This weekend was crunch time. With one game left to play Coxhoe sat fourth in the league – 3 points behind joint second position Ousten and Houghton. A high scoring win for United and defeats for both those teams would mean silverware in the Coxhoe trophy cabinet.

Hilda Park Terriers were the opposition, and being a Division 1 team last season meant these 2 teams had never met before, but current league positions would suggest a win for Coxhoe should be on the cards. The Terriers had a different opinion and made life very difficult for Coxhoe in the opening minutes, having the majority of possession and creating more goal chances. The United defence were as resilient as ever and fended off the pressure during the first half.

Into the second half and a tactical change put Lee Saiger into Coxhoe’s attacking force. Almost immediately he made his height count when he was perfectly positioned to head home from a well taken corner to claim the only goal of the game.

Unfortunately, results in the other 2 games didn’t go Coxhoe’s way, but a well deserved fourth position (joint 3rd in points) is their highest finishing position since the team formed two seasons ago.

Final Result – Coxhoe United 1, Hilda Park 0. MoM – Lee Saiger

Under 10 Lions

Under 9s

Another big weekend of football was on the agenda for Coxhoe United Under 10's with everything to play for in the final stages of the cup league for the top 4 teams.

Fulwell Juniors were the first opposition of the day and United started brightly enough with a James Gilson strike finding the side netting on 2 minutes, and 30 seconds later taking the lead as Cameron Holdsworth slotted home from an Alex McGrath through ball. A 5 minute period of Fulwell pressure followed resulting in a well taken corner that was converted into the equalizer. Some resilient play from both teams followed with Jack Thirlaway, Stephen Wadge and Lee Saiger in goal defending stubbornly for Coxhoe.

The 2nd half saw fresh legs brought on in the form of Andrew Simpson up front and Jamie Appleby bolstering the defense pushing Jack Thirlaway forward into a midfield position. A couple of early Coxhoe chances, one from a free kick that was tipped out for a corner, and the second headed ball from Alex McGrath which took a fantastic save from the Fulwell keeper to retain the even goal count. With 5 minutes left to play, Lee Saiger pulled off a fantastic save from close range, then Coxhoe came straight back with a shot from an awkward angle beating the Juniors keeper so Cameron Holdsworth could claim his second. 

Final Score - Fulwell Juniors 1, Coxhoe United 2. MoM - Cameron Holdsworth 

Hetton Juniors were today's second opponents for Coxhoe and from the kick off they piled on the pressure showing their determination and ambition to finish in the top 2 this season. Several excellent runs from Curtis Bihari and some combination work between Curtis, James Gilson and finally the strike from Andrew Simpson forcing a great tip-over from the Hetton keeper. Chance after chance for Coxhoe followed in the 1st half but it was proving to be another day where the final ball couldn't be made to count.

United started brightly in the 2nd half with Curtis Bihari again being instrumental in many of the attacking moves. The Juniors didn't sit back, however, and broke through the Coxhoe defense on a couple of occasions, but Lee Saiger was quickly off his line both times to diffuse the situation. Coxhoe shots were coming from many different positions, including a half-way line rocket from Jack Thirlaway but nothing could penetrate the Juniors defense.

Final result - Coxhoe United 0, Hetton Juniors 0. MoM - Alex McGrath

After the disappointment of dropping 5 points in the previous 2 matches and falling to second in the league, the boys were keen to kick start their season again to get back onto winning ways. This was going to be tough as the weekend’s first opponents were Deerness Valley Bees who joined us this season from Division 1. Although they were sitting 6 places below Coxhoe, they demonstrated that they were aiming for higher things when after 2 minutes the United defence seemed rooted to the spot as the Bees sliced through to open the scoring. Coxhoe increased the pressure and began to string some decent passes together but couldn’t make it count. Deerness made Coxhoe regret some of their earlier misses, when on 9 minutes a high lob from an initial corner looped way above everyone’s heads and somehow managed to drop at the right time to squeeze just under the crossbar to double the advantage. The hard dry uneven ground was often making the ball bobble like a cabbage and it was just such an awkward bounce that led to the Bees 3^{rd on 12 minutes.}

