U15s v Norton Lindsey

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On a cold and rainy day CSFC u15s entertained Norton Lindsey away from home.  It was clear from our warm up that the boys were up for it.  Everyone was given an individual challenge before the game, and boy, did each player perform their challenge well.  From the start we dominated the game with an excellent exhibition of build up play, starting with the keeper and passing through the thirds.  CB’s Ricardo Dudley and Joshua McCormack made Abidan’s job easy by denying the opposition from penetrating behind our defensive line.

Ricardo showed great experience to lead from the back.  Abidan Elijah Edwards was confident to pass the ball to Ty, who played in the number 4 pocket, or out to our LB & RB Shyrron Burke and Realist Levi.  They made some great overlap runs and link up play throughout the game.  Man of the match, Akeem, denied Norton attacking opportunities in the midfield and linked up well with his team mates.  TP, who started in the number 10 pocket passed the ball well to the forwards.  Ammo and Deezy were a constant threat down the wings, whilst Jamal held the front line well.

Our first goal game from a great overlap run from Levi down the right hand side; he beat the last defender to drive the ball in the bottom left hand corner.  Goal number two came from an intelligent run on the right wing from McDeezy, who beat the winger and defender with some dazzling skills to drill the ball in the bottom left corner.  The first halve ended with Star leading, a well deserved 2-0 victory.

The second half saw Michael Scarlett drop into the number 8 pocket, TP drop into right back, and Balla playing as our main striker.  It was not long for Balla to get on the score sheet.  A brave one-one tackle with the keeper saw the ball end up in the back of the net.  Norton Kingsley’s goal came from a penalty.

Well done to all the lads for putting on a professional performance.

Report by: Jason Sylvester 27/10/13

Star meet Craig

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Craig Pinkney photo

There are not many young men like Craig Pinkney living in the inner cities areas of Birmingham, if there were we would have fewer gang related crimes.  Who is Craig Pinkney?  I urge you to find out.  You cannot spend some time with him and not be impressed by his passion and commitment.

Great workshop with Craig Pinkney talking about the effects of gun/gangs & knife crime .we have planted the seed in these young people’s life’s it was an eye opener & great awareness #stillwerise so big up Craig you are doing some amazing work . Thanks to everyone at Continental Star F.C for all the hard work you are doing behind the scenes; it takes a village to raise a child – stay blessed.  [Report by: Leon Moses 24/10/13]

The Voice Newspaper

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  • Thursday 19th September 2013

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United We Stand

Despite suffering a racist attack, Noel Martin refused to seek revenge and is teaching youngsters how to tackle ignorance and hatred
Written by Poppy Brady

DIALOGUE: German minister Burkhand Jungkamp and Lincoln Moses (right)
LEGACY IS a word sometimes used too casually these days, but Noel Martin, an innocent victim of a brutal racist attack almost two decades ago, more than does it justice.
Since the horrific assault in 1996, which left him paralysed from the neck down, Martin has devoted his life and energies to making sure future generations never stoop so low to racist revenge.
Martin’s life nearly came to an end when he was working as a plasterer in Germany, just outside Berlin in an area known as Blankenfelde – Mahlow. Two neo-Nazis chanting racist abuse hurled a concrete block through his car window, causing him to smash into a tree.
He is now a quadriplegic, needs 24-hour care at his Birmingham home, but he is devoted to organising cultural tolerance exchange visits between youngsters in Blankenfelde and Birmingham.
With a loyal team of staff, Martin has made huge strides to obliterate the ignorance of racism by getting young people from both countries to learn about each other’s way of life, play football together, cook together and learn not to judge each other by the colour of their skin.
Martin launched the Noel and Jacqueline Martin Foundation to promote racial tolerance in memory of his late wife Jacqueline who died of cancer 13 years ago.
One of Martin’s staunchest supporters, Lincoln Moses, has just returned from a week in Blankenfelde where he and a group took 16 young people got out of their Birmingham comfort zone. For some, it was their first trip abroad.
“Every trip we make, it never ceases to amaze me how these young people change once they are out of their own home environment. It broadens their horizons in life,” explained Moses, who also runs the Birmingham-based Continental Star Football Club, a social enterprise that helps people in marginalised communities and other social groups through football.
Club officials also act as ethnic advisors to the Football Association and the anti racism campaign Kick it Out.
“It helps them to look at life differently he said and we know these exchanges leave a lasting impression on some. They learn that integration is better than segregation and return home as different people.”
On this recent trip, the youngsters met Burkhand Jungkamp, the German Secretary of State for youth, education and sport. Each group on every trip also visits a memorial in honour of Martin. The tree he hit in Blankenfelde has been replaced by a granite monument which explains what happened on that fateful day in June 1996.
The perpetrators of the attack were sentenced to eight and five years in prison respectively, but they have now completed their jail terms and are free.
Martin said: “These exchanges give youngsters the chance to step out of their own lives for a short while to meet new people and form new friendships.
“Once they start talking and playing football together they soon forget about colour.”
Source: The Voice Newspaper online

Lincoln invited to the Palace again

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FA 150Prince William will present medals to 150 grassroots volunteers at Buckingham Palace in recognition of their dedication to football.
Prince William praised the 400,000 volunteers, Adding the many thousands of volunteers who week in, week out, help to provide the opportunity for millions more people to enjoy football at grassroots level. The recipients were chosen for their outstanding contribution to football.

