Goal Scoring To Date After 10 Games

After 10 games - & LYFDA and 3 friendlies our record is as follows ;-

LIAM CRICHTON - 12 goals
SCOTT MITCHELL - 11 goals
RYAN KELLY - 10 goals
SAM HILL - 6 goals
JACK KERR - 6 goals
DREW WATSON - 5 goals
DARREN SMITH - 3 goals
THOMAS McGUIRE - 3 goals
GARY McCULLOCH - 1 goal
CAMERON GIBSON - 1 goal
SCOTT GRAHAM - 1 goal
DEAN ARROL - 1 goal

Played 10 - Won 10 - Lost 0 - Drawn 0 - Scored 60 - Conceded 24

EKYC 2 Partick Thistle 1

The game was played in freezing conditions, which made the surface very slippy, but we decided to continue with the match to give the boys some much needed match practice.

The game was played over 2 half hours, at 9 a-side on the astro turf at Ballerup.
All the players were given the same play time. The team that started was ;
KINIBURGH, ARROL, McCULLOCH, GRAHAM, CRICHTON, KERR, KELLY, HILL and GIBSON.

The boys struggled to cope with the slippery surface early on and were a goal down within 10 minutes. As they got used to the surface they started to play some good attacking football and some of the passes were great to see. The boys never looked like they had not played for 4 weeks, and were soon keeping Thistle penned in their own half.

After 20 minutes SCOTT MITCHELL was brought on as a sub and with his first touch of the ball he hammered it low past the diving keeper to equalise. Trialist Ross McDonagh was then introduced, and he showed some great touches, and did not look out of place. The half finished with an entirely differant side with the exception of James Kinniburgh in goals.

In the second half, it got colder, if that was possible, and the boys were rotated contstantly. These changes did not alter the flow of the game and DEAN ARROL then scored his first of the season, with a run from his own half, as the defenders backed off, he fired a shot low into the bottom left hand corner.

The remainder of the game was fairly even, and towards the end the ground conditions worsened, but still we tried to play the passing game.

This was a great result considering we had not played for 4 weeks and the conditions.

Hopefully, we will have a game this weekend, weather permitting.

It is a 1000 kick off against Quarter Athletic at Hamilton Palace.

Friendly match v Partick Thistle - 29/11/05

On Tuesday 29 November, a friendly has been arranged with Partick Thistle under 12's to be played at Ballerup astro turf between 8pm and 9pm.

Tarining will be as ussual at Clarmont, starting at 6pm but will stop at 7.30pm. We will then travel the short distance to Ballerup for a 8.00pm kick off.

The match will be on a half pitch, and will be 9 a side, with the 7 a side goals. It has been arranged to let the boys get back into playing out doors again, due to the recent matches being cancelled.

If anyone cannot make it then it is not a problem.

Netherton(claret) v EKYC - Sunday 27 November

This Sundays game against Netherton(claret) has been arranged with a 0915 kick off away at Shields Road, Wishaw, which is the pitch we played the Netherton(amber) side on at the rear of Muirhouse flats.

We will be meeting at 0815 at Hairmyres Train Station Car Park. Anyone travelling straight to the ground, be there for 0845.

Hopefully the game will be on, but due to the weather I ask that everyone checks in on Saturday night.

Christmas Night Out

As you will have seen from the recent letter we sent out, the boys will again be attending Murray Park, the training ground of Rangers FC for their Christmas treat. This will include a tour of the facilities and a 1 and a half hour training session with a club coach. It was a great success last year, and I hope everyone will be able to make it again this year.

Matches Cancelled Re Bad Weather

The recent matches against Baillieston Juniors and Claremont AFC were both cancelled due to the frozen state of the pitches at Hamilton Palace and Brancumhall. We have tried to arrange mid week matches but due to block bookings on all the local astro pitches it has proved impossible. The boys must be very frustrated as the past 2 Sundays have been very late call offs.
This week we are due to travel to Netherton to play Netherton(claret). Lets hope the cold snap ends and allows us a match.

Aston Villa Colts v EKYC - Match Cancelled

Due to the bad weather, this Sundays match against Aston Villa Colts due to be played at Hamilton Palace has been called off. Training will be as usual on Tuesday 6-8pm at Clairmont High School.

STILL GAME

Still Game starring Gary McCulloch as Winston, Sam Hill as Navid, Dean Arrol as Jack and Cameron Gibson as Victor. PURE QUALITY MAN !!

EKYC 4 Holytown Colts 1

An early 0900 kick off on the synthetic grass at Bent Playing Fields in Hamilton was the order of the day for todays match against Holytown Colts.

Cameron Gibson started partnering Sam Hill up front after his impressive display in last weeks match against Baljaffray.

We were one up straight from kick off, in probably the quickest goal of the season. Holytown took centre and passed back to defense, but the pace of SAM HILL closed the ball down and forced the Holytown player into an error, Sam ran into the box and picked his spot in the bottom corner, one nil after 10 seconds, pretty impressive.

