Play Safe

We’re backing Play Safe.

Rising Stars Youth FC is lending its full support to Play Safe – a national FA-led campaign to raise awareness of the importance of safeguarding in football.

Play Safe is being run in partnership with the NSPCC and has the full backing of the Premier League, EFL, Barclays FA Women’s Super League and the FA Women’s Championship. It’s also supported and being run across every other level of the game.

The main element of Play Safe is a series of short films which emphasise the importance of clubs such as ours having safeguarding as an everyday reality. The films also explain to parents/carers and children themselves know what to do if they feel unsafe or worried, because nothing matters more than making sure football is safe for everyone, especially children and young people.

You can see these films below:

“As a youth team coach, I will be working with my club to ensure we support the Play Safe messaging,” says FA Chief Executive Mark Bullingham. “I am also pleased that the campaign has the support of the former footballers with lived experience of abuse in football, who are on our Survivor Support and Safeguarding Advisory Group. The Group has collectively said:

“Learning from the past is crucial, so that we can prevent the horrific experiences that happened to us and so many others in football, from happening again.

“As a group of survivors, we fully support the ethos and important messages that Play Safe conveys – whether to club officials, parents/carers and or vitally, children and young people themselves. Equally important is that Play Safe is not a one-off campaign – it will be used at key points in the football calendar to remind everyone in football, that children’s welfare and keeping them safe, should be at the heart of all that we do.”

As the Survivor Group points out, you’ll see Play Safe appearing at various points throughout the season to keep safeguarding front of mind in football. Together, we want to do everything we can so everyone – particularly children and young people – has a consistently positive experience of our great game.

www.thefa.com/PlaySafe

Match Report: U13 Girls (Blue) v Canterbury Youth

There's a lot to admire about our brave Risers. Whichever team they face, they are always outnumbered and playing either with less players or certainly less subs! But it never seems to ruffle them. They certainly give credence to the saying 'less is more'.

The conditions were perfect for football, a slightly cool autumnal Sunday morning on the well-kept fields of the Simon Langton Boys’ Grammar, as the green and white stripes of Canterbury Youth welcomed our yellow-shirted Risers.

Right from the off, it was a tight, hard-fought game where both sides battled to create decent opportunities. The Canterbury front line were fast and it took some incredible defensive work from Kai and Lari to keep them on a leash. The first 15 minutes flew by and Ruby was like a superhero in goal, making save after save to deny the skill of Canterbury’s No 12 – one of Risers’ former Wildcats!

In midfield, Izzy started to really settle into the match and was a constant menace, chasing down balls and making effective niggly tackles that broke up the home team's rhythm.

Most of Risers' most dangerous opportunities came from Ruby's excellent goal kicks, which Sunee would take on the turn and run at the Canterbury defence. But it was an uphill battle as Canterbury put 2 and sometimes 3 players to mark Sunee. There was a Messi-like moment of brilliance from Polly down the left when she pulled the ball back, swivelled and beat the defender but Canterbury soaked it all up and moments after hitting the post they finally broke the deadlock with a pacey shot from inside the box that even safe hands Ruby couldn't keep out. 1-0 Canterbury.

Risers came right back with Aaliyah linking up well with Sunee down the right and creating some great half chances but there was no way through the green and white swarm.

Half time and Ruby and Sunee switched positions and once again the duel re-started. It was compelling to watch and Risers were still very much in the game and pushing hard. Lia sprayed some lovely passes around in the centre of midfield and along with Aaliyah created some good opportunities for Ruby to run onto. It was end-to-end stuff and several times as Risers started to press hard for an equaliser, Canterbury hit on the break and broke through to be one-on-one with the keeper, only to be denied by some diving acrobatics in between the sticks from Sunee, whose gloves seemed to have magnets in them!

Ella had dropped back into defence for the second half and looked instantly at home, tracking back and clearing the lines as Risers continued to fight back. Eventually though, Canterbury made the home advantage tell and grabbed a second, firing past Sunee to make it 2-0 with only 10 minutes to go. For a moment it looked like our heads might drop, but as we've learnt this season, our yellow-shirted Risers never give up and fought right to the end. Amelia was brave in midfield, slowing the ball down well and Captain Fantastic Lari capped off a Player of the Match performance by popping up all over the pitch and carving out one last opportunity for Polly, which she hit hard and fast from range to blaze past the right post.

The final whistle blew and the game finished 2-0 to Canterbury but on another day and with a different bounce of the ball it could easily have been 2-0 to Risers. If anything the result is a distraction from the clear progress our brave Risers displayed. They ran faster, completed more passes and tackled harder, and are developing into a great team!

Bring on Ramsgate..... the only way is up!

