingside FC where there's lots of stuff happening and good humour around the club.

SUNSHINE FOOTBALL FOLLOWS UD LANZAROTE FOR 2009/2010

Thank you to Ian Lanes and family who will be providing us with the match reports from all of this seasons UD Lanzarote matches. You are also able to get all information regarding directions to the ground and prices direct from the website www.lanzarotefootball.com as well as purchasing merchandise.

If you are visiting the island why not spend Sundays at Teguise Market and visit the stall (except on home games).

Sol y Futbol: Toledo Too Much For Lanzarote

TOLEDO 2 LANZAROTE 0

7th September 2009

Lanzarote were brought back down to Earth with an almighty bang against a Toledo side using their experience of playing in Spain’s silver league (championship) for seven years.

Rojillos manager Carmelo Hernández kept faith with the same starting eleven that triumphed the week previous. From the opening whistle Toledo dominated proceedings. Lanzarote worked hard in midfield but were unable to feed Rosmen, the lone striker. In the 15th minute only a fine save from keeper Floro from the head of Toledo´s striker Guille kept Lanzarote from going a goal down.

In the first half Lanzarote offered little goal threat. A long distance strike from Jotha was inches away from giving Lanzarote a surprise but undeserved goal lead.

Five minutes before the break and Toledo were ahead. A precise pass from the left wing was controlled by the centre forward Guille, he neatly turned Rojillos centre back Faruk and shot low and under keeper Floro giving his side a 1-0 advantage to take into the break.

Lanzarote came out with a more positive attitude for the second half and their best opportunity fell to skipper Vladamir. From the edge of the area he blasted in a shot which hammered off Toledo´s crossbar and away to safety.

Toledo then again began to dominate and in the 86th minute the final nail in the coffin was hammered in by midfielder Joaqui giving his side a comfortable 2-0 win.

Manager Carmelo Hernández conceded defeat graciously admitting they were outplayed by a better side. With a crowd of four times the amount than what Lanzarote averages. Toledo, Puertollano, Real Oviedo and Lanzarote´s next opponents Guadalajara are expected to be pushing for promotion.

STAGE 3 OF OUR FA.CUP TRACKER

Stage 3 of our F.A.Cup Tracker moves to the 1st Qualifying Round. Windsor & Eton move through after a 3-1 win against Bowers & Pitsea. They now travel to Thamesmead Town 4-2 victors over Tilbury. The game will be played on the 12th September.

Stage 1 Barkingside 1 Bowers & Pitsea 4 (Extra Preliminary Round)
Stage 2 Windsor & Eton 3 Bowers & Pitsea 1 (Preliminary Round)
Stage 3 Thamesmead Town v Windsor & Eton (1st Qualifying Round)