Loco end pre-season campaign

Loco played their last pre-season encounter vs Blandford HMR on Sunday. A poor first half performance was put right in the second 45 against the Dorset outfit…

Blandford won the game 4-0 after dominating the first half. The home side played
with a difficult 3-5-2 formation, and after this was realised at half-time,
the game turned on its head, with Loco doing most of the attacking, and putting
a number of shots in on goal.

Pitches, sun, hangovers - all that can be blamed for Sundays result, however next week it’ll be
where it all begins. In a way it was good to get this out of our systems rather
than suffer next week. Playing at King George on some superb surfaces will give
our side the impetus against Bear Wood in the Cup - good for playing “Loco football” on - not just the hoof and hope tactics that we almost had to resort to on Sunday.

However, onto lighter matters, and the BBQ that ensued at Paul’s in the evening saw the squad get together for the final time
before the season starts. There was a lot of entertainment at the place including
kids running around, dogs messing around, the cricket, the kids football we
lumped about, but most importantly - the parrot.

Indeed, the parrot was the main attraction at the BBQ, and we have got two
short videos from the day. Video One sees Club Chairman Rob Frank asking the
wise one questions about the state of the Loco. This can be downloaded by clicking
here.
(To save it, right-click the link and choose Save Target As…)

Video Two sees a much improved Loco keeping the ball up with skill and zest.
You can download it by clicking here.
(To save it, right-click the link and choose Save Target As…)

Pictures from the day are also located in Media Gallery here.

Loco Fixtures Revealed

The first set of fixtures for Locomotive have been released, and the first match is at King George Fields against Bearwood in the first round of the Robbins Cup.The game will be Ferndown Locomotive’s first competitive match at our newly crowned home ground.

The advantages of moving to the new venue are clear for all to see. The pitches are more accessible for traffic, and include ample parking too in safe surroundings. Similarly, the pitches are of premium quality, and much much better than many other pitches around Bournemouth and Poole.

King George has always been “Loco’s” ground, and we have ruled the roost every time we have played there. We will be hoping to continue the trend on September 4th when we play Bearwood, who compete in a lower divison in the Hayward League. Top-quality ref Ian Stone will be refereeing that one for us.

Subsequent fixtures will see us entertain First Capital Finance on September 11th (Dave’s birthday), where Ian Stone will ref. Then on September 18th we play Shoulder of Mutton at Roko, and then a week later we could be playing West Park Athletic at Wingfields (depending on the result against Bearwood).

Loco to confirm new signings

Loco are shortly to confirm the completion of two new signings. With the transfer deadline arriving quickly, the scouts have been quick to chase up two successful trialists.

Will “Stanley” Craig is the second new signing for this season, following the capture of goal-keeper Terry Ingram. Will was a popular player at the pre-season tournament in Ringwood, and put in a number of very strong appearances, which impressed Loco manager Paul Phillips accordingly.

Locomotive have always been a geographically diverse club, with players such as Martyn “Welsh Tit” Langford, and the near capture of that Irish Keeper called Paddy. So we’re pleased to announce that Will is Locomotive’s first ever Northern signing.

Will is nicknamed “Stanley”, for he is (probably) Loco’s oldest ever player to perform competitive football for the Ferndown outfit. He bears a resemblance to Stanley Matthews, both in his touch on the pitch, and also because the fact that he is so advanced in the life cycle - 37 years old!!!!

A strong defender, he’ll be a great addition to the club and we’re pleased to announce his arrival at Ferndown Locomotive.

The third new signing of the season is that of youngster Kyle Eaton. Kyle has been inspirational in the pre-season for Loco, and has scored numerous goals already for the club. The quiet but professional lad is a mere 17 years old, however he seems to have the experience and know-how of someone… well, Stanley’s age!

The Eaton family have a history of being calm and casual - however even so, it was amazing to see Kyle just stroll off back towards his own half after taking on the whole world in order to net Loco’s winner in a pre-season friendly against UKFH Cannon. The rest of the team were cock-a-hoop, but not Kyle.

