Crusaders Football Club

💛 U11s 💚

Crusaders Girls U-11 welcomed Knowle, Haunchwood and Solihull Moors (With a sprinkling of Alvechurch in those teams to ensure numbers) for a friendly tournament at rowheath this morning in pretty damp and miserable conditions.

It was a good mornings football and a chance for the girls to blow off the cobwebs from the summer. Each team played each other once and then a penalty shoot our comp at the end.

Knowle ran out as champions for the day. The season starts in earnest next week for yellows as they face Northfield Town. Greens who weren’t in action today will have a friendly vs Leafield Storm.

Lots of development and fun ahead!!

💛 U8s 💚

Crusaders Girls U-8’s had their 3rd ever game in a friendly vs CCC’s. CCC’s again had played more football than us and had a girl who had played all last season up a year and was very dominant today.

The game started off really equal with goals being exchanged and the score relatively close With Lyra getting a first half hat trick, but CCCs pulled away just before the break with their talented player scoring all the goals.

We rallied in the second half and probably had most the play to begin with and had a hatful of chances with Lyra adding to her tally and Connie getting her account underway.

It wasn’t to be however and we lost narrowly in the end but gave a good account of ourselves and made loads of improvements notably the amount of tackles we made and the amount of chances we created.

Another friendly next week vs Starlight Strikers.

Parents player was Lyra, that’s 9 goals in 3 games for her which is phenomenal. Coaches player was Maggie who did everything but score on multiple occasions. But all the girls played really well.

Nice moment for Lily and Grace today who made their debut for the ladies team after coming through the clubs pathway since U9’s and U10s 💛💚

Crusaders FC reaches out to Zimbabwe: Kit Donation to Biri Primary School

Crusaders FC is proud to announce a donation of football kit and footballs to Biri Primary School in Portlet, Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe. The gesture reflects the club's commitment to spreading the love of football beyond its own community and supporting young players who might not otherwise have access to proper equipment.

The donated kit will help kit out a full team of players at the school, while the footballs will allow more children to take part in training and matches at once. For many pupils, this may be their first experience playing with proper football equipment something Crusaders FC hopes will encourage participation, teamwork, and a lasting love of the game.

This donation forms part of Crusaders FC's wider outreach efforts, as the club continues to look for ways to give back both locally and further afield during its milestone anniversary year.

The equipment was personally delivered by Claudia who was overwhelmed with their gratitude. 💛💚

💛 U7s 💚

Crusaders Girls U-7 (Next season U-8) had their second ever game today vs Knowle. We had an early KO to avoid the heat and played 4x10 min sections to allow for plenty of water.

Last time the difference was age 🙈 this time the difference was experience with Knowle having played friendlies every week for a few months.

Cru however started the brighter with some good passing play and the first goal with Lyra adding to her tally. We were pegged back though and then Knowle started to make their experience and match sharpness tell. We did get another goal again through Lyra but Knowle were comfortable in terms of scoreline.

What I was most proud of today is the girls grew so much in confidence as the game progressed. Girls who were unsure at the start were flying into tackles by the end. There was some good ball mastery on show with drag back turns and stop turns galore and we definitely looked to pass the ball and had some good goal scoring chances towards the end.

Lots to work on but the girls came off happy which is the main thing.

Parents player was Serena who I think embodied the journey of the team. She really grew into the game and by the end was tackling, passing and almost got a goal.

Coaches player was Connie, played 3 different positions, really got stuck in. Worked hard off the ball to help defend and made some good dribbles with the ball.

Special mention to Lyra who now had 4 goals in two games!

I’m really excited to see this team develop. When they get some more experience they’ll be a tough team to beat 💪

💛 U10s 💚

Crusaders Girls U-10 Girls Yellow and Green brought 25/26 season to a close with a tournament at Silverdale.

