Following our outstanding win against Crosfields last week we were eagerly looking forward to this mach, completely unafraid that we were pitted against a team currently sitting at the top of our table. This showed at kick off when we took the game straight to Grange and battled hard for the first 5 minutes with Jyoti running forward and keeping their defenders back and Katie making a number of surging runs at them. Our midfield and defence performed solidly and made Grange realise they had a battle on their hands.
After such a promising start something seemed to go wrong and suddenly we began to hold back and were second to almost every ball, allowing Grange to attack and make things difficult for us. We made some substitutions to try to add fresh legs to the pitch but nothing seemed to help and by the end of the first half we found ourselves uncharacteristically three nil down.
We had a good chat at half time and gave a few pointers to everyone and when we kicked off again anyone would have thought a different team had turned up. Everyone started to play the way that they can do and we began to chase the ball making it a totally different game. Grange suddenly found themselves struggling against players who had realised were every bit as good as those they faced, if not better. Each player really made an effort in the second half and Grange found they could no longer get any easy shots on goal.
Starting at the back Jako had a good game throughout the match, the goals in the first half were nothing he could really do much about and he pulled off some great saves as has become the norm. He showed great character in continuing after he was kicked close to his elbow by a Grange player who clearly thought that a ball he had hold of was somehow loose and he battled on courageously, easily stopping everything sent his way in the second half. Alex and Dominic have formed a strong alliance at the back and seem to work very well together, Alex putting in some crunching tackles and Dominic some outstanding clearance headers. Kyle also put in some trademark hard and quick tackles which shook the Grange attack. All three defenders, when on the pitch made great contributions in stopping Grange coming forward, and some very good clearances up the pitch. Due to a particularly good spell in the second half we left Alex and Dominic in position and allowed Kyle to slip into midfield to give him some freedom in going forward, which he took up with relish.
Hollie was really back on form in the second half and showed why she has gained her pocket rocket status as she flew after every ball she chased and showed her strength against some much much bigger players. Her pure effort and ability throughout the match gained her a very much deserved 'man of the match' performance for which she was clearly delighted at the end of the game. Jacob showed more strength today in chasing the ball and some very strong tackles and clearances up the field. His throw-ins were just immense at times and one of the new throws we worked on in training almost came off as Jake F was unlucky not to smash the ball at goal.
Thomas is really settling into midfield now and is also becoming much stronger in his tackles and clearances and fully deserved his place in the starting line-up today. Up front Jyoti had a particularly strong game and Grange were clearly rattled on a couple of occasions when he was like a little bulldog going forward and attacking the ball. On a number of occasions he nipped in and got the ball to Jake F who was unlucky not to do more with it. Full credit to Grange's defence for keeping Jake out as he played a usually consistent game with some great runs towards goal and some excellent passing to his team mates. At times we wondered if Katie was playing rugby instead of football as she made some very good charges forward, using her shoulder to help her get past the Grange midfield. Her footwork is continually improving and it's a delight to watch her flick the ball about between her feet as she dribbles forward.
Close to full time Grange managed to get near to goal and in a mad scramble the ball was deflected past Jako who was unable to do anything about it, much to his dissatisfaction. The second half was a closer reflection of our ability as the battle between two teams was hard to call and had it been nil-nil at the start the game could have gone either way. We know what we need to work on now and hopefully in our next match we'll bounce back to show everyone what we're made of. Hard luck for this game guys, let's get them next time!!
Thanks to all the parents for attending and showing great support as usual.
