HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLLIE
Match day 12......And doesn`t it feel like the season is flying by. It almost seems like we haven’t had time to draw breath. When would the boys take their foot off the gas? Perhaps this week would be that time; a depleted squad due to boys moving on and the absence of some influential players, would surely pay a key part in our performance today. Our undefeated opposition, Failsworth West, surely would not make it easy for us. Some spectators were billing them has the Real Madrid of the mini soccer world, saying we would do well to keep their goal tally to less than five.........Things didn’t look good on the face of it!
Just before I get my teeth into the match, I would like to express some thought on the situation of the loss of players due to, what I can gather, lack of first team football. Has in life, we all need to practise something to become better at it, some people pick things up faster than others, but inevitably we will pick it up after a repetition of doing it. In the case of this football team, both I and Gary have said from day one, that, we would be concentrating on individuals in training and focusing on the team on match days. We have always said that we would not discriminate in any way shape or form. There have been plenty of times this year when we have had four players on the bench, and always compromised the performance to accommodate everyone, not because of player ability but through the sheer numbers that was being rotated. Slowly we have been introducing players into matches, giving them more confidence for future weeks. I have explained in previous reports that some players need that confidence boost. There are players within the team that have taken more time than others to get up to speed with the rest, but I can honestly say we are starting to reap the rewards of their patience and practice. Today’s game could not typify this more, obviously we would have to utilise our squad and a few weeks ago this might have been a concern. We wish the boys that have gone all the best, but can’t help thinking they might have made a rash decision, where another three or four weeks might well have seen a brighter outlook for them, they was definitely showing good signs of improvement.
Just before anyone falls asleep I will get on with the game.......
Real Madrid took the kick off, and it was plain to see how they had got this billing, they knocked it about superbly. Has in previous games it took a couple of minutes for the boys to get into the game, by which time we found ourselves 1-0 down through a superb team effort from Failsworth; we braced ourselves for that thumping that the spectators had predicted. From that first goal on, the boys decided they would not be walked over, and there competitive mentality was restored. Failsworth were starting to be stopped in their tracks, as soon as they got the ball, Brook closed them down superbly. Cole was made captain for the game, and he was soon showing why he was deserving of the role; he was making some exceptional tackles, and his distribution out of defence was notably improved. Birthday boy Oliver was the same, as well as making some buccaneering runs up top. Taylor was absent this week, but, Oliver and Cole looked they had played together all season. Once the boys realised they could compete physically, they started to introduce their passing game. And no matter who is on the pitch, they all seem to trust each other. Individually Failsworth have some very good players, but it was our team spirit that seemed to unease them. Once we had carved a few opportunities out, and put them on the back foot, we got more and more confident. Our pressure on them finally told when Kieron found himself on the end of a beautiful sweeping move, Instigated by Ben shepherd down the left, who harried there defender in to making a mistake then made the pass over to Oliver. Oliver released Jaden who in turn knocked it into the path of Kieron who finished it off superbly in the bottom left.......1-1....great goal!!! Has I predicted a few weeks back, Kieron would go on to get a hatful over the season, he just needed that all important first one to get him off the mark........Half time 1-1
Half time team talk was just to let the boys know how proud we were in their play. Half time also saw the surface of a seventh squad member, Ethan had arrived late, reasons I don’t quite know yet, but better late than never. It would normally have been quite easy to throw Ethan on at half time but, I can’t stress how well the boys had done in that first half; Especially Ben who was playing in Ethan’s usual position. Ben is possibly our most improved player to date; along with Desean (no longer with us) he really has been working hard in training on his game. His confidence is growing for all to see with each and every minute he gets on the pitch.
Second half began and the boys were straight on the front foot, looking to attack at every opportunity. This mentality obviously left gaps at the back, but Cole was always at hand to make a last ditch tackle. Cole was up against two bigger and faster forwards, but not once did they manage to out fox him in a one on one situation. When Failsworth did manage to get near our goal, we seemed to acquire a new sweeper in the shape of Sam, who would rush off his line to beat the defender to the ball. Sam also made a couple of excellent saves to deny Failsworth a winner. He’s overall awareness and quality goalkeeping earned him the man of the match award and rightly so. We decided to give Ben a rest and give Ethan a run out, but it was always going to be hard for anyone to come on and adjust to the pace of this frantic game. To Ethan’s credit, he’s performances have been superb all season, and he showed touches of his brilliance when he came on. Both teams were getting chances to win it, but I think both teams also did not want to lose it. We decided to give kieron a rest with a couple of minutes to go, and let Ben finish his best performance to date on the pitch. Ben was well supported by his family today and I think they were very proud of him ......Well done Ben. Final whistle blew and a very fair result I thought.1-1
‘In an ideal world every child would be equal in ability, but where would be the sense of achievement for that child if he had nothing to strive for. Also a collective group of brilliant individuals does not necessarily bring success as a group. The spirit that grows within becomes the vehicle for success. It is thoughts like these that inspire me and Gary to carry on with what we are trying to achieve has coaches. And thus far, we are quite happy to dedicate our time and energy because we are getting more in return by way of enjoyment and progression in each and every child’.
REMEMBER...... REMEMBER ........THE **th OF NOVEMBER.................OLLIE WAS BORN!
SM.......GL
Last update : 23-11-2008 16:42
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