Lewisham College Football Academy

Lewisham 5 - 1 Utah State

2010-04-04T14:02:00.000-07:00

The last of five matches in six gruelling days of football gave Lewisham the oportunity to relax and experiment against a talented but tired Utah side. The first half was a reasonably even affair, although cut short by ten minutes when the linesman pulled a hamstring and had to be stretchered off. Once Lewisham opened the scoring they never looked back. Coach Thomas used his entire squad in this game, and when the ever reliable James Golding took a spell on the bench the captain's armband was deservedly handed to centre-back Max Zagbayou, the only player to play every minute of every game this week. Goals went to top scorer this week Louie Theophanous (two), Richard Morgan and Shane Collins, and a superb solo effort from Omar Folkes. Arguably the goal of the match, however, was scored in the dying minutes by the Utah left wing who cut across the whole of our box and ripped the ball into the top corner of the net from the far side; great pace and skill giving keeper Matt Bailey no chance to save.

After the disappntment of the group stages it was nice to end on a win, and a comprehensive one at that. The boys have performed extremely well throughout the week, both on the pitch where they were undefeated in their group, and in the way they have conducted themselves off the pitch aeround Dallas and with their host families. They would be the first to admit that the whole tour has been an enormous learning experience from start to finish. Now they need to start fund raising for next year!

Pictures from the Utah State friendly

2010-04-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

Footage from the IMG game

2010-04-03T17:02:00.000-07:00

Disappointing 2-1 loss after a promising start to this friendly

Pictures from Lewisham vs IMG

2010-04-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

The day we lost to Atticus, Orlando and Butters...

2010-04-02T20:18:00.001-07:00

To round off the week, two friendlies against strong academy sides giving coaches the opportunity to use fresh players and rest some battered legs from earlier conflicts. Florida's IMG had previously won this tournament and were certain to be a tough test. Lewisham started promisingly and played some sharp football culminating with a goal from Shane Collins which he admits was intended as a cross, and a mysterious penalty that was given for an outrageous Omar Folkes dive and then never happened for reasons known only to the referee. It all seemed suspiciously easy, unfortunately the Lewisham team didn't react when IMG changed their line-up, bringing on some of their big guns in the middle and up front and the tide of play changed dramatically. After the disappointment of the tournament group and a week of hard football in the Dallas sun, the boys didn't have the stomach for this particular fight and IMG ran out comfortable 2-1 winners.

Group standings update - Lewisham bow out after Solar FC win final game

2010-04-02T20:17:00.002-07:00

Despite extremely vocal support from the entire Lewisham squad, FC Juventus couldn't pull off the required result against the highly organised and efficient Solar SC side. FC Juventus looked promising in the opening ten or fifteen minutes, but once the opening breakaway goal went Solar's way and a Juventus defender had collected a straight red card, there was only ever going to be one winner. In the end, Solar ran out 4-0 winners against a tired and dispirited FC Juventus, and far more importantly edged Lewisham out of top spot in the group, and thereby out of the tournament. Solar's next opponents will be the Andromeda academy coached by our own former head coach Aaron Jacob. What a matchup that might have been had we gone through instead of Solar: Dan Thomas vs Aaron Jacob, and we could have dragged Aaron's predecessor, Alex Ingelthorpe, away from managing the Spurs squad here at the tournament to referee!

The boys are of course extremely disappointed, but they do have two tasty friendly fixtures to look forward to. The first will be against the highly rated IMG academy side from Florida (recent winners of this tournament), and the second a talented Utah State side on Saturday.

Video update

2010-04-02T20:17:00.000-07:00

Warm up and action from the Leones match

Preparing for the Leones match

In action against FC Juventus

Pictures from game 3: Lewisham against Houston Leones

2010-04-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

Final group game and nothing less than a win will suffice

2010-04-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

Lewisham 2- 0 Houston Leones

Lewisham started this game knowing that a two goal winning margin was vital if they were to have a chance to progress, and from there it would all come down to the final group game between Solar SC and FC Juventus. Dan Thomas shuffled his line-up for this make or break game, bringing in Manny at centre back for the injured Joe Stephenson, Fabio in at left back pushing Shane forward, and moving Louie to the central position up front with Ishmail now on the right of the familiar Lewisham 4-3-3.