We’re positive that both players will develop into the team spirit very well this season, and more excrement will be ripped out of them in due course, in order to make their stay at Loco as authentic as possible.

Loco beat Div 4 Cannon

Locomotive had a skeletal squad for this tough encounter against new side Cannon - even Paul Phillips dusted off his boots to play. Even so, we emerged 4-3 victors.This UKFH Cannon side got put straight into Division Four by the Bournemouth FA, and were a well organised footballing side. They played some very good football, and they were generally fitter and faster than the Loco, however the strength and resilience of the Locoboys was the deciding factor, as we ended up winning 4-3.

From the off Ferndown were under the cosh from UKFH, with their nippy side playing some neat passes around. With about six Loco regulars missing, our style of football was never going to be pretty, however it still turned out to be fruitful, as we took the lead on 17 minutes. Kirk Eaton was on target after being put through, and he calmly slotted the ball down the right-side of the goal to put us 1-0 up.

Moments later the scores were level though, as a very good header nestled into the top of the net from the Cannon midfielder. To make things worse, straight from the restart, they doubled their lead, poking the ball home from a tight angle.

Locomotive slowly got into the game more as the half progressed, with some tough tackling and with some good running up from Kyle Eaton. And it was his and Dave’s movement in the box that helped to bring Loco’s equaliser, as a long Stu Bramley throw-in was put into his own net by the lanky Cannon defender to make it 2-2.

On 37 minutes it should have been 3-2 to Loco as Kirk sent in a strong corner, and Sam headed the ball towards goal, however it brought off a very good save from the goalkeeper. Half time: Loco 2 - 2 UKFH Cannon.

In the second half, the game was very much Loco’s for the taking as we were finding a lot of space as the away side pushed forward in search of a winner. There was a lot of lip between both sides, with “age” being the underlying theme throughout proceedings - however, after we got bored of that, and we started to play football again. On 67 minutes though, UKFH took the lead, as a moment of error in midfield gave the Cannon striker a run on to goal, and he lobbed Terry and planted it high into the net.

Loco however came out in search of an equaliser, and it was Mike who got it, after some superb work from Kyle on the right resulted in a cross onto the head of the right-back, and his nod ended up into the top-left hand corner of the goal - an excellent header to level the scores.

So with ten minutes left, and scores equal, Kyle decided to take it upon himself to finish the game off, and picking the ball up deep into the opposition half, he turned, feigned, took the ball wide, turned their left-back inside out, and then found a very acute angle, and fired the ball into the corner of the net to make it 4-3 - a superb individual goal.

Loco held out for the remaining minutes of the game, and it was a good victory over a team that could have walloped us - if we can do that against the tough sides in the division this season, there’s no reason why we can’t grind out results and push for the title - very positive stuff from Loco. Final Score: Loco 4 - 3 UKFH Cannon

Loco 9-0 Ferndown Forest

On Wednesday, it was the battle of Ferndown, with Forest entertaining Locomotive. Even though Loco had a thread-bare squad, we emerged convincing winners.The sun was shining on this balmy evening at Muscliffe Park, and with many of the regular Loco players turning up at half-time, it was a youthful looking side (and Ian Davis) that started in the blue shirts against Division Seven club Ferndown Forest.

Loco began very well, playing some very simple football, and spreading the ball out wide at every opportunity. Before long, Locomotive were 1-0 up after a good crisp finish from Andy Meddings, sending the keeper the wrong way from close range.

Moments later it was two, after some good work on the right, where the ball was squared to Ian Davis, who turned and shot home low into the net from a tight angle. A very satisfying for a goal for a player who hasn’t been able to get on the pitch due to “wife’s orders” for quite a while.

The rest of the first half saw some very good football from Locomotive, with the ball being patiently played through from the defence, to the midfield, and eventually finding the strikers, who were easily able to outpace the opposition defenders. Four more goals were scored before the half-time whistle blew, two of them coming from Andy Meddings. Chris Fairfax, another trialist, also got on the score-sheet as he volleyed home a looping clearance from close range. Sam Davis also fortuitously added one, after a long run and a goalkeeping error eventually left him with an open goal and an easy finish.

