Galleywood Hawks Flying In

THE Galleywood Youth Hawks will be flying in to Notley Green to face the Rams in a rescheduled fixture this Sunday October 3rd, kicking off at 10.30am.

Originally this weekend was without a fixture as the other teams in the league will be in League Cup action, but to take advantage of the good early season weather, the Blackwater & Dengie League administrators have brought forward this fixture which was originally set for January 30th.

The Hawks will be looking for their first win of the season when they visit Notley following a 6-2 defeat to Focus Ferrers Dynamos on opening day, a 2-0 loss in the league cup to the same opposition and then a 2-1 defeat to early season pacesetters Wilvale Rangers.

The Rams will be looking to bounce back from letting a four goal lead slip in last weekend's 5-5 thriller with Dunmow United Falcons.

Training will be on The Green on Saturday at 9am until 10.30am, and then we will meet for the home game against the Hawks at 10am on Sunday.

Rams Reeled In By Flying Falcons

ON a very cold, wet and windy Sunday morning at Laundry Lane this Dengie League match was the proverbial game of two halves.

After early pressure from the home team, the Rams began to dominate and in the eighth minute they took the lead with Falcons conceding an own goal. Four minutes later James O'Reilly passed to Matthew Norris and he made no mistake to extend the advantage.

With the Rams now pushing forward at every opportunity, in the 12th minute the ball broke to an unmarked Emma Root and she lashed it into the back of the net. Sixty seconds later and O'Reilly charged through unopposed to continue his record of at least a goal a game this season.

The match began to change three minutes into the second half when the Falcons danger man ran through the Rams defence and gave the goalkeeper no chance. The same player pulled another goal back a minute later.

It appeared that the Rams had stemmed the rot when Tom McInerney shot home from inside the area, but this did not deter the Falcons and two more goals from their star man in the 28th and 34th minute and the momentum was with the home team.

Rams went close on a couple of occasions but a combination of good goalkeeping and bad luck denied them a chance to close out the game, and a minute before time the Falcons broke away and scored a fine goal to share the points.

You can see more photos from the game by clicking here.

Falcons Clipped By Rampant Rams

THE Great Notley Rams opened their League Cup group stage account with an emphatic four-nil win over the Dunmow United Falcons at Laundry Lane on Sunday.

Goals from Jonathan Stoneman, Emma Root and a brace from James O'Reilly sealed the victory while Harvey Ricci and Matthew Norris both kept a clean sheet each half they spent between the sticks.

There was also a Rams debut for Henry Wright, a busy display from Thomas McInerney, and some solid defending from Olivia Hales, Ben Rodley and Jamie McNeilly.

The Rams took the lead nine minutes into the first half when Stoneman capitalised on some indecision in the Falcons box to poke the ball between the legs of the home custodian.

The lead was then extended by a set piece straight off the training ground when Norris squared his free kick on the edge of the box for Root to hammer home past the Falcons' wall.

In the second period, a pair of crisp finishes from O'Reilly ensured that there was no route back into the game for the home team, although they came close to picking up a goal but for an excellent on the line save from Norris.

Rams boss John Stoneman said: "After the success of our opening day home victory I was delighted to see us continue this form on our travels.

"We have again learned some important lessons about our positional play and it is always pleasing to keep a clean sheet, something we had discussed at half time when we were two goals to the good.

"We face the Falcons again next week, this time on league duty, so we know what we need to do in order to get off to a good start in the league standings."

More photos from the game can be seen by clicking here.

Locations For Weekend Training and Match

THE Great Notley Rams will switch training venues for one week to the all weather pitch at Braintree Sports Centre in Panfield Lane while Notley Green is being used for the Great Notley Fete this Saturday.

The Rams will train for an hour at Braintree Sports Centre from 9am until 10am. A map for the Sports Centre can be seen by clicking here.

