Team:

• Liam Cooper
• Jack Morris
• Robbie O’Donnell
• Craig Dale
• Tom Marshall
• Max Pashley
• Ryan Shield
• Sam Jaffe
• Macaulay Kilpatrick
• Dylan Farrow
• Connor Bartell
• Chris Cockbill
• George Carline
• Will Gill

Although we had played Arnold twice before this season we had yet to make our debut at their impressive new ground. It is a large, relatively flat and even playing surface, nicely sheltered from the wind and well serviced for car parking and changing room facilities. I thought I’d mention this on the basis that Brian (Tom’s dad) was instrumental in its creation (he used to be stationed at the Fire Service HQ) and was proudly telling me how good it was during the week.

We have sometimes struggled to apply our game on larger pitches and the first 15 minutes of today’s game showed this. Within the first five minutes Arnold took the lead; it was a well taken goal but in truth it was an awful mix-up in our ranks that presented the opportunity.

The remainder of the half saw the Colts dominate and have most of the possession without really threatening the Arnold goal. When we did break through Kieran in the Arnold goal was (as always) in fine form to deny us.

Dylan is obviously a big hit with the Arnold players and three of them decided to hang around with him so that they could get to know him a little better. This meant that Macaulay was given more time on the ball and he was unlucky not to add to his season’s goal tally on a number of occasions.

This was Liam’s second game back after injury and the first half was seeing him in more action than he had been in the week before away at Clifton. When a keeper takes a knock sometimes they need a few games to get back to their best – Liam made a number of confident saves that showed that he is well on his way back to his best following his enforced lay-off. This is important for the team as they look to finish the season with a flourish.

After their early concession our defenders looked solid as they looked to nullify the threat posed by Arnold when they broke. Tom is a player that has really developed this season and his partnership in the centre of defence with “Mr Consistent” Craig is a big asset to the team. Jack and Robbie were both tenacious in their tackling and used the ball intelligently when time allowed.

Sam playing only his second game for the team was showing obvious signs of quality as he used the ball intelligently, linking up particularly well with Connor. Alongside him Max was his usual battling self, challenging for and winning many of the 50/50 balls in midfield. Ryan was also showing up well in midfield, a position that he is getting more and more accustomed to.

Half-Time: 1 – 0

A bit of a change around at halftime saw Chris move up front alongside Dylan with Macaulay fitting into midfield alongside Max. With the introduction of Will on the right just before halftime and Connor out on the left, the direction was to make more use of the width of the pitch as we looked to get back into the game.

From the kick-off, the Colts looked hungry and really took the game to Arnold. Chances were being created and again Kieran in the Arnold goal was equal to everything we threw (or kicked) at him.

Although Dylan had been glad of the company of his 3 new mates from Arnold in the first half, he was making big efforts to have some time on his own. In one moment of solitude Dylan managed to get a shot away that looked goal bound until Max had a “ Nicklas Bendtner Moment” and blocked the effort on the line. I would not normally mention this but the look on both players’ faces was a classic; I don’t think they knew whether to laugh or cry!

Twelve minutes in and normal service was resumed – Dylan scoring to level the scores. A big sigh of relief from the Cotgrave contingent.

But we needed 3 points and therefore another goal – without concession, was going to be required . It was decided to change the formation to 3-4-3; the pacy George being introduced upfront alongside Dylan and the hard working Chris. Jack, Craig and Sam were to be the back 3, with Connor, Will, Max and Macaulay in midfield. This is not a formation we have deployed too many times this season and it certainly took Liam by surprised – as he suggested that it was “potential suicide” as he saw the numbers in his defence decrease (what else would we expect our keepers view to be)!

It was slightly risky but we thought another body in the front line would confuse the Arnold trio allocated to nullify Dylan. It worked and Will scored what proved to be the winner. And what a great goal it was. Good build up play and a finish that any player, at any level would have been proud of. Apparently Will’s personal mentor “Mystic Kev” had a hand in the goal – I thought I would mention this to save him from reminding me later ;-).

As the game wore on we reverted back to 4-4-2 to cement the lead and ensure the points. A good game to win and the versatility of our squad proved advantageous as we were offered alternative formations to go an win the game.

Fulltime – 1 – 2

Summary:

We don’t give a man-of-the-match award but today I thought that Connor was outstanding, especially in the second half. He is a very skilful player with excellent distribution; today this was coupled with an outstanding work rate and the combination resulted in his best performance of the season for the Under 13’s.

We dominated the game for the most part today and eventually I think the boys got a well deserved, and hard fought for victory. There were certainly some tired looking players at the end which shows the amount of effort they all put in.

Thank you to Ian, his players and their parents for making us welcome today. It is always a good experience to play Arnold because they play the game in the right way. I would like to wish them the very best of luck for the remaining games.

One point that we will be re-enforcing with the players before Wednesdays home game against Burton Joyce ( 6pm meet at the Pit) is that they must play to the referees whistle. If the referee doesn’t blow his whistle to stop the game then it will continue – there were a number of times today when the boys stopped playing because they were convinced there had been an infringement only for the referee to wave play on. One of these instances almost led to a second goal for Arnold in the first half (denied by brave goal keeping by Liam).

On Wednesday we are at home – we will meet up at 6pm at the Pit.

Well done today lads.

Alan and Mark.