Magpies Eaton by Kyle hattrick

Kyle returned to the side on Sunday to put in yet another goal-scoring show, to see Loco move further away from the drop zone, in a professional 3-0 win vs Magpies at Heathlands.Locomotive started at Heathlands with a very strong line up consisting of Salva in goal. Across the back was a dependable defence of Stu, Simon, Luke and Cash. Then in midfield was Sam on the left, Andy on the right, with Ali and Andy Savage in the middle. This left Rob and Kyle up front. On the bench was Mike, Chris, and Dan.

To be honest, Loco were in control throughout the game, and there was never a point where I feared we would go behind. Playing against the wind in the first half, the ball held up for us well, and we were playing some reasonable football on a very tricky surface. We were having success on both the right and left side of the pitch, with Andy Smith particularly doing well.

At the back, the defence and Salva didn’t have a great deal to do, but when they were called on, they were very strong in the tackle, and the distribution to midfielders was excellent - showing how we can really do so well if we build from the back.

Given the possession, you’d think we’d get a few shots on target, however the reality is that we didn’t - apart from an 85 yard Paul Cashmore effort! Ali had a number of shots from distance, as did Andy Savage, however they drifted wide of the target. Sam also had a turn and shot which he dragged wide of the post.

So, although there was no break-through, the first half was relatively pleasing. Luke fared pretty well at left-back with some deft touches, and Simon showed no signs of labour. Up-front, although both Kyle and Rob scratched and scrabbled, there were no clear efforts, so we strolled off goal-less.

Half-time: Magpies 0 - 0 Ferndown Locomotive

The second half was much better for Loco, with three pretty quick goals settling the game. The first came after Ali set Sam free on the left, and he cut a ball in to Rob, who slightly mis-connected with his left boot, and the ball drifted up over the keepers head onto the bar, straight into the path of Kyle Eaton, who gratefully nodded into an empty net.

Moments later it was two, as Kyle was first to react when an under-hit backpass from a Magpies defender allowed him to intercept and hit the ball sweetly first-time with the inside of his right boot, curling quite brilliantly into the lower right corner of the net. Loco 2-0 up.

A bit of time elapsed before the third goal, but once again it was Mr Eaton who dispatched it from close range after the ball was cut in from the left side of the pitch. 3-0 - a convincing lead, and one we didn’t want to scupper.

Substitutions during the half consisted of the introduction of Dan into the midfield, Mikey coming into defence, and Chris adopting a centre-midfield position - and all of them played their part in finishing off what was a solid performance.

Other efforts on goal in the second 45 came from messers Savage, Cash with a free-kick, Ali with a net bound effort (the net behind the pitch that is), and Kyle with a few teasers for good measure.

In all, we could have got more, but towards the end we were happy just to cruise off with three goals in the bag, and no injuries to boot - and another good win in our quest to have an unbeaten January.

Final Score: Magpies 0 - 3 Ferndown Locomotive

Debutant Robs a Royals win

New Locoboy Rob made it a debut to remember on Sunday, after notching a cheeky goal in the 1-1 draw with league pace-setters Christchurch Royals at King George.Loco began the game in good shape, with a big squad, and plenty of players eager to keep 2007 going with a bang. Salva was selected in goal, with a defence of Stu, Will, Andy, and Luke. Across the midfield we had Andy on the right, Keith and Ali in the middle, and Sam on the left. That left Dave, and making his debut for Loco, Rob Mawdsley…

With an extremely strong bench also on the touchline, consisting of Dan, Cash, and Mike - Loco had a lot of strength - so it was a game where we were looking to be very positive.

..and positive it was. We never really looked over-roared in the game, and although Christchurch made it difficult for us at times, with their swift counter-attacking, it was the Loco side that had the clearer chances throughout the game.

We had two main goal threats in the half, and they both came from headers. A superb whipped corner from Don Hutchinson on the left was met with glee from a free Rob on the 6 yard line, however he could only direct his header in towards the arms of the grateful keeper - anywhere else and it would have been a certain goal.

Later in the half, Keith also had a headed effort which was cleared off the line - a very good effort from our blossoming centre-midfielder.

Sandwiched in between these efforts though was a Loco goal, and it was the debutant who scored it. Loco had an effort on goal which was saved well by the Christchurch keeper, however he parried, and walked it out with so much casualness, and an extremely sharp Rob capitalised by sliding in and rolling the ball into the net.

Half-time: Ferndown Locomotive 1 - 0 Christchurch Royals

The second half was very much a backs to the walls effort. Sean, who kept the goal-sheet clean in the first half, came off, to give Dan a go between the sticks.

With the pitch cutting up a treat, it was getting really tough to play on the slippery slidey pitch. That said, we still had some good moments of possession - with the Loco midfield working really hard. Similarly, Will, Andy, Luke and Stu at the back were having strong games, cleaning everything up with ease.

