Some very sad news...

Gentlemen,

Despite the phenomenal success each team are having so far this season, we had some devastating news last week. It is with great sadness that we have to announce the sudden death of Michael "Migs" Grace, Vets player and long time Clapham footballer. Migs died last week of a brain hemorrhage which struck out of nowhere.
He was just 37.

Migs captained our 4th XI to our club's last cup win in 2012/13, scoring some crucial goals along the way including the equaliser in the final which forced the nail biting penalty shoot out. The spirit within that side, the weekly effort to get players together for our lowest XI, to deliver such success on the pitch and great memories for others (of which you get a sense from the cup final team picture attached) - were remarkable achievements and wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Migs. Therefore as a club we should feel a collective sense of gratitude towards him.

He was such a nice bloke and spoke recently of his pleasure at being back playing football for Clapham with the Vets.

Please keep Migs, his family and his many friends in your prayers. RIP Migs x
As always please see attached the fixtures for Saturday along with last week match reports below from the 2s, 4s and Vets.

Photos of the 4th XI Cup Win and Migs lifting the Cup

Best
Chris McLoughlin
Macca
NB. Credit to Mike Garvey for the wonderful words about Migs. RIP Migs.....

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COXA 2nd XI 2 - 0 Tilburg Regents
Clapham 2nd XI Remain Unbeaten with Routine Victory

With a number of regular players missing, Clapham were down to the bare bones and only able to pull together a squad of 15 for the trip to the naffly named Tilburg Regents. 15 was very nearly 13 when the gruesome twosome, Jeff and Emanuel, “literally couldn’t get onto the platform at CJ. Literally”. Regardless, the team were in high spirits after having the luxury of being able to change into the kit more than 10 mins before kick off as Brixton’s version of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ron “the Machine” Ohene, brought the kit instead of our illustriously late leader, Del.
Following a zealous warm up, which both Needles and Billy (Son of Gary) thoroughly enjoyed, proceedings were underway. Clapham lined up in solid 4-3-3 formation – “simple as that”.
Dominating from the minute uno, it was clear Clapham were the superior side enjoying the lion-share of possession and chances. With Tillburg struggling to get out their half, Clapham went close with a few long range efforts – the pick of the bunch from Teddy clipping the lateral goal-frame pole.
As the half wore on, Clapham continued to move the ball well but were unable to break the deadlock. The back four were playing the ball out from the back well with fullbacks, Del and Wes enjoying a lot of possession. The midfield trio of Ron, Gerty and Harris dictated play feeding the mercurialfront 3. Raheem went the closest narrowly missing the target with a great effort from inside the box.
After 45 minutes and some added over-time, the referee blew his whistle and the teams went in tied at zero-zero. Followingcouple of tactical tweaks, changes in personnel and strong words of “more of the same” from Del and El Carson, the sides kicked off for the second half of regulation Soccer.
It didn’t take long for Clapham to take a well-deserved lead. Right on the stroke of the 53rd minute, Gary Goals struck for his 11th goal in 6 games with a sublime punt into the left sided upper-90. 1-0 Clapham.
Less than 10 minutes passed until Clapham’s lead was doubled. Teddy burst into the area beating his man before being brought down by the opposition. The referee rightly judged the tackle was cleat-before-ball and a penalty was awarded. Teddy step up to take the resulting P.K coollysending the keeper the wrong way. 2-0 Clapham.
On 60 minutes, Clapham displayed their strength in depth bringing on Jeff and Brads (the latter famous for his abnormally small head). Clapham proceeded to dominate the rest of the game with without much trouble despite considerably taking their foot off the gas. Barry produced one excellent save whilst Harris displayed his blistering pace beating his man on the left with a sumptuous step-over. Needles provided the highlight of the half getting a huge nibble from one of the Tilburg half-backs – boy did we laugh.
In summary, it was a routine victory for Clapham to remain at the summit of the Division 2 South Standings with a perfect 8 for 0 record.
MOM: Harris – gorgeous guy, great hair.
Moose: Jeff and Emmanuel – both unable to grasp the concept of stairs.

Mickleham Old Boxhillians 0-1 COXA 4's

Team sheet: Josh Browne, Stan Christoforou, Michael Hart, JJ Thornton, Tom Longworth, Matt Drury, Ben Dakin, Tom MacGregor, Karl Velinor, Tom Foster, Rich Williams.

