Well I'll start this report back to front so to speak. Normally, Man of the Match comes last but after yesterdays superb team display by the U10's I'll talk about the Man of the Match first!
To a player the U10's gave one of there best displays of the season and were very unfortunate to end up loosing by an odd goal. They gave everything - commitment, heart, spirit and bucket loads of effort. Added to that we caused our opponents constant problems from first to last and created chances throughout.
Therefore choosing Man of the Match wasn't easy (thanks Lance!!) as every one of the eight players had a case for being picked. Just shading it with a fine all round display with lots of effort, running and commitment was Oliver Spink.
The game.....well we scared Stanley last night, who have only lost one league game all year. We were into them from the first whistle, never letting them settle, chasing every ball and our tackles were firm and fair; great to watch.
We took the lead on two minutes when a long ball over the top from Tom wasn't dealt with by the home defence, Nathan picked it up nicely and shot passed the keeper. Good goal Nathan and one that should give your confidence another boost.
We then went two up after four minutes when a thunderous long range strike from Tom beat the home goalie for pace. Excellent strike Tom and another to add to the collection this year; well played throughout.
So two nil up against top of the league after four minutes......We knew they'd come back and we had to stand firm in defence and midfield. Throughout the match Oliver, Toby and Jack Hewitt battled and when they had the opportunity broke, trying to create further chances. Sam and Adam played strongly at the back and as ever Tom put in a very solid performance. Matthew made a number of good saves throughout, best was probably stopping a long range effort in the second half.
No criticism coming here but we were undone by two things last night. One we need to head the ball and not be afraid of it (training on Saturday soreted!) and two we need to close opponents down so they don't shoot. First error led to a penalty and second led to a shot beating everyone.
Anyway, enough of that. Three weeks ago we lost 6-0 to Stanley and were well beaten. Last night we deserved at least a point and we saw the old U10's "never say die" team performance. From three weeks ago, this was a huge improvement; well done.
For the record we created good chances second half, Tom hitting an excellent long range strike that Toby was unlucky not to get closer with the rebound. Nathan had an effort saved and Jack Hewitt had a shot that the keeper saved.
Our team last night was Matthew in nets, Sam and Tom in defence, Oliver, Jack Hewitt and Toby im midfield and Nathan up front. Adam started as sub. To ALL eight, again very well played and proud of you all.
Training Saturday and we have two games left. I'm expecting two wins.
