Ashby Ivanhoe Knights U9s

𝙁𝙄𝙓𝙏𝙐𝙍𝙀 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙉𝙂𝙀
Our game vs Heather Hornets tomorrow morning is postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. However we sorted a friendly match.
🆚Woodville Rangers
⏰ 10:00am kick off
📆 tomorrow. Sat 2nd March
📍 Measham leisure centre 3G pitch

NEXT FIXTURE⚽️ Home
🆚Heather Hornets
📆Saturday 2nd March
🕰️9am kick off
📍The NFU

Our match this morning vs Heather Hornets is postponed.

💙❤️

NEXT FIXTURE|Away
📆 Saturday 24th February
🕰️ 11:15am kick off
🆚 Heather Hornets
📍 Ravenstone Road

An unfortunate loss today but not by many goals. We played really really well. Great improvements made and clear the lads have listened. They are the best group of lads and we are proud of that performance they put in today. The support was excellent as usual for us and we echo what one said “it felt like a win”. Roll on next week. Up The Knights!! ⚔️⚽️🔵🔴 Player of the match 🏆Jude9

MATCH DAY⚽️
This morning we travel to Atherstone to take on Atherstone Rangers Thunder FC, Kick off 10am.
Up The Knights ⚔️
🔵🔴

GAME ON!
As it stands tomorrow’s game vs Atherstone Rangers Thunder is going ahead as planned ⚽️🔵🔴

𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐁 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 | 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃-𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐄, 𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 + 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏𝐒

On behalf of Ashby Ivanhoe FC, we are aware of the ever increasing frustration being encountered by our coaches, players, parents and supporters on the number of games that have and continue to be cancelled. This frustration is replicated through the whole of the management team, who work tirelessly to try to provide good quality facilities for our teams to play football on.

The extent and timing of rain that we have had since October has been unbelievable and has caused havoc for numerous clubs including Professional teams throughout the country.

We understand that games being cancelled has an impact on people, with both disappointment and expense, in the event of fixture reversals for our junior teams. The club have looked into alternative venues but most are booked up and the lack of 5 v 5 and 7 v 7 aside pitches on Hood Park, Westfields and Western Park does not help our cause.

However, whilst we cannot change what has happened this season, we wish to inform you of some of the history and AIFC’s plans to try to improve our pitches for next season.

The club has recently invested in trial holes, which shows that in normal circumstances, there is a high water table which is approximately 1200mm below the surface. The ground conditions are made up of 300mm thick topsoil, a 1500mm band of firm sandy clay containing fragments of sandstone which sits on a further 4300mm thick weathered layers of siltstone and sandstone. Currently, the water is sitting 75mm below the surface of our pitches.

The club senior management and ground staff are in regular dialogue on pitch preparation and maintenance procedures with the County FA and we are guided by recommendations from the Grounds Management Association (GMA) and Sport England. Over the last few seasons, their recommendations have been that the club need to improve their maintenance on the pitches and significant investment has been made on machinery and appointing Leicester City Turf Academy to undertake the maintenance regime advised by the GMA. The benefits of this were evident last season, but the extent of rain has prevented maintenance being undertaken and resulted in the cancellation of matches and training.

In December, following an emergency meeting with the County FA, the Football Foundation and GMA, they have sanctioned the club to look into primary and secondary drainage on the main pitch, and as a result the club have obtained designs, quotations and applied for grant funding for these works. We await their approval but it is planned that the drainage works will take place after the season has finished, ready for next season.

In addition, the club have recognized that the junior pitches, soccer school and training areas need some drainage and whilst funding is not available this year, it may follow next year, should the drainage proof to be successful. Therefore, again in discussions with the relevant organizations, the club are in advanced negotiations with a contractor to undertake a number of bore holes up to 6000mm deep to assist with the release of ground water. Such works are planned for this summer.

The above will need significant investment by the club to support any available grants and the AIFC Directors are looking into how the club can make this happen.

