Mental toughness and focus won the game for our U17
boys last night.
Our U17 boys traveled to Flamborough last
night for their 4th season game. I had to take the bench for this one as Coach Ben was stuck
at work.
As soon as we got there I knew what we were
in for. The official lined all the
boys up to check their equipment and then gave the captains a 5-minute
speech. We warned the boys that we
potentially had a ref who was going to worry about the protocol of the game and
not actually ref the game.
Boy, were we right! In the first 5 minutes the referee
barked at both benches about our technical area and was a stickler for the boys
changing at the half line. All
this while the boys were throwing elbows and sliding studs up.
Our boys just played their game and paid
little attention to the official.
The game was getting a bit dangerous and the referee heard from me
(briefly). I was just glad nobody
was injured on either team.
The field was a bit narrow so the boys had
to work hard to maintain width and create space. Our GK is nursing some discomfort, so our centre-defender stayed a
little deeper than usual. The
first half saw us keep our shape well and the ball was doing all the work. The game was very physical but nobody
lost their cool. Good players know
when a game is not under control and just keep the peace themselves. I was very proud of both teams.
We took a 1-0 lead from a good, low cross
from the goal-line to the top of the goal area. They responded with a goal off a 1v1 from our keeper.
Half time score: 1-1
The second half became a bit more physical,
but nothing came of it. The field
was also getting more slippery as it was very hard and the rain had been
falling since kick-off. Players on
both teams were losing their footing and long balls into the keeper were becoming
more difficult to handle.
We started losing our shape and our defenders
starting launching balls 40-50 yds every time. Our strikers have only so many sprints in them and long balls/poor
shape leave you vulnerable because of the large gaps left on the field. It took some work to get everybody reorganized,
but they did and that calmed things down.
On a wonderful penetrating pass, our left
midfielder got behind the defenders and scored to make the score 2-1. Flamborough had 2 glorious chances on
crosses, allowed by poor 1v1 defending on the wings. With about 10 minutes left, we scored an insurance goal off a
footrace for a stray ball.
We escaped the match with no injuries and
only 1 caution for dissent. With
the physical play, lack of a firm whistle and the field conditions, that makes
me happy. And I am proud of the boys
for sticking to their jobs.
Final score 3-1.
Notes from the game:
- The last 4 goals allowed have
all been off 1v1 with keeper. The
pass is always coming from a free player in front of the central defenders so
we will work on one pressuring the ball and the other supporting.
- Better understanding of shape. We still haven’t had a full team practice
to work on that.
- More organization on restarts, putting
the right players ion the right place.
- Three different players scored, 2 for the first time in a LONG time.