At half-time, Loco brought out the big guns, with Steve, Rob, and Mike all coming on to the pitch. The second half started very slowly for Loco, with too much direct football and not enough patience - this led to the whole team not moving up as a unit, and the ball was getting lost easily. We did however manage to net one only seconds in to the half, as Kyle Eaton was brought down in the box, and Rob Frank dispatched the penalty successfully.

Although the scrappy football continued for a while, after about 15 minutes or so, Loco eventually put their foot on the game, and started playing some good football again.

The move of the match came on 65 minutes, when Sam Davis played the ball square across the defence. Bomber, always looking to go forward, played the ball into the feet of the ever-towersome Kirk Eaton, who then laid the ball back to Stu Bramley, who in turn fizzed a ball upfield to the on-running Kyle Eaton. Kyle outpaced his marker and left him for dead before squaring a ball in the box to Andy Smith, who was on hand to convert from close-range - a very well worked goal. It shows that not all football has to be route one in order to be successful.

On 80 minutes Loco wrapped up the game with a Kyle Eaton header from a Rob Frank corner - the ball was whipped in, and it was powerful leap from the younger of the Eaton brothers, which gave Loco their biggest ever win.

Elsewhere in the half, there were chances for Stu Bramley who saw another 40 yard effort safely nestle into the trees - and also a great move which saw Ian Davis released on the left, somehow beating his marker, and cutting the ball back to Andy Smith in the box, who made a decent run and produced a rasping left footed srike, which was palmed over the bar by the keeper.

A lot of positives can be taken from the match, but also we’ve got to spot the errors too. After half-time, the first 15 minutes were pretty terrible, with a lot of show-boating, loose passes, and generally a lack of trying from all eleven players on the pitch. A couple of scares from Forest spurred us into action, however it must be remembered that we’ll be coming up against much tougher sides during the season, and these moments of casualness will get punished without question.

That said, a very good game for Loco, and 9-0 was probably a fair reflection on the possession, strength, and skill shown by the away side. Every player for Loco deserves a pat on the back, however this report is long enough, but especially thanks to Bomber’s mates, and also to Kyle, who did the goalkeeping jersey proud in the first half.

Loco overcome Verwood

Loco’s first full game under the “Ferndown” badge resulted in a 5-3 win, in a pre-season victory over AFC Verwood at Potterne Park on Sunday.Verwood compete in Hayward League Division Six, therefore, with Loco in Five, you’d think that the 5-3 result was a fair reflection of our divisional placings. However, Verwood were a team that had finished second in Division Seven the season before, and this feat showed, with their players being a lot more creative on the ball, compared to a relatively sloppy Loco.

Loco were finding it very difficult from the off against Verwood, and only after 7 minutes, we were 1-0 behind, after the home side were gifted a penalty after a dodgy penalty-box challenge from Bramley. The spot-kick was just about dispatched, and Loco were down already!

It soon was equal though, as Kendall equalised from close range. It was some excellent work from Kyle Eaton on the right which resulted in a square ball to Kenny, who tucked it away at the far post with aplomb.

Soon, we were 2-1, with a carbon-copy of the first goal, however Kirk, Kyle’s brother was on hand to steer the ball home into the back of the net.

Loco were on the up, and although the midfield were getting crowded out by the superior Verwood middle four, the Ferndown defence were staying solid, and the team was generally doing a satisfactory job.

The second half saw three Loco goals, and two Verwood goals. Verwood netted one after a great move saw their right-winger cut in and fire the ball home low into the net, and another when Loco’s Mike Brannan stuck out a foot and lobbed Sean with ease… if anything, it shows that he wasn’t shitting us when he said that he netted 20 in one season when he played for Merley!!

Loco’s goals royally sandwiched the Verwood efforts though, with the pick of the bunch coming from Kirk Eaton - a superb lob from distance which found the top left corner after what can only be described as a defensive mix up.