The first team face a serious fixture backlog of home matches and need to complete the season by 6th April. With the weather not looking at relenting any time soon, the club have taken the unprecedented decision to temporarily ‘ground share’ and are pleased to advise that Quorn Football Club have agreed to allow us to use their 3G pitch for the forthcoming Newark and Sherwood, Wisbeach, Skegness and Sleaford games. Whilst monitoring the weather, the club have further opportunities with Quorn of which negotiations are ongoing. We have a loyal fan base and hope that you will travel to support Andy and the team.

In the meantime, the ground staff will commit to trying to get the senior, junior pitches and soccer and development school areas playable and further updates will follow.

The club are in the process of arranging some questions and answer sessions and dates will be released after the weekend.

We hope that you find the above information of interest and shows the club’s commitment to everyone associated with the club and we thank you for your continuing support.

Jon, Neil and Derrick
AIFC CIC Directors

NEXT FIXTURE|Away
🆚 Atherstone Rangers Thunder
📆 Saturday 17th February
🕰️ 10am kick off
📍Royal Meadow Drive, Atherstone
🔵🔴

This mornings match vs Heather Hornets is postponed due to a waterlogged Pitch.

NEXT FIXTURE|Away
🆚 Heather junior hornets
📆 Saturday 10th Feb
🕰️ 10am
📍 Ravenstone Rd, Heather
🔵🔴

Due to FA rules we aren’t actually allowed to post the exact score at this age level which we were unaware of, we can only advise if we won, lost or drew. Today was a loss but it was a much more positive performance this week and the score line doesn’t reflect how well we did play. We’re proud of every single player for putting in a shift today. They battled well throughout the game and kept going & most of all had fun out there. Definitely positives to take and things we can work on. We’re getting stronger 👊 Up the knights!!!!! Keep going lads it will come. 🔵🔴⚽️

MATCH DAY⚽️
Ambleside Juniors Allstars|Home
Kick off 10:30am
Up the knights! 🔵🔴

Happy Birthday to today’s captain Joseph! 🎉🔵🔴

🔜 Knights v Ambleside 🔵🔴

Happy Birthday to our defender Dexter!! 🎉

NEXT FIXTURE| HOME

🆚Ambleside Junior Allstars
📆 Saturday February 3rd
⏱️kick off 10:30am
📍The NFU Sportsground

We will get there ⚔️

Well done to the lads for keeping their heads held high. You will always do us proud. We will keep working on our game. We’re a team 🔵🔴
Up the knights!

MATCH DAY⚽️

Cotton Farm Rangers, away. 10am.
Up the knights 🔵🔴⚔️

🔜 Cottage Farm Rangers

NEXT FIXTURE
🆚 Cottage Farm Rangers
📆 Saturday 27th January
⏱️10am kick off
📍Tamworth enterprise college

We’re now on Team stats where you can get latest club news, match reports & player stats. 🔵🔴⚽️

wwww.teamstats.net

Match postponed.
Unfortunately our game with Elford Dynamo boys has been postponed due to a frozen pitch.

MATCH DAY

🆚Elford Boys Dynamo
Kick off 9:30am
Elford cricket club, Tamworth
Up the knights!!

NEXT FIXTURE|AWAY

🆚 Elford Boys Dynamo
📆 Saturday 20.1.24
⏱️ 9:30am kick off
📍 Elford cricket club

Full time at The NFU.
Knights 1 v 9 Amington Juniors

Hard one to take for us all in our first home league match but still positives to take and a few things to work on. Until we have played a few games we won’t really know what level we should be playing at. We haven’t played on a pitch that size before so we need to get used to that & Amington have been together 2 years and are clearly a level above us but well done to them. We will keep going and the wins will come & give it time & we will be giving teams a hiding. Up the knights! ⚔️

Fantastic free kick from Jax got us a goal before half time and we showed a lot of battle in the second half and played some better football so credit to all the lads this morning. Well done.

Well done to Freddie who received Man of the Match award.

⚽️Jax
🏆Freddie

🔵🔴

Home. 🔵🔴⚽️⚔️

MATCH DAY!
Our first league game & our first home game.
Knights vs Amington Juniors
9:30am kick off
NFU sports ground
🔵🔴⚔️⚽️