With a lot of rain yesterday and overnight, the pitch was never going to be wonderful, but the quagmire that awaited us in the wilds of Oxspring was something else! Real mud-puddles and boggy holes in both goalmouths, and a strip of churned mud right through the middle, all down the length. The only decent part was the wing (on our right as we kicked towards the 'road end' in the first half).
The game? A scrappy, mucky, sticky, dirty affair - not football as we know it. Anxious too, as the ball continually stopped dead in the mire and players lashed wildly trying to clear their lines.
We took the lead through a Danny Tinsley shot that beat the keeper and, on another day, would be down in the books as Danny's goal. However, the mud conspired to take the sting out of the shot, and, even though it had by this time beat the keeper, it slowed to a trickle, and it was Conor (right place, right time) who put it in the net.
Conor had a storming game throughout, but early in the second half the referee (don't get me started just yet!) gave an absolutely ludicrous penalty for a goalmouth scramble that ended with one of their players losing his feet and then sent Conor off for bringing him down! No way, no chance, not in your wildest dreams, ref! But 1 - 1 it was then.
Then Sam put us back in front with about 30 minutes of the half gone. And what did we do? Having defended so well, for so long, we let them straight back in! Two apiece!
And so the two teams battled it out on this corner of Oxspring that will forever be mud (or so it seems)and maybe a draw was a fair result in the end. Maybe?!
The referee was a young man in his mid-teens (I would guess) who gave us nowt all day. Throw ins? Forget it. Free kicks - no way! Offsides - well yes he gave a lot of those against us (some valid, some absolutely not). To be fair Chris the Oxspring manager, told me afterwards that he too thought there had been some very poor calls against us. But but hey-ho - that's life, that's football, and we wound our way home over the hills and moors - older, wiser and much, much muddier that before!
Sunday, 16 March 2008
Sunday, 9 March 2008
Sunday 9 March 2008 vs. Wadsley Bridge (away)
Across the city to Hillsborough on a sunny afternoon for our penultimate game, and this with a 4th place finish in the league at stake!
There are only 2 pitches at the Niagara ground and both are in demand. There are always teams on there all through the weekend, and, as we arrived, a game was just finishing on the pitch we were due to play on. The surface we found was a heavy and churned up in places, particularly through the middle.
The game kicked off and it was immediately apparent that Wadsley were well fired up. On the other hand, whilst we did nothing particularly wrong, we seemed to be lacking urgency and determination.
With 15 minutes gone, they won a free kick some way outside our area, and to the right of the goal. This brought a thunderous shot - that was pretty much unstoppable - to the far top comer of our net. They had the lead.
That’s not to say we didn’t have our own scoring chances. When we got the ball down and played, we created three or four clear opportunities that sadly went begging. To make matters worse a well-hit shot from open play took them two-nil in front after 20 minutes.
Alex Hewitt got caught going into a tackle and had to come off with a badly bruised ankle. Sadly, he played no further part. Will went on and had an immediate impact, with a strong performance in midfield.
We reached half time with hope. Daft as it may seem, we could actually have been winning if (big 'if') - having worked hard to create chances – we could actually get the ball in the net! The halftime message was to get more competitive. On several occasions we had seen Wadsley players get their bodies in front of the ball (shots etc.) whilst, under similar circumstances, we were ducking and turning away. Tom was struggling at half time and Nick replaced him in the net.
The second half was better and Sam, with 15 minutes of the half gone, broke free and put us back in the game.
Then disaster! Totally out of character, Ben Simmo reacted badly to a challenge by going straight back into another with his foot high and his studs showing. Red card! Naturally, we had to re-organise and Ross pushed back to provide cover in the back line.
With tiredness creeping in to both sides, there were still chances to be had, and hope 'sprung eternal' (as the old saying goes) until we conceded a 'soft' third goal from a corner. Throwing caution to the wind we went at them with 3 attackers but, frustratingly, got no more reward for our efforts.
On reflection, Lew, Alex Birkett and Ollie were solid as usual at the back. In midfield Ants, Conor and Joe ran themselves into the ground for the cause. Danny toiled relentless upfront and Sam added pace in the second half. Ross was consistent throughout the game whether upfront, in midfield or at the back. Alex Hewitt and Matt brought flashes of creativity. Ben had battled well until the 'red mist' descended!
A lesson learned. On the verge of leaving the Junior League and stepping up to Under 18s, hopefully games like these will help shape and develop them for the future.
There are only 2 pitches at the Niagara ground and both are in demand. There are always teams on there all through the weekend, and, as we arrived, a game was just finishing on the pitch we were due to play on. The surface we found was a heavy and churned up in places, particularly through the middle.