Aswell as Kyle netting yet another goal for Loco by sneaking in front of the Verwood defenders to tap it home, Rob Frank also produced a superb strike from distance to up the Loco goal tally. A direct, (or was it indirect Rob) free-kick was given by the referee, and after Rob repetitively asked the ref whether the kick was direct, the left-footed wonder struck the ball into the left-side of the net from a full 20-yards, and exclaimed to the ref “I’ll take that as a yes then!” Very funny.

Another comical moment came when Stu did some typical Bramley-esque back-chatting, and the referee gave him the option to “either go off or be booked”. Needless to say, Stu opted for the booking! Crazy stuff at Potterne Park.

Had it not been for the three K’s today, Loco may have struggled, but the team came together and ground out a result against a good Verwood side, the type of which we’ll be seeing in our Division this season on a weekly basis.

Final Score: AFC Verwood 3 - 5 Ferndown Locomotive

Loco do well in Ringwood Comp

On the 7th August Loco took part in an 11-a-side tournament in Ringwood. It was a very positive showing from the lads after recent dodgy training turn-outs!Apologies to the opposition teams, however with 6 matches in the space of, well… 6 hours, it was very difficult to remember who we played during the day. Those who stayed on the pitch during the whole day would have played over 130 minutes football, therefore any mental blockages are to be excused.

After meeting at the fresh time of 7.45, the Loco’s first match under the Ferndown banner was at 9.25. We won the game 1-0 thanks to a good finish from Sean Barker. The game was far from polished, however we ground it out very well.

The second match was against a well organised Redhill FC side. Haven’t got a clue what league they were in, but Dean, a lad who Dave had played with at Dean Court a while ago, was playing for them, so judging by that alone, they had a decent crop of players. Even still, Loco held them in places, but it was an error from new Loco keeper Terry, which gifted their pacy striker a goal, and a good finish from a tight angle it was too.

Match Number 3, I believe, was against Ringwood Under 18’s, which resulted in another 1-0 win to Loco. The opposition, whoever they were, posed little threat, however Loco were making hard work of things at times. Indeed, up until a tremendous looping Kyle Eaton (trialist) header, things were looking bleak. However, the goal, which was scored 3 minutes from the end, was well deserved, and put Loco in a good position for the rest of the tournament.

Loco drew matches Four and Five, as far as we remember anyway, and at this point Loco looked to be heading home without any progression into the knock-out stages. Paul Phillips emphasised during the previous week that there were going to be a load of big teams in the tournament, and even given this, Loco did very well to not only cope, but exceed expectations, with some good flowing football at times.

So as we stroll out of the Long Lane Sports Ground, one of the Loco players goes to check (completely innocently) where Loco finished in the league - and it turned out we had finished second. Therefore all of us, who were changed and ready to go, had to get our kit on once again, for an encounter against a very strong and skilful Ringwood side, who had been tipped for winning the tournament.

Loco started with their usual 4-4-2 formation, and it worked well, with most of Ringwood’s threats reduced to long range efforts, however they did manage to nick one goal in the first half, after a slight defensive mix-up. The second half though was a different story - Loco were all over them. Sam hit the post, Kenny went close with a miscued through ball, and Sam against had a shot from distance which was just over the bar.

However the breakthrough came six minutes from the end, where Kenny laid a through ball off to Sam, who tapped it on to Kyle, who then turned magnificently, and fired a superb shot into the back of the net from the edge of the box.

So the final whistle blew, and it all came down to penalties. SamD fulfilled the “Player Rep Failure” tag by missing the first, side-footing it to the keepers left. However the following Ringwood penalty was also missed, with their burly midfielder hitting the bar.

So on it went, with players scoring, however Salva didn’t convert his, as it flew off over the bar - and eventually Ringwood won the spot kick competition 4-3 - and then progressed into the next round.

In all it was a great day, we got sunburnt and achey legs as a result, but a superb occasion to bond the team. Roll on the proper friendlies!

See the pictorial evidence!