This was one of the most satisfying wins of the season. Its great to smash a team 6 or 7 but there is something quite special about a gritty 1-0 win in the rain when you've only got a bare 11. It was one of those weeks where everyone seemed to be away, we had gone from having 14/15 available every week to being stuck on 9 on a Friday night. Because of this it is only right that I begin by praising the boys that came in on short notice to do a job for the Clapham. Firstly Tom Longworth who filled in at LB for the injured Conor Keable, Tom battled well all game, won his tackles and headers and played some nice balls down the line to set up attacks. Tom Foster who came in at RM was relentless all game up and down the wing putting in some great defensive work and not giving their full back a second to settle on the ball. And lastly COXA favourite Rich Williams aka the white Anichebe. Rich (though 10 mins late) gave us a good focal point and linked well with the midfield. A massive thankyou to all three of you.

We began the game with a very unfamiliar lineup, particularly in midfield. Our starting 3 in the middle were Ben, Tom and Matt, Tom and Matt being predominantly wingers. Before the game we emphasized keeping the ball and always wanting the ball, we only had 11 and we didn't want to be dropping off and chasing the ball around all game, we wanted to take control. Our midfield did exactly that, they constantly came short to receive the ball from the back four and displayed some nice combination play to work there way out of difficult situations. On top of this, though all three of them are attack minded, they organized themselves well and managed to track back and stay with their men, with the help of a few gentle words from Harty keeping them in check. We had succeeded in that respect, but we still needed to put the ball in the back of the net. We were managing to work the ball out wide and both Fozzie and Karl had the beating of their opposite men, but both our final balls and our finishing were letting us down. We were creating chances but the keeper wasn't really being tested. Luckily for us we were awarded a free kick in a great position which Ben Dakin brilliantly finished. This was met by a passionate celebration from the boys as we knew it was a big goal and we were determined to get a win here with so many key figures missing. The first half continued in similar fashion, we had the majority of the ball, and though the oppo were trying to play there way through us, our pressure made it hard for them and we constantly dispossessed them in good areas and blocked their crosses.

We were happy with our performance and the mood for positive at half time. The rain began to fall and everyone started the second half pumped and ready to finish the job. We started the second half well, however, as the half went on we began to tire, our press was less effective as one or two were off the pace and the oppo began to create some pressure. They had a couple of dangerous corners and long range shots but nothing that Josh couldn't deal with. Though they had players towering above 6 foot both JJ and Harty battled well and won almost every header. The last quarter of the game consisted of the oppo putting an attack together, us breaking it down, and then failing to convert the counter attack, we were presented with a few 3v3 situations but some tired legs and more importantly tired minds got the better of us. Rich almost put the game to bed on one of these said counters but the keeper saved well. We dropped deeper and deeper as we entered the final 10, there were a couple shouts of 'how long ref' but the boys dug in and saw the game out. Though our hearts stopped for a second when the ref decided to let their striker have an attempt on goal though he was 3 yards offside, we were composed throughout.

As mentioned, we had many key players missing so it felt great to hear that final whistle knowing we had ground out the victory. Everyone deserves praise, the midfield for their relentless work rate, the defense for digging deep when we were on the back foot Josh for commanding his box and keeping the oppo at bay, and Rich for being the white Anichebe.

MOM- JJ Thornton, the ultimate utility player, can spin a man and score hat tricks up front, but in games like this can win headers, tackles and play with great composure at the back which is a massive advantage at this level.

Big cup game next week for the 4s!

Up the Clapham!

Clapham OX Vets 3 - 1 Gravesham Vets
A good win on Saturday for Clapham Vets with goals from T Radwan, L Roszkowski and G McCarthy securing the points against well organised opponents. We left it late (it was 1-1 with 15 minutes to go) and we were indebted to a smart save from Spencer McGuire in the first half to keep us level. But for the second match running we had good numbers and this makes a big difference in Vets football. We ended the game with fresh legs, a secure back line led superbly by Steve Gordon and an attack-minded midfield driven forward by Luke, Martin, Gordon and Giggsy - three guys who didn't seem to mind the enormous Southfields pitch.
The win keeps Clapham Vets top of the league, which you can see by clicking here
It has to be said that before kick off we were all in reflective mood, still coming to terms with the news about Michael Grace. We held a minute's silence in Migs' memory, stood alongside our oppo, which felt like the least we could do to remember a popular team mate who would've been playing had he not passed away so suddenly.
Our next match is at home on Sat 3 Dec after which we break until early January. One more win is the aim but of course any points we can take before end of Jan are a bonus as that's when our season will really start...because Soulay Daramy turns 35 and with it becomes the fastest vet the league will have seen!
PS. Anyone know when Matt Cefai and Dean Eaton turn 35?!?!