Masia FC U13 Segunda 0 vs 2 Wythenshawe FC U13 Jaguar

Masia 0 - 2 Wythenshawe Jaguars

Another tough day at the office for us.

It was a bit of a mishmash today, with players having to move around and fill some unfamiliar roles, so thanks to everyone who adapted and did a job for the team.

There’s a bit of a common theme developing with us starting games slowly and allowing scruffy goals early on, and today was similar. We took a while to get going, but really started to turn it up in the final 15 minutes of the first half and carried that into the second.

2-0 on the back of a questionable penalty.

I’ll go back through the Veo, but my feeling coming away from it is that this was absolutely a game we could have won.

Player of the Match: Katie

A massive shout-out to Katie for stepping into centre-back when Emily asked to change positions.

She stopped pretty much everything that came her way and, just as importantly, stayed calm in possession and looked to play the ball out from defence into midfield rather than simply hoofing it.

A few things for everyone to work on:

Midfield movement If you’re playing in midfield, ONE midfielder comes towards the ball, not both. Midfield is a pivot position until the final third. Ball comes left, play it right. Ball comes right, play it left. Or if your under pressure it gets played out of pressure backwards.

Too often today both midfielders were ball-watching and getting dragged towards the ball like a moth to a flame. Midfield is about constantly looking around, finding pockets of space and giving yourself enough time to receive and play.

If one midfielder comes short, the other needs to recognise that and find a different space.

Movement in the final third When one winger has the ball in the opposition half, the winger on the opposite side needs to be thinking about attacking the back post.

The striker can either support the winger or, once the 1v1 is won, attack the box. One of the midfielders should then offer the option underneath.

We need to start recognising these pictures without being told. Which are the same pictures we do at training.

Finishing Both the warm-up and the game highlighted that finishing is something we need to improve.

We got ourselves into enough situations today where a better touch, shot or decision could have completely changed the game.

Overall, I was happy with a lot of the football we played, particularly once we settled into the game.

Happy with the performance in large parts, just not the scoreline. Well done girls.