Layerfield welcomed back James Kennerley following a break due to educational commitments (that's what he is supposed to be doing anyway), and Paul Palfrey who came out of retirement to replace Paul Sims.

Prior to the match the players gathered in the centre circle for a minutes silence in memory of the late Marc-Vivien Foe, which was impeccably observed by all the players and Andy Winfield in the balcony stand.

Palfrey marked his return with the first goal of the evening, deflecting a Karl Horspool shot past LFC England's first keeper Steve Suckling. Karl, Martyn Ager and Paul went on to increase the lead before Adam Canning and Dan Harris pulled some goals back. Half time score was 11-7.

Tony Warren played a more attacking role in the second half for LFC Col U, and this paid off as he scored 4 goals, his first Layerfield hat-trick.

Mark Ager had his usual solid game in goal for LFC Col U, whilst at the other end Steve Suckling and Dan Harris both made some good saves....so did Danny Macklin's face!

By the end of the night everyone wondered if Karl knew how to tie up his laces, he spent about half of the game with only one shoe on. But he did score the last goal of the game to make the score 21-11.

Dan Harris moved on to 98 goals. The big 100 will almost certainly happen in his next game...is he getting a special vest printed to wear under his shirt for a celebration?

Sunday 25th May 2003: Layerfield 2-10 FC Braintree

Layerfield welcomed FC Braintree to Colchester Leisure World for the first time, and FC Braintree were just as good on their travels. Due to various reasons, Layerfield put out a makeshift team containing only 3 Colchester based players. 1 of those, Steev Tovey, was making his debut.

Layerfield started the game very well and FC Braintree couldn't find a break through till after 10 minutes. This coincided with the arrival of their 2 rolling subs. Something Layerfield didn't have the pleasure of using.

Layerfield went in at half time 4-0 down. This would have been a much higher score if it were not for the defensive work of Martyn Ager, and superb goalkeeping by his brother Mark.

FC Braintree made it 5 just after half-time but then Adam Canning gave Layerfield a little hope with a neat finish. However this hope was short lived as FC Braintree continued to dominate.

Steve Suckling added a controversial second. Having charged down young keeper Jonnie Crow the ball cannoned off his arm into the net. Although he tried in vein to disallow the goal FC Braintree were overly keen to kick off, so the goal stood.

Tom Marshall went on to add a last minute penalty after a silly handball by Martyn Ager.

I would like to thank everyone who turned up to play, they all gave 100%. And FC Braintree for travelling to Colchester.

Sunday 20th April 2003: FC Braintree 10-3 Layerfield

Layerfield got of to the worst possible start by conceding a goal within the first minute, and from there on in FC Braintree went from strength to strength. At 3-0 down Paul Sims showed some skill and turned the FC Braintree defence inside out before scoring.

The other 2 goals came late in the game, Martyn Ager scored having made a rare run up field from defence. And Paul Sims scored a powerful shot very late on.

Both teams could have scored more goals. Layerfield's finishing was poor, and numerous FC Braintree attacks were stopped by the superb Martyn Ager or Mark Ager in goal. Martyn was defiantly man of the match.

During the game Tom Marshall scored his 75th goal for FC Braintree.

Layerfield now look forward to facing new opposition on Sunday 4th May. We take on Colchester United Messageboard Football Club at Colchester Leisure World.

Sunday 6th April 2003: Layerfield City 7-9 Layerfield Park Avenue

City raced to a 3-0 lead within a few minutes, but Park Avenue worked hard to pull the score back to 3-3. However Karl Horspool put city ahead on the stroke of half time.

Within 30 seconds of the restart Park Avenue were back on level terms. Steve Suckling curled the ball round the amazing Mark Ager, only for the ball to hit the far post, thankfully Chris Putt was on hand to score from the rebound. Park Avenue went on to dominate the half, with leading scorer Dan Harris eventually scoring after good build up play.

Chris Putt scored 5 goals on his outfield debut, and Adam Canning scored twice for City on his return to the team. Dan Harris took his club tally to 83, and Karl Horspool moved on to 49 goals.

Sunday 2nd March 2003: Hertha Layerfield 12-17 Tennis Borussia Layerfield

Although the score line may suggest otherwise, this was not an overly convincing victory for Tennis Borussia. They were made to work hard and it was mainly down to hard work by Tom Marshall who scored 9 goals, taking his tally to 15 in 3 games. Mark Ager also made many fine saves and even scored his first goals for the club in his 15th game.

Martyn Ager scored a hat-trick and Steve Suckling added 1. Danny Macklin contributed 2 goals before he left the field early due to illness.

If it were not down to occasional poor finishing by Dan Harris, Paul Sims and Karl Horspool, Hertha Layerfield could very easily won this game. However Dan and Karl did score 4 each and Paul added 2. Paul Palfrey scored 2 after he had given his old, smelly gloves to Tony Warren. You really do need some new gloves Paul!!!

Both teams had 1 goal disallowed. Tennis Borussia for stepping inside the goal area and Hertha for a controversial hand ball by Paul Sims on his way through on goal.

I think everyone enjoyed playing at the new venue, and am sure it will be used again in the future.

