 |
| Football U9A VI Team 'Blog' |
|
Eagle House U9 A&Bs Versus Cranleigh 19th September 2011 An action packed day out to Cranleigh produced notable performances from all teams, taking home a loss, a draw and a win from the three games played. All the teams were a little weary from their European fixture earlier in the week; but such are demands on the modern footballer and every player gave their all for their team! The U9As faced their strongest opposition yet and proved they have what it takes to compete. A tightly fought first saw chances narrowly missed by Bradley Joyce and Cosmo Smith, (two players no doubt inspired by the presences of the superb deputising coaches Messrs. Joyce and Smith! - heartfelt thanks from the whole squad for their excellent assistance!). Unfortunately and despite some valiant and mature goal-keeping from Elliot Oates, Cranleigh went in at half time two goals to the good. 2-0 is always a difficult lead to defend coming in to the second half and Eagle House had already shown they could threaten the goalmouth, it was just a matter of which team would score next. Alas, Cranleigh were the ones who snatched the third goal, effectively sealing the win. On another day Eagle House could still have got some sort of result, but on a very large pitch and after the excitement of the week, it was probably just a bit too much to ask of them. Alex Valentine continued to dominate the play in defence, with Tom Beardmore offering great cover when Alex ventured forward. Joshua Bingham was always available in space to break, unfortunately it was not to be and Cranleigh added 3 more goals later in the second half to make the score line a rather non-representative 6-0. In all Eagle House U9As came through a tough test extremely well; we certainly need to work on some core strengths over the next week, primarily increasing the strength of our tackles and committing to a challenge, but the type of passing football the boys are playing is very encouraging for future matches. The U9Bs lined up against a strong Cranleigh B-team and, as with the other two games, were forced to play in the late summer heat without a substitute and with a temporary goal-keeper. Tiwa Adebo, not normally a 'keeper and without gloves, bravely stepped up and took up position between the sticks. The team lined up as a 5-a-side, with James Ellwood in the Defence/Sweeper role, Amar Bhatti and Otto Tompson in midfield and Joshua Jackson up front. Cranleigh started the brightest and forged down the wing two or three times in the first minute, but each time they were stopped in the tracks by a crunching tackle from James Ellwood in defence. James initial resilience inspired the rest of the team and he continued put in a superb display for the entire game. It's fair to say James was the lynch-pin to the teams attacking verve, strong defensively and then seeking out a killer pass to his team mates up field. Joshua Jackson's movement off the ball in the first half started to draw Cranleighs defence in all directions and space was opened up for the midfielders to attack. Otto took the initiative with some driving runs from midfield, linking excellently with Amar and Josh to create space and chances. Otto's first shot was just inside the area and sailed narrowly wide of the far past, his second powered into the keeper and the rebound was scuffed just wide by Josh. Otto now had his sights though and the third effort from just outside the area was a thunderbolt that smashed into the back of the net. A good early goal and the perfect start for the Eagles. 0-1 Cranleigh immediately attempted to respond, Tiwa came out well to narrow the angle and forced the Cranleigh striker to shoot wide. Cranleigh regained possession directly from the goal kick and Tiwa was left two on one as Cranleigh passed the ball into the net to equalise. 1-1 The Eagles remained unfazed however and set off the restore their lead. It almost came immediately with shoots from Amar, Josh and Otto all going just wide. A sweeping move, starting once again with James at the back, saw Otto feed Amar, who took the ball wide to the by-line and put in a precise cross to Josh, who saw his spectacular overhead kick saved by the keeper. The goal finally came from Otto, another rocket from the edge of the area, this one a low side foot shot that went in off the post. 2-1 Otto nearly added to his tally with an audacious effort from just inside the Cranleigh half, with the keeper well beaten, the ball dipped just the wrong side of the bar. Amar and Josh also saw shots saved or blocked. With only minutes of the first half left and Eagle House playing some very confident football, Cranleigh broke and once again Tiwa found himself having to deal with two defenders. Against the run of play it was now level. 