^{United played like a different team in the 2nd half using their skill and passing abilities which had previously taken them to the top of the league, and it was Cameron Holdsworth who clawed a goal back 2 minutes into the 2nd half after breaking clear or the Bees defence and rounding the keeper skilfully. This opened up the game and the Bees keeper did really well to prevent Coxhoe closing the gap further after several good attempts on goal.}

^{Final Result – Coxhoe United 1, Deerness Valley 3. MoM – Jamie Appleby}

^{With the worry of falling further down the table, Coxhoe needed to put the results from the last 3 games behind them and start playing their normal football again. Both previous encounters with Easington Kites had been goalless – a score line that United needed to make sure didn’t happen today if they had any ambitions of silverware this season. Although the Kites tried to impose themselves early, with a powerful long distance shot within 20 seconds drifting harmlessly wide, but Coxhoe followed a minute later with 2 quick chances - the first being parried by the keeper and the second finding the side netting. Several minutes of hard fought midfield work followed until the deadlock was broken by United on the 9 minute mark by Andrew Simpson’s right wing shot that beat the Kites keeper and defender on the line.}

^{In the second half Coxhoe went from strength to strength playing some of the best football of the weekend, but the Easington keeper pulled of some tremendous saves to keep the game alive for the Kites. Their equaliser almost came from a corner with 4 minutes left to play as the Easington striker gathered the ball in front of goal and seemed to have an eternity to line up his shot without being closed down, but fortunately for Coxhoe the resulting strike hit the crossbar.}

^{Final Result – Easington Kites 0, Coxhoe Unit 1. Mom – Alex McGrath}

^{Under 10 Lions}

^{The first game of the weekend saw us up against one of the teams we have close links with Durham Athletic Clarets who we played in a pre-season friendly, the Lions were hoping for a better result today but we seemed still to be half asleep as we started the match slowly and gave the Clarets and early lead which they soon doubled to make it 2-0 mid way thru’ the first half. This seemed to wake us up as we began to play some football with the Ferryhill trio of Lewis and the 2 Kieren’s starting to work together in the middle of the park and the pace of Rhys upfront it looked like we could cause a few problems and Lewis was unlucky not to score as a chance in front of goal came up off his knee and went just wide, however after a couple of tactical changes we had our best spell of the match until the Clarets again pressed forward and scored 2 goals in quick succession to make it 4-0 at half time. After a wake up call at the interval we came out much more committed in the second half with Michael Wake performing well in a new midfield role and James and Jordan looking much stronger at the back as we began to press the Clarets defence and pass the all around more with the ever willing Joe Nixon working hard up front. With the hard ground and hot conditions we changed it again with the re-introduction of Rhys up front, Joe back into midfield and Michael moving back to his normal defensive position and we created a chance almost immediately as a long ball was chased down by Rhys and when the Clarets keeper fumbled it the empty net beckoned for our first goal of the day but the ball bobbled just as Rhys struck it and went just wide. Encouraged by this we pressed forward with neat passing setting Rhys away on goal and with only the keeper to beat his shot across goal looked to be heading for the back of the net but struck the post and rolled out to safety – was it going to be another one of those days in front of goal ??  As we tired in the heat the Clarets broke away again to score a 5th to leave the final score 5-0 but a much better second half performance from everyone.}

       ^{Coxhoe United 0  Durham Athletic Clarets 5 MOM : Kieren Latcham}  

^{The second game of the day put us up against another Durham team, this time it was Durham County Jets and we were looking for better things following the second half performance but yet again we started the game very slowly and gifted the Jets 2 early goals as the opposition broke thru’ the defence unchallenged to leave Mark Arnold with no chance of stopping the goals. It was again a rear guard action for most of the first half with the ever impressive Michael and Jordan doing there best to keep things at bay and when they were beaten Mark was on inspired form in the Coxhoe net. We created a couple of chances and forced a couple of corners from which we had our first chance of the game but it seemed lady luck was against us again as a goal bound shot struck one of our own players back sides to prevent a goal !!}

^{Lewis Myers created a couple of chances down the wing as he broke clear but our shooting boots seemed to have been left at home this weekend and just before the break the Jets increased their lead to 3-0. Just as in the first match the half time interval seemed to liven us up and we came out like a team again with some confidence to go at the Jets defence as we began the stronger team with Rhys up front causing problems with his pace and strength and it was a break down the right wing that he picked up and beat 2 defenders before coolly rounding the keeper and slotting the ball into the back of the net for our first goal of the weekend. The Jets picked up after that scare and had a determined spell of pressure which would have increased their lead but for some fantastic saves from Mark Arnold in the Coxhoe net, however the pressure began to tell but despite his heroics in goal the Jets finished the game the stronger to score 3 more times to leave the final score 6-1} 

