Bathgate Thistle 2016s

⚫ BLACKS

Well done to the Blacks today in a battling performance against a good Armadale side.

Ethan produced a goal of the season contender for his first of two goals — a brilliant team move starting with Matthew, into Connor, then Noah B driving forward before finding Caelan, who slipped it to Ethan for a clinical finish. A perfect example of what the boys are capable of when they move the ball quickly and work together.

His second came from the penalty spot, where he dusted himself down after being fouled and finished emphatically.

Leo topped off a MOTM performance with a great first touch from Caelan’s cross and a composed finish.

A strong team effort throughout — hard work, good football and real togetherness.

⭐ Player of the Week – Leo

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🔴 REDS

Wooft — the Reds were on fire today against a good Mid Calder side!

The boys have worked extremely hard in training this week on fitness, passing and moving, and today they delivered it as a team. Every player showed real composure on the ball and huge work rate off it. The football was excellent — keeping it on the deck, moving in triangles and playing with confidence.

The coaches are very proud of the effort and attitude shown. Clear signs that the work in training is paying off. Simply outstanding today.

Goals:
Blair ⚽⚽⚽⚽
Max ⚽⚽⚽⚽

⭐ MOTM – The Team
A full‑squad performance from start to finish.

Have a great weekend everyone ☀️

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⚪ WHITES

Well done to the Whites today. The boys showed real determination to turn the game around after a difficult start, with fast pressing, clever movement and good reading of the game helping them grow into the match.

Plenty of signs that things are starting to come together — strong work rate, improved structure and great attitude across the team.

⭐ Player of the Week – Oliver
Consistent high intensity, brilliant effort and a top performance. Keep it up!

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🔵 BLUES

What a game for the Blues today — a brilliant, end‑to‑end match with both teams going neck and neck right until the final whistle.

The boys showed huge determination throughout, and with things level late on, Finlay stepped up with a fantastic free kick, completing his hat‑trick and sealing a dramatic finish to an excellent team performance.

Goals:
Cody ⚽
Finlay ⚽⚽⚽
Aleksander ⚽
Calan ⚽⚽

A big thank you to Sammy and Sam from the Whites for helping out — both were excellent and made a big contribution.

A fantastic team performance and a great game of football from both sides. Well done, Blues! 💙⚽

WEEKEND ROUNDUP

⚪ WHITES

A brilliant end‑to‑end game from the Whites today! The boys found themselves needing a big second‑half response, and they delivered it. Inspired by captain Charlie’s words at the break, they came out with real intensity, battled for every ball and showed huge character throughout.

Goals from Ollie, Stanley and Oliver highlighted a much stronger second‑half performance, full of effort, teamwork and determination. Plenty of positives to take from a game where the boys showed real fight and togetherness.

⭐ Player of the Week – Sam
Sam showed his usual brilliant attitude, just as he does every week in training. Defended with steely composure and gave everything for the team. Outstanding shift.

🔴 REDS

A busy morning for the Reds with back‑to‑back fixtures — first a league match against Kirkfield where the boys were sharp, energetic and clinical, then straight into helping out Blackburn Colts in a competitive friendly. Across both games the lads were excellent, showing work rate, teamwork and proper resilience. They’ll sleep well tonight after that effort.

⭐ Player of the Week – Kasper
Covered every blade of astro and backed it up with a brilliant week of training. Hard work paying off — keep it going wee man 💪🏻👏🏻

Goals across both games:

• Archie T ⚽⚽
• Harry ⚽
• Max ⚽⚽
• Blair ⚽⚽

⚫ BLACKS

Another super Sunday for the Blacks against a physical East Calder Utd side.

A composed penalty from Josh put the boys in front early. The game became a real battle, but the second half swung when super‑sub Ethan came back on and scored within ten seconds — then added another to cap a brilliant individual performance. Birthday boy Caelan finished things off with a composed strike to round out a strong team display.

Goals:
Josh ⚽
Ethan ⚽⚽
Caelan ⚽

⭐ Player of the Week – Ethan
Worked tirelessly in midfield, then stepped up top and delivered two huge goals. Tremendous performance.

🔵 BLUES

A brilliant battle from the Blues today against a very physical Forth Wanderers side. The boys showed massive character, coming from behind to earn a well‑deserved result through sheer determination, teamwork and belief.

Goals:
Stanley ⚽⚽⚽
Calan ⚽

⭐ Player of the Week – Mason
Outstanding between the sticks — big saves at crucial moments and kept us in the game throughout.

A big thank you to Oliver and Stanley for helping out today. Both slotted in perfectly and made a massive contribution.

A strong team performance, great football, and a proper comeback from the Blues 🔵⚽

Our Reds team had an early start on Sunday morning to attend the Glenrothes football festival.

The boys showed loads of energy and the games were full of goals, goals and more goals.

They all worked hard from start to finish and should be proud of their efforts 💪🏻⚽️

⚽️ 2016s Sponsorship ⚽️

Our 2016 age group are delighted that Taylor Wimpey have agreed to be our training kit strip sponsor.

Taylor Wimpey are one of the UK’s leading residential developers, building high-quality homes and communities across the country.

As they continue their 7’s journey everyone involved with the 2016s are hugely grateful to Taylor Wimpey for their continued support of this age group.

Thank you for your fantastic support! 💙⚽️

As we look forward to our league games starting up again this weekend. A few pictures of our boys enjoying the sunshine attending some tournaments and friendly games over the summer.