The game kicked off and it was immediately apparent that Wadsley were well fired up. On the other hand, whilst we did nothing particularly wrong, we seemed to be lacking urgency and determination.
With 15 minutes gone, they won a free kick some way outside our area, and to the right of the goal. This brought a thunderous shot - that was pretty much unstoppable - to the far top comer of our net. They had the lead.
That’s not to say we didn’t have our own scoring chances. When we got the ball down and played, we created three or four clear opportunities that sadly went begging. To make matters worse a well-hit shot from open play took them two-nil in front after 20 minutes.
Alex Hewitt got caught going into a tackle and had to come off with a badly bruised ankle. Sadly, he played no further part. Will went on and had an immediate impact, with a strong performance in midfield.
We reached half time with hope. Daft as it may seem, we could actually have been winning if (big 'if') - having worked hard to create chances – we could actually get the ball in the net! The halftime message was to get more competitive. On several occasions we had seen Wadsley players get their bodies in front of the ball (shots etc.) whilst, under similar circumstances, we were ducking and turning away. Tom was struggling at half time and Nick replaced him in the net.
The second half was better and Sam, with 15 minutes of the half gone, broke free and put us back in the game.
Then disaster! Totally out of character, Ben Simmo reacted badly to a challenge by going straight back into another with his foot high and his studs showing. Red card! Naturally, we had to re-organise and Ross pushed back to provide cover in the back line.
With tiredness creeping in to both sides, there were still chances to be had, and hope 'sprung eternal' (as the old saying goes) until we conceded a 'soft' third goal from a corner. Throwing caution to the wind we went at them with 3 attackers but, frustratingly, got no more reward for our efforts.
On reflection, Lew, Alex Birkett and Ollie were solid as usual at the back. In midfield Ants, Conor and Joe ran themselves into the ground for the cause. Danny toiled relentless upfront and Sam added pace in the second half. Ross was consistent throughout the game whether upfront, in midfield or at the back. Alex Hewitt and Matt brought flashes of creativity. Ben had battled well until the 'red mist' descended!
A lesson learned. On the verge of leaving the Junior League and stepping up to Under 18s, hopefully games like these will help shape and develop them for the future.
Thursday, 6 March 2008
Sunday 2 March 2008 vs. Brinsworth Juniors (away)
And so back to Outokumpu! This is where our season should have started on a warm Sunday back in early September. However, we had arrived then to find that the goalposts had not been put up and that they appeared generally unprepared for a game of football. Game postponed!
Their early 'poor' start to the season was reflected in their league position (foot of the table), but their position also belied the progress they had made recently - 4 draws and one defeat since Christmas, suggesting they had perhaps 'turned the corner'.
We tarted with a 4-3-3 formation, with Sam once again joining Ross & Danny upfront. Connor, Ants and Mat were in midfield and in front of the usual back four (Ben, Lew, Alex B and Ollie). Nick in goal.
It immediately became apparent that they were indeed not just there to make up the numbers and they matched us throughout a hard-fought first half. The only noteworthy point in the half relates to the attitude of the referee, but I'll say no more about that here!
The second half was much of the same with the Brinsworth goalkeeper in particular catching the eye through some excellent saves and an absolute dedication to making sure we didn't score. Then... breakthrough. Ross put us in front with 15 minutes gone. And from then, focus of the battle shifted slightly to 'holding what we had'. When changes were made, Chris, Joe, and Tom (in attack!)all did their bit too.
And 'hold' it we did to come away with another hard-earned 3 points. Hats of to all of them again for their effort and determination. I have seen teams wilt under the sort of pressure they faced and dealt with this afternoon.
Another game that will stay in the memory due to our attitude rather than 'pretty football'.
Their early 'poor' start to the season was reflected in their league position (foot of the table), but their position also belied the progress they had made recently - 4 draws and one defeat since Christmas, suggesting they had perhaps 'turned the corner'.
We tarted with a 4-3-3 formation, with Sam once again joining Ross & Danny upfront. Connor, Ants and Mat were in midfield and in front of the usual back four (Ben, Lew, Alex B and Ollie). Nick in goal.
It immediately became apparent that they were indeed not just there to make up the numbers and they matched us throughout a hard-fought first half. The only noteworthy point in the half relates to the attitude of the referee, but I'll say no more about that here!
The second half was much of the same with the Brinsworth goalkeeper in particular catching the eye through some excellent saves and an absolute dedication to making sure we didn't score. Then... breakthrough. Ross put us in front with 15 minutes gone. And from then, focus of the battle shifted slightly to 'holding what we had'. When changes were made, Chris, Joe, and Tom (in attack!)all did their bit too.