^{Coxhoe United 1  Durham County Jets 6  - Scorer & MOM: Rhys Wayman}

^{Under 9s}

^{Under11 Girls}

<sup>U10 Girls  Coxhoe 0 v Willington 10

This was a difficult match as we only had 6 players . Willington are top of the league and the girls were not looking forward to this match as we lost 10-0 last time with a full team . We lost a few quick goals before the girls had got themselves together , but then they started working as a team , especially Bethany , Sophie and Ashleigh in defence , who guarded their goal strongly . As their confidence grew so did their attacking runs , with Sophie and Abigail making some daring runs for goal . Our fitness deserted us in the final minutes but overall a galliant effort .

U10 Girls   Coxhoe 0 v Deerness 5

Last game against Deerness had been a loss of 10 goals again , but the girls were determined that with even 6 players they were not going to lose this many again . They made me proud with their courage and determination . Sophie and Abigail deserved a good lie down after all the running they did in this match . We had several good chances for goal in this game and just lost out on the final strike . The team played excellently and look more like a team every time they step foot on the pitch . Remember they have only played together as a team from January</sup>

31 March/1 April

Beginning the weekend sitting on the top of the table, Coxhoe United were hopeful for a strong weekend to maintain their position and try to extend their lead.

The windy conditions against City of Durham Scorpions hampered any fluent passing attempts and it was 8 minutes before the first goal attempt which came from Jamie Appleby for Coxhoe – A hopeful lob that was caught by the wind to be carried over the Scorpions crossbar. United continued to press forward and followed 1 minute later with a Cameron Holdsworth right wing run and superb cross along the face of Durham’s goal, but his speedy run had left the rest of the Coxhoe attack lagging behind so no one was in the box to slot the ball home. More opportunities followed from Alex McGrath and a cheeky lob from Andrew Simpson, but the Scorpions keeper was equal to everything United could throw at him. Similarly the Coxhoe Defensive unit of Lee Saiger, Jack Thirlaway and Stephen Wadge were able to hold the Durham attack at bay.

A half time substitution saw Coxhoe add James Gilson up front in an attempt to find the opener, and he almost did exactly that within 2 minutes, but his shot needed more power to beat an on-form Durham Keeper. United continued to apply the pressure but were unable to find the final killer ball. Possibly the best opportunity came from a single handed attempt from Andrew Simpson, twisting and turning to weave through the Scorpion defence but the final shot lacked power and accuracy. Coxhoe’s final throw of the dice was to bring the fresh legs of Curtis Bihari into the attacking force after his MoM performance of last week but Durham’s response was to put every man behind the ball making it very difficult for Coxhoe to find a way through. However a gamble from James Gilson saw him through on goal, only to shoot high in his haste to beat an advancing Scorpion keeper. The final kick of the game was a corner for Durham which eluded every player on the field to drift beyond the goal. All credit must go to the Durham defence for retaining a clean sheet in light of the numerous attempts Coxhoe had on goal.

Final Score:- CoD Scorpions 0, Coxhoe United 0. MoM – Andrew Simpson.

South Tyneside Jets put their imposing physical presence to work in the 2^nd match of the day straight away with a powerful wind assisted shot which almost caught out Lee Saiger in the Coxhoe net, but he managed to take the energy out of the ball and it dropped to Stephen Wadge to clear. Lee Saiger again came to the rescue 2 minutes later to pull off a fantastic save from a Jets free kick that sliced between the bodies gathered in the United box. The effort was in vein as a few seconds later Tyneside found the back of the net with their opener that had looked inevitable from the kick off. The Tyneside pressure was relentless with another run up the wing and great cross, but Stephen Wadge was well positioned to take control and head it safely away. A heavy tackle on Cameron Holdsworth on 10 minutes meant he was forced off before he had a chance to show the Jets his pace and skill in this game, but Alex McGrath replaced him with similar determination.