It became apparent early on that Lewisham had the beating of Houston, with Omar Folkes on imperious form in the centre of the park and Lewisham dominating possession and shooting chances in the first half. The rest day made a massive difference to the player’s intensity compared to the lethargic performance in the second game against FC Juventus. Leones’s capable goalkeeper was tested on numerous occasions as his defence struggled to deal with the Lewisham attack. The inevitable breakthrough came shortly before half time with Omar whipping in a fierce cross that the keeper was unable to hold and Louie Theophanous quick to pounce on the opportunity to score.

In the second half, tempers were short as Leones resorted to late and petulant challenges, with Omar and Richard Morgan singled out for the worst of this treatment. Omar diffused the tensions with some highly comical peacemaking, and then went on to start the move that resulted in a penalty for Lewisham as he was chopped down driving into the Leones box. Louie’s penalty was saved superbly by the Leones keeper only for the referee to order it re-taken because Leones players had encroached, and at the second time of asking Louie had no problems slotting home.

Dan Thomas brought on fresh legs in the shape of Alfie and Marvin both of whom continued to pile the pressure on Leones in the search for a third goal. In the dying minutes a superb curling strike from Omar was brilliantly tipped onto the bar by the Leones keeper, and this proved to be Lewisham’s final attempt on goal. The match ended 2-0 to Lewisham, now everything depends on whether FC Juventus can beat or draw with Solar SC tomorrow

MoM: Omar Folkes

Pictures from the game against FC Juventus

2010-03-31T17:46:00.000-07:00

Disappointing draw piles pressure on Lewisham

2010-03-31T07:27:00.000-07:00

Lewisham 2 – 2 FC Juventus

Bitter disappointment for the Lewisham team after they failed to beat their Californian rivals in the second game of the tournament. Despite dominating the play throughout the first half and creating numerous chances, Lewisham were unable to capitalise on their abundance of possession and some highly skilful passing football. In the end Lewisham battled to a tough draw over ninety minutes, having been behind twice and courtesy of a bizarre own goal at the death.
Unlike the Solar game, where Lewisham had to deal with an organised opponent, awkward conditions and their own first match nerves, this game was there for the taking and as a result the boys are understandably disappointed with the performance. While FC Juventus were promising going forward they had weaknesses across the defence and midfield. However despite playing some excellent possession football Lewisham lacked the urgency or the quality of execution in the final third to see them off.
Several Lewisham players looked noticeably sluggish, and you have to question a tournament committee that asks teams to travel over 5000 miles and play back to back games against fresh local opponents. In 80 degree heat, on a fast – perfectly manicured – pitch and for once without a breath of wind, this was always going to be a stiff test for our boys after the bruising encounter with Solar.
The opener came against the run of play and was the result of a lack of concentration in the Lewisham defence. However the boys reacted well and increased the intensity of their efforts and within five minutes of conceding, Ishmail Henry finished off a move started by Theophanous driving hard down the left. The score line stayed even until minutes before the end of the first half when Lewisham again gifted their opponents with a soft breakaway goal.
The second half became a punishing affair as both sides took advantage of the referee’s leniency with contact, and as the heat and nerves started to take their toll. James Golding pushed his side forward relentlessly, and on more than one occasion FC Juventus were forced to wrestle Lewisham players to the ground in their efforts to prevent an equaliser.
Dan Thomas brought fresh legs on in the diminutive shape of Zak Colaluca and he immediately made an impact. However the equaliser – with only minutes to spare – came from a calamitous mix-up between the FC Juventus keeper and his defence. To Lewisham’s great relief the ball trickled across the line, keeping their hopes of progressing from the group stages alive.
* Updated results leave everything to play for. With Solar beating Houston, FC Juventus losing to Houston, Lewisham need a win today against Houston with Solar either losing or drawing with FC Juventus to progress from the group stages.