2-2 There was still time to threaten again, Josh's movement allowing Otto the chance to cut in and go for his hat-trick, this shot saved. Amar was able to break at the very end, but was forced wide by the Cranleigh defence. 2-2 at half-time and some changes needed to be made. Whilst Cranleigh quite rightly made use of the rolling-subs to keep their team fresh, we were not afforded that opportunity and some of our players were understandably tiring. Fortunately, the players we did have made it very easy to readjust, with the formation changing slightly so that Josh and James became defensive midfield and Amar and Otto were encouraged to play in a more forward position. The new formation instantly paid off as Cranleigh attempted an attack only to be foiled by the perfectly timed and fully committed challenges from James and the excellent positional reading of the game by Josh. The two of them subsequently dealt with every ball with a calm and determined resolve. Now that Otto and Amar were given more freedom to roam forward they began to really trouble the Cranleigh defence. Without Josh to make runs, the two wingers had to create more of their own space and go past more players. Amar showed exactly what he is capable of by beating two players on the wing, feeding the ball inside to Otto and collecting the return pass in the box, another quick one-two with Otto in the box and Amar neatly finished the move with a strong shot inside the bottom the corner. 2-3 Cranleigh were by no means beaten and know they could come back into contention as they had down before. This time though they had to get past two defenders, James marshalling the whole of his half with tenacity. Eagle House showed that it was they who deserved to win, by conjuring up the goal of the match. A strong tackle from Josh halfway inside his own half rob the Cranleigh attacker of the ball, Josh managed to get a second touch on the ball as it spilled out of the challenge to poke it towards James. James took the ball wide and up the pitch to the halfway line, before sending a beautifully weighted ball down the line to Otto. Otto merely had to run on to the ball, but his slight drop of the shoulder and gently touch on the ball helped him effortless ghost past two defenders. Amar was well marked in the centre of the penalty area and it needed to be a good ball to find him. Otto's low cross was perfect, but gain it still needed some tremendous skill and intuitive play to finish the move. Amar faked to shoot with his left foot, forcing the defender to attempt a block, but instead of shooting, Amar let the ball fade across in front of him and then placed a perfect side foot across the goalie into the far corner with his right. Any team, at any level, in any league, of any age, would have been proud of that goal. It was the perfect team goal, full of individual skill and even Josh's celebration was world class! 2-4 Cranleigh were stung into action and broke from the restart and almost pulled one back, but once again Tiwa showed his bravery and threw himself into the challenge, at the expense of a bruised knee and a corner, Tiwa had kept Cranleigh out of the game. The corner was well cleared and this time James broke with the ball. that attack broke down, but Eagle house continued to press. The Eagles could sense victory now and they relaxed and played the sort of football they have been practising in Sessions. Could cultured football, lots of passes and movement into space. However, with two quick attacking players chasing hat-tricks, the eagles were more than happy to feed the ball to these wingers and let them terrorise the Cranleigh defence. With Josh and James playing a very high line, they were able to complement the attacks with passes and breaking up Cranleighs play. It seemed like it would only be a matter of time before one of the two got their third. But each attack was either doggedly repressed by Cranleigh or narrowly missed. Finally with only seconds on the clock, Amar broke again down the left flank, he cut inside and ran into the area, by now Cranleigh had had to deal with a dozen of these foraging runs. This time though they could nothing as Amar passed the last defender and had the choice to shoot on goal or pass to Otto who was unmarked in the centre of the goal. As any striker in the world will tell you, there is only one option at that stage and isn't the one the manager would advise! Amar powered his shot low and hard to get his Hat-trick and set up a very healthy rivalry for goals with his team mate Otto. 2-5 At the end the Eagles were physically exhausted but they could probably have played on for another hour, it was the Cranleigh Team who were glad of the final whistle! All the players should be extremely proud of their performance and all round excellent team play. We still need to work on the strength of our passing, shooting and tackling, but this was a fine and deserved win for the Eagles and the whole squad has been bouyed by the result.
|