Into the second half and Tyneside showed no signs of letting up and within 2 minutes they were on the attack again. Lee Saiger did well to narrow the angle, forcing the initial shot to hit the post, but the rebound fell into the path of another Tyneside attacker who slammed home to double the advantage. With Coxhoe’s defensive record so far this season being fantastic, this score line was a shock and heads started to go down, which inevitably led to a Tyneside 3^rd. Passing and control in this 2^nd game were not to the usual Coxhoe standard and the Jets 4^th added insult to injury. Even the determined efforts of Curtis Bihari, Andrew Simpson and Jack Thirlaway could not break through the Tyneside defence. With 2 minutes left on the clock, James Gilson was carried off with an injury to be replaced with Jamie Appleby who immediately burst through on goal, initially hitting the post but ultimately following up with a consolation goal with almost the last kick of the match.

Final Score:- Coxhoe United 1, South Tyneside Jets 4. MoM – Jack Thirlaway.

Under 10 Lions

First game of the day put us up against Byers Green Bees who we’d played in friendlies before the start of the season and they were always close games and this encounter in the league was no different, again a windy day didn’t help playing conditions, however from the start Coxhoe looked like a team who wanted to play some football. The boys played the ball well through midfield and looked to play with some width to stretch the Byers defence which we did with Keiran Latcham pulling the strings with lots of space in midfield and both Lewis and Joe taking on defenders out wide. We created a couple of chances up front with Rhys again looking dangerous, but it was a ball out wide that created the first goal, Joe Nixon picked the ball wide on the left wing, cut back inside and hit an unstoppable shot from just inside the touchline into the opposite top corner of the net.  A lead we well deserved at half time, into the second half and we carried on playing some nice football but Byers came back into the game but strong tackling at the back from Michael and James kept our lead intact until Byers broke clear to leave a 1 on 1 with Mark, who’s brave attempt to block the shot just failed as he was injured and Byers equalised. Our head didn’t go down and we pressed forward to try and get the winner, again it wasn’t our day in front of goal as again we failed to score from a number of chances and just to top off our bad luck a late strike from the edge of the box gave the Byers team a 2-1 win against the run of play.

CUFC 1 Byers Green Bees 2 - MoM: Rhys Wayman   

Our second game put us up against Washington Juniors who were a tall, quick side and from the kick off some neat passing and quick movement from the Washington side gave them an early lead and when a second was scored not long after it looked like one of those days, but this week the lads heads didn’t go down and we battled back into the game and to everyone’s credit we did it by trying to play some football. We always had to careful at the back as the quick break from Washington was always going to cause us problems but Michael and James again kept things in check along with some fine saves by our 1 legged goalkeeper Mark. With a re-shuffle in the second half Jordan moved back into defence and Rhys went on up front, we again created chances and opened up their defence again with some good passing which ended with a strike on goal only being parried by the keeper, the loose ball fell to the feet of Keiran Jowett who smashed it into the roof of the net for his first goal for Coxhoe and give us some hope of a result. For the next 5 minutes we gave the Washington defence a lot think about with chances for Lewis, Rhys and Keiran almost bringing us back into the game, but Washington’s speed and passing was always going to create more chances and a couple of late goals sealed the win for Washington.

CUFC 1 Washington Juniors 4 - MoM Keiran Jowett

Under 9s

At last the Lions started the day with 2 games to look forward to and certainly looked to be up for it as we started well against Anfield Plain with some good passing early on in midfield creating a chance up front for Kieran Jowett who just failed to test the keeper. The match progress much the same for the remainder of the first half with Coxhoe dominating play but unable to score a goal, an injury to Lewis Myers meant an early introduction to the game for Keiran Latcham as our domination increased, however just before the break a rare Anfield attack ended with them scoring from their only chance of the half. Heads didn’t go down at half time and we started the second half just as we had the first, again a lot of hard work from the midfield created chance after chance but it wasn’t to be our day as we found the Anfield keeper in inspired form and our luck ran out with shots going just wide or just over from Rhys, Keiran L and Keiran J. We also rattled the cross bar when a terrific strike from the edge of the box by Lewis Myers at last beat the keeper but agonisingly hit the underside of the bar and dropped for a defender to clear. The effort and commitment from all was 100% and we just had to count ourselves unlucky with the final score ending up 1-0 to Anfield, if it had been a boxing match the referee would have stopped it well before the final whistle.

