Saturday 16th November
vs Marina Sands Jags 3-5
Team: Ciarán: Tom, Sam, Ben, Louis; Ollie, Jacob, Caleb,
Adam; Joe, Josh. Subs: Cormac, Elliot R.
The boys threw away a two goal lead to go down to the
Jags, which was bad enough. The fact it was not surprising that they did so is
more damning.
They started brightly, linking well up front and taking a
deserved lead in the 4th minute. Joe’s cross was blocked but Ollie
was quickest to the rebound and Josh was on hand to poke it over the line.
The Jags equalised three minutes later as slack defending
on the right allowed the forward to lift the ball over Ciarán but they were
behind again almost immediately as a fast paced attack saw the boys retake the
lead. Jacob lifted it over the defence and Joe’s finish beyond the keeper and
into the corner was the touch of an in-form forward.
The boys looked effective going forward but, with
midfielders pushing too far up the pitch, the Jags always had an escape route in
the middle of the park and, for all the territorial advantage they enjoyed in
the first half, the lack of midfield authority meant the boys never had complete
control.
The Jags could have brought it level midway through the
half as Tom was caught out and, with the ball being kicked out of Ciarán’s
hands, they shot wide from the edge of the box.
Jacob was working hard between the lines, combining with
Ollie to nearly set up Josh and then his ball to the same forward was only
halted by the offside flag. The Jags’ keeper was having a fine game, holding
onto Louis’ shot from the edge of the box and pulling off a great save from Joe
in the 31st minute as Jacob this time found the pass to beat the
offside trap.
They finished the half shooting narrowly wide as Caleb
wriggled away from three defenders to set up Jacob but extended their lead two
minutes after the break as Ollie’s through ball found Louis -now playing wide
on the right - in acres of space to fire home. Ollie nearly repeated the trick
in the 42nd minute, releasing Joe who should have scored but saw the
keeper make another save.
The half time reshuffle had seen Elliot R replace Josh
and Cormac came on for Sam seven minutes after the break. Cormac and Ben
combined to clear down the right and set Jacob free but the keeper made a save,
then got something on the rebound and was awarded a free kick as the ball adjudged
to have been kicked from his grasp in the mêlée.
After that, it all began to fall apart. The Jags pulled
one back after 50 minutes as they broke on the right: Ciarán was out to make a
save but they were first to the rebound and send it back in to score past a
stranded Ben.
Josh had replaced a hobbling Adam on the left and Sam
returned for Ben – awarded the Man of the Match award for a solid defensive
display – for the last 13 minutes. It was only a matter of time before the Jags
equalised and, with 10 minutes left, the lack of anybody other than Caleb in
midfield, slowly getting sucked deeper and deeper, was exploited. The Jags worked
the ball to their right and found Elliot R exposed by the lack of cover in
front of him and brought the scores level.
The tide had turned and there was nowhere near enough
shape in the team to cope with the inevitable onslaught. Cormac had fed some
good balls down the right but a loose ball into midfield saw a carbon-copy of
the equaliser give the Jags the lead with five minutes left and they rounded
off a great second half recovery with a fifth goal with virtually the last kick
of the match, shooting home from the edge of the box after a corner was cleared
but not followed out by by-now dejected opponents.
Football is a simple game, played by individuals working
together as a team. No one individual was at fault for this defeat and they
must take collective responsibility for the result. They go on to the pitch
with defined positions and are expected to play as a team, not all go forward
looking to be goal-scoring heroes. This was a display to learn from quickly,
rather than forget.
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