On Saturday we faced Farnham, on what was an incredibly cold morning. The pitch was in very good condition, considering the recent weather, and the fact that our U14’s played on it before us! We knew it would be a battle, the score line last time we played this team was 5-4, and it definitely did play out in a similar fashion. We warmed up well, spending a bit longer on the dynamic part of the warm up, due to the cold weather. The possession work in the warm up before the game looked good, it was sharp and the tempo was high.
Despite the high tempo warm up, we started the game slightly off the pace. Our passing was wayward and short of our usual high standards, and our decision making was slow, meaning that we were losing the ball more often than not. We could tell very early on that it would be a battle, and that our energy levels and work rate would need to be high.
About 18 minutes into the game, Farnham broke the deadlock, capitalising on a mistake at the back and putting a tidy finish into the top corner. We fought hard and found the equaliser 10 minutes later through Sam. Dylan played a ball over the top to put him through, he missed the first chance but made no mistake with the rebound. We grew into the game after this and started to gain some momentum going forward, stringing passes together and taking control of the game. 5 minutes before the break, Reggie swung in a corner which went directly into the net, the second time he has scored from a corner this season! We went into the half time break 2-1 up.
The second half started and we were working hard to get that crucial next goal. Bobby, who was man of the match, was exceptional in the 10 role, putting in a shift to win the ball back for us and to get us on the front foot. About 15 minutes into the second half he got his reward when we managed to capitalise on a loose ball, and Sean squared it to Bobby who slotted it in to put us 3-1 up. Although we had a 2 goal advantage, we could tell that the game wasn’t won, as Farnham kept pressing and kept creating chances to score. At times, we were caught lacking or overplaying, meaning that we were losing the ball in key areas, allowing them to attack the goal. Their persistence paid off and 5 minutes later they made it 3-2. A free kick just inside our half that should have been dealt with, wasn’t, and they tapped in the rebound off the crossbar.
We managed to deal with the pressure for the last part of the game. This was down to our boys putting in an absolute shift to win back the ball and putting in a solid defensive performance. It was a tough match for myself and Kris to go through. I would have liked to put a heart rate monitor on Kris, I think the readings would have made for some interesting viewing! The most important thing is the 3 points, we keep pushing for that league title!!
Goal scorers:
Sam
Reggie
Bobby
MOM: Bobby
