A disappointing start to the season, however the scoreline didn't really reflect the performance put in by the Wolves.
The first half was really close with both teams playing some good football. Cole dominated his area and was quickly out to prevent the Kestrels getting behind the defence a couple of times. Nathan and Hugh were making good tackles and, with William W, were passing the ball out of defence well.
The Kestrels had the first real chance shooting wide after 10 minutes but the Wolves responded well with some good passing between Sam and Ollie R in midfield and Jacob played a good ball into the area behind the defence but nobody got into the box quickly enough.
The Wolves started to apply a bit of pressure through midfield as the half wore on. Dylan and Ollie TL made some good breaks but the final pass was just too hard on a number of occasions. Hugh had a great shot hit the bar from just outside the area on 20 minutes from a Wolves a corner.
From the restart the Kestrels attacked up the left wing, Cole came off his line but couldn't stop a weak cross which went through another 3 Wolves defenders and trickled over the line for a very soft Kestrels goal with about 8 minutes of the half remaining: 0-1
With the Wolves in shock, the Kestrels attacked in numbers. They had a shot go wide, another saved well by Cole and William C made a fantastic tackle as George broke clear. The Wolves regrouped and responded well. Dylan had a good chance go wide from a decent pass from William W and Ollie TL had a shot blocked. A great break from Ollie TL was flagged just offside and just after his decent cross was just too hard for Charlie to reach at the far post. Just on the stroke of half time Dylan had a great shot saved brilliantly by the Kestrel's keeper.
HT 0-1
From the kick off the Kestrels pushed forward and a long pass through midfield rolled to the edge of the Wolves' penalty area. Cole came out to gather but the defence was caught in two minds and a soft clearance went straight to George who slotted home their second: 0-2
Within 4 minutes the Kestrels got their 3rd after the Wolves were caught in possession in midfield: 0-3,
The Wolves kept battling and Dylan had a shot go wide after a decent passing move involving Sam, Tom and Jacob but as the Wolves pushed forward to get back into the game the Kestrels broke down the right wing and tapped in after a very good cross 0-4.
Charlie and Jacob had shots saved and the defence bravely kept the now confident Kestrels at bay, However with 7 minutes left the Kestrels won a penalty which was well struck giving Cole no chance 0-5.
With nothing to lose the Wolves pushed forward and got a deserved goal with a great passing move involving William W, Jacob and Sam: 1-5. In the closing minutes the Wolves won two free kicks in dangerous positions but William W was unlucky with one just wide and the other just over the bar. Finally Ollie TL had a good shot blocked by the Kestrels' GK who gathered the ball quickly before anyone could get to the rebound.
The Kestrels are a very, very good and well drilled team and in George, have one of the best players in the league. We always have really tough games against them and we were one of only two teams to get the better of them last season (winning 4-1). The first half could have gone either way with the Wolves having the better chances but no luck. The Kestrels' first two goals were extremely soft leaving the Wolves with a mountain to climb to get back into the game. However I was extremely proud of the effort put in by the boys who battled right up to the final whistle.
