What can be said about this season that hasn't already been said... Stonehouse started the season very well and only got better from there.

We started the season late in August with a pre season friendly against our old rivals King Stanley this game saw the debuts of Jamie Gough, Matthew Mierzwa and Kai Harris in Stonehouse colours all of which went on to have good first seasons with the club. This match was won 2-0 with 2 goals from Kieran Thomas one of which was an absolute screamer. This marked the first time Stonehouse had ever beaten Stanley in any game. Our second pre season game did not go as well loosing 3-0 to a strong Gotherington side but this was to be our last defeat for the next 5 games. During this 5 game streak the boys managed to score 55 goals and only concede 6 with 9 Hatricks scored and Toby managing to beat his personal best and netting 7 in one game. So all in all a nice run to start the season.
Mid October saw the team playing their first round of this season County Cup against Cheltenham Saracens - The previous seasons winners.. So from the off we were expecting a difficult game. We couldn’t have been more wrong on this one.. Stonehouse dominated the first half and went in to the break 4-1 and totally in control. Second half was a different story though and heads went down and we ended up loosing 6-4 and being knocked out of the cup in the first round. Our next game was against Wotton Rovers Blues who were going to be our main competition in the league. The game ended up being a 4-4 draw with Toby banging in all of the Stonehouse goals but an excellent team performance all round. An un characteristic loss in the next game to Southside sparked another winning run from the team who then went unbeaten for the rest of the season seeing off all teams who we came across and beating them all by convincing margins bar 1 or 2...
This good run of form was enough to take us to the Red Cross Cup Final and knowing 4 wins in our last 4 games would be enough to secure the League and the Cup double. which turned out to be easier said than done....
Sunday 1st May - STYFC U13 first ever cup final and what a great day it was (minus all the driving I had to do to get there despite it being 2 mins away from my house). The weather was glorious, the pitch looked good (if not a little dry) and the boys & supporters were all in good spirits and up for the game. After a few photos of the team in their kit and new polo shirts the game its self was underway. It was Stonehouse who started the better of the 2 sides and who took an early lead through Kieran Thomas and other than a few attacks from the Southside team Stonehouse were in control for the majority of the game. Oliver Loveridge scored Stonehouse’s second direct from a free kick 35 yards from goal. Straight over the keepers head leaving him no chance, Kieran Thomas who was later voted the Man Of The Match for the final added his second goal and the teams third and the fourth was scored by who else but the “Ginger Assassin” Toby. Southside did manage a consolation goal near the end of the game but it was too little too late and Stonehouse went on to with their first trophy as a team.
The next game was equally as important as the last because baring any slip ups by Stonehouse in their last two games this was to be the league decider. Wotton Rovers Blues were the opponents and again the Stonehouse faithful were out in big numbers.. This was always going to be a closely contested game with both Stonehouse and Wotton on top of their games. It was as in the last game Stonehouse starting the better of the 2 sides with Brandon Peacey taking control of the right wing and getting the better of the Wotton left back over and over again.. It was from a Brandon Peacey cross that Stonehouse opened the scoring. After beating his defender Brandon had what looked like an age to wait for the support in the box and pick out a striker, he did and found Tom Dyer who made contact with the ball and powered it past the Wotton keeper..... not bad considering he was one of the smallest on the pitch.. Stonehouse defended well and kept the skillful Wotton attackers at bay. It was again Toby who added the second goal this time direct from a corner.. A wotton supporter was heard to say is there anywhere that kid doesn’t score from the answer.......... NO.. Stonehouse again conceded a late goal but managed to defend well and close out the game and gaining our first ever win over Wotton Rovers and also being the first team to beat them in a number of years.. Massive achievement for the lads after loosing 8-2 and 12-0 to them in the previous season.. Tommy Russell put in an outstanding performance in this game picking up the MOM award, his 5th for the season.
This win meant that Stonehouse needed 4 points from their last 2 games to be crowned league champions for the first time and in our next match it looked for a while as though they were going to make hard work of it. ... They managed to beat Wotton B by 3 goals to 1 but were admittedly under pressure for the majority of the game. But with hard work and a massive determination to win with the Wotton A supporters and players looking on shone through and the boys got the result they were after with another MOM performance by Brandon Peacey and goal from Toby, Matty and an generous Wotton B defender!
So it came down to this Wednesday 11th May (the day after we played Wotton B), Stonehouse Town v Gala Wilton.. Stonehouse knew 1 point would see them crowned Champions but also knew that a 14 goal swing would see them with the best goal difference in the league too.. So the boys being boys went out and did just that a 14-0 victory with Kieran Thomas picking up his 3rd MOM award and Toby notching 5 goals to bring his season tally to 71!!!!!
So that was it - Stonehouse Town YFC U13’s are the League and Cup double winning team in the 2010/2011 season.. An amazing achievement for the team, the supporters (of which there were many and last but not least the Club.. Well Done lads..