Anfield Plain 1 CUFC 0 - MOM: Keiran Latcham

Our second game of the day put us up against Biscop Rangers and we started slowly as Biscop broke and scored an early goal to settle their nerves, we tried to pass the ball around in midfield and again created chances with Rhys Wayman back upfront causing problems for the Biscop defence. However it was the Coxhoe defence of Michael Wake and James Gaskell that were the busier as Biscop’s pressure earned them a second goal as the half progressed, an injury to Keiran Jowett caused a re-shuffle with Jordan Atkinson coming on in defence and James Gaskell moving into midfield however just before half time a third goal for Biscop saw our heads go down a little. The second half started with some nice passing between Joe Nixon / Keiran Latcham and Lewis Myers in the middle of the park as we again created chances but failed to hit the target, at the other end Mark Arnold and the Coxhoe defence were having a hard time against a quick and tricky Biscop attack who made it 4-0 after 5 minutes of the second half. After another Coxhoe break and chance the ball was cleared by the Biscop defence for a corner, this was crossed in by Keiran Latcham and it evaded everyone before hitting the back post and trickling across the line for our only goal of the day, not much reward for all of the chances we created in both games. The game ended with us getting tired and not tracking back to allow Biscop to score 3 late goals for a final score of 1-7. 

Coxhoe United 1 Biscop Rangers 7 - MOM: Keiran Latcham

Under 9s

The Under 11s game against Lumley took place in very difficult conditions with a gale force wind and driving snow showers. Coxhoe started the brighter and Macauley Smith forced a good save from the Lumley keeper after 5 minutes of play. An almost identical shot from Macauley after 10 minutes forced the keeper to knock the ball past the post and Ryan Mansfield scored from the resulting corner. When Evan Teggert went close on the 15 minute mark it looked as if Coxhoe were going to run away with the game but Lumley broke away and the well struck shot just drifted past the post. Lewis Dodsworth had a shot on goal two minutes later but the shot was easily dealt with by the Lumley keeper. United continued to press forward but Lumley looked dangerous on the break and went close on another couple of occasions. Lee Milburn scored on the stroke of half time to make the score 2-0 in Coxhoe’s favour going into the break.

Lumley were far stronger in the second half and pulled a goal back after 5 minutes courtesy of a beautifully struck free kick. Two minutes later Ryan Mansfield almost restored United’s two goal advantage but his shot drifted past the post. Coxhoe were stung when Lumley scored twice at 12 & 20 minutes, again with superbly taken free kicks and after all their hard work United found themselves 3-2 down but the Coxhoe boys never know when they are beaten and Lee Milburn scored his second of the game two minutes before the final whistle to even the game and maintain Coxhoe’s unbeaten league run for 2007.

Final Score - Lumley 3  Coxhoe United 3 - MoM Christopher Cartner

Under 10s

COXHOE UNITED v TYNESIDE JUNIORS

The weather was bright and a bit more than breezy when Coxhoe kicked off the game playing into a strong wind. James Gilson had a chance for Coxhoe in the first minute of the game, shooting just wide from a Cameron Holdsworth pass. Tyneside had their first chance in the next minute which was turned around the post for a corner by Lee Saiger in the Coxhoe goal. The subsequent corner was cleared by the Coxhoe defence. After 4 minutes the Tyneside keeper made a terrific save from an Alex McGrath shot that was heading for the top corner of the net, following a great knock down by James Gilson. Coxhoe broke the deadlock from the resulting corner when James Gilson, lurking at the back post, looped the ball over the Tyneside keeper; the strong wind doing it’s best to keep the ball out of the net, but the referee deemed the ball over the line. More great work by James Gilson after 7 minutes lead to another Coxhoe corner that was taken short to Jamie Appleby who blasted a shot just over the bar. Coxhoe were managing to play well despite the tricky conditions and Stephen Wadge was marshalling the defence to cope with Tyneside’s direct attacks with the wind at their backs. Coxhoe front man James Gilson was a constant threat so it was no surprise when he doubled Coxhoe’s lead after 14 minutes, following up to score after the Tyneside keeper had made another good save from a Cameron Holdsworth effort. Tyneside responded immediately with a shot on target that was comfortably saved by Lee Saiger to bring the first half action to a close, with Coxhoe leading 2-0.