Prince William will also host a football match at Buckingham Palace as part of The Football Association’s 150th anniversary celebrations. The Duke of Cambridge, president of The FA, helped arrange the game between two of England’s oldest amateur clubs in the gardens of the famous landmark – marking its first ever official football game, at the palace on Monday October 7. Lincolns palace invite

 

U10s get of the mark

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Under10s started their league season this morning. I’d meant to summarise our pre-season ahead of today but didn’t quite get round to it so here we go…

It’s been a great summer, a lot of work has gone in to get the players a lot of experience at 7-a-side and get the new players integrated. We’ve competed in two tournaments as well as friendlies against Sporting FC, Wednesbury Sports Union, Alverchurch Lions, Callowbrook Swifts, Harborne Hotshots and Football Futures. The talent and progression the players have shown has been really encouraging. We’ve also arranged opportunities for the players to be learning from FA coaches through the Tesco Skills programme. The huge squad is now ready and raring to go in the form of two teams of 10 in the SML…

Both CSFC Blues and CSFC Yellows started the season with great performances. While Yellows scored some great goals to win 9-4 against Singh Sabha, Blues played out a thriller against Smethwick Raiders in the end losing 5-4 after coming back from 3-0 down through some splendid football. Well done to the yellows for maintaining high standards whilst having to be flexible with positions due to some player absences. And well done to the blues for withstanding the usual physical battle of Smethwick Raiders playing by far the better football and almost snatching a draw at the end. A thoroughly enjoyable and encouraging morning.

Blog by: Patrick O’shea

Mind Games

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Mention ‘Mind Games’ and anybody remotely acquainted with sport will begin to think about the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Usain Bolt, Mohammed Ali, et al and all of those that have fallen foul of such practices; Kevin Keegan, the ex Newcastle United manager famously succumb to this in a post match interview live on SKY, and Rafa Benitez had his infamous ‘Fact’ rant prior to an upcoming Liverpool versus Manchester United game.  But surely the concept of ‘Mind Games’ deserves greater consideration than generating sound bites for the media.

This time last season Star’s players were riding high on confidence having just won the Midland Combination premier division and then going on to lift their Charity Shield.  In doing so, Star had gone on a 12 game unbeaten run and had carried this on into the Midland Alliance league.  In contrast, Star’s second season in the Midland Alliance has seen them lose their opening four games; leaking goals at an alarming rate whilst at the other end of the field being profligate in front of goals.  What is frightening is the fact that with the exception of one or two players the core of the team is made up of the players who won the league two seasons ago.  So what has gone wrong?

Football is game watched by many, all of whom have an opinion on how to maximise the potential of the team.  Some would argue that the tactics being employed are not right or perhaps that the personnel being selected is not the right mix.  Others might suggest that the team is not fit enough and or, that there is insufficient strength in depth, and the opinions don’t just stop there, but for me, whilst those arguments have some merit they are not the main reason why this group of players who convincingly won their remaining games of last season (beating the league champions along the way) to avoid getting drawn into the relegation zone, are currently underperforming; there has to be a solution closer to home.

‘Form is temporary but class is permanent’ is a football cliché that suggest that good players don’t become bad players overnight.  One could argue that as well as being able to consistently perform at a high standard, elite performers possess an inner believe, a determination to succeed if you will.  It is here that the ultimate ‘Mind Game’ must be won!  So one can do all the fitness training necessary and work endless hours on honing their skills, but if the individual is not paying enough attention to developing his ‘mind game’ then everything else could be in vain.  The desire to succeed must begin with the individual aspiring to get in the team and then to remain there by performing at a consistent level that makes it difficult for him to be dropped.  Sir Alex Ferguson is reported to have once said that he looks at what a player does when he or his team doesn’t have the ball, when determining whether or not that player is going to have the attributes required to be a Manchester United player.

I would therefore like to suggest that until the players (and therefore team) begin to win their ‘mind games’ we will not see the standard of performance expected from the squad of players that we have assembled.  If the ‘mind games’ are not firstly addressed and then challenged the players will continue to make the wrong decisions and these decisions will be highlighted by others and then magnified by the player – who in turn will either deflect this by denying that the problem exist or they will look to find fault in others.  [Sounds familiar?]

Ironically, top Sports Psychologist, Jamie Edwards, has been working with Continental Star and has put on a number of workshops.  It is about time that some of the players began to put these theories into practice.

