Some very sad news this week as the FA rules regarding Academy players being prohibited from playing grassroots football has now been enforced from this week, which ultimately means that Jack can no longer play for HFC this season. Jack will however, continue to be involved in all other HFC activities, friendlies, tournaments, presentation night etc etc.
Two other players were ruled out of today's game through injury - Kayde & Scott - so a squad of 15 to select from.
We'd had a long discussion with the boys in training & also pre-match today about our form of late & how we seemed to have stopped playing passing football - the lads worked hard in training and took on board the info as they produced a fantastic performance today, although you may have been forgiven for thinking it was going "pear shaped" after we went 0-2 inside the first 5 mins................
It took a little while to get used to the giant 3g pitch & we were caught napping after 3 mins when their striker took advantage of some hesitation at the back and lobbed Alex from distance - it was a well struck effort. Two mins later and it was 0-2, this time, getting caught in possession at the back when we should have cleared the ball. Strange as it may sound, I was not overly concerned at this point as the lads started the game brilliantly, passing the ball around comfortably & I knew things would click into gear as long as the boys continued with the game plan. Big credit to the lads as they continued to dominate the play, passing and creating, Aaron in particular was involved in every attack & time after time he played defence splitting passes that had the Hebburn players at 6's & 7's. Aaron did create our 1st goal with another perfectly weighted pass for Joe to run onto, rounding the keeper & slotting home 1-2 & we were back in it. The lads sensed this and raised their game again & 5 mins later we were level as Mete finished well following an assist from James 2-2. Mete put us in front on 22 mins before Niall made it a bit more comfortable 2 mins befpore half time with a lovely strike from the edge of the box, after Aaron had almost scored what would have been a contender for goal of the season with a volley from a corner.
The half time chat was simple - lots and lots of praise for the lads for their tremendous display of football, heart & attitude to come back from 0-2 down to lead 4-2. Credit to the lads at the back & Alex in goal as the morning sun was glaring into our faces in this first half but now we would have it behind us !!
Well, 4-2 in a funny old score & we sensed that the next goal could be crucial - if it went to Hebburn then 3-4 could have started to turn the game back........but it went to us on 44 mins, with James grabbing his 2nd of the match. To be fair, we were well on top but this goal at 5-2 proved to be the killer & after that, we were breaking at will and looked like scoring with every attack. Aaron scored a nice goal from outside the box on 46 mins & two mins later Owen Rooks got on the scoresheet with a tidy shot from the edge of the area. Both James & Mete completed their hat-tricks & James added 2 more in the dying mins.
Final Score 12-2 I have to apologise to James & the lads as I mis-counted and therefore registered the final score as 11-2 with the league but have put the correct score on our website.
Men of the Match - A very tough choice today so we decided on a trio - James, Mete & Aaron. The two strikers James & Mete both played fantastically well & looked every bit a football strikeforce to be reckoned with. Aaron put in a true Captain's performance when the "chips were down" after 5 mins & 0-2 down, we needed some inspiration & Aaron carved their defence apart with some beautiful creativity.
Summary - a great performance - keep it up lads
