FC Bridgewater

FCB Pythons vs Elite Greys.

What a start to the season for the pythons. We were talking at the start of the game about our performance and playing our game and the game we want to play.

Although the scoreline reflects a ‘loss’ it certainly was a massive win for our pythons.

We got stuck in all over the pitch played some beautiful passing and had a really good game.

Our player of the match was Zane who had an unreal performance in midfield for us. He was fearless in the tackle and using his feet to get out of trouble with some slick skills.

George was parents player and what a start for him having joined us in the summer. A versatile left footed player and a rock at the back.

All the boys contributed to a fantastic game and we are so proud of how the boys are playing scorelines to a certain extent are completely irrelevant when the boys are playing beautiful football with smiles on their faces.

🔵⚫️ MATCH REPORT – FC BRIDGEWATER RED DEVILS v MOSTON TIGERS U7s ⚫️🔵

We’ve played Moston four times before, so we knew exactly what was coming today! ⚽️

Our team talk was simple be brave in the tackle, compete for every ball and don’t back down. We knew it was going to be a physical game.

Unfortunately, we were without two key players today in Bobby and Jesse J, two of our main goalscorers for the Red Devils. That left some big boots to fill…

Step forward Harry and Theo! 👏⚽️

Both boys made their Red Devils debuts today, and you honestly wouldn’t have known it.

Coming into a new team against a strong and physical Moston side isn’t easy, but both boys got stuck in from the first whistle. They were aggressive when they needed to be, drove forward with the ball, weren’t frightened of a tackle and, most importantly, both got themselves on the scoresheet! ⚽️⚽️

Theo gave us loads of energy going forward. He kept wanting the ball, drove at players and showed exactly the type of confidence we want to see. When the game became physical, he didn’t hide he kept getting involved, competing and looking to make things happen. A brilliant first appearance in a Red Devils shirt. 💪🔵⚫️

Harry deserves a special mention as well. He took a seriously bad tackle during the game — studs straight through him and the marks to prove it! 😬 For a young lad making his debut, it would have been very easy to go into his shell after that.

Not Harry! 💪

He got himself back up, carried on competing and then got his reward with his first Red Devils goal! ⚽️👏

That summed up exactly what we were asking for before the game — be brave. To take a challenge like that, get back up and then score on your debut showed fantastic character.

With Bobby and Jesse J missing, we needed other players to step up — Harry and Theo did exactly that. Two debutants, two goals and plenty of fight. Both looked completely at home in a Red Devils shirt. 👏🔵⚫️

Okay… we rarely talk about goalkeepers, but WOW! 🧤

Our little ginger nutcase from St Paul’s Crompton Street! 🤣 What a pleasure it’s been having him with the Red Devils. The saves, the one-on-one tackles, the cheeky time-wasting 😂 — but most importantly, the way he listens to his coaches. Absolutely brilliant today and a massive part of this team. 🧤💙

Then there’s Jesse F. We’re still trying to work out how this footballer has reached the level he’s at over the last 12 weeks! Dependable, drives forward, scores goals and has some serious aggression when he crosses that white line. But more importantly, he’s one of the most pleasant children you could wish to coach.

A thoroughly deserved Man of the Match today. 🏆👏

And last but definitely not least… the two lunatics — George and Jesse M. 🤣💙

These two started their journey in the FC Bridgewater Academy with JP — probably two of the softest mummy’s boys you’ll ever meet! 😂

Today, though? It was like they’d gone to war for their country! 😂 The tackles, aggression, work rate and determination were incredible — and they backed all of that up with five goals between them!

⚽️ George – 3 goals
⚽️ Jesse M – 2 goals

Jesse also produced a smart pass through for Harry’s goal, showing there was plenty of quality football amongst all the tackles and aggression! 👏⚽️

The Academy motto of the Three Ps — PRESS, PASS & POSITION — is now installed in their brains. But you simply cannot teach natural ability and desire.

The Coaches’ Player award was impossible to separate between them today… so there was only one solution:

Chop the trophy in half and give them half each! 🤣🏆

A true credit to JP and the FC Bridgewater Academy. Without the foundations he gave these boys, they wouldn’t be developing into the players we’re seeing now — scoring goals, making tackles and competing every single week.

Today wasn’t about the result. It was about character — seeing how far these boys have come, watching two debutants step up and seeing the whole team stand up to a really tough, physical test.

