We started the game very well and began attacking straight from the kick-off, proving that our last win over them wasn't just a fluke. Although we came close on a couple of occasions and fired off one or two good shots we just weren't able to find the back of the net and after a half were we finished as the stronger team, we were looking forward to the restart.
This started as we left off and we were hopeful some goals would be forthcoming. Unfortunately the balls just didn't fall right for us and at times we found ourselves slightly on the backfoot and struggling a little to hold Birchwood at bay. Jako was superb in goal and was more than a match for everything that was sent his way. Consequently, despite Birchwood slightly getting the upper hand for a spell, they didn't really threaten us and were stopped each time by either the defence or Jako.
It looked like we had a few tired legs and the occasional shin-pad issue and unforunately I made a couple of eratic subsututions which resulted in a couple of players out of their usual positions. Whilst this was done with the best intentions at the time, it didn't necessarily achieve what we wanted in the time we had left for it to work and I apologise to the players for that, although we did end up finishing the game strongly after a quiet spell in the half.
It was great to see Katie and Dylan back tonight and looking eager to play as we arrived at Birchwood's ground for the first of our mid-week matches and neither of them disappointed when they got onto the pitch. The whole team played very well on the whole and despite the odd tired spell, they made us proud. We gained a good point tonight in an even match and we're looking forward to coming back stronger for Saturday's game.
Man of the match went to Dylan tonight who despite a lack of games recently was able to shake off the cobwebs and cover lots of ground as he chased every ball around the pitch. He made some great forward runs and came close to scoring himself on one occasion.
Thanks to Birchwood for a good, fair and enjoyable game and to our amazing parents for all their support.