And 'hold' it we did to come away with another hard-earned 3 points. Hats of to all of them again for their effort and determination. I have seen teams wilt under the sort of pressure they faced and dealt with this afternoon.
Another game that will stay in the memory due to our attitude rather than 'pretty football'.
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Sunday 24 February 2008 vs. Whiston Wildcats (away)
Up on Guilthwaite Hill on a cold and windy afternoon for our last game in February.
I had decided on a bit of squad rotation in order to give a start to one or two who had been coming on from the bench lately.
Having had a weekend off due to the bad weather, we were slow to start and struggled to find any rhythm or tempo. It was all very scrappy with no one being able to take command and move the ball to where it should be in order for us to make progress.
It was Sam Whittaker who broke the deadlock with a well-taken goal fifteen minutes in. We couldn’t seem to build on this, however, and the game reverted back to an untidy to-and-fro affair.
In accommodating the players I had wanted to start, I’d finally come to the conclusion that a 4-3-3 was the best formation; three up front, but with Ross sitting a little deeper than Sam and Danny. Joe and Chris were working the flanks, with Will holding midfield. To be honest, this was leaving us a little bit exposed through the middle, and Whiston began to exploit this more and more as the half wore on. I was just about to strengthen midfield when Ross got a second for us with 30 minutes gone.
At half time Neil and I spoke about the need to compete more and be stronger when going into tackles.
I put Ants on in midfield with Will, and we hadn’t been going again for very long when Sam netted his second and our third. This was better, and we were a lot more cohesive now with the two commanding central midfield. I started making the other substitutions that I’d mapped out - Alex Hewitt for Joe, Mat for Chris, Connor for Will. All of this freshened us up, but it must be said that all of those who came off had worked hard and played their part well. I was particularly disappointed for Joe who had the ball in the net only to be ruled offside.
And then we went to sleep at the back and let in a ‘soft’ goal when nobody was paying attention. To be honest, I didn’t even see it as I was talking to one of the players who had just come off. Still Danny and Sam - supported by Ross, Alex and Mat - were creating some good openings, and I was really pleased when Sam rounded off his hat trick. From then on it was pretty much one way traffic, and perhaps only tiredness creeping in on a cold day prevented us from adding to our haul.
Anyway, another three points in the bag. Excellent performances from Tom, Ben and Ollie (who nearly curled a free-kick in late on), and Lew and Alex were as unshakeable as ever. Connor and Ants snapped and snarled and bossed midfield, and Ross and Danny toiled tirelessly.
Although it hadn’t been a ‘beautiful’ game, no matter - 26 points now and just 3 behind Wadsley Bridge (in fourth place), and us with a game in hand!
I had decided on a bit of squad rotation in order to give a start to one or two who had been coming on from the bench lately.
Having had a weekend off due to the bad weather, we were slow to start and struggled to find any rhythm or tempo. It was all very scrappy with no one being able to take command and move the ball to where it should be in order for us to make progress.
It was Sam Whittaker who broke the deadlock with a well-taken goal fifteen minutes in. We couldn’t seem to build on this, however, and the game reverted back to an untidy to-and-fro affair.
In accommodating the players I had wanted to start, I’d finally come to the conclusion that a 4-3-3 was the best formation; three up front, but with Ross sitting a little deeper than Sam and Danny. Joe and Chris were working the flanks, with Will holding midfield. To be honest, this was leaving us a little bit exposed through the middle, and Whiston began to exploit this more and more as the half wore on. I was just about to strengthen midfield when Ross got a second for us with 30 minutes gone.
At half time Neil and I spoke about the need to compete more and be stronger when going into tackles.
I put Ants on in midfield with Will, and we hadn’t been going again for very long when Sam netted his second and our third. This was better, and we were a lot more cohesive now with the two commanding central midfield. I started making the other substitutions that I’d mapped out - Alex Hewitt for Joe, Mat for Chris, Connor for Will. All of this freshened us up, but it must be said that all of those who came off had worked hard and played their part well. I was particularly disappointed for Joe who had the ball in the net only to be ruled offside.
And then we went to sleep at the back and let in a ‘soft’ goal when nobody was paying attention. To be honest, I didn’t even see it as I was talking to one of the players who had just come off. Still Danny and Sam - supported by Ross, Alex and Mat - were creating some good openings, and I was really pleased when Sam rounded off his hat trick. From then on it was pretty much one way traffic, and perhaps only tiredness creeping in on a cold day prevented us from adding to our haul.