Very proud coach today. 💙🔵⚫️

Cantona got their league campaign underway with a competitive derby against Bridgewater Best, with the game finishing in a draw after an entertaining end-to-end match.
Both teams created plenty of chances throughout, with the game constantly going from one end to the other. Frankie opened the scoring for Cantona before finding the net again, while Cass made an excellent start to his time with Cantona scoring three goals. Affan also contributed two goals, with Johnny adding another on his debut.
There were good performances across the team. Simon showed great versatility today, playing in every position and doing whatever was needed for the team. Lewie was a rock in defence as usual, helping to deal with the pressure at the back. Lakoda returned from his break ready to make some great opportunities for the team. Shea also made some fantastic saves throughout the game, making several important stops when Best threatened.
It was a great first league appearance for our two new players, Cass and Johnny, who both have settled in well and made a great contribution.
After the game, we headed over to Salford City FC, where the team had an afternoon to remember as they were Team of the Week.
The boys had the chance to high-five the Salford City players as they walked onto the pitch, take part in penalties against the mascot at half-time, and collect plenty of selfies and autographs. It was a brilliant team bonding afternoon, full of fun, excitement and, most importantly, plenty of smiles.
Seeing what this team is becoming off the pitch is much more important to us than any scoreline on it. Watching the boys grow in confidence, build friendships, support each other and develop as young people is what being part of Cantona is all about.
A brilliant day for the team and one we hope the boys will remember for a long time.

Bridgewater Ronaldo's v Littleborough Stripes

The first game of the season didn't disappoint, what an entertaining start and all of the boys contributed so well. After a slow start they recovered really well and started playing some fantastic football. One incredible move led to almost everyone touching the ball, but unfortunately we hit the bar and couldn't round it off.

Every single one of the boys played their part today, they worked hard and came off the pitch with a smile on their faces. It was lovely seeing them all celebrating with each other and I'm super proud of them all, I could have given the coaches player to any one of them.

Aaron ⚽️⚽- Fantastic pressing, confident carrying the ball, and was dangerous every time he picked up the ball

Alexander ⚽⚽ - Some strong running forward and showed great defensive discipline. Two very well taken goals and constantly growing in confidence with the ball

Alfie ⚽ - Becoming so much more comfortable running with the ball and always gets stuck in without it. Always the first player to celebrate with teammates when they score, a huge team player!

Grayson ⚽ - Immense work rate today and him winning the ball back high up the pitch helped us consistently launch attacks, was unlucky to hit the post a couple of times too

Miles - Strong tackling from our anchor at the back, great to see him becoming so much more confident on the ball. Great passing out of defence and made some crucial saves at the end. Coaches player of the match for his outstanding efforts!

Rohm ⚽⚽⚽ - There's magic in those tiny red boots! Some fantastic turning, dribbling and passing, and a well taken hattrick. Deserved parent's player and lovely to see him playing with a smile throughout

Seth ⚽ - It's easy to forget that this is Seth's first regular season match for the team, he's become so much more confident on the ball, his tackling was excellent, and his passing is fast becoming the springboard for our attacks

Theo ⚽⚽ - A couple of well taken goals, and after a timely intervention from Coach Mike, some great tackling and interceptions to begin our attacks

⚽ East Leigh vs FC Bridgewater Titans U8s ⚽

Today’s game showed that the boys haven’t trained or played regularly for a few weeks. We looked rusty from the start, struggled to string our passes together and didn’t take the chances we created.

East Leigh took the lead from a corner which was unfortunately turned into our own net.

Their second came from a penalty which, from our point of view, was a very harsh decision. Cobie appeared to clearly win the ball and knock it out for a corner, but the East Leigh player went down after Cobie used his strength and the penalty was awarded.

Their third goal was another frustrating one. Fabio, who was our last man, appeared to be tripped as he challenged for the ball, allowing East Leigh to go through on goal and score. That decision really disheartened the boys, and East Leigh went on to add another two goals before half-time.

At half-time, we spoke to the boys about forgetting what had happened, working harder, holding their positions and getting back to playing our football.

The response in the second half was much better. 💪⚽

We showed more fight, moved the ball better and scored three goals. Unfortunately, we also conceded another two, but there were plenty more positives in the second-half performance.

Ultimately, this is one we have to put down to being rusty. The boys haven’t had the consistency of training and matches recently, and it showed. We know we can play much better football than we did today, and with regular training and games, that sharpness will come back.

A difficult result, but plenty to work on and some good signs in the second half. 💙🖤

🏆 Man of the Match – Fabio
Chosen by the parents. Fabio never gave up, worked incredibly hard throughout and constantly tried to drive the team forward. A brilliant attitude from start to finish.

🌟 Most Improved – Rory
Rory had a really good game on the wing and then stepped into defence for the first time. He adapted brilliantly, worked hard and looked very comfortable in a new position. Well done, Rory!

⚽ Goals

Toby ⚽⚽
Cobie ⚽

🎯 Assists

Cobie 🎯
Fabio 🎯🎯

Well done, Titans. We learn from it, get back on the training pitch and go again! 💙🖤⚽

🔵⚫️ MATCH REPORT – FC BRIDGEWATER BECKHAM & IRWIN | ACADEMY GRADUATES ⚫️🔵

A massive well done to all our FC Bridgewater Academy graduates who were in action today! 👏⚽️

With the new 3v3 format, everything is still a little uncertain at the moment. In theory, we had 3 FC Bridgewater teams playing today, with players rotating and getting plenty of opportunities on the pitch.

Today was always going to be a learning experience for everyone. The 3v3 format is new for both the coaches and players, and the MYSL are still working out the ability levels of all the teams. It will probably take around four weeks before teams are regularly playing against opposition of a similar ability.

