Hendon Under-16s put aside their recent problems and gave Harrow Youth League champions elect Omonia a real run for their money on Sunday morning. In an entertaining first half, the game remained goalless, and it was Hendon who took the lead after 55 minute, Marcel BYFIELD scoring. The Greens held the lead for a dozen minutes but, once they had conceded the equaliser, there was only one likely winner and Omonia scored it with just over ten minutes left, after which they played out time. Hendon were hampered also in that they finished with ten men because a player limped off injured a few minutes after the last available substitute had been used. Manager Gary Eaton said, “We gave it a real go and we played very well for the first 50-odd minutes. Although we took the lead, once they had equalised we rather fell apart.”

Hendon Under-16s could not quite overcome multiple adversity to record what would have been a famous victory over Ealing Shamrock at Copthall on Sunday morning. Manager Gary Eaton was absent after undergoing major dental work a couple of days earlier and a number of players were unavailable, leaving just nine to take on Ealing. Nevertheless, Marcel BYFIELD opened the scoring for Hendon after about five minutes. Five minutes later, BYFIELD grabbed his second, but reality checked in as Ealing Shamrock hit back with four goals in quick succession. Just before half-time, Franklyn MORRIS made it 4-3 and after the break it was pretty much one-way traffic with only Hendon's finishing letting them down. Ealing managed very few attacks, but from two of them they were able to add to their lead. "They played like lions," said acting manager Stefan Morris. "I could not have asked for more of the team and the only reason we lost was that our boys had to work extra hard to make up for the two absentees. Man of the match was Solomon MUNYORO."

Hendon Under-16s run of poor results may have continued, but the level of performance was totally changed as the youngsters slipped to a very narrow 2-0 defeat at the hands of Harrow Youth League Division One leaders Omonia at Copthall on Sunday morning. After very poor efforts put in during post-Christmas matches, the team suddenly reverted to the form that had seen them challenge Omonia. The one thing lacking was a good finish, with the Omonia goalkeeper earning man of the match ratings from both managers. In the 55th minute Omonia scored from a corner and, with Hendon pressing for an equaliser, they grabbed a second goal, five minutes from time, to guarantee the points. "I can have no complaints about the performance today," said manager Gary Eaton. "They did almost everything I asked of them, apart from scoring. I can't give a man of the match award; everybody deserves to share it."

Hendon Under-16s' excellent start to the season is beginning to look like a distant memory as the team slumped to an awful 5-1 home defeat at the hands of Actual Soccer at Copthall on Sunday morning. Two down inside the opening 20 minutes, Hendon reduced the arrears through Joe DONALDSON after 23 minutes, but the defence leaked in a couple more goals before the interval. Actual Soccer added a fifth goal ten minutes into the second half and coasted the rest of the way. "We looked very unfit today," said assistant manager Tony Moran. "I asked the players after the game if any of them had thought they had played at 100 per cent, and not one of them raised their hands."

Hendon Under-16s had to settle for a point as they came back from a 3-2 deficity to draw 3-3 with Pinner Albion in the Harrow Youth League Division One on Sunday afternoon. With goalkeeper Ashley Trodden unavailable, Baqir HUSSAIN volunteered to go between the posts and he had a reasonable afternoon, having no chance with any of the three goals. Hendon took the lead through Marcel BYFIELD after 15 minutes, but Pinner Albion drew level ten minutes later. Two minutes into the second half, Andreas ROMEZ restored the Hendon advantage, only for it to be pegged back with a highly dubious penalty in the 51st minute. Pinner took the lead five minutes later, but BYFIELD scored the point-earner with his second with 12 minutes left. "I am disappointed with the draw," said manager Gary Eaton, "but we didn't get much luck. Baqir did well as emergency goalkeeper but my man of the match was midfielder Joe DONALDSON."

Hendon Under-16s suffered Middlesex Cup heartbreak as they went out of the competition at the quarter-final stage, losing in a penalty shoot-out to Hampton Hawks at Copthall on Sunday morning. Hendon were completely on top, but failed to take a number of excellent chances. An own goal in the dying seconds of the first half gave Hampton the lead, but Stefan GOMES equalised eight minutes after the interval. More chances went begging as the half progressed and the game moved into extra time. In the first period Marcel BYFIELD converted a penalty and it looked to be enough before a bad bounce resulted in a poor clearance from the Hendon goalkeeper and Hampton drew level with only a couple of minutes to go. After Ashley TRODDEN had saved the first kick of the penalty shoot-out Byfield missed with his attempt. Hampton and Hendon scored with their next five efforts, the latter’s scorers being GOMES, Jordan BENNETT, Franklyn MORRIS, Baqir HUSSAIN and Tom DAVIES. After Hampton missed their second sudden-death attempt, Prince ALOZI failed with the potential match-winner, before Hampton were successful with their eighth effort, but Clinton Henry missed for Hendon. “We really should have won this game,” bemoaned manager Gary Eaton. “We played all the football but wasted so many chances. My man of the match was Tom DAVIES.”