 Coxhoe began the second half with the wind behind them and immediately went on the attack with an Alex McGrath shot going just wide after a good exchange of passes with Cameron Holdsworth. Coxhoe kept up the pressure and good work from Curtis Bihari after 3 minutes of the half resulted in a Coxhoe corner, taken by Jamie Appleby and turned in at the near post by Alex McGrath. Tyneside were finding it difficult to get the ball forward as Coxhoe were making good use of the wind advantage and both Jamie Appleby and Andrew Simpson just failed to score with long range efforts. After 9 minutes a good interchange of passes involving James Gilson, Curtis Bihari and Andrew Simpson finished with a Jamie Appleby shot going just wide. Coxhoe eventually managed to break through the stubborn Tyneside defence again after 10 minutes when good work from Andrew Simpson found Jamie Appleby on the right wing who beat the Tyneside defence before unselfishly squaring the ball across the face of the goal for James Gilson to complete his hat-trick. Jack Thirlaway almost made it 5-0 in the last minute of the game when he received a throw in and tried his luck from long range that went just wide.

 The game ended with a convincing 4-0 victory to Coxhoe.

 Coxhoe’s Man of the Match was their target man and hat-trick hero James Gilson.

COXHOE UNITED v WHEATLEY HILL ROCKETS

A change of pitch meant that Wheatley Hill kicked off the game with a strong cross-wind that rendered an exciting game between the top two sides in the division almost impossible. However, both sides did their best to play controlled football but it was Wheatley Hill who adapted slightly better to the conditions. Early Rockets pressure lead to a good save from Lee Saiger in the Coxhoe goal after 3 minutes, the Rockets hitting the bar from the resulting corner kick. Coxhoe fought their way more into the game around the seven minute mark and had two good efforts in the space of a minute, from Andrew Simpson and Alex McGrath, both saved by the Rockets keeper. The Rockets counter attacked and it took a brave save from Lee Saiger, diving at the feet of a Rockets forward, to prevent them taking the lead. The strong wind continued to hinder both teams and it was no surprise when the fairly even first half ended 0-0.

 The second half continued in similar vein to the first with Wheatley Hill creating the early pressure with a good effort on goal going just over the bar after 2 minutes, and Coxhoe coming more into the game as the half progressed. The weather conditions generally lead to a stalemate with both sides finding it difficult to create any clear cut chances. However, Coxhoe’s Jack Thirlaway did manage to intercept a pass out of the Wheatley Hill defence after 10 minutes, but his effort was foiled by the Rockets keeper. The Rockets almost stole all three points late in the game when a pass across the face of the goal missed the on-rushing forwards and went out for a throw in. It was a shame that this eagerly awaited match between these two sides was spoiled by the weather conditions; the game ending 0-0. Coxhoe keeper Lee Saiger, along with Stephen Wadge and Jamie Appleby in the Coxhoe defence, once again managing to keep a clean sheet; their fifth in six games.

Final Score Coxhoe United 0  Wheatley Hill Rockets 0 

 Coxhoe’s Man of the Match was hardworking midfielder Alex McGrath.

After a long wait with our first game being cancelled the Lions faced Washington United Tigons on a very windy day, the wait and the wind worked against us as the Lions started slowly and it was Washington that had most of the early play with a number of good chances wasted and some resolute defending from Jordan Atkinson and James Gaskell. An early injury to Joe Nixon meant Lewis Myers, our only sub for the day, was early into the action, and after the shaky start we got back into the game for the last 5 minutes of the first half with some good passing in midfield from Keiran Latcham and Keiran Jowett and we closed the half with a couple of good breaks from Lewis and Rhys Wayman our only chances as it ended 0-0 at half time.

The wind got even stronger in the second half which made playing football very difficult and a serious of corners for Washington ended with the first goal of the game, as  a half cleared corner was forced into the net by the Washington attack. Going behind seemed to spur the Lions on and after a couple of missed opportunities a break down the right by Rhys Wayman saw a cross come and it looked like Lewis Myers would score but he missed his kick and the ball ended up at the feet of Keiran Latcham who coolly put the ball into the back of the net to level the scores. The game open up after that and the Lions should have gone behind but a number of superb saves from Mark Arnold somehow kept the ball out of the net and us in the game however as we looked to press forward to snatch a winner we were caught on the break with Washington pushing forward with a 4v2 attack which ended up with late goal for Washington as the score ended 2-1.

