Season's Stats

A few final stats to finish off Waverton's season;

Scorers

37  -  Matt Sheen

29  -  Sam Jones

19  -  Aaron Hassall

11  - Robbie Foster

9  -  Alex Wilkinson

6  -  Jorge Percival

4  -  Cameron Faulkener & Charlie NIcholson

3  -  Alex Abraham & Tom McAndrew

2  -  Will Doerr

1  -  Jordan Coxal & O.G.

Appearances

25  -  Jorge Percival, Charlie Nicholson, Aaron Hassall & Alex Wilkinson

24  -  Alex Abraham, Robbie Foster, Matt Sheen & Jordan Coxall

23  -  Ollie Tyler & George Gresty

22  -  Sam Jones

20  -  Cameron Faulkener

15  -  Will Doerr & Matt Bannaghan

12  -  Tom McAndrew

Players of the Season

Dream Team  -  Matt Sheen

Supporters'  -  Jordan Coxall

Players'  -  Aaron Hassall

Manager's  -  Sam Jones

See you all next year!! 

 

AFC Waverton 3 v 1 Upton JFC (aet)

Doug Johnson Trophy Final (22 May 2011)

Waverton Scorers (season's total in brackets)

Aaron Hassall  -  2 (19)

Robbie Foster  -  1 (11)

Report

Another match played at the Garrison Ground in very difficult, windy, conditions, but Waverton showed their usual strength of character to come through deserved winners 3-1 after extra time to complete a "treble" for the season.

Upton were unfamiliar opponents for Waverton, not playing in the C&D League, and they showed a lot of resilience in the first half to keep the scores level at 0-0. While Waverton held the majority of the possession and territorial advantage they didn't show enough composure in front of goal to make their advantage count. With the amount of play they'd had however the team must have gone into the second half in confident mood.

The advantage was finally made to count about 15 minutes into the second period, as Aaron Hassall latched on to a through ball from Sam Jones to finish calmly from around 10 yards to give Waverton a 1-0 lead. With the Wasps continuing to boss the game there was a chance this single goal would be enough to decide the final, but without adding a second goal the team were always going to remain vulnerable, and with ten minutes left the Waverton defence, who'd been strong throughout, let Ollie Knight get free on the left to pick out a perfect cross for the Upton centre forward to equalise. While Waverton pushed again for a winner, their time ran out and  the final entered extra time at 1-1.

Having been briefed at their team talk to just keep doing "more of the same" Waverton again started the first period of extra time the strongest. When, a couple of minutes later, Aaron ran on to another Sam Jones through ball, the keeper saved his initial effort but he calmly slotted home the rebound into an empty net to restore Waverton's lead. For the next 10-15 minutes the Wasps continued to control the game and protect their lead, and as Upton pushed forward desparately for an equaliser the Wasps used the extra space well to create further chances, and with just a couple of minutes left Robbie Foster took advantage of one of these chances to make the game safe at 3-1 to Waverton.

So, in the end, a treble winning season for Waverton, finishing with a fantastic overall record for the season, as below;

Played 25. Won 21, Drawn 2, Lost 2. Goals For 129, Goals Against 34. (more stats to follow).

So, a fantastic season all round, and here's to another treble next season, which would need the team to go one better in the U15s Cheshire Cup than they did last year! 

 

AFC Waverton Wasps 4 v 2 Chester Nomads

Chester & District Cup Final (14 May 2011)

Waverton Scorers (season's total in brackets)

Aaron Hassall  -  2 (17)

Sam Jones  -  1 (29)

Alex Wilkinson  -  1 (9)

Report

This was never going to be as easy as last year's victory over Boughton. Nomads are a good team who always cause Waverton problems with their attacking pace, but in the end the Wasps proved the stronger team (both physically and in character) to ensure their second consecutive Chester & District league and cup double.

Despite hosting six earlier games, the Chester playing surface was still in good nick, and with the good wide pitch suiting both teams attacking style of play the opening exchanges promised a great final. There were early half chances at both ends, but as the first half approached its mid point Waverton started to establish a territorial advantage. When the captain Alex Wilkinson was fouled in a central position 25 yards out he got up to take the free kick himself, and placed an accurate strike in off the inside of the right hand post to give the Wasps a 1-0 advantage.

Nomads struck back almost immediately though with Cam Black using his strength and pace to get away from his marker and place his shot past Ollie. The Wasps continued to push forward though and probably just deserved to take a 2-1 lead into the interval, after Sam Jones latched on to a long ball through from Charlie Nicholson, hitting the post with his first effort but reacting first to slot home the rebound.