Hendon Under-16s returned to winning ways with a 2-0 defeat of Actual Soccer, but manager Gary Eaton was still far from pleased with what he saw. Hendon could not have made a better start as, from the kick-off, Aaron Silcott found Marcel BYFIELD in space and the striker slotted the ball home. Less than 10 seconds had elapsed when the ball was in the back of the net. The second, and final, goal came after 30 minutes, Solomon MUNYORO knocking home a rebound after Raj AHMED’s first shot had been saved. Hendon were comfortable after that but could not add to their lead. Mr Eaton said, “We had a few problems before Christmas and I gave the boys three full weeks off. I thought we had a good training session in the week, but when it came to the match, many of the old problems returned. I am going to have to get some faces in here. I told them after the game that if the boys were happy to spend their football careers playing on muddy park pitches then they could leave the club now. The boys are better than that but they have to work at it. My man of the match was Aaron SILCOTT."

The under 16s have been awarded a walkover for their third round Middlesex Cup tie at Enfield Rangers which was due to be played this coming Sunday. The game has been awarded as Enfield Rangers have folded their under 16 side. Therefore our under 16s are now in the quarter finals where they have a home tie against the winners of the Hampton Youth v Pro Hawks tie due to be played this weekend.

Two of our under 16 squad have been selected to represent the Middlesex County FA this coming weekend. The players concerned are goalkeeper Ashley Trodden and prolific striker Marcel Byfield. Their game takes place at Uxbridge FC this weekend and kicks off at 11.30am. We wish both players the best of luck for the game.

Hendon Under-16s went out of the Harrow Youth League Cup at Brook House on Sunday lunchtime, losing 2-0. On a difficult surface, Hendon struggled to come to terms with the well-organised Brook House team and their task was made harder by the absence of the first choice goalkeeper. Outfielder Baqir Hussain took over between the posts and didn't have a lot to do, except for picking the ball out of the net once in each half. "We didn't play at all well today," admitted a disappointed manager Gary Eaton. "Nobody stood out for us, apart from Baqir Hussain, who couldn't really be blamed for either goal."

Hendon Under-16s advanced to the next round of the Middlesex Youth Cup with a 5-2 defeat of Pinnacle on Sunday lunchtime, but they made far harder work of than manager Gary Eaton would have liked. When the team noticed that Pinnacle took the field with only nine players, they assumed this would be an easy passage. How wrong they were, at least in the first half, when they were comprehensively outplayed and fell behind 1-0. Mr Eaton delivered a sharp team talk at the interval and it had the desired effect. Barely two minutes after the restart, Marcel BYFIELD continued his rich vein of form with the equaliser. Five minutes later, Hendon had the lead when Stefanio GOMES scored and BYFIELD stretched the lead to 3-1 a short while later. Just before the hour mark, BYFIELD completed his hat-trick, only for Pinnacle to give themselves a glimmer of hope with their second goal. Hendon nerves were steadied by Raj AHMED, who grabbed a fifth goal to end the resistance. “We were embarrassing in the first half,” admitted Mr Eaton. “They could have gone in two or three goals ahead. But I sat the players down and, without ranting and raving, I read them the riot act. Fair play to the boys, they listened and played like I know they can and we ran away with the game. My man of the match was Joe DONALDSON; he set up two of the goals and had a good game all round.”

Hendon Under-16s paid the penalty for some sloppy first half defending to slip to a 3-2 defeat away at Spur Road in the Harrow Youth League First Division on Sunday afternoon, their first defeat of the season. Trailing 2-0 at the break, Hendon got back into the game in the opening minute of the second half when Marcel BYFIELD scored. And BYFIELD brought the teams back on level terms after 55 minutes when he bagged his second of the game. Hendon had plenty of chances to take the lead, wasting a number of one-on-one opportunities and were made to pay the penalty when Spur Road snatched a winner four minutes from time. Manager Gary Eaton said, "We cannot afford to give away sloppy goals like we did today. That said, we had enough chances to have won the game 10-3, but we didn't take them."