Anyway, another three points in the bag. Excellent performances from Tom, Ben and Ollie (who nearly curled a free-kick in late on), and Lew and Alex were as unshakeable as ever. Connor and Ants snapped and snarled and bossed midfield, and Ross and Danny toiled tirelessly.
Although it hadn’t been a ‘beautiful’ game, no matter - 26 points now and just 3 behind Wadsley Bridge (in fourth place), and us with a game in hand!
Monday, 11 February 2008
Sunday 10 February 2008 vs. Woodhouse Juniors (home)
"You were lucky today," said one of the opposition parents as I walked over to complete the matchcard after the game. Such lack of grace took me by surprise and it was only later that I thought of what my reply should have been; "Yes, I was lucky! Lucky to have the best team on the pitch. Lucky to have a squad of players willing to work their socks off without whingeing all the time…"
Yes, I got the distinct impression that Woodhouse didn’t like the fact that we beat them. Beat them fair and square. A three-goals-to-one scoreline doesn’t lie, and they didn’t like it. A couple of incidents illustrated this, but - hey, they’re gone – and we’ve got the three points in the bag.
Credit to all of the team again, they dug in a found that extra 'something' when it was needed. Chris Sykes got 'Man of the Match' and this was his best performance of the season so far.
A brief run through of performance would look something like this:
Goalkeeper – excellent, always in the right place at the right time.
Defence – solid and unmovable
Midfield – determined and relentless
Attack – tireless in the pursuit of the next goal
We went behind early from another debateable 'offside goal', and had to fight our way back from there.
A first half goal from Connor had us level by half time, and again the team talk was about giving 'more of the same'. And they did, only better. Another goal with 20 minutes gone from Oliie gave us daylight and I steadied myself for one of those white-knuckle finishes that doesn’t do the heart-rate any good! But no need – a third goal from Danny with 5 minutes to go and that was that. Goodnight, Woodhouse!
It had been a warm and sunny afternoon, and, as we packed away the nets and corner flags from our last home game of the season, the sun was still shining brightly over the yellow and blue half of Beighton.
Yes, I got the distinct impression that Woodhouse didn’t like the fact that we beat them. Beat them fair and square. A three-goals-to-one scoreline doesn’t lie, and they didn’t like it. A couple of incidents illustrated this, but - hey, they’re gone – and we’ve got the three points in the bag.
Credit to all of the team again, they dug in a found that extra 'something' when it was needed. Chris Sykes got 'Man of the Match' and this was his best performance of the season so far.
A brief run through of performance would look something like this:
Goalkeeper – excellent, always in the right place at the right time.
Defence – solid and unmovable
Midfield – determined and relentless
Attack – tireless in the pursuit of the next goal
We went behind early from another debateable 'offside goal', and had to fight our way back from there.
A first half goal from Connor had us level by half time, and again the team talk was about giving 'more of the same'. And they did, only better. Another goal with 20 minutes gone from Oliie gave us daylight and I steadied myself for one of those white-knuckle finishes that doesn’t do the heart-rate any good! But no need – a third goal from Danny with 5 minutes to go and that was that. Goodnight, Woodhouse!
It had been a warm and sunny afternoon, and, as we packed away the nets and corner flags from our last home game of the season, the sun was still shining brightly over the yellow and blue half of Beighton.
Sunday, 3 February 2008
Sunday 3 February 2008 vs. Thurcroft Tornados (away)
Thurcroft! Not so far out into rural Rotherham, but it felt like we’d gone miles by the time we arrived there on yet another overcast, cold and windy afternoon. A quick look at the pitch revealed a typical February field that wasn’t very encouraging in terms of playing an accurate passing game.
The game had some exciting phases and some dour spells as we fought our way through a frustrating 2-2 draw. Despite conceding early on, we were on top for much of the game, particularly in the second half with the wind at our backs. We just couldn’t put away our chances! And a - doubtful, in my view - penalty against us was the icing on the cake on an afternoon that won’t linger in the memory.
Ollie got 'Man of the Match' from Neil, but, to be fair, everybody played their part without anyone really excelling.
I was impressed by the referee – Bob - who was strict, but fair and approachable (still disagree about the penalty though, Bob).
Two points dropped?
The game had some exciting phases and some dour spells as we fought our way through a frustrating 2-2 draw. Despite conceding early on, we were on top for much of the game, particularly in the second half with the wind at our backs. We just couldn’t put away our chances! And a - doubtful, in my view - penalty against us was the icing on the cake on an afternoon that won’t linger in the memory.
Ollie got 'Man of the Match' from Neil, but, to be fair, everybody played their part without anyone really excelling.
I was impressed by the referee – Bob - who was strict, but fair and approachable (still disagree about the penalty though, Bob).
Two points dropped?