Coxhoe United 1 Washington 2 - MOM Mark Arnold / Keiran Latcham

Under 9s

Under 8s

Coxhoe started their only game of the day slowly with Willington Blues applying all the pressure, Coxhoe could not hold out and went into the break 2-0 down.  Coxhoe were out of the box quickly in the secod half and upt the tempo with some nice one/two passing between Bobby Goundry and new signing James Calkin which resulted in a good shot been saved by the keeper. Coxhoe applied more pressure with Ben Crampton twice going close. Despite all the good play in the second half Coxhoe still could not find the net.

Final Score Coxhoe United 0 - Willington Blues 2 - MoM - Bobby Goundry.

Under 10 Girls

Congratulations Girls , this was our first win in the league and a well deserved one at that . The whole team played strongly from the start . They were determined to win this game as Blaydon were just below them on goal difference . The wind made the game difficult , but the girls battled and made lots of attacking runs with Sophie Whiting regularly pushing up from defence . Finally , Sophie crossed a ball into the box and Abigail Griffiths banged it in the net . I have never seen so many parents jumping around the side line , it was a sight to see . 
Final Score Coxhoe United 1  Blaydon 0

The girls started this game full of confidence after the win . Swallwell are one of the strongest teams in this league , but also one of the friendliest . Although the score suggests we lost easily it was not the case . The girls had many attacks , but this time the ball would not cross the line . Ashleigh Stores had a very strong game keeping their left wing tightly marked and Holly Crozier our goalkeeper was amazing, with save after save . It is just a matter of time until this team wins again . Well done all!!!!!!!!  

Final Score Coxhoe United 0  Swalwell Juniors 6

COXHOE UNITED v SEAHAM ALLSTARS

In this first ever meeting between the two teams Coxhoe kicked off in overcast conditions with a strong crosswind. Coxhoe had the better of the early exchanges with an Alex McGrath effort just over the bar after 2 minutes, and an Andrew Simpson shot on goal blocked by the Seaham defence. Seaham came more into the game around the five-minute mark and forced a couple of corners that came to nothing. The difficult conditions generally made the game a midfield stalemate, however, Coxhoe finished the half the stronger with a good fluent passing move finishing with an Alex McGrath shot saved, with the follow-up by Curtis Bihari blocked. Coxhoe then forced four corners in succession that resulted in nothing more than a shot from Stephen Wadge just going wide of the post. Seaham countered with an effort that was well saved by Lee Saiger in the Coxhoe goal. Then a great attacking move by Coxhoe at the end of the half resulted in a Jamie Appleby shot just over the bar. Both teams were evenly matched with Coxhoe probably just shading the half in terms of chances created.

Coxhoe had the better chances early in the second half and took the lead after three minutes when Andrew Simpson finished well, shooting past the Seaham keeper following a pass from Alex McGrath. James Gilson replaced the hard working Curtis Bihari after four minutes and added fresh legs to the Coxhoe attack. However, Seaham were becoming more determined in an effort to hit back and had a shot well saved by Lee Saiger. Seaham continued to keep up the pressure, but Stephen Wadge and Jack Thirlaway remained solid in the Coxhoe defence. Seaham continued to push for an equaliser but were almost caught out by a couple of Coxhoe counter attacks from Andrew Simpson and Jamie Appleby. The entertaining game between these two evenly matched sides ended with a 1-0 win for Coxhoe.

Coxhoe’s Man of the Match was their speedy wingback Jamie Appleby.

COXHOE UNITED v SHOTTON BOYS

In their second game of the day against Shotton Boys Coxhoe were looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the cup campaign. They had a blistering start in the first minute of the game with a well-taken Andrew Simpson goal from a James Gilson pass. Shotton hit back immediately with a couple of shots just wide, the second of which hit a parent spectator on the back of the head, much to the amusement of everyone. Coxhoe continued to push for a second goal with good efforts on goal from Alex McGrath and Jamie Appleby. However, they didn’t have things all their own way as Shotton had several attacks of their own, the best of which was well saved by Lee Saiger at the near post. Towards the end of the half Coxhoe continued to press forward and both James Gilson and Curtis Bihari were unlucky not to score. In the final minute of the half Coxhoe did increase their lead with Alex McGrath’s left foot finish after great build-up play from James Gilson, Andrew Simpson and Curtis Bihari.