Dan Thomas talks about the Solar SC game

2010-03-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the opening game against Solar SC

2010-03-29T06:14:00.000-07:00

Lewisham survive nail-biting opener

2010-03-29T06:13:00.000-07:00

LCFA 2 – Solar SC 2
Lewisham faced a tough opening to their 2010 Dallas Cup campaign, drawn against Solar SC a local side coached by a former Charlton Athletic pro, and finalists in the division last year. With only one team to progress from our four team group, mistakes couldn’t afford to be made at this early stage of the tournament and both players and management were well aware of the pressure.
It was a nail-biting affair from start to finish, with tactics for both teams determined by the strong winds. Playing against the breeze in the first half Lewisham looked settled and composed in possession despite the difficult conditions, and happy to sit deep when Solar had the ball. Keeper Matt Bailey dealt with a few awkward hanging balls, but other than that Solar looked unlikely to score until an uncharacteristically sloppy mistake from Lewisham’s defence gifted the Solar centre forward with a clear run on goal, which he calmly slotted home.
Despite the disappointment, Lewisham picked themselves up and continued to play solid passing football until the break. As the tension increased in the second half both sides picked up the tempo, and some fierce challenges resulted in yellow cards for Collins and Golding, while Richard Morgan went wide with a diving header. Both Solar and Lewisham had further chances to change the score line, but it wasn’t until the 75th minute when Solar orchestrated a powerful set-piece with runners arriving late to the far post that the score line changed once again. At first it appeared that it had been headed superbly off the line by substitute Fabio Saraiva only for the linesman to rule that the ball had entirely crossed the line. With less than 15 minutes to play, Lewisham were staring down the barrel of a 2-nil defeat and an early exit from the tournament.
The turning point came in the 81st of the game when the constantly influential Omar Folke’s low shot from the edge of the box beat the unsighted Solar keeper. Buoyed by this, Lewisham bounced back on the attack and only minutes later Louie Theophanous broke down the right, cut back and found Richard Morgan outside the box to stab the ball home from 20 yards.
It was a physically and mentally draining encounter, and both players and coaches were pleased with the overall performance, the player’s ability to adapt and in particular the spirit shown by the squad when the odds were stacked against them. Post-match evaluations took place between icy plunge pool and jaccuzzi as fitness coach Django Lagnado endeavoured to reduce muscle fatigue with the second group game coming in less than 24 hours.

Talking to the team before the tournament opener against Solar SC

2010-03-28T17:40:00.001-07:00

Louie on our chance of success in the group

Shane and Femi on life, the universe and everything...

James Golding on sport in America

Dallas Cup - Saturday training and friendly vs Dallas Texan Reds

2010-03-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

Pictures from Saturday's practice with the Dallas Texans Reds

2010-03-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

Dallas Cup 2010 - The Tournament Begins

2010-03-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

We're here and ready to play! After a last minute replacement for a passport complication – congratulations to third year Modern Apprentice Mat Hunter for stepping in at the 11th hour to come out with the tour party – all the boys have made it across the Atlantic safe and sound and been delivered into the hands of their host families. This is a major part of the experience for the boys and they’ve all commented on how friendly and hospitable the Texan families are. Unsurprisingly a lot of the boys have gone a bit shy, but we all know that won’t last.

Today saw the lads take on the Dallas Texans Reds in a light practice session to get a taste of the conditions – always windy, always hot – and to shake off the jet lag. Spirits are good, and captain James Golding set the tone with a rousing team speech as the players met to decide their own code of conduct for behaviour during the tournament. Coach Dan Thomas is playing his cards close to his chest with regard to who plays in the opening game and the boys are all keen to impress in practice.

Tomorrow is the big opening ceremony and the even bigger opening game against Solar SC who finished finalists in the group last year. The result will set the tone for the whole group, so everyone is understandably excited and a bit jittery the night before.

Elsewhere in the tournament the big noise is all about the opening game in the Super League between the Mexican National U21s and the US National U21s in advance of next year’s FIFA U20 World Cup, and we're hoping to get a chance to take the boys to watch the game at the main stadium.