Vitriol cost Star reserves

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The Reserves travelled to Pelsall for their opening game of the season, with expectations high it wasn’t the start expected as Star went a goal down after just 8 minutes.  A row ‘Z’ ball not dealt with by our defence afforded Pelsall’s forward the opening strike.  Richard Gethin, in goals took centre stage with some fine saves; with Star failing to capitalise on the possession football their play deserved.  Worse was to follow when a good delivery into our box left Star’s defence ball-watching; simple far post killer goal on 20 minutes.  What followed next threw all preparations out the window, not happy with a few kindergarten Linesman decisions, our captain, Skitz, decides to inject some high-octane verbal abuse towards him resulting in a straight red.  Down to 10 men from the 35th minute we had no time to feel sorry for ourselves, credit to all the players for clearing their heads and seeing the half out by playing with some great ball retention.

Half time discussion was around keeping the ball and the importance of taking any chances coming our way; with Dan Moses & Goughy marshalling the defence you had to wonder who had 10 men!

In the 60th minute the extra man paid off, Pelsall increased their advantage further following a long, hopeful ball forward.  A small comfort to take from it all was the fact that the better football was being played by Star, resulting in a fine execution from Relly, who turned his man outside the box before finishing clinically.  A 3 – 1 defeat was hard to take but under the circumstances the 10 men (and substitutes) showed great effort to keep the game competitive.

A special mention to goes out to Dominic walker who made his Reserve team debut, stepping up from the U17s.

Denville Moses Report by: Deno

 

Sucker punch at Boldmere

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Cruel injury time blow denies Star.

On the back of two opening game defeats, Continental Star 1st team took the short trip to Boldmere St Michaels looking to gain their 1st win of the season.
The sun was shining and the Boldmere ground staff had done a great job preparing the playing surface.
So to kick off.
Game started at a decent pace with both sides having a fair amount of possession, but only managing to create half chances.
On 30 mins Boldmere created another half chance on the edge of the stars box and took an early shot. Hunter seemed to lose the flight of the ball, but still managed to turn it away for a corner. (These new balls move all over the place)
The game continued to ebb and flow until the 35 min when Holgate produced a great turn on the outside edge of the Boldmere box, as the ball bounced up he took it early (with what looked to be the outside of the boot from where I was) and lobbed the keeper with a sublime finish
1-0 Stars
Boldmere looked rattled, but still continued to create half chances and on 40 mins with a long ball over the top of the defence, the Boldmere striker went down in the box under a challenge from Robinson. Whistle in his mouth and finger pointing to the spot the ref awarded a penalty.
After saving a penalty on the opening day of the season, Hunter always seems confident when faced 1on 1 from 12 yards and he didn’t disappoint this time. The ball was well struck by the boldmere player to Hunters right hand side, but a brilliant save kept the score at 1-0
HT
A change of ends, but similar pattern to the start of the 2nd half with both sides enjoying possession and creating chances. Again, another long ball over the star defence on 65mins found the Boldmere strikers feet, he had a decent touch and slotted it past the advancing Hunter to level the game.
Undeterred, Star continued to play football and swiftly regained the lead on 68 mins when substitute Cobourne drilled the ball into the bottom corner to put Star 2-1 up.
By now Stars were looking comfortable, pulling Boldmere around the pitch with some great football and creating some decent chances, most notably when Stardom made himself a little space out on the left hand side of the box and whipped in a vicious curling shot (keeper rooted) which hit the foot of the post and bounced away.
Stardom again had another chance, he tried to lob the keeper, keeper made a save and the ball fell to Cobourne who hit a first time volley which narrowly went wide of the Boldmere goal. Star were looking comfortable and managed to contain Boldmere to half chances and long balls whilst still creating chances. Two of which fell to Cobourne, but Boldmeres Keeper produced two decent saves to keep his side in the game.
With 90 mins gone Boldmere were throwing men forward and won themselves a corner. With a nice, pacey delivery into the box, Boldmere player Lyng rose above the Star defence to power the header home and deny Star what seemed like their first win of the season.
2-2
More misery was yet to come, on 94 mins Boldmere player Swain found himself on the edge of the Star box, with a melee of players in front of him, he took a pot shot at the Star goal which was headed nowhere until it took a cruel deflection off Green which sent Hunter scrambling to his left hand side. At full stretch, Hunter could only get fingertips to the ball, not enough to keep to keep the ball out.
3-2 Boldmere
Star were cruelly denied 3 points in a game which seemed to be (and probably should have) gave them their 1st win of the season.
Plenty of positives to take and lessons to be learnt.

Team
1. Hunter
2. Green. D
3. Davies
4. Hazell
5. Robinson
6. Thompson
7. Green. T
8. Hamilton
9. Reid. R
10. Holgate
11. Reid. J
Subs
12. Cobourne
13. James
14. Richards
15. Sterling
16. Anderson

Next game v Coleshill Town on Wednesday 14th Aug at home.

Apologies if I missed anything, didn’t know I’d be doing the write up.

Karl Hunter Report by: Karl Hunter.