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Football 4th XI Team 'Blog' |
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Second Match versus Hall Grove Wednesday 28th September Home Won 2-0 Scorers: Will Baker; own goal Team: Finlay O'Kane; Pablo Torrecuadrada; Oliver Crosby; Frank Turley; Roy Hu; Alexander Woodburn;Will Morrison ; Freddie Hindley; Will Baker; Jack Rhodes (Capt); Kai O'Callaghan; ;James Saunders The game kicked off in glorious warm sunshine and both teams worked hard to gain the ascendancy. Hall Grove dominated territory and possession but the home team defence of Pablo, Frank, Roy, Oliver (and later on James) stood firm. Behind them in goal Finlay was outstanding and the defence needed to be vigilant as the opposition dominated the midfield. Gradually Eagle House got more into the game but we did not really threaten their goal until Will Baker received a loose pass in front of goal but well outside of the box. He then managed to hit a beautiful shot which curled into the top corner of the net. At half time we spoke of the need for the midfield to go back and help the defence but Hall Grove continued to dominate this area. Finlay kept us in the game with some excellent goal keeping. We did threaten on occasions and with 5 minutes to go Kai shot at the goal from a narrow angle. The keeper had the shot well covered but it hit him on the knee and bounced onto the foot of a defender and back into the goal. In one respect the result flattered the home team, but it also showed how much can be achieved by a team that never gives up and works hard for each other. Hopefully this will encourage the team to continue to work hard in practices and play well in the remaining fixtures. First Match versus Cranleigh Saturday 17th September Home Lost 1-2
Team: Finlay O'Kane; Pablo Torrecuadrada; Oliver Crosby; Frank Turley; Roy Hu; Alexander Woodburn;Will Morrison ; Freddie Hindley; Jack Rhodes; Kai O'Callaghan; ; Ben Confortola(Capt)
Cranleigh is always a tough first fixture as this year they have 88 boys in Years 7 and 8 while we have 51. This year they sent their 5th XI (still by no means their lowest ranked team as they field a 6ths and 7ths whereas we were almost down to last man standing)) but at least we were more likely to have a competitive game than was the case last year when we played their 4ths. The game started off at a fast pace with the ball being moved from end to end. Cranleigh have already played a match and this was obvious in the constructive manner in which they passed the ball around. The home side stuck to their task and denied the visitors an opportunity to convert one of their many chances into a goal. As the rain started to fall, Cranleigh were beginning to dominate proceedings, so it was somewhat against the run of play that Eagle House took the lead courtesy of a powerful run by Ben Confortola and an equally strong finishing shot. Cranleigh came back strongly but poor finishing and strong defence that was well marshalled by Finlay O'Kane in goal, meant that the home team kept their lead at half time. The second half followed much the same pattern as the first half with Cranleigh dominating territory and possession but Eagle House showing great resilience and commitment. Eventually Cranleigh's pressure told and they scored the equaliser, before snatching the winner a few minutes later. Although the home team tried to get back in the game, it was not to be, but I do not think that the defeat after leading at half time should take away the fact that this was a very good performance for a first match against a strong team. I was pleased with all 11 players (absences and injury meant that we did not even have the luxury of a substitute) and I hope that we can build on this good start even though we have an 11 day wait for our second game. |