Opponents player of the match: Sunee

Coaches’ player of the match: Lari

Keith Maynard

Photos: Tom Bonner

Match Report: U13 Girls (Blue) v Faversham Town

There's always something special about the first home match of the season. It's a chance to lay down some rules, create some great memories and start turning St Edmund’s into a fortress!

Risers were up against it, with only seven players, and so our blue-shirted seven lined up against the monochrome kitted 10 of Faversham Town.

The spark we saw start to flame last week finally exploded into life as Risers started fast, pressing high and not allowing Faversham any time on the ball. Six minutes in, the pressure paid off and Izzy grabbed a fantastic opening goal off her left foot! 1-0 Risers!

Faversham tried to push back out of their own half but Risers started to dominate the midfield and take more time on the ball, with Izzy and Lia taking control and freeing up our strikers, leading to a lovely long-range effort from Sunee, which pinged in off the crossbar, to make it 2-0. Risers were starting to play with a smile on their faces and once again Kai and Larissa were an impassable wall in defence, cutting off Faversham's attempts to carve out chances for their strikers. 24 minutes in, Lia lofted a lovely ball in from a corner, laying it on a plate for Sunee to make it 3!

The mark of a great keeper is concentration, and after a quiet opening period, Ruby made a brilliant save, ending Faversham's hopes of a lifeline before halftime. More pressure, another great corner from Lia that almost went in on its own, and then seconds later one of Aaliyah's lung-busting dribbles down the wing created the goal that gave Sunee her hat-trick. Risers saved the best till last though, and with some lovely one-touch passing in midfield, the ball was pinged from Lia to Sunee to Izzy and then back to Sunee to slot it home for 5–0.

Half time and some tactical tweaks from the coaches led to Sunee swapping the gloves with Ruby. She was called into action straight away, making a two-handed save as Faversham surged forward. The ball was played out quick, Aaliyah took it up the wing and provided Lia with a lovely pass, which she finished for number 6. Ruby, now playing upfront, was alert, and a lovely through-ball from Izzy created Ruby’s first goal of the day. 7–0 Risers.

Faversham never gave up though, and kept trying to find a way through, once more managing to create a one-on-one with the keeper, but Sunee dived at full stretch to her right and maintained the home team’s clean sheet! Moments later, Izzy controlled the ball with her head and set Lia up for a stunning long-range goal from outside the box. 8–0.

For the final quarter, the coaches rotated again and this time the players showed their versatility – Aaliyah went in goal, Sunee came into central defence, and Kai played up front. It was a shrewd tactical move as Kai's physicality proved too much for Faversham to handle. First, he set up Ruby for her second goal, then Lia grabbed her hat-trick before Kai scored a brace and set up another for Ruby. 13–0. There is no power play rule in competitive football but Risers took a player off for much of the last 15, keeping six onfield, and the players remained respectful of their industrious opponents throughout. Faversham kept pressing but understandably heads started to drop, and Risers managed to score two more, with Lia grabbing her fourth of the game and Izzy's wonderful performance finally capped off with a second goal.

The final whistle blew and the first brick in Fortress St Edmund’s was laid. Risers have their first three points on the board.

Well played Risers!

Sunee was voted opponents’ player of the match, Lia was voted coaches’ player of the match.

Keith Maynard

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REDWOOD RESCUE AND REHOME

U13 Girls (Blue) Team Sponsor
2021-22 Season

facebook.com/RedwoodDogRescue

U13 Girls (Yellow) v U13 Girls (Blue) – aka the 2021-22 Derby derby shield!

On a wet and overcast Tuesday evening amidst swarms of carnivorous Canterbury Midgies, yellow played blue for the U13 Risers Derby Shield! 

The first half was a closely contested affair with both teams pressing hard to win the midfield battle and carve out decent goalscoring opportunities. Kai and Larissa intercepted every attack while Ella and Izzy chased down loose balls. But despite their hard work, the Yellow shirts struck first, with an excellent long-range strike that Ruby struggled to see until the last minute through the press of bodies in front of her goal. On loan number 14, Sophie, had some excellent touches in the midfield and played some great balls forward to Sunee in attack. But the tight yellow-shirted defence, through Jess and Demi, swarmed and harried and no breakthrough was made. Half time arrived and it was 1-0 to the Yellows.

