We were looking forward to this match after being unfairly treated by the referee when we met Winstanley at their ground earlier in the season and the game started well with us looking to take it to the opposition right from the kick off. Everyone looked hungry for the ball and we made some good early runs, spending most of the first few minutes in their half and putting it straight back there when Winstanley made a break.
Unfortunately one of the Winstanley strikers fired a long range shot off towards goal which on any other day wouldn't have come close to bothering Jako, but this one bobbled along the ground and as he dropped on it, it bounced away and under his arms into the net.
We picked ourselves up and started again with some great team play and some good runs and everyone played their part well with some particularly good play from Jyoti up front who is growing more and more in confidence. He attacked the ball whenever he got the chance, often getting under the feet of the opposition and playing some good through balls to his team mates. Jacob is starting to settle into his new position and is running forward with confidence, firing off a couple of shots during the game, which were unfortunate not to hit the target.
Hollie truly lived up to her pocket rocket status once again and bewildered the opposition at times with her sheer determination and ferocious tackles, taking down 3 Winstanley players in the process. Jake F came off the bench looking eager to score and played his part well with some great runs, being just unable to break past the opposition's big defender at times but doing it with ease at others. Thomas showed some great footwork in midfield with some top tackles and movement and Ethan is becoming a midfield maestro with some excellent movement and passing as usual.
In defence, both Alex and Kyle shared match time in a game where they put in some great effort and covered their areas very well, doing everything in their power to stop the opposition. Dominic was just a sheer rock, completing what was truly a man of the match performance with exceptionally strong tackling and speed throughout the whole match. Jako was his usual consistent self proving once again what a too keeper he is.
In open play this was actually a very even game in what a draw would have been a fair result and taking nothing from Winstanley they turned up wanting to win and indeed gave us a great game. Just before half time we were unlucky to concede a corner and in doing so left a man unmarked which to our detriment allowed them to hit it past our defence with a shot that Jako was powerless to stop.
We started the second half two goals down and despite a great effort by everyone just couldn't pull it back. Winstanley were able to deflect our efforts and the referee was unable to see one of our shots which apparently crossed the goal-line. Every player in the area was adamant of the goal, including Winstanley who seemed to have accepted it until the ref said play on! The curse of the referee struck again, which also continued when he missed the 4 clear handballs that the opposition produced as well as the one or two unclear ones and also the rugby hand-off type tackles they were also carrying out. I'm not sure I should even mention the amount of foul-throws Winstanley performed.
However it has to be said that it was an exciting game and everyone in the team played strongly right to the end without letting their heads go down. Despite their 'flaws' Winstanley played very well and the players, coaches and parents were very sporting throughout the game. Despite losing we can take some credit from the fact that we were certainly not out-played and were not beaten in open play. We have a couple of things that we can now concentrate on and hopefully start grabbing some goals.
Thanks once again to all the players for keeping their heads and playing their little hearts out and for the great support from the parents as usual, it helps to make it all worthwhile :)
