Witton Albion U12 JPL 3 vs 6 Curzon Ashton

Witton Albion 3-6 Curzon Ashton

? Ollie (??? Will)

? Tuohy

? Brownie

A fantastic way to kick off pre-season with plenty of positives to take away.

The scoreline doesn't tell the full story, and for large parts of the game we looked sharp, energetic and played some really good football.

More importantly, we got valuable minutes into a lot of legs and laid a solid foundation to build on over the coming weeks.

*On the ball* :

We started the game brilliantly with good intensity, moving the ball forward quickly and looking to play with purpose whenever we won possession back. Our energy caused Curzon plenty of problems and going into half time 2-1 up was fully deserved.

It was also great to see all three goal involvements coming from our new lads. Will had an excellent first game, working tirelessly with and without the ball and capping his performance with a well-deserved assist for Ollie's opener. Tuohy reacted quickest to follow up Brownie's saved penalty, while Brownie got himself on the scoresheet with a well-taken finish from the edge of the box.

*Off the ball* :

There were plenty of positives defensively too. Danyl completed a full game as he continues building his match fitness after last season's injury, and its brilliant to see him showing us the player we've missed.

Ted and Brownie also played the full game together in midfield as they continue developing what looks like a promising partnership.

We welcomed four new players into the squad alongside two support players, while both goalkeepers got valuable minutes.

Thanks to Cason and Tuohy from our Blacks team for stepping in to cover at left back, each playing a half and allowing us to manage minutes across the squad.

Curzon had some quality players and were well organised, so we knew they would have a spell in the game. Unfortunately, for around 15 minutes in the second half everything seemed to fall their way. Fatigue led to a few poor decisions and we didn't deal with the danger well enough in our defensive third.

On another day, a draw would probably have been a fair result, but that's not what pre-season is about. It's about building fitness, developing relationships and learning, and we certainly achieved that.

*Man of the Match* :

?? Ollie – Outstanding work rate throughout. Led the press brilliantly in the first half, constantly closing angles, giving us a forward outlet and taking his goal really well. Switched out wide in the second half where he continued to work hard, supported the left back excellently and delivered some dangerous balls into the box.

A fantastic day to start us off. Plenty of positives, lots of good minutes in the legs and a really encouraging first step. We'll keep building