News for November - exciting opportunities for academy players

2009-11-09T02:23:00.001-08:00

* Trevor Ajim signed on a two-year scholarship at Colchester United
* Omar Folkes through to the final 36 in England Colleges selection process
* Striker Hayden Ankle and centre back Femi Ishmail have gone to Fulham FC on Monday for a week’s work experience as part of out partnership agreement.
* Prestigious friendly matches arranged against Tottenham Hotspur and Charlton Athletic this month
* Planning for Dallas Cup 2010 started with flights booked and registration for tournament completed
* 3 Players will be in on trial at Dagenham and Redbridge over the next 2 weeks and promise of future friendly matches and trials for 1st year players

Charlton Athletic Trust 2 - 0 Welling United

2009-10-14T16:07:00.000-07:00

Charlton Athletic Trust (Lewisham College) took on Welling United’s academy side at their Well Hall ground on the 7th October, winning 2-0 away from home. Charlton were without three senior players (Folkes, Golding and Ismail) all trialing for the England Colleges side.

The game kicked off dead on 2 o’clock with the rain pouring down hard, Charlton looked fired up for the game and ready to answer the critics of their poor performance the week before. Right from the whistle, Charlton closed down their opponents and this pressure led to several opportunities to go ahead early on in the game. It wasn’t until the twentieth minute, however, that Ishmael Henry played a through ball to Hayden Ankle which he took around the keeper and slotted into the open goal.

In the second half Welling kicked off and were again immediately put under the cosh by Charlton. Marvin Taylor gained some significant possession and released Ankle, who fed Zak Colaluca to shoot first time. The ball was cleared from the line by a Welling defender, but only fell into the path of Ankle, who calmly slotted home in the bottom left hand corner for the second time.

As the game went on Charlton continued to push for more goals, and were unlucky to have two disallowed – both for off side by a very young linesmen. The second of these would have given Ankle his hatrick, however the scoreline remained at 2-0 to Charlton till the final whistle - a fair result for a more committed and organised performance than the previous week.

Report by Mat Hunter

MOTM: Hadyn Ankle

First team SPARQ tests at Sparrow's Lane

2009-10-14T05:49:00.000-07:00

A tough series of fitness tests included 200m sprint, vertical jumps, yo-yo and arrowheads

Top three rankings for the first team squad, tested at Sparrows Lane in October

1. Ellis Jones, defender, 86.45

2. Marvin Francis, midfielder, 74.43

3. Joseph Stephenson, defender, 73.88

Charlton Athletic Trust 0 - 2 Cambridge United

2009-10-08T06:46:00.000-07:00

Dan Thomas’ Charlton Athletic Trust side suffered a surprising setback to their Conference Youth league campaign at the Sparrows Lane ground on the 30th September, losing 2-0 to Cambridge United.

From the kick–off, Cambridge looked more determined and aggressive than Charlton. While they played some nice passing triangles, dominated the midfield and closed down fast, we were slow to start, lacking in concentration and competitiveness.

Cambridge’s opener came early in the first half. The opposition were allowed to shoot unopposed from the edge of the box and the keeper got down low to the ball but only parried it straight into the opposition’s number 8 who tapped in to an empty goal

In the second half we came out the stronger side after a rousing motivational speech from coach Thomas, in particular demanding more from the midfield. We went into challenges better, winning more of the first and second balls; we passed the ball around fluently and the centre forwards held the ball up well.

As a result we started to develop opportunities to score; Folkes beat Cambridge’s centre backs only to shoot straight at the keeper, and Ismail had a long range effort from a corner denied.

Despite getting back into the game and pressurising Cambridge heavily throughout the second half; Charlton threw the game away with another sloppy mistake, and Cambridge’s second goal effectively finished the match off. It came from a free kick, played down the line – we were caught napping and failed to pick up their movement, the ball was simply passed round the wall, crossed and tapped in.

