Cotgrave
Colts 3 Netherfield Colts 3 |
10th
February 2008 |
Team:
Match Report:
All of these events have one thing in common – all will be revealed later. We were down to just 11 players today; Ryan B has decided to switch sports to rugby; Chris was on holiday and Robbie was ill (get well soon Robbie). This meant that players would have to switch position and we would need to try a few new things. Will was given the role of playing upfront alongside Dylan; Ryan S was moved to the right side of midfield and George dropped in at left back. The game got under way 5 minutes early and it was Netherfield who came out of the blocks the fastest. Cotgrave were struggling to contain Netherfield in the middle of the pitch and this meant that the defence was under constant pressure. However, although they were dominating Netherfield were not creating too many clear cut goal scoring opportunities. The Netherfield Number 6 was doing an excellent job of keeping Dylan quiet which meant that, like Netherfield, we were not getting too many clear cut chance either. That said the game had the tempo of a cup tie as both teams tried to get ahead. As the half progressed it seemed only a matter of time before Netherfield took the lead; on 25 minutes they did get their noses ahead. A poor goal for us to concede; two players unmarked from a corner and one of them popped up to put a firm header past the stranded Liam. The goal was just what Netherfield deserved and it would be interesting to see how Cotgrave would respond. Unlike last week, we were not creating too many chances and the Netherfield defence was resolute. However, in the 1 minute of injury added by the Referee, Macaulay popped up with the equaliser. A great time to score and good to see Macaulay on the score sheet (one more now until double figures). Half-Time: 1 – 1 At half-time the boys were treated to an energy drink courtesy of Mark (who had forgotten the water bottles). Would this provide the boost for the lads to go on and win the game. Second half started pretty much as the first had finished; Netherfield on top in terms of possession. Two minutes in and Netherfield went 1-2 ahead. Ten minutes later it was 1-3. At this point the game looked dead and buried as far as Cotgrave were concerned. But, our boys are made of sterner stuff and they carried on plugging away trying to get back into the game. On one attack Dylan almost scored what would have been the best goal ever to have been scored at the ground; running into the box a cross from Will (I think) looked to be going behind him. However, Dylan tried the most audacious back heeled volley which only just cleared the cross bar. Within a minute of the Netherfield goal Connor got us back in the game. After intercepting the ball he took it on a few paces and then delivered an absolute thunder bolt of a shot high in to the net. The next 13 minutes saw Cotgrave pushing to get the equaliser. In the closing stages we started to play much better football and started to show a great desire to get back into it. In the last minute of the game Dylan scored a priceless goal to equalise the score. I don’t think I have ever celebrated a goal so much – absolutely fantastic. It was a goal that Dylan scored but the whole team deserved after fighting back. Fulltime – 3 – 3 Summary: If you add today’s game to the list at the beginning of this report you will have the complete breakdown of the greatest British sporting comebacks over the past 100 years. I said to the lads before the game that it is no good us sitting down and talking about our good run and how much we want to win games – they need to go out there and make it happen. In the last 20 minutes of today’s game they certainly made it happen. Ok, we didn’t win today but we come from 2 goals behind and the lads got themselves a draw that maintains their good run. In summary we know there are a few lessons to be learnt after today’s game; defending set pieces is one exercise for the training ground on Friday. But I think that this was a good result – and the 11 boys on duty today deserved a point in the end. Two final things; “get well soon Robbie” we hope you are feeling better in time for next weeks game. And, I am sure everyone will join me in wishing Ryan “Birchy” Birch the best of luck in his new pastime – chasing eggs!!. Seriously Ryan, best of luck and thanks for your goals over the past 5 seasons. Training is on Friday (usual time and usual place). Please try and make it if possible (lifts can be provided if required) as this is where we can work on further improving things. Sundays match is at home; meet up at 10:30am and kick-off at 11am. If you can’t attend either training or the match please let me know. Well done boys – another good result. Alan and Mark Ps. Thanks to everyone for your help today – as always it is much appreciated. |
Did you see things differently? Do you have anything to add? We will add feedback to the bottom of the report, but PLEASE refrain from personal criticism, whether it is players, referee, linesman, managers etc. If you do, then it will not be added. Try as much as possible to keep it positive.