Great Start to 2017

It's been a while since our last game and we have suffered a lot of cancelled fixtures of late and at the start of the game a few of the lads were puffing. However 2nd winds took effect and the lads produced a gritty display on a heavy surface.

In recent training sessions, our focus has been on defending. In particular, recovering shape upon losing possession and protecting the box. It paid off today as whilst both keepers performed very well, they weren't troubled too often and to the whole teams credit, we conceded just one goal today.

Over the course of the game, Callum, Clark, Kudzai, Nathan H and Daniel all had spells in defence and all showed great discipline in not being drawn to the ball when their job was to protect the box.

It was clear today that regular substitutions could give us an edge due to the heavy surface and lack of match sharpness but at the same time could disrupt our flow. Most of the lads found themselves playing in 2 - 3 different positions during the game but they showed their versatility by handling this very well.

Clark was awarded man of the match today although everyone in the team staked a claim. The reason Clark was awarded the trophy was his impressive game reading, timing of tackles and overall workrate combined. He just seemed to pop up and save the day everytime we were caught on the break. On top of this his work with ball at feet was much improved today and although he as surprised, he certainly deserved the MOTM award,

Nathan H was also contender showing a lot of composure on the ball today, breaking up attacks and taking the ball forward expertly at times making lots of good decisions. He is technically very good and a wonderful lad to coach who always listens and is willing to play wherever I ask him. A midfield role suits him best yet he is great at the back too.

Sammy S was also a contender and I think this was his best game for us so far. As always he was everywhere, snapping at heels, winning the ball and driving us forwards. CM role suits him well as his fitness and energy levels are superb. I call him 'Duracel' as he never seems to lose energy. I was impressed today when he filled in at the back when Callum drove forward from defence. A very grown up decision and more and more I am seeing Sammy start to own his own game and think for the team as whole.

Jake, our captain today was yet another contender. He can probably feel hard done by given his 2 great goals. He was given a chance to play up front and paid this back with the 2 goals. The 2nd being a moment of quality twisting and looping the ball into the top corner over the keeper with his back to goal. Another great technical player who needs to believe in himself a bit more as he has bags of potential.

Kudzai s a strong defensive player although he's not too happy in defence :-). A brief spell up front showed he is very strong in a forward position but during his spell, we were under a lot of pressure so he didn't see much of the ball. A move back into defence helped shore us up. Kudzai uses a lot of physicality but also reads the game very well with the ball in front of him.

Daniel had a strong 1st half playing central left midfield and his creativity lead to a lot of pressure in the first half. Quick to recover too, he was often burning the calories to get back and defend on the breakdown. In goal, he didn't have a great deal to do but did make a couple of good saves and his handling and distribution were just the ticket.

Josh was struggling with a cold today. Played the 1st half in goal, conceding just one & making a couple of good saves. His handling, like Daniel was excellent too. In a brief stint on the pitch,Josh did what he does best linking play at the heart of a few good moves but didn't have the stamina to keep it up. His vision, touch and game understanding is fantastic but is now being asked to work on the physical side of his game.

Dexter played a midfield role mainly today and was his usual physical self, making numerous tackles and driving the ball forward. Dexter had certainly listened as his concentration was much better today and he was mostly quick to recover when we lost possession. Dexter is a very good footballer and will get even better when he start to believe that himself.

Sam worked really hard today playing a midfield right role and was up and down the pitch as expected, attacking strongly but getting back to defend when required. At the Sam was being urged to recover and somehow found the energy but was clearly exhausted after putting in a huge effort.

Callum, placed in defence to start with but had spells up front and in midfield. He was asked to work very hard today and that he did. Callum is a great option to have at the back as he is very good working the ball forwards either at his feet or finding passes.He clearly is an attacking player though and his desire to get forward gave us that extra man at times, something we could afford to do as the whole team were recovering expertly. He was so unlucky not to get on the scoresheet today mainly down to some fine work by the opposition keeper.

So well done to all the lads. They had to dig deep today and they certainly did that. Great display lads.. Well Done!