Good luck to all our boys for the season ahead ⚽️👏 and huge thanks to all our parents for their continued support.

LAST WEEKENDS GAMES

🔴 REDS

A massive well done to the Reds on a fantastic all‑round team performance. The boys came flying out the traps with a goal inside the first minute, added another shortly after, and from that moment they never stopped 💪🏻⚽️

It was brilliant to see the lads getting the ball down and playing out from the back — exactly what we work on in training. With it being silent coaching week, the boys had to take ownership, make decisions themselves and encourage each other… and they absolutely stepped up 🙌🏻

Plenty of minutes in the legs in warm, sunny conditions — they’ll sleep well tonight!

Huge thank you to Matthew and Tyron from the Blacks for helping their buddies out. Both were excellent 👏🏻
And thanks to John O’Connor for the coaching support on the sidelines.

🏆 MOTM: Blair 🏆
Six goals, relentless work rate, constant movement and a brilliant attitude. Outstanding, buddy — keep it going 💪🏻

🎶 10 million down the drain… Blair Craven scores again… 🎶
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

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🔵 BLUES

A tough first half for the Blues with the boys finding it difficult to move the ball and get out from the back. By the break, they knew they hadn’t shown what they’re capable of.

Then came the second half… and it was something special.

With silent coaching week in effect, the boys had to figure things out themselves — and they absolutely did. The movement, the pressing, the energy, the belief… outstanding. Six brilliant goals, loads of chances created, and a performance full of character.

A huge shoutout to Jamie, who stepped into goals for the first time and was superb — big saves throughout, including a crucial stop late on that sparked the move for our final goal.

Goals from:
Alexander ⚽️⚽️
Finlay ⚽️⚽️
Max ⚽️⚽️

🏆 Player of the Week: Finlay 🏆
Two massive goals, huge work rate, constant threat and unlucky not to add more after rattling the bar.

Special thanks to Oliver for helping out — great pressing, great tackles, great attitude.

A brilliant second‑half performance from the boys 🤍💙

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⚪️ WHITES

Well done to the Whites — some brilliant passages of football on show. When the boys clicked, they moved the ball up the pitch with real style: clever movement, accurate passing and sharp one‑touch finishing.

The opposition were big, physical and direct, but the Whites stuck to their football and kept trying to play the right way. Plenty of positives to take.

🏆 Player of the Week: Ollie 🏆
Great attitude all week in training and carried it into the game. Worked hard, stayed positive and grabbed himself a well‑earned hat‑trick ⚽️⚽️⚽️

A strong effort from the boys 👏

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⚫️ BLACKS

Another frantic, high‑energy match for the Blacks against Livingston — full of goals, full of drama and full of effort from every single player.

The boys linked up brilliantly at times, with some lovely passing moves and clever finishes across the team.

Goals from:
Caelan ⚽️
Connor ⚽️
Ethan ⚽️⚽️
Leo ⚽️
Noah B ⚽️

🏆 MOTM: Noah B 🏆
Back from holiday and straight into a huge shift — tireless running, great link‑up play and a composed finish late on. Outstanding performance.

Top effort from the whole squad⚫️💪

🔵 BLUES

A real game of two halves for the Blues on Sunday.

The first half showed a few tired legs after Gala Day — the boys found it tough to play out from the back, and some of the goals we conceded were just unfortunate moments. By half‑time, the boys knew they hadn’t shown their best.

Then came the response.
And what a response it was.

At the break we reminded them about moving the ball quicker, creating triangles, and trusting the football we’ve been working on in training. The second half was unbelievable. The boys took everything on board and played with energy, belief and bravery — fighting their way back with some fantastic goals and completely taking control of the game.

We limited the opposition to just one shot after the break, which Mason dealt with brilliantly. He also pulled off some outrageous saves in the first half that gave the boys the platform to turn things around.

The determination, the attitude, the togetherness — outstanding. The boys came off the pitch buzzing, and rightly so.

Huge thanks to Oliver and Connor for staying on to help after their own tough match, and to Andrew Flanagan for the support today.

🏆 Player of the Week: Mason 🏆
Exceptional today and superb all week in training. Fully deserved.

Keep working. Keep learning. Keep enjoying it.
💙🤍⚽️

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⚫️ BLACKS /WHITES ⚪️

A Bathgate grey with a splash of red took on a strong Mid Calder side on Sunday — and despite a mixed squad, the boys were excellent from start to finish.

The passing and movement were brilliant throughout, with the boys linking up well and showing real confidence on the ball. Ethan opened the scoring with a composed finish, before Mid Calder levelled just before the break.

The second half was tight, but the boys kept playing, kept working, and kept showing quality. Goals from Oliver and Josh capped off a strong team performance full of effort and intelligence.

🏆 MOTM: Josh 🏆
Outstanding wherever he played — covered the pitch, supported teammates, read the game superbly and topped it off with a well‑taken goal. Could’ve gone to several boys today, but Josh edged it with a brilliant all‑round display.

Top effort from the whole squad this morning. ⚫️💪

Well done boys! Not only was it a fantastic day raising funds for the club, it also gave the boys from across all teams to bond and have a bit of fun as we crossed the bridge into sunny Fife and back again. Thanks to all the boys and all the parents who have participated not only on the walk today, but also during the fundraising over the past few weeks! Enjoy the rest of your weekend in the sunshine!☀️🔵⚪️⚫️🔴

Bathgate Thistle Community Football Club

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bathgatethistle2016?utm_medium=CF&utm_source=CL