We’ve been here before with many FC Bridgewater Academy teams — taking a few heavy defeats at the beginning is all part of the journey. Keep bringing your children to training and matches. You’ll be amazed how quickly something clicks — confidence grows, they become stronger and more aggressive on the ball, and then the goals start coming! ⚽️💪

Most importantly, all the boys had fun, played with smiles on their faces and showed a fantastic attitude throughout. 💙

We faced some very tough and physical teams today, but our players will learn how to deal with that pressure. You could already see them getting used to their surroundings and growing in confidence towards the end of the games.

A few lessons learned for us as a club too! We’ll be purchasing some 3v3 goals so we can practise the format properly in training and be better prepared for our next matches.

It’s very early days — lots to learn and lots to improve on, but that’s exactly what Academy football is all about. ⚽️

A big thank you to Andrew, Chris and Katie for stepping in and helping the players get set up and organised today. 👏💙

Well done everyone — a great first step on the next stage of their FC Bridgewater journey! 🔵⚫️⚽️👏

A Ronaldo and best collaboration this morning at St Andrews vs North Cheshire.

As the holidays came to an end we had 7 players confirmed on Thursday and 10 players on Saturday morning making substitutions a logistical strategy for coach.
All the players played extremely well scoring some fantastic goals playing some brilliant football.

Alfie J - amazing between the sticks with some absolutely unreal positioning for a 6 year old making some great saves and commanding his box like a pro.

Louis - unreal on defence and carrying the ball forward scoring goals and stopping goals is what Louis does

Jaxson - great performance from Jaxson commanding at the back and looking to bring the ball forward and play his pass to help the team get forward.

James - amazing performance from James again carrying the ball forward scoring some goals and I think he hit the post 3 times.

Alexander - an absolute bundle of energy forwards and backwards Alexander will save the day with a tackle great performance immense.

Alfie Lee - amazing dribbling from
Alfie today a few really good touches going forward and got his reward for playing well.

Rohm - what a player this lad is so good with his feet managed at one point in a tight play to dribble through three players and tap
The ball in

Aaron - unreal of the left can see his confidence growing week on week played amazing with great driving runs

Charlie - what a player forwards and backwards unreal from Charlie getting stuck in all over the pitch.

Arthur - what this player has improved massively working really hard on his touch and dribbling and was fantastic on the press today.

A great showing from best and Ronaldo and a joy to watch and coach. Receiving compliments from
The opposition coach on how nice of a team we had was the icing on the cake

ROUND ROBIN WINNERS!
FC BRIDGEWATER CANTONA U7
What a morning for team Cantona. Going into the tournament we weren't sure how it would go, especially with two key players away on holiday, but the boys stepped up and put in a fantastic performance from start to finish.

Game 1 vs Unsworth Wolves — A brilliant attacking display with Lewie x3, Frankie x3, Saint x2 and Affan x1.

Game 2 vs Collyhurst Inter — A tighter game where the boys showed great character, with goals from Affan, Saint and Lewie.

Game 3 vs Stretford Vics Aces — Another tough battle, but the boys held their nerve to win with Frankie x2 and Simon x1.

Affan was our Man of the Match, showing great confidence and always finding himself in the right positions. Frankie showed his striker instincts, Simon and Saint were relentless on the wings, no one gets past Lewie at the back and Shea as always made some fantastic saves in goal.

Three games, three wins, 15 goals scored and just 5 conceded.

A brilliant team performance and a well-deserved round robin win.

BLACKBURN EAGLES SILVER CUP CHAMPIONS!!! 🏆

A beautiful day in the sun at a great venue and coming away as champions! We made hard work of it and the football on display today wasn’t our best, however the mentality and determination to come away with a trophy can’t be understated. The group games were tough and we didn’t quite hit our stride. We came away from the groups qualifying for the Silver Cup. The Quarter Final was where we did turn it on with some great team moves and pace about our play. Despite going a goal down, we changed the shape and dominated the rest of the game to come away 3-1 winners. The Semi Final was an even contest resulting in a 0-0 and going to pens, winning 4-3 on pens! The final was similarly even with nothing separating the teams at 0-0 again. The lads had to get the job done on pens again and they did just that, coming away 3-2 winners and lifting the trophy. Special shout out to Seb who pulled off an amazing save in each of the penalty shootouts. Well done boys, enjoy it! 🏆🔵⚫️

What a day for FC Bridgewater Cantona at the Five’s Foundation Tournament!
The boys played 9 games in the league phase, only losing 1 and finishing 2nd overall. They then smashed the quarter-final before drawing the semi-final against a team we’d already beaten earlier. Unfortunately, penalties didn’t go our way today, but that’s tournament football and there’s so much to be proud of! The standard of football, passing, movement and teamwork gets better every single week. You can see how much the boys are developing, working for each other and playing some brilliant football as a team. A full day of football, laughs, team bonding and making memories with their teammates -that’s what it’s all about! The reversible kits were a saviour today! Huge thanks to our sponsor for providing them and supporting the team. We really appreciate it! 👏 What a performance from the boys, coach is very proud!