With the front two still working hard for Loco, it was decided that some changes were to be made, and Dave, and Luke came off - with the remaining subs being introduced. This was in order to boost the many waning players out on the pitch, but also to provide the possible spark that just might see us confirm the win.

However it wasn’t to be, as Christchurch grabbed a (probably) deserved equaliser, with a good move from the right ending in a curled ball into the box, which was professionally dispatched by their striker.

So all in all, a good performance from Loco - but its clear that there is still so much to give from all players. One thing is certain, it’s going to be a very exciting remainder of the season…

Final Score: Ferndown Locomotive 1 - 1 Christchurch Royals

Will bowls everyone over…

Stanley, the man who has been up in arms over recent Loco jibes aimed towards him, answered his critics in style on Saturday, with a top score of 171 at Bowlplex!At the last Christmas do, Will was centre of attention, and this time, he stole the show again.

On Saturday Loco had a bowling night at Bowlplex in Branksome. A great night was had by one and all, and it is definitely a night that will planned again very soon - and fingers crossed we will be able to get everyone there this time.

The Loco squad were split into two lanes - and although there was some inter-lane competition, there were numerous individual battles going on through the night.

However, there was one battle that was particularly amusing, and that was Chris Brown’s eternal struggle with his wallet. You see, it was decided that everyone who bowled a ball down the gutter had to sacrafice 50p. Notes and coins later… Chris decided to simply throw his wallet in, much to the delight of everyone watching.

View the pictures here

Other highlights included Keith winning a bowling of cheap bubbly for getting a strike when the whole world was watching; and also to Will, who managed to get the highest score of the night (171) - getting a Turkey in the process - a stunning score from one of Loco’s most resiliant defenders! Well done Will, you deserved it.

Lee managed to knock over a pint after some tom-foolery trying to put off Westy, and then redeemed himself by chucking a sheet of Bounty on the mass spillage - cheers Lee, it’s absorbs a lot of moisture but not that much…

The lads finished the night by having some Sambuca, which was paid for by the £15 worth of funds that had built up throughout the evening.

View the pictures here

So, a good evening was had by one and all - and it’s something we’ll be doing again extremely soon. Well done to Keith for organising it, and getting it at a good price for all of us!

Smack my bitch up

Loco stand in goalkeeper, solid defender, and general all-round animal Dan Smith has been pictured with an awful injury. That’s the last time he uses eyelash curlers…As you can see from the pictorial evidence on the right, Dan Smith got in a bit of a “situation” over the Christmas period, and unfortunately for him, it resulted in some quite mild facial injuries.

Joking aside though, this incident, which happened in Bournemouth, was extremely unlucky for Dan, as he lost his position as goalie for Loco. That’s right, on Sunday, Paul Phillips opted to go for second choice stopper Sean Barker instead.

No, in all seriousness, this injury does seem pretty bad, and best wishes go to the young lad on his recovery, and hopefully it’ll be a speedy return to Loco. Before long, he’ll be running around King George just like he once was - just hopefully, this time he won’t get a stitch.

Dan played really well in the last match of 2006 against JS Sports, so it can be considered a bit of a bad knock for him. However he’ll keep his eye open for an opportunity to get straight back in the first team as soon as possible.

A while back, spiralling public concern over drunken violence prompted a double-header of Government initiatives. Dan is obviously not an example of the success of these schemes.

Anyhow, get well soon Dan. Animal.

Mellor madness captured on cam

How and why does Luke get cramp? Every week, the (potentially) most fittest Loco player goes down injured. This week was no exception, and we have the proof.The Official Loco web-site managed to capture a few snaps from Sunday’s 4-3 victory over JS Sports at Chapel Gate, and amongst the highlights are Luke’s cramp, Sean’s arse, and a very concerned Ali Carmichael on the touchlines.

Luke’s leg cramps are now notorious with Sunday mornings, so we’re pleased that at least we caught one of them on film.

View the Pics here

Sean, Ali and Paul came to the rescue of the spritely left-back on Sunday, and after a bit of the magic spray, Luke was alright again, and was later laughing it off in the pub - nearly about as much as he was laughing at the state of Dan’s face, which the rest of the team thought was in very poor taste…

Cash told Mellor that it might be an idea for him to take some salt before the next game, so, by clicking on the ads on the right of this site, you might earn us enough revenue to buy an Adsa multi-pack of Smart-Price ready salted crisps.

Nevertheless, we thought it’d be useful to highlight what cramp exactly is. There are two basic causes of cramping. One is inadequate oxygenation of muscle, and the other is lack of water or salt (read on Luke…)

Cramps from poor oxygenation can be improved by rapid deep breathing, as well as stretching the muscle. Cramps from lack of salt and water can be treated by stretching the muscle, and of course drinking water and increasing salt intake (hence the crisps). Pounding on the muscle can increase soreness.

