Half the U9 matches were moved to the smaller pitches today which led to a congested contest against a big and physical Mawsley side.
The Wolves just edged the first half without finding the back of the net. There were some great passing moves involving Sam, Jacob, Charlie and Dylan but the finishing wasn’t at its best under pressure from the determined Mawsley defence. Dylan had a couple of chances go wide and forced some great saves from the Mawsley GK who held on firmly to everything that came his way.
When Mawsley did get through our defence Cole was also in top form and saved well twice. Nathan and Ollie both did well against some much bigger lads in midfield and William and Tom defended solidly, covering any off the ball runs and forcing Mawsley into speculative shots from distance. Tom and Nathan also distributed the ball well from the back. Unfortunately we had the same referee as last week and some of his decisions again today were mind boggling; just on half time he gave Mawsley a free kick on the edge of the box for a nothing tackle but fortunately the shot went wide.
Half time: 0-0
With the Mawsley GK in such good form it was going to take something special to beat him today and after just two minutes into the half Sam played a nice ball to Ollie from midfield who then put Dylan clear. Dylan shot across the front of goal beating the goalie’s diving effort at the back post: 0-1
We had changed our plans for corners today to have William taking them but unfortunately on the small pitches it didn’t pan out as planned and the Mawsley GK caught several balls (which is not usually seen at this age group). These should work better back on the bigger pitches.
Nathan and William were stopping everything when Mawsley tried to get a chance on goal and Sam was distributing the ball well in midfield. He put Dylan clear on the right but unfortunately his cross was skyed by Jacob with just the keeper to beat. Charlie also had a couple of chances and showed plenty of energy today around the pitch. Our second goal came from a great move from Nathan who quickly brought the ball out of defence and put Dylan clear whose powerful shot found the back of the net: 0-2
Four minutes later and Dylan got his hat trick from a training ground move; with a throw in on the left in line with the penalty area, the Wolves forwards came very close bringing the Mawsley defence with them. This created loads of space behind which Tom threw into. Dylan turned quickly, was first to the ball and cheekily sent the goalie the wrong way as he tapped the ball home: 0-3
Two minutes later and Charlie won a free kick midway inside the half on the left (another strange decision as there wasn’t a defender near him). Charlie struck the ball powerfully and the goalie did well to get a hand to it. For once the ball was loose in the box and, as we had been telling the lads to do all day, Jacob followed in and got the ball over the line: 0-4
In the final minutes Ollie had a shot saved well and Tom had a great chance go just wide. There was a final threat in the closing stages as Cole, who again had a great game today, came out wide to clear the ball and slipped leaving the goal at the mercy of the Mawsley striker. Fortunately the defence closed him down quickly and the snatched shot went inches wide.
A better performance today than in recent weeks with some improved positioning in midfield and up front. The defence closed down well and there were some good passing moves. With better finishing there could have been a lot more goals however this probably wouldn’t have been a fair reflection on a spirited Mawsley team and their very good GK.