This was a disappointing result after last week’s strong performance against Romford. Charlton will have to work on their focus and competitiveness if they want to do well in this league.
By Ayodele Olaniyan

MOTM: None named

Charlton Athletic Trust 4-0 Romford Gold

2009-09-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

Lewisham College (playing as Charlton Athletic Trust) opened their Football Conference Youth Alliance campaign with an emphatic 4-0 victory over visitors Romford Gold at the Sparrows Lane ground. After the disappointment of their early cup exit the previous week, Head Coach Dan Thomas was quick to ring the changes, bringing in several new faces including keeper Robbie Williams and diminutive left wing Zak Colaluca.

Lewisham domintaed the game from the start, and their early pressure forced a goal within 15 minutes, when Haydn Ankle rifled a spectacular long range volley from the edge of the box. The second goal followed almost immediately - good approach play down the left, an accurate cross from Cololuca and a neat turn and finish from striker Mohamed Diakite.

Shortly after the re-start striker Ishmael Henry had to be substitued after a goalmouth clash of heads left him dazed and thoroughly confused, however Lewisham continued to pile on the pressure despite having to re-organise.

The third goal was a direct free kick curled into the bottom corner by Omar Folkes, and the fourth was a tap in for Marvin Taylor. This was his first touch of the game (after coming on as sub) following some excellent link-up play started by right back James Golding, a cross from Ankle, and a fizzing drive by left wing Zak Coaluca, parried by the keeper.

Lewisham's coach Thomas had stressed the importance of keeping a clean sheet in the second half of the match and this was certainly a much more focussed Lewisham performance overall than the previous week. The result could have been even more one-sided had a few more chances been taken. A promising start to the season, but still plenty to work on.

MOTM: Omar Folkes

Charlton Athletic Trust 4 Romford 0 pictures and video

2009-09-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

Omar Folkes hitting the crossbar at 3-0 against Romford

The fourth goal against Romford, scored by Marvin Francis

Dominic Green, Peterborough United

2009-09-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

Aged 20, Midfield
5’ 6" and 11st 2lbs

Dominic Green joined the LCFA back in 2005, having some years previously been at Chelsea’s academy. He was with us from 2005-2007, successfully completing the OCN Football qualification and the NVQ2 Activity Leadership.

On the pitch, it was immediately apparent that Dominic had enormous potential. An exciting left winger with superb balance and composure on the ball, Dominic broke straight into the first team at 16 and made the left midfield slot his own almost immediately. He toured with us to Holland (the Bon Giorno Cup) in 2006 and the Dallas Cup in 2007.

Dominic’s break came when he signed for Dagenham & Redbridge while at college. After four appearances and his first football league goal from a free kick, he made the transfer to Peterborough United in the season they that ended with their promotion to the Championship. Dominic made three starting appearances and 13 as sub for Peterborough in his first season.

Here’s what they have to say about him on the Peterborough website “great potential to be a star at the highest level, and at just 20 years old, he has plenty of time on his side to become a regular in the championship”

To see Dominic’s profile on the Peterborough squad site, follow this link. Pictures reproduced here with permission of Peterborough United.

New first team training kit arrives

2009-09-15T05:23:00.000-07:00

Olufemi Ismail models our 2009-10 training kit from Charlton Athletic

Charlton Athletic Trust vs AFC Wimbledon 2 - 4

2009-09-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

Lewisham's first team, playing as Charlton Athletic Trust in the Football Conference Youth Alliance league cup, lost a hard fought first round tie 4-2 to AFC Wimbledon at home this Wednesday.

The match began with AFC Wimbledon kicking downhill first half, away from the sun. The game started slowly, with Wimbledon having the first opportunity to take the lead with a nice give and go pass which was defended well by Max Zagbayou to deny them the lead. However about 15 minutes later AFC Wimbledon scored a well deserved goal from the edge off the box to put them 1 - 0 ahead.

Lewisham responded well, with Haydn Ankle hitting the woodwork from a quick counter attack. 15 minutes later, Richard Morgan played a nice diagonal ball through the heart of the Wimbledon defence to give Zak Colaluca a 1 on 1 chance with the AFC Wimbledon keeper. Colaluca took his opportunity with a nicely composed low finish to level the score.