Hendon Under-16s were indebted to the goals of Marcel Byfield again as they recorded a hard-fought 4-3 victory over Spur Road in the Harrow Youth League Division One at Copthall on Sunday morning. BYFIELD got Hendon off to a good start with the opening goal after 15 minutes. But Spur Road hit back to equalise on the half-hour mark and they took the lead five minutes into the second half. Almost straight from the kick-off BYFIELD equalised with his second goal and, in the 58th minute, Stefanio Gomez gave Hendon their second lead. Midway through the half, Spur Road drew level again, and they escaped falling behind for a third time when Joe Donaldson missed a 71st minute penalty. But BYFIELD ensured all three points went Hendon’s way when he completed his hat-trick four minutes ftom time.

Hendon Under-16s were easy winners over Pinner Albion at Copthall on Sunday morning. Marcel BYFIELD, who is off to Queens Park Rangers along with Aaron SILCOTT, this week following a seven days' notice of approach after fine performances in a recent friendly against the Rs, scored the only goal of the first half, after 20 minutes. Ten minutes into the second half, Pinner Albion equalised, but BYFIELD restored Hendon's advantage almost straight from the kick-off. Raj AHMED stretched the Hendon lead to two goals just after the hour mark, but Pinner pulled one back 15 minutes from time. In the final 10 minutes, BYFIELD completed his hat-trick and then went on to make it a four-time with a brace of goals. "We played well on a sticky pitch," said manager Gary Eaton. "It was difficult at times, but we were the better team. Man of the was Marcel BYFIELD; with four goals it had to be him."

Hendon Under-16s kept up the pressure on the top two of the Harrow Youth League Division 1 table with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Pinner Albion. The hero was Marcel BYFIELD who grabbed a hat-trick. The other goal came from Joe DONALDSON.

Hendon Under-16s won their first Middlesex County Youth Cup tie, with a comfortable stroll against AGV Youth at Copthall on Sunday morning. It took a while for Hendon's domination to take a tangible form, because the teams turned around with only Joe DONALDSON's goal separating the sides. In the second half, Hendon pulled away as Marcel BYFIELD doubled the lead after 51 minutes and Ricky CAMPBELL stretched the advantage 13 minutes later. BYFIELD grabbed his second after 72 minutes and Raj AHMED completed the rout with a goal in the last minute. "I'm beginning to enjoy watching my team play," said a happy Gary Eaton. "We are doing things right at the moment and it is looking good. My man of the match was Michael SARPONG; he reminds me of a younger Claude Makalele."

Hendon Under-16s strolled into the third round of the Harrow Youth League Cup on Sunday morning with a 7-4 defeat of IREA's A squad in a match that was never really as close as the final scoreline suggests. Hendon did all their best work in the opening half and turned around five goals to the good. Marcel BYFIELD opened the scoring after 12 minutes and goals followed at regular intervals before the break from Clinton HENRY, Stefan GOMES, GOMES, again, and Prince ALOZI. IREA pulled a couple of goals immediately after the restart, but the five-goal cushion was restored within a dozen minutes as Ricky CAMPBELL and Raj AHMED got in on the goalscoring act. In the final couple of minutes IREA bagged a couple of consolation goals, but the contest had long since been decided. "The football we played in the first half was a joy to watch," bubbled happy manager Gary Eaton. "It was brilliant. My men of the match were Michael SARPONG and Ricky CAMPBELL,the two boys in the middle of midfield. They were superb."

Hendon continued their bright start to the season with a 7-1 trouncing of Parkfield at Copthall. Marcel BYFIELD opened the scoring after 16 minutes and, five minutes later, Solomon MUNYORO doubled the lead. Fifteen minutes before the break, Richard CAMPBELL made it 3-0 and that was the way the scored stayed until half-time. Parkfield gave themselves a life with a goal five minutes into the second half, but MUNYORO restored the three-goal advantage two minutes later. CAMPBELL and BYFIELD both bagged their second off the afternoon around the midway point of the half, before Prince ALOZIE completed the scoring after 68 minutes. "It was a good performance," said happy manager Gary Eaton. "You can see there is something there. We create loads of chances and we've got a good squad together. My man of the match was Harry YEATES."

Hendon Under-16s got their Harrow Youth League campaign off to a winning start with a 3-1 victory away at Headstone Manor's "B" squad. Leading the way was striker Marcel BYFIELD who grabbed a hat-trick but did not, amazingly, did not collect the man of the match award. BYFIELD's first goal came after 20 minutes and he added a second six minutes later. After the break, Hendon relaxed a little and Headstone Manor reduced the arrears with a dozen minutes to go. However, Hendon bounced back quickly and, in the 71st minute, BYFIELD completed his hat-trick. Manager Gary Eaton said, "We played really well in the first half and although our feet came off the pedal after half-time, the third goal meant the game was not in doubt. My man of the match was left-back Tom DAVIES. He was just outstanding."

Last seasons under 11 manager Gary Eaton has stepped up to run the under 16s this season with the assistance of Tony Moran.