Moments later the teams were back in action and the Yellows made the better start, with two excellent quickfire goals putting them 3-0 ahead. But there's something special being built among our blue-shirted players – there's an indomitable spirit that never gives in, no matter what the scoreline says. And that spirit was summed up by the team captain, Larissa, last Sunday when she said “We could lose 100–0 and I still wouldn't want to play for any other team than this one!” Our brave blues fought back… 

Second half brought a few changes (thanks to Connie ,the Yellows’ keeper, for being a great sport and joining in a player swap…) With Ruby now playing in an advanced role and Aaliyah's darting runs down the wing, Sunee collected the ball, forged ahead and fired past the keeper to make it 3–1. A consolation goal many thought. But there was more to come. Polly seemed to appear all over the pitch, a tackle here, a pass there, and suddenly Sunee was through again, firing low and hard to make it 3–2. The light was fading fast, the whistle waiting to be blown at any moment as just a few seconds later Sunee grabbed her first ever hat -trick for the Risers blues, and suddenly it was 3–3. Now there was only one team on the pitch with the belief that this still wasn't over, and yet more pressure and direct football created one final chance, which Sunee fired narrowly past the right-hand upright. As the whistle finally blew, both sets of fans knew they’d seen a cracking game with talent aplenty in both squads. For the Blues, a fantastic team effort, and the honours shared... for this year at least.

Keith

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REDWOOD RESCUE AND REHOME

U13 Girls (Blue) Team Sponsor
2021-22 Season

facebook.com/RedwoodDogRescue

Match Report: U13 Girls (Blue) v Margate

On a bright sunny Sunday afternoon, the U13 Risers Blue team tackled a strong and physical Margate team.

Divided into 4 quarters due to the heat of the late summer sun, the first 15 minutes was a tight affair where both teams started to settle and test the opposition.

As always Ruby was a commanding presence in goal and made some good saves as Margate’s No. 14 started to prove problematic.

The second quarter saw Margate strike first and add two more in quick succession.

They could have had more if the tight central defensive partnership of Kai and Lari hadn’t worked so hard to try and keep Margate’s No. 14 on some kind of leash.

After the half time oranges, Ruby switched to defence and Sunee took over the gloves.

The Risers kept their heads up and came out strong, with Ruby and Polly linking up well down the right. Despite the brighter signs of a fightback and against the run of play, Margate scored two more – one a flukey header at the back post that the scorer didn’t even know about.

At this point, 5-0 down, most teams would drop and lose confidence – but not our brave U13 Risers!

A final tactical switch was made in the final quarter, with Aaliyah moving in between the sticks after some of her typical pacey runs down the left wing.

Something finally clicked for our yellow shirts, and pressing hard, they started to push Margate back.

Sunee took the ball on the turn, sprinted past the Margate backline and – sensing their keeper was out of position – struck from outside the box burying the ball in the top right hand corner. 5-1.

Tails up, the Risers continued to press, and after another overzealous Margate tackle on Amelia, the ref finally decided enough was enough and awarded Risers a penalty.

Sunee stepped up, hit the ball with pace, making it 5-2.

Just moments later, Polly capped off a great performance with a swivel volley struck at close range, and it was 5-3.

More chances followed and one thing was clear: at the final whistle, Risers were the dominant team, and Margate seemed happy that time was up.

Well played Risers!

Photo: Ruby was opponents’ player of the match, Sunee was coaches’ player of the match.

Keith

Match Report: U13 Girls (Blue) v Canterbury Eagles U14s

On a scorching hot Sunday morning, Risers U13GB hosted a new Canterbury Eagles U14s team. It was a hard-fought game. Canterbury put a lot of pressure on the Riser goal in the first half, going ahead, but Risers pulled one back with a very determined goal from Aaliyah. Sunee also got on the scoresheet, with a low shot across goal from Ruby's corner kick. Aaliyah pulled off an amazing triple save, but with 30 seconds to go Canterbury scored a cracker.

All the Risers contributed. Kai got coaches' player of the match for excellent decision making in central defence. Aaliyah was voted opponents' player of the match. Polly and Izzy put in strong performances in defence and midfield. Lari was strong as ever in defence but always alive to an opportunity to push forward. Lia was dogged as ever, covering a lot of ground in the sapping heat... Ella worked hard in the middle of the pitch to break down Canterbury attacks. Amelia kept a high press on the opponents' defence, and relished the 1v1 battles. There was some quality link-up play and passing. Cupcakes after the final whistle from coach Natalie topped the morning off nicely! It's going to be a cracking season... GO RISERS U13sGB!

Kathryn

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NHS - Our Club Charity Partner

The NHS is our chosen Club Charity Sponsor for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 season, with the iconic NHS heart logo appearing on every single home and away shirt for all of our 300+ players.

We are turning sponsorship on its head. At Rising Stars Youth FC sponsor logos will no longer feature on our kits, instead ALL teams will promote our chosen charity partners… For the next 2 seasons our chosen Charity Partner will be the NHS, as a thank you for all the hard work these heroes provide every day.

Therefore, by choosing to sponsor a team this season, you will not only be supporting our ever growing Community Club, but also the NHS.

For more information, or to sponsor a team please click below.

nhscharitiestogether.co.uk

THANK YOU.

Thank you to all of our volunteers, parents, players, coaches, committee members, and sponsors for your continued support.
If you are interested in helping our growing club, please contact us.

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