Saturday the 3rd of August marked the first ever fixture for Catford FC and we had the honour of playing against Premier Division side AMG Ballerz.

The motivation in the changing room was at an all time high and as a club we had every reason to be excited for our first game. We had a full squad of 18 with two last minute additions.
It seemed as if we had achieved initially what we set out to achieve as we had an average squad age of 20.

Our opponents had come off the back of 2 wins against other Bromley and South London Football League teams so we knew that it would be a very tough game today.

Our starting line up was:

GK James Coker
RB Abdi Risaq
CB Kareem Davis
CB Ramaini Gillespie
LB George Ngobeh
CDM Miles Victorin
CM Samuel Thomas
CM Jelani Reid
LM Mohammed Ahmad
RM Michael Kazeem
ST Laseni Diarra

Things started off brightly for the young Fatcatz moving the ball forward with purpose and defending valiantly. Within the first 10 minutes James Coker (GK) made several smart stops to deny AMG’s number 9.

After 16 minutes AMG Ballerz broke the deadlock, sliding a ball through our centre half pairing for their striker who rounded the keeper and slotted home.

After the first goal AMG found their mojo moving the ball quickly and carving out chance after chance. The young Fatcatz defensive frailties continued to show and after 35 mins the Chairman opted to come on to help out the defence with Ramaini taking a breather.
Several other substitutions were made and the new look defence and midfield managed to hold out till the end of the half.

The Fatcatz came out with a new formation and different playing style in mind. However the The Ballerz, being the better side, continued to pile on the pressure but Catford Fc were able to keep them at bay for roughly 20 minutes before they brought their main striker back on and it only took them 5 minutes before he was involved in the break to help them continue their scoring route.

AMG Ballerz ran out convincing winners and proved that they will be a real force in the Premier Division.

Lee Alliband Joint Manager said ‘ It was a real test today but a reality check of what adult football is all about especially for a young team, it was a loss however it’s the beginning of something bigger that we are building at Catford Fc’

The club secretary, Paige Arnold, was also their to watch and support the club in its first friendly and said ‘I enjoyed Catford FC Seniors first ever friendly playing AMG Ballerz on Saturday!
I thought the guys all played well individually and even showed moments of playing together as a team.
As said in the team talk, this is a great learning curve for the team and I’m confident in knowing they’ll improve fast once having got to know each other even better and play more games as a whole team.
Bring on the next friendly on 11th August!!’

Our next game is on Sunday the 11th away to Sanderstead Fc at Warbank Sports and Social Club