The early part of the second half saw Nomads have their strongest spell of the game, as they pushed to turn around the scoreline. After both of their pacy strikers had missed half chances, Sean Crowshaw eventually equalised with a trademark quick break followed by a fine finish off the underside of the Waverton bar. The next five minutes were crucial, Nomads were buoyed by their goal and pushed forward strongly in search of a third goal. The Waverton defence stood up well to the onslaught though, with some strong, often last ditch, defending to keep the scoreline level.

Having weathered the storm, Waverton then started to gain the upper hand once again and push for a winner of their own. Their break through eventually came from Aaron Hassall, who'd had another commanding performance in midfield, as he carried the ball into the box, beating a couple of defenders and beating the Nomads' keeper's dive to give Waverton a 3-2 lead with ten minutes to go. Nomads tried hard to rally for an equaliser, but were no longer making the same inroads they had just after the break, and the Wasps looked like holding on. When Aaron added another goal, after more good control in the box, the 4-2 lead was enough to see the league champions comfortably through the last five minutes to make sure they completed the double.

One more game left then in a very successful season, next Sunday, against Upton in the President's Cup. If Waverton can replicate this quality of performance, and show the same strength of character, then they shoud be able to pick up their third trophy of the season.    

 

AFC Waverton Wasps 1 v 1 Groves Athletic

Chester & District League (8 May 2011)

Waverton Scorer (season's total in brackets)

Matt Sheen  -  1 (37)

Report

This was very much the story of a team who'd already secured the league title going through the motions, with minds very clearly on the bigger games to come. Although it was a difficult bouncy pitch, and Groves were their usual combative selves, it's a game Waverton would (and should) have won earlier in the season when there were crucial points at stake.

The whole performance was very flat, particularly through midfield where the Wasps didn't dominate possession in their normal way and as a result never really started the flowing passing football which, at their best, has been too much for opponents to cope with all season. With the defence still looking solid though, and Groves creating very little, the first half became a real stalemate and unsurprisingly the score remained 0-0 at the break.

Waverton started the second half a little brighter, but then conceded a surprise goal as Ollie called for what looked like a harmless ball until it seemed to take an odd bounce and somehow bobbled into the Waverton net. Although Waverton pushed forward more determinedly after this set-back the quality of their play was still not good enough, for a long time, to break down a Groves team who were now sensing they could pull off a shock win. Just when it looked like Waverton may suffer their third defeat of the season though, Matt Sheen equalised with his 37th goal of the season, with one of his trademark cross/shots from wide on the left, which once again landed perfectly beyond the Groves keeper and in the side netting. With little further action at either end the game finished 1-1, which was probably a fair result on today's performances.

Not an ideal warm-up then for the League final at the Exacta stadium next Saturday. To lift that trophy the Wasps will need to show they've got a lot more sting than they showed today, but given their usual ability to "rise to the occasion" they should be confident of doing exactly that.

Chester Nomads Colts 0 v 3 AFC Waverton Wasps

Chester & District League (1 May 2011)

Waverton Scorers (season's total in brackets)

Matt Sheen  -  1 (36)

Sam Jones  -  1 (28)

Jorge Percival  -  (6)

Report

It wasn't quite a stroll in the park (it was too windy for that!) but the Wasps dominated the game against their closest league rivals, and ended up with a comfortable 3-0 victory to confirm their second consecutive League title, with two games to spare.

Despite kicking off in bright sunshine there was a very strong wind blowing diagonally across the pitch which, combined with a firm surface, made it very difficult to get the ball down and play football. In the early stages both teams struggled with the conditions, and neither side created any real early chances. As the half wore on however Waverton were the first team to come to terms with the high bouncing ball, and they then dominated possession and territory for the remainder of the half. With some chances going begging though, and a couple of good saves from the Colts goalkeeper the Wasps didn't make the pressure count and the match went into half time goalless. While a draw would be enough to secure the title, Waverton's dominance meant they should be looking for another victory.

The second half started in the same manner, with a solid Waverton back line preventing the Colts from creating any real chances, and an ever more confident team pushing forward to open the scoring. The breakthrough eventually came from a long Aaron Hassall through ball, which Sam Jones ran on to and fired home from about 15 yards, keeping up his record of always scoring against a team mainly comprising his schoolmates. After this the Colts dogged resistance began to weaken and Waverton took even greater control of the match. It was no surprise therefore when Matt Sheen ran on to an Alex Abraham ball to fire home the second, a well deserved reward for another strong performance leading the line. With five minutes to go the Colts goalkeeper spilled a Jorge Percival shot into his own net, to make the final scoreline 3-0, which was probably a fair reflection of Waverton's dominance.

So with the league title "in the bag" Waverton can now look forward to two cup finals, with their treble dream still alive.

Coach's MoM: Alex Abraham

Supporters' MoM: Aaron Hasall & Jordan Coxall

2010/11 Record: P22, W19, D1, L2, F121, A30