In the second half Lewisham came out the better side, with Haydn Ankle causing a lot of problems for Wimbledon’s full back throughout the half. The home side were unable to capitalise on their advantage, however, and suffered a crucial loss of concentration to conceed three soft goals within a short space of time - effectively putting the game beyond reach.

Lewisham were denied a penalty for hand ball and missed some good chances to close the gap, but did pull a consolation goal back from Ankle to make the final score 4 - 2.

by Matt Gardiner

2009-10 Season Update

2009-09-08T02:36:00.000-07:00

Charlton Athletic Football Club have agreed to work in partnership with Lewisham College Football Academy next season. This is a very exciting development and will offer the players the opportunity to take their football to the next level.

The highlights of this agreement are:
First team squad to train at Charlton Athletic training ground 3 times per week (Tuesday, Thursday and Friday)
First team home matches played at CAFC training ground
Playing kits supplied by Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic / LCFA training kit will be supplied by the football club at trade cost
First team will play as Charlton Athletic in the Football Conference Youth League

Pre-season progress

2009-09-02T03:26:00.000-07:00

Pre-season training for the LCFA started on July 1st, and the players have worked very hard throughout the summer. Highlights of the pre-season fixtures were going to Fulham FC's training ground and performing very capably to secure a 1-1 draw against the Premiership outfit's U17 side. Fulham's academy director was very impressed with the standard of play from the college and admitted that we were unlucky not to win the game. The Lewisham goal came from Louie Theophanous and there was also an outstanding performance from Hadyn Ankle.
Amongst other notable fixtures, pre-season finished with a 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspurs' foundation side (U19), again both goals from Louie Theophanous.

Of the new players coming in to the academy there are a number who have impressed early on. Ones to watch include centre mid Akeem Miller and centre forward Mohamed Diakite.

Dan Thomas, Head Coach

Welcome to the 2009-10 Season

2009-09-02T03:24:00.001-07:00

Welcome to an exciting 2009-10 season for the Lewisham College Football Academy. Our first team will now be playing as Charlon Athletic Trust in the Football Conference Youth Alliance league, and this means that they will be training three times a week and playing home matches at Charlton's first class Sparrows Lane training ground. The first league fixture is against Romford at Sparrows Lane this week.

We have also completed a partnership arrangement with Fulham FC in the Premiership, which will see our goalkeepers start training at Fulham once per week, and two outfield players will go in on trial with Fulham in the first week in November.

Our second and third teams will be competing in the highly respected English Colleges League, and as a results our players will be eligible to represent England Colleges U19 if selected. Three of our players will be going on trial for this at the end of October. As ever we have continued to strengthen our links with non league teams such as Erith Town & Lewisham Borough.

Money is secured for our squad entry to the world's most prestigious U19 soccer tournament, the 2010 Dallas Cup. It runs from March 27th to April 4th, and planning has already started at the Academy. All of our academy will be competing to make that 18 man squad. There are also plans to enter a second European tournament in July 2010 if funds are available.

All the staff want to welcome Michael Boakye to his first full season as a coach for the academy. Michael will manage the third team and his responsibility will be to develop the younger players and prepare them for the demansd of first and second team football. He's an ex-first team player himself and veteran of several Dallas Cups, currently playing at Tooting & Mitchum, so the boys should be in good hands.

Finally, we'd like to congratulate Stefon Halyes, a stalwart of last season's midfield, on joining Salisbury City on a scholarship.

Dan Thomas, Head Coach/John Bennett, Course Director

Facilities

2009-09-01T17:19:00.001-07:00

The Lewisham College Football Academy offers training and match facilities that are hard to beat. Our first team trains and plays its matches at Charlton Athletic's Sparrows Lane ground (Charlton Athletic FC Training Ground, Sparrows lane, Eltham, SE9), and the rest of the academy squad uses the excellent Goals Soccer Centre (Copers Cope Road, New Beckenham), where we have two pitches and a top quality astroturf facility. At the Deptford campus, students have use of the sports hall and gym facilities, including cardio and resistance training equipment as well as free weights. We also have a fully qualified physiotherapist available to squad members and at first team matches.