Monday, 28 January 2008
Sunday 27 January 2008 vs Creswell Parish (home)
For once it was warm and sunny up at Reignhead as we welcomed the league leaders, Creswell to our humble abode.
With 38 points from 14 games, Creswell sat remotely atop the league looking down on those below.
We had last played them back in early November and been given a hard lesson in doggedness, determination and desire to win at football.
I wanted us to steal a point from them and told the squad this in the run up to the game. We had trained up at Spinkhill on the Monday as usual, but also done an extra session on Thursday at Rainbow Forge where we had spent some time discussing tactics. One of the learning points from last time was the single-minded way they attacked, pretty much exclusively through the middle, where they rumbled relentlessly onwards right through our defence. So, my main focus was to ‘defend the defence’, to cut out as much attacking play as possible before it reached the back four. To do this, I had identified Ants and Connor Proctor, and given them a brief to hold back (to ignore any attacking tendencies) and defensively work an area across the centre of the pitch, breaking up Creswell attacks before they had chance to develop. That they did tirelessly and unselfishly says much about the way they are developing as players and getting to grips with the concept that (successful) football is not just about lining up in 4-4-2 and taking it from there.
Alex Hewitt and Mat were to work the wings – and I tried to impress on them that I really did mean to pull out wide, even if sometimes they felt a little bit uncomfortable. Danny was to push on the last man with Ross ‘in the hole’ behind him –picking up balls from midfield and feeding Danny, the wide men or going on a run himself.
But all this talk of tactics and preparation and what I contributed should not, in any way, detract from the disciplined bravery of the whole team. THEY made it work. THEY made it happen. THEY went out there and played superbly well.
OK so Creswell took the lead with a goal from a ball lofted over our defence that was, for me, clearly offside. As the first half went on, they got another from a poorly defended corner.
But that’s when the real battling started, and rather than heads going down, we fought back with goals from Mat and then from Danny to pull us level. Half time and so far so excellent.
We went out second half and I think we had them rattled. Maybe they had an eye on what had happened last time we met, but I’m certain that they didn’t expect us to go at them like we started to do! One of the real pluses from the game was that – whilst to be fair they too had a couple of chances go begging – we could have actually snatched a winner. But… that was not to be and the final whistle brought real pride, joy and satisfaction for everyone – players, parents, spectators, me and Neil - for a job well done.
Connor was ‘Man of the Match’ but once again in reality every last one of them deserved the accolade.
With 38 points from 14 games, Creswell sat remotely atop the league looking down on those below.
We had last played them back in early November and been given a hard lesson in doggedness, determination and desire to win at football.
I wanted us to steal a point from them and told the squad this in the run up to the game. We had trained up at Spinkhill on the Monday as usual, but also done an extra session on Thursday at Rainbow Forge where we had spent some time discussing tactics. One of the learning points from last time was the single-minded way they attacked, pretty much exclusively through the middle, where they rumbled relentlessly onwards right through our defence. So, my main focus was to ‘defend the defence’, to cut out as much attacking play as possible before it reached the back four. To do this, I had identified Ants and Connor Proctor, and given them a brief to hold back (to ignore any attacking tendencies) and defensively work an area across the centre of the pitch, breaking up Creswell attacks before they had chance to develop. That they did tirelessly and unselfishly says much about the way they are developing as players and getting to grips with the concept that (successful) football is not just about lining up in 4-4-2 and taking it from there.
Alex Hewitt and Mat were to work the wings – and I tried to impress on them that I really did mean to pull out wide, even if sometimes they felt a little bit uncomfortable. Danny was to push on the last man with Ross ‘in the hole’ behind him –picking up balls from midfield and feeding Danny, the wide men or going on a run himself.
But all this talk of tactics and preparation and what I contributed should not, in any way, detract from the disciplined bravery of the whole team. THEY made it work. THEY made it happen. THEY went out there and played superbly well.
OK so Creswell took the lead with a goal from a ball lofted over our defence that was, for me, clearly offside. As the first half went on, they got another from a poorly defended corner.
But that’s when the real battling started, and rather than heads going down, we fought back with goals from Mat and then from Danny to pull us level. Half time and so far so excellent.
We went out second half and I think we had them rattled. Maybe they had an eye on what had happened last time we met, but I’m certain that they didn’t expect us to go at them like we started to do! One of the real pluses from the game was that – whilst to be fair they too had a couple of chances go begging – we could have actually snatched a winner. But… that was not to be and the final whistle brought real pride, joy and satisfaction for everyone – players, parents, spectators, me and Neil - for a job well done.
Connor was ‘Man of the Match’ but once again in reality every last one of them deserved the accolade.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)