View the Pics here

Similarly, Luke should also take note that muscle cramps in particular can be treated by applying a soft massage on the cramped muscle, stretching the muscle and applying heat or cold. Heat improves superficial blood circulation and makes muscles more flexible, so some people find that heat is more soothing for muscle cramps than applying ice.

Hopefully this advice may provde beneficial to Mr Mellor, whose performance, although very good on Sunday, could well last a little bit longer than the usual three and a half minutes…

Stu-pendous Loco thwart JS

Loco began 2007 in style on Sunday with a 4-3 victory over JS Sports at Chapel Gate, with goals from Davis, Savage, Eaton, and a certain Mr Bramley.

Loco started the match playing with the advantage of a strong wind, with a
familiar line up consisting of Sean Barker in goal. Across the back we had Stu,
Andy, Jan and Luke. In midfield was Mike Ali, Keith and Sam. Up front that left
Chris and Don Hutchinson. This left an extremely strong subs bench of Andy Smith,
Paul Cashmore, and Chris Brown – all of whom were utilized in the second
half.

In the first ten minutes Loco managed to get stuck in quite well considering
the whole team was probably collectively more than ten stone heavier after the
Christmas period. Strong tackles were coming in, and the reinvigorated Mike was
having a lot of the ball on the right (although he nearly lost his balls later
on in the half).

Luke was similarly having a strong game at the back, and up front, Dave and
Kyle were looking very menacing. Indeed, Kyle was very strong and agressive
up front, producing some rather manly tackles at times too!

The home side were a good outfit, and their midfield produced a couple of opportunities
for the strikers, but a mixture of strong defending as well as some safe hands
from Sean kept the score goalless.

Loco got the breakthrough on 20 minutes when the ball emerged from the right,
and was pumped into the box, however a poor headed clearance from the home defence
found Sam on the edge of the box, who lobbed the ball into the left-top corner,
over the diving keeper.

The lead was short-lived though, as JS hit back straight away, as their midfielder
managed to get a low shot at goal after a defensive mix-up, and Sean could only
palm it away, and it fell to their striker to tapped it in from the angle.

It got worse for Loco five minutes later as it was 2-1, after a corner was
taken from the right, and in a similar goal to the last game in 2006, it was
a header which nestled in the top corner, past the arms of diving salmon Sean
Barker.

5 minutes later Loco could have made it two, but Kyle had a shot wide, and
Luke too got in on the act after he pounded the ball towards goal from 25 yards,
but the keeper palmed away.

With Keith and Ali being instrumental in midfield, it was the latter that managed
to setup Loco’s second goal, as he placed a great through ball on to Kyle,
whose pace managed to win him a one-on-one race with the keeper, and as he took
the ball around the stranded Number One, Eaton managed to turn away only to be felled by a JS defender,
earning a penalty for the Ferndown side. Once again it was Andy Savage who took
the penalty, and true to his form, he stuck it away yet again, this time to
the left of the home keeper – and into the corner of the net to make it
2-2.

Half-time: JS Sports 2 – 2 Ferndown Locomotive

Loco’s second half was very good, with some resilient play. We managed
to get several shots in on goal, with Sam first after a Kyle put in, and then
Luke having an effort on target.

However it was Kyle that managed to increase Loco’s tally, with a goal
that is incredibly typical of the young striker, a through ball played on to
him as he ran into the box, and two excellent touches which were finished with a
rasping effort into the roof of the net from 10 yards – an astounding
goal and probably goal of the day.

Andy Smith came the pitch to excellent effect on the right midway through the
half, with some deft touches, and then on 65 minutes, with a long-range shot
which nearly made it 4-2.

But Loco being Loco, didn’t do things by halves – and we managed
to concede a third goal – but this one was unstoppable. We conceded a
free kick 25 yards from goal on 75 minutes, and their midfielder stepped up
and fired in a rasping firm low drive into the right side of the net –
giving Sean no chance – a superbly taken strike.

Thankfully though, we managed to score a winner, and it came after Loco had
a good spell of possession with Andy Smith on the right. The midfielder cut
in from the right side and was felled by a JS defender – Dave Hutchins
then took the free-kick, which was placed nicely on target, and the keeper fumbled
and Stu Bramley was the quickest to react (yes, Stu was!) and he stuck out his
right boot to place the ball into the right side of the net, making it 4-3.

So with the game wrapped up, all that Loco had to do was finish the game, and
that we did. With Paul Cashmore and Chris Brown also on the pitch – it
gave us some much needed stablility, but even they couldn’t stop the instant
snapshot from JS which nearly gave them an equalizer. It was a solid effort
which started going towards the left side of the goal, and the suddenly swerved
to the right in the wind, and it was a wonder-save from Sean Barker that managed
to keep Loco the three points. Get in.

Final Score: Ferndown Locomotive 4 – 3 JS Sports