Football Against Blue Coats
On Monday, we needed to put the disappointment of the 3 league defeats last term behind us and play like we knew we could play. Before the match, I told the team about a genuine dream I had had the night before where we won the game and Caleb scored with a wonder goal, striking it with his toe; we all hoped that this dream might come true!
It was Blue Coats in the league and it was a must win to keep any chance of qualification for the Super 8s tournament alive.
It is fair to say we started incredibly well. We had a change of shape with Oliver CB up front and Oliver H in defence. The change meant we totally dominated possession and we were finding our wide players with some lovely short passing to feet. Oliver CB broke down the right side and squared the ball to James who applied the finish at the back post. Then, up stepped Caleb! He found himself with time and space on the edge of their box and he unleashed a sweetly driven shot low into the right corner - and he struck it with his toe! Was it a dream or a Mr Walker premonition? 2 - 0 and we were cruising. Just before the end of the half, Oliver H broke from defence, played it to Jonnie's feet, who then played a delicate pass to James. He hit it first time and it flew into the top bin!
We didn't stop there. Jonnie found the ball at his feet in the box and he doesn't miss from there; he calmly made it 4 - 0. Then, we had a few sticky moments and failed to clear the ball, allowing them a simple tap in. However, Oliver CB raced on to a lovely through ball and confidently slotted it past the keeper for 5 - 1. Sam in Year 5 came on for James for his Year 5/6 debut and he showed lots of confidence and some great touches down the left flank. He can be really proud of his performance after stepping in to cover Alex who was sadly missing today.
With just minutes to go, we failed to clear our lines once again and they got a srappy consolation goal, with the game finishing 5 - 2. It was nice to get a morale boosting win, but what was most pleasing was the performance. Each and every player contributed, executed the game plan and played some really good football. They showed great movement, pressed high up the pitch and showed confidence playing short passes to feet. It was great to watch.
Harry was fantastic in goal and didn't put a foot wrong. Tom's positioning was excellent and he defended well. James had another great game; 2 goals and he looked at home playing wide left. Caleb was industrious on the right; always an option down that side, constantly tracked back to defend and took his goal well - his best game in a Farndon shirt. Oliver CB up front showed great intelligence with his runs. His trickery led to several chances for other players; a truly selfless performance. Jonnie in midfield helped us to dominate the game and he was back to his best! He got a hand shake from the other team's manager who thought he was man of the match. However, man of the match goes to Oliver H. In his new role at the back he was fantastic. Excellent in the tackle, great distribution of the ball and wonderful driving runs that set up several attacks. All in all, it was a brilliant team performance.
Next up is the second round of the cup and the Chester tournament on the 30th Nov.