Sunday 22nd December: FC Braintree 18-1 Layerfield

Just days before Christmas, Layerfield fell to a huge defeat at the hands of FC Braintree. This game was played at FCB’s usual home and they ran out comfortable winners by 18 goals to 1. Our goal was scored very late on by Adam Canning.

Sunday 27th October: FC Braintree 12-11 Layerfield

It was the weekend of gale force winds, which left most of Braintree and the surrounding area without power. But at 6:30pm it was confirmed that Braintree Leisure Centre still had electricity and was open for business as usual. Therefore it came as a huge surprise that when arriving at the Leisure Centre that the gates were closed and people were being turned away due to a power cut! Both the Layerfield and FC Braintree squads gathered beside the roundabout by the locked gate and tried to think of alternative venues. The 2 other sports centres in Braintree were either fully booked or without power. And no reply could be gained from leisure centres in Witham and Colchester. It was then that Danny Shipton suggested the 5 a-side pitch at the Braintree Recreation Ground. After a couple of phone calls, and a delayed kick-off Layerfield faced FC Braintree at a neutral venue.

Despite going a few goals down early on, Layerfield did very well to claw their way back into the game, and lose by only 1. The final score being FC Braintree 12 – 11 Layerfield. Perhaps it was the neutral ground that made the teams slightly more evenly matched than usual?
 

Sunday 25th August: Layerfield-Saint-Germain 15-14 Racing Club de Layerfield

There were 3 new faces in the 2 squads for this first match following a 2 week 'holiday break'. Chris Putt played in goal for LSG and made many good saves although FC Braintree team mate  Tom Marshall, making his debut for Racing Club, nut-megged him on one occasion! Also making his debut was Matt HRSC (Highwoods Recreation and Sports Centre) who came in at very short notice to replace Paul Sims who failed to arrive. Matt usually sits behind the reception desk at the sports centre.

The match was very close for the whole hour. James Kennerley finally found form for the first time this season. He managed 5 goals, one from the most acute angle. This was the first time James has scored more than 1 goal since the 9th of June when Athletico Layerfield lost to Real Layerfield. Hopefully James will continue his scoring form in future games.

Dan Harris and Karl Horspool continued where they left off 2 weeks ago, Dan scored 7 times for LSG and Karl got 5 for Racing Club. Dan could have had many more as he wasted multiple chances.

Prior to playing his customery 15 minutes on pitch Paul Palfrey made a major error. His throw from his area was intercepted by manager Steve Suckling who had time to place the ball into the far corner leaving the embarrassed Paul no chance! Paul however made amends by netting 4 times during his spell on pitch.

Whilst Paul was on pitch Matt HRSC put on the gloves and proved he was an adequate keeper. Whilst on pitch Matt had linked up well with fellow debutant Tom Marshall. Matt got 2 goals and Tom scored a hat-trick.

In defence Tony, for Racing Club, and Martyn, for LSV, made life difficult for the strikers. Tony failed to score but set up many attacks and Martyn scored once, keeping his scoring record above 1 per game.

Towards the end of the game we saw the first foul tackle in any 5 a-side Layerfield have played. Paul Palfrey clattered into Steve Suckling after he had passed the ball. A tackle that would have been worthy of a yellow card in any game with a referee. Perhaps Paul was trying to get back Steve for humiliating him earlier in the match? You will be pleased to know that I can now feel my leg again, although I still have a large bruise!

We hope that Chris Putt, Tom Marshall and Matt HRSC enjoyed their evening and would be happy to play for Layerfield again in the future. Tom commented after the game "I always wanted to play in France!"

Sunday 4th August: SK Slavia Layerfield 8-28 AC Sparta Layerfield

Despite taking an early 3-0 lead SK Slavia Layerfield could not compete with AC Sparta Layerfield. Steve Suckling and Danny Macklin had given them a 3-goal start.

But very quickly AC Sparta Layerfield found their feet and took complete control of the game. Dan Harris continued his excellent run of form and scored 9 goals.

But the hero of the night had to be Karl Horspool. He scored 13 goals, most of them he created himself and were superb. Karl is making his way to the 50-goal mark very quickly. He is now joint 4th highest scorer.

Paul Sims scored a second half hat trick. Those 3 goals took him to a grand total of 50 Layerfield goals, only the second player to reach this milestone. Well done Paul.

Having made some good saves in goal, Paul Palfrey again decided to try his luck on pitch. I bet he was glad he did………Paul scored 4 goals. For one of the goals he passed 3 SK Slavia players before placing the ball in the top corner. Paul is the first goalkeeper to score for Layerfield (although Mark Ager hasn’t tried) and his cumulative goal total is now 3. He has written of the own goal he scored last season.

Tony Warren made his return to the squad and again failed to score, despite playing the second half up front.

AC Sparta Layerfield’s performance must not be looked upon lightly, they played about 20 minutes with only 4 men, as James Kennerley had to leave the field of play, and still managed to record a 20 goal victory.

During the match Paul Palfrey hurt his hand and Steve Suckling sustained suspected ankle ligament damage following a strong tackle with James Kennerley. Within 2 days Steve was fit to play again, Paul is OK too.