A week after the end of the season saw a busy weekend for the U13’s with the annual Stroud & District League 6 a side tournament on the Sunday where for the first time we entered 2 teams. Both teams did extremely well on the day unfortunately neither qualified for the semi’s but that does not take away from how well they played.
The night before the 6 a side was our end of season presentation. There was a good turn out from the u13’s with only one not managing to attend but i guess every one is allowed to be ill sometimes.. A good night was had by all and the night was a huge success and well done to the people who organised it. Every one on the team received a quality trophy for their efforts for the season and the special awards went as follows..

Man Of The Match Award - Tommy Russell - With 5 MOM awards during the season..

Most Improved Player - Brandon Peacey - Made the switch from Goal Keeper to outfield this season and in my opinion it has been a good switch for him. Started the season very well, sometimes caught out of position but when you consider for the previous 5 seasons he had to move a maximum of 18 yards thats understandable. Played in a number of positions over the season but really came in to his own towards the end of the season and made the right wing position his own.. Great season Brand more of the same next year...

Supporters Player Of Year - Oliver Loveridge - Ollie has had an outstanding season this year and this award is fully deserved. I know he won’t mind me saying in the past he has had some problems controlling his temper on the football pitch but nearly every person who voted for him this year commented how much his attitude had improved this year. Football wise he has also been excellent. Has really been a rock in the centre of our defence and his leadership on the pitch has been first class has chipped in with a good number of goals too. Well don't Ollie... Brilliant season from you, keep it up..

Managers Player - Nathan Spencer - A great first season in the club. Has shown fantastic footballing ability and commitment to the team.. Has a fantastic knack of being in the right place in the right time and his timing in the tackle is as good as anyone i have seen for his age. A couple of times this season he has not liked the match rating I gave him on the website and he came up to be at the next training and asked what he could of done to get a higher score which is a great attitude to have. Well done Nathan great start in the team hope it continues next year..

Players Player Of The Year - Tommy Russell - This is Tommy’s second season in the club and has not stopped winning trophies since he joined. Last season he picked up the Managers Player of the year award, then the Red Cross Cup, then the League Trophy and now the Players Player award... not a bad haul in 2 seasons! This Players Player award was very well deserved and Tommy actually received over 60% of the votes. He passes the ball so well and creates so many goals, something that has not gone un noticed by his team mates. He is an excellent influence on the pitch and has a fantastic ability to find himself space and time to pick the perfect pass nearly every time. He is an important member of the squad and long may it continue. Well done Tommy..

Season In Numbers

Personal....
Top Goal Scorer - Toby with 71 goals..
Highest Average Rating - Toby with an average of 9.2 in 26 games..
Most MOM Votes - Tommy with 5
Most Appearances - Kieran, Ollie, Josh, Toby, Jake all with 26 not missing a game
Most Assists - Tommy with 50.

Team.....
Goals Scored - 192
Goals Conceded - 35
Games Won - 22
Games Lost - 3
Games Drawn - 1

So thats the season.. All I can say is FANTASTIC - You all deserve the praise you are getting.. Well done lads and bring on the Gloucester League - New challenge, New Opponents, SAME OLD STONEHOUSE!