Holytown were penned in their own half for much of the period and our pressure told when Dean Arrol's clearance found CAMERON GIBSON in the clear, his pace outsripped the Holytown defence, and Cameron scored from just outside the box with a powerful finnish. It was 2-0 at the end of the first period.

Thomas McGuire, Lee Elliot and Jamie Cunningham then replaced Cameron Gibson, Gary McCulloch and Chris Park. Holytown started to look a strong team and we could not clear our lines and the ussual good passing moves that have been our trademark this season were missing. We seemed to weather the storm however, and in a rare break away JACK KERR added a third, and performed his ussual jubilant celebration. The third period ended with us 3-0 up.

A couple of more changes were made at the start of the third period and we gained the upper hand again. LIAM CRICHTON finished a great run down the right wing by chipping the out rushing keeper to make it 4-0. Holytown were the awarded a free kick 20 yards from goal which the taker expertly put over the wall and into the net leaving James Kinniburgh with no chance, to make it 4-1.

An injury to Darren Smith weakened the side when he had to limp off, but hopefully it won't be too bad and Darren will be fit for next week. Holytown continued to press until the final whistle but could not add to their tally. At the end it was a hard fought 4-1 victory.

The boys will admit it was not their best performance of the year, however with such an early start and on a surface they don't like, to continue their unbteaten run was impressive.

Next week we have Aston Villa Colts at Hmilton Palace with a 1000 kick off.

Baljaffray BC 6 EKYC 8

A tough friendly match was played today at Bearsden & Milngavie Sports Ground with an 1100 kick off . We kept our winning run going but only just,after our usual slow start, and yet again after only 10 minutes we were 3-0 down.

We stormed back to 5-3 up with 2 goals from SAM HILL, 2 goals from RYAN KELLY and one from LIAM CRICHTON. Our opponents brought it back to 5-5, before another goal each for SAM HILL and LIAM CRICHTON and an eighth from DARREN SMITH made it 8-5. Baljafray then scored a 6th to make it an exciting end to a great game.

Man of the Match was shared by DEAN ARROL and CAMERON GIBSON, the later gave a great performance moving from centre half to centre forward and assisted in at least 4 of the goals.

Next Sunday we are at home to Holytown Colts with a dreaded 0900 kick off on the Bent 3G Astro Turf in Hamilton. Remember only moulded studs and astro trainers are allowed on the surface(NO BLADES).

Friendly match arranged for Sunday 23 October

A friendly has been arranged for Sunday 23 October 2005 away to Baljaffray Boys Club in Milngavie. We will be meeting at Hairmyres Station at 0945 to travel to Milngavie for a 1100 kick off. Baljaffray have arranged for refreshment for parents and anyone wishing to stay behind after the game.

Goal Scoring To Date After 6 Games

Liam Crichton - 9 goals
Ryan Kelly - 8 goals
Scott Mitchell - 7 goals
Drew Watson - 5 goals
Sam Hill - 4 goals
Jack Kerr - 4 goals
Thomas McGuire - 2 goals
Gary McCulloch - 1 goal

Played 6 - Won 6 - Lost 0 - Scored 40 - Against 14

Lawhill United 4 EKYC 7

A very entertaining and hard fought game resulted in us keeping our unbeaten record in tact... but only just. James Kinniburgh returned in goals, allowing other players to return their natural positions. A tanned Thomas McGuire returned from 2 weeks in Mallorca, and special mention must go to Drew Watson, who travelled all the way from Dumfries to take part in the game.

The game kicked off in blustery conditions and inside 10 minutes we found ourselves 3-0 down. Lawhill were playing some great attacking football and along with some poor defending and some great finishing, particularly from Lawhill's no 7 Aiden Nohar, we found ourselves struggling.

Eventually our boys managed to string some passes together and after some strong running from LIAM CRICHTON, a Lawhill defender helped the ball into his own net to make it 3-1. We went with an unchanged team in the 2nd third, and some amazing misses and good goalkeeping kept us at bay. RYAN KELLY added a second to bring us back into it but no matter how hard we pressed we could not find a way through. The impressive Darren Smith was then switched from centre half to centre midfield, with Cameron Gibson going to centre of the back four. Darren's tough tackling and good passes created more chances but still we could not get level. At the end of the second period, it was 3-2 to our opponents.

The third period started with JACK KERR netting an impressive equaliser and then substitute THOMAS MCGUIRE latched onto a great through ball, he then rounded the keeper and from a tight angle put us 4-3 up. The lead did not last for long with Lawhill scoring a fourth from over 30 yards out which James misjudged and rocketed into the net.

EKYC then rolled up there sleeves, JACK KERR and RYAN KELLY then both added their second goals of the day with great individual goals with great finishes. The final goal was scored by the tireless SAM HILL, who after missing a few chances kept his head up and kept running at the defence, he rounded the keeper to make it 7-4.

It was a very hard fought but fair game, and we showed great fight to come back from 3 down so early on. Lets hope it keeps up.