Yellows started brightly with a win and were unlucky to concede late vs the eventual group winners in their second game. We then had two disappointing draws against teams we really should’ve beaten, one team literally didn’t get into our half we just couldn’t score. A win in both of those games would’ve seen us through IMO but instead we went into the last game already out and lost to a solitary own goal. The girls played well, we were not out played by anyone, but with only top two going through then two draws will always cost you. Something to work on.

Greens had a fantastic tournament. Picking up two wins with new girl Tuba opening up her account and, despite having no subs, some real spirited matches against some top opponents. The last game they went in with a possibility of progressing but it’s fair to say they’d given it everything and unfortunately it wasn’t to be and they lost to eventual finalists.

It was a good effort from both teams. We have now finished for the summer after a long season.

I thank coaches Sue, Olly, Jimmy, Paddy and Ian for their support this season. We have a great family of 25 girls accross both squads. It’ll be a new look for 26/27 but for now, some welcome weekends off.

💛 U8s 💚

U8s returned to tournament football today at Birmingham County FA, and after not playing together for a couple of months, the boys were outstanding from start.

We got off to the perfect start with two convincing victories, winning 6-0 and 3-0. The football was excellent, with great teamwork, energy and determination, and to come back together after such a long break and perform like that was fantastic to see.

Our third game ended in a 4-2 defeat, but the score didn’t reflect how competitive the game was. The boys responded brilliantly, showing great character to bounce back with a 1-0 win in the next match. On another day we could, and probably should, have scored a few more goals.

As the tournament went on, the heat and lack of recent match fitness started to take its toll. We lost our final group game, but hard work meant we would reach the semi-finals.

In the semi-final, the lads gave absolutely everything but eventually ran out of steam, losing to the team who went on to win the tournament. There is no shame in that, and every player can be incredibly proud of their efforts.

One of the biggest positives from the day was that every single player contributed with either a goal or an assist, showing what a true team performance it was. It’s also no coincidence that every one of our victories came with a clean sheet, highlighting the commitment and hard work of the whole squad, from front to back.

A huge well done to all the boys. Their attitude, teamwork and resilience throughout the day were brilliant, and they represented Crusaders with pride. There are plenty of positives to take forward, and if today is anything to go by, this group has an exciting season ahead as U9’s

💛 PLAYER RECRUITMENT 💚

Our U12s are recruiting head of the new season - details below ⬇️

💛 U10s 💚

Crusaders Girls U-10 Yellows and Green headed to Rugby Borough Women and Girls for our penultimate tournament of the season.

It’s always a well run tournament and great to play teams from outside the CWGFL.

Greens started well with two draws including against eventual Europa League winners Royce Rangers Roses. But then a couple of losses saw them enter the Europa League section of the tournament and they were unfortunately knocked out in the QF by the hosts Rugby Borough.

Yellows started slowly with a draw despite dominating possession, they then rallied for a convincing win against Rugby Borough before a bizarre loss to Rugby town where it felt like we had most of the ball but just got stung.

Still made it Into the champions league section of the tournament and we played against Coalville who we’d drew against earlier. Another game where we had all the big chances but didn’t take them and it went to penalties. Unfortunately we struggled again and Coalville progressed.

It was a hot day and both teams did amazingly well in a good level tournament.

We finish off 25/26 next weekend over at Silverdale.

💛 U10s 💚

Crusaders Girls U-10 Yellow and Green took part in a tournament at BCFA headquarters today which had a stacked roster.

Greens, with a bare 7 squad in quite challenging conditions aquitted themselves really well and did exactly what Coach Sue and Olly asked of them which was to keep trying their best vs teams they wouldn’t usually have to play in their usual season.

Yellows managed 3 wins 2 draws and 2 losses in the group stage only conceding 2 goals and getting results against some strong teams. The big match however was yellows vs greens which ended in an amicable draw.

Both teams would however stumble at the quarter final stage with greens losing to eventual winners Leafield and Yellows losing on penalties to Gornal.

Myself, Ian, Sue and Olly are so proud of all the girls today who threw everything at their matches and we come home with our heads held high.

We both travel to a tournament in Rugby next weekend.