Then on Sunday the Rams play their first League Cup fixture of the season against Dunmow United Falcons. The game kicks off at 11.45am so we will meet at Dunmow's ground at 11.15am.

Parking is restricted at the Falcons ground in Laundry Lane, Dunmow, so we are asked to arrive promptly at 11.15am and not to park outside of the ground. A map to Dunmow's ground can be seen by clicking here.

It is also recommended that people carshare were possible to help with parking.

The Falcons lost their first league match of the season against Danbury Juniors last Sunday by five goals to nil. In other results, Focus Ferrers Dynamos beat Galleywood Youth Hawks 6-2, Woodham Radars beat Writtle Minors 4-0, while the result of the day was a 15-0 win for Wilvale Rangers against Torquespeed Storm.

Rams See Off Saints In Season Opener

THE Great Notley Rams recorded their first ever win and collected all three points in their league opening fixture against Maldon Saints Tigers at Notley Green on Sunday.

Goals from Samuel Donnelly, James O'Reilly and a netburster from Jamie McNeilly set the team on their way to victory, while at the other end some inspired goalkeeping from Emma Root denied the Saints from pegging back anything more than a consolation goal.

The Rams lined up with three in defence having isolated this as a problem from their two friendly fixtures and the outcome was a much more resolute formation with Ben Rodley, Olivia Hales and Harvey Ricci all making timely interceptions throughout the fifty minutes.

O'Reilly, Tom McInerney and Jonathan Stoneman linked well in midfield while lone striker Matthew Norris was a constant threat with his pace and trickery.

Donnelly started the scoring with a well-taken effort in the first half, while McNeilly's goal came midway through the second half, shortly after another chance which looked to have crossed the line was controversially ruled out by the referee.

Shortly after that, the Saints gave Rams boss John Stoneman something to sweat about when they pulled one back with a fine effort from distance, but O'Reilly was on hand to convert a free kick and restore the two-goal cushion.

After the game Stoneman said: "I was delighted to leave the field with the three league points safely tucked away in the kit bag."

More photos from the game can be seen by Clicking Here.

Rhodes on top in Rams Friendly

DESPITE a four-goal haul for James O'Reilly, the Great Notley Rams were defeated in their second friendly by the Dunmow Rhodes Youth Tigers on Sunday.

The Rams lined up with Jamie McNeilly in goal, a back two of Jonathan Stoneman and Harvey Ricci, a midfield three of O'Reilly, Emma Root and Olivia Hales and Matthew Norris up top.

But the visitors were soon on the back foot as the Tigers quickly stretched to a four goal lead, before Matty Norris pulled one back, swiftly followed by O'Reilly's first and the Rams' second.

At half time there were two goals between the teams, and the Rams reformed with Tom McInnery on for a phase of play and Ricci taking his place between the sticks, while McNeilly added some grit to the defence.

The two teams began trading goals in an open and free-flowing second half, with O'Reilly picking off goals for the visitors, but the substantial efforts of the Rams was to no avail and the home side completed their victory.

Rams boss John Stoneman said: "I was very impressed by the efforts of the teams on a very hot day. It was clear that they had translated a lot of the things that we had practised on the training field into the match, our quick throws for instance were a marked improvement, but clearly we need to work harder on defence.

"Going forward I believe we have a real threat up front, but we need to stop conceding, particularly with our next game being our first league match of the season.

"But all of the team can take credit from the effort that they put in against a very well-organised Rhodes Tigers side."

Training For The Rams on Saturday

JUST to confirm it will be training as usual on Saturday for the Great Notley Rams, on The Green with a 9am start.

Rams Confirm Second Friendly

THE Great Notley Rams have confirmed their second friendly match away to Dunmow Rhodes Tigers on Sunday.

The match will play played at the Dunmow Recreation Ground in The Causeway, Dunmow and a map of the ground can be seen here.

The game will kick off at 10am, so players are asked to meet at the ground at 9.30am.

The Tigers play in the Northey Division of the Blackwater & Dengie League.