Lawhill United FC v EKYC - Sunday 9 October

This Sunday we travel to Law to play what will undoubtedly be our toughest test to date. We will be meeting at 09.15 am at Hairmyres Station to travel through to Law, where we are playing at Law Recreational Parks with a 1030 kick off.
With the return of goalkeeper James Kinninburgh and Sam Hill, it looked like we would be able to field our strongest team for the first time this year, but news that goal machine Scott Mitchell has broken his wrist, and will be out for up to 8 weeks, means that more changes will be made. Everyone wishes Scott a speedy recovery.
Lawhill are in a rich vain of form having scored 18 goals in there last 2 games, so we will need to be at our very best to take anything from the game. It promises to be a cracker.

Sunday 2 October 2005

Is this the reason that Gary & Dean looked so tired at training this morning.
They have taken to wearing yellow marigolds and look like a couple of old wummin.

EKYC v Mossend BC - Match Cancelled

This Sundays match versus Mossend BC, due to be held at Bent Playing Fields has been cancelled due to our opponents not fullfilling there fixtures in our association.

We have asked LYFDA to arrange another fixture for us, but at such short notice this is unlikely.

We have managed to book Ballerup Astroturf Pitch between 1000 and 1100 for a training session. Please be at Ballerup for 0950 to allow us to start on time.

EKYC 1994 Penalty King - DARREN SMITH

EKYC Penalty Kick Competition

The East Kilbride Youth Club Penalty King Competition took place at Ballerup on Sunday. In our age group DARREN SMITH scored a perfect 10 out of 10 penalties, edging out his close friend Ryan Kelly who managed 9. Darren went into the final against all the winners from all age groups and after a strong start, scoring his first 2 penalties, he fell away, which he blames on the state of the pitch. Shane Perry from the under 13 side was the out right winner.

The event was attended by over 150 players and will no doubt have raised great funds for the club. The prizes were presented by BRIAN McGINTY of St. Mirren who kindly gave up his time to do so.

I would like to thank everyone who attended and supported the event.

The final scorings from the 1994 age group were :-

Darren Smith - 10 goals

Ryan Kelly - 9 goals

Dean Arrol - 7 goals

Jack Kerr - 7 goals

Gary McCulloch - 6 goals

Lee Elliot - 6 goals

Scott Graham - 5 goals

Cameron Gibson - 5 goals

Christopher Park - 5 goals

John Dingwall - 5 goals

Liam Crichton - 5 goals

Drew Watson - 4 goals

EKYC 5 Villa Park 2

A home game at Ballerup Pitch 1 saw us entertain Villa Park, a team we had never played before. With the continued absence of James Kinniburgh through illness, a late call off from Sam Hill and Thomas McGuire & Jamie Cunningham being on holiday, we were down to only 13 players, and no goalkeeper, for the 4th week in a row.

Jack Kerr started in goal, but his influence in midfield was missed from the start and our boys struggled against a well organised Villa Park side.

We went a goal down after a long kick from the opposition keeper was missed by everyone in defence and the forward ran from the half way line to open the scoring.

This was a test of our character as we have not been a goal down since the opening game of the season, but after some good work on the wings, we were soon pressing Villa back. SCOTT MITCHELL scored the equaliser after a goal mouth scramble, after which the ref awarded a goal, although it was dubious as to whether the ball crossed the line.

At the end of the first twenty minutes it was 1-1.

A change was required and Cameron Gibson took over in goal, allowing Jack Kerr into midfield. We soon went 3-1 up through goals from SCOTT MITCHELL and DREW WATSON. At the start of the 3rd period Dean Arrol was making some great runs and passes down the right, but poor finishing led to the score staying the same.

Another break away led to our opponents getting a free kick near our corner flag, which from the resultant cross was headed in to make it 3-2.

Again the boys regrouped and SCOTT MITCHELL completed his hat trick to make it 4-2, with a great run from the half way line. The scoring was finished when Darren Smith delivered a great free kick for SCOTT MITCHELL to head his fourth goal of the game, a tally which would have won him man of the match, were it not for the performance of Dean Arrol at right back.

In the end it was a hard fought 5-2 victory. Hopefully, next week we will be able to field a full strength team for the first time this season with the antcipated return of James Kinniburgh in goals.

EKYC Penalty King Competition

The East Kilbride Youth Club sponsored penalty kick competition takes place this Sunday 25th September on pitches 3 and 4 at Ballerup Playing Fields, East Kilbride.

WE ARE MEETING AT 1345( 1/4 to 2 in old money) at Ballerup. All players should make every effort to be there.

The format for the event is that all age groups from under 8's through to under 19's attend, and each player will take 10 penalties into their own goalkeeper. The person who scores the most penalties at their own age group will be crowned the PENALTY KING and receive a trophy.

All the winners from the age groups go into a grande final, and will take a further 10 penalties into their own goalkeeper in a goal the size that they are used to.

The overall winner will be crowned EKYC PENALTY CHAMPION.

The amount of penalties saved is also recorded, and the keeper saving the most will receive a trophy.

Al boys are asked to obtain as much sponsorship as they can, as all the money goes to club funds which in the end is returned to the boys.