Post by WPHFC on Apr 23, 2009 11:36:04 GMT
16/04/2009
Under 9 SPL Div 3
Cougars Youth 3 Guildford FC 2000 2
The boys hosted Guildford FC 2000 in their first ever mid week match. With the season coming towards its climax Lorenzo was looking for the team to put Sunday’s defeat behind them and finish with a flourish.
First up were FC 2000, games between these two are normally tense affairs full of controversy on and off the pitch! The team was hit by the loss of Charlie & Archie but luckily Sam was at hand to step in to boost the ranks.
The first half was played in a somewhat strange atmosphere. West End was unusually quiet with no other games going on and this reflected on the pitch. Neither side could get on top. Cougars were struggling to put passes together and never threatened as an attacking force. The midfield of Paolo, Sam, Benito & Chris had plenty of the ball but was unable to link up as usual. This was down to good defending by FC 2000 rather than poor play by Cougars. As the half wore on Guildford looked most likely to score twice Ben made good saves showing excellent handling on both occasions. Jack playing at the back made two last gasp tackles to prevent certain goals. The first half ended 0-0.
The second half kicked off with Guildford signalling their intent. They started fast showing some nice passing and moving which threatened our goal. They were kept out by some good defending by Luke, Callum & Jack. But eventually the pressure told when a Guildford forward hit a powerful half volley into the roof of the Cougars net, we trailed 1-0. This rocked the boys and a second soon followed when we failed to clear a corner, the ball fell to a Guildford player who rammed the ball home. Lorenzo shuffled the pack and moved players about to try and lift the boys. This seemed to work all of a sudden we had pace in the midfield and our passes were beginning to find Cougars players. You could feel the momentum swing towards Cougars but we need a quick goal and it came when Jack picked up the ball on the edge of the area and hit a half volley into the bottom corner of the Guildford goal to make it 1-2. A second almost followed after some great link up play found Sam in space; he hit an inch perfect cross that found Paolo his shot flashed just the wrong side of the post. We didn’t have to wait long for the equaliser though, Sam was allowed too much time and space and hit a fierce shot that Guildford keeper could only turn onto the post and into the goal. You could see the Guildford boy’s heads drop. With Callum & Luke keeping the Guildford forwards quiet it looked like if someone was going to win the game it was going to be Cougars. But with time running out it was going to be a race against the clock to see if we could score the winner. Paolo had a chance but shot narrowly wide. With the game destined for a draw and the ref drawing breath to blow for the final whistle Cougars won possession deep inside their own half, the ball fell to Jack who showed great speed & strength to hold off two defenders and carried the ball to the edge of the Guildford and scored with a fierce shot.
The game finished in a 3-2 win for the boys. In truth the score was a little harsh on Guildford but who cares! The boys showed tremendous character to battle back this evening they all played their part in a tremendous second half recovery. Let’s hope they can carry this over to Sunday morning.
Man of the match went to Jack who was solid in defence and showed great speed and strength when put on the wide right. Best effort went to Callum who was back to his best with a commanding display at the back.
Squad
Ben, Luke, Callum, Jack (2), Benito, Paolo, Chris & Sam (1)
Under 9 SPL Div 3
Cougars Youth 3 Guildford FC 2000 2
The boys hosted Guildford FC 2000 in their first ever mid week match. With the season coming towards its climax Lorenzo was looking for the team to put Sunday’s defeat behind them and finish with a flourish.
First up were FC 2000, games between these two are normally tense affairs full of controversy on and off the pitch! The team was hit by the loss of Charlie & Archie but luckily Sam was at hand to step in to boost the ranks.
The first half was played in a somewhat strange atmosphere. West End was unusually quiet with no other games going on and this reflected on the pitch. Neither side could get on top. Cougars were struggling to put passes together and never threatened as an attacking force. The midfield of Paolo, Sam, Benito & Chris had plenty of the ball but was unable to link up as usual. This was down to good defending by FC 2000 rather than poor play by Cougars. As the half wore on Guildford looked most likely to score twice Ben made good saves showing excellent handling on both occasions. Jack playing at the back made two last gasp tackles to prevent certain goals. The first half ended 0-0.
The second half kicked off with Guildford signalling their intent. They started fast showing some nice passing and moving which threatened our goal. They were kept out by some good defending by Luke, Callum & Jack. But eventually the pressure told when a Guildford forward hit a powerful half volley into the roof of the Cougars net, we trailed 1-0. This rocked the boys and a second soon followed when we failed to clear a corner, the ball fell to a Guildford player who rammed the ball home. Lorenzo shuffled the pack and moved players about to try and lift the boys. This seemed to work all of a sudden we had pace in the midfield and our passes were beginning to find Cougars players. You could feel the momentum swing towards Cougars but we need a quick goal and it came when Jack picked up the ball on the edge of the area and hit a half volley into the bottom corner of the Guildford goal to make it 1-2. A second almost followed after some great link up play found Sam in space; he hit an inch perfect cross that found Paolo his shot flashed just the wrong side of the post. We didn’t have to wait long for the equaliser though, Sam was allowed too much time and space and hit a fierce shot that Guildford keeper could only turn onto the post and into the goal. You could see the Guildford boy’s heads drop. With Callum & Luke keeping the Guildford forwards quiet it looked like if someone was going to win the game it was going to be Cougars. But with time running out it was going to be a race against the clock to see if we could score the winner. Paolo had a chance but shot narrowly wide. With the game destined for a draw and the ref drawing breath to blow for the final whistle Cougars won possession deep inside their own half, the ball fell to Jack who showed great speed & strength to hold off two defenders and carried the ball to the edge of the Guildford and scored with a fierce shot.
The game finished in a 3-2 win for the boys. In truth the score was a little harsh on Guildford but who cares! The boys showed tremendous character to battle back this evening they all played their part in a tremendous second half recovery. Let’s hope they can carry this over to Sunday morning.
Man of the match went to Jack who was solid in defence and showed great speed and strength when put on the wide right. Best effort went to Callum who was back to his best with a commanding display at the back.
Squad
Ben, Luke, Callum, Jack (2), Benito, Paolo, Chris & Sam (1)