MR U18 NL Gold 2024/2025 (Market Road League) - Chapel

The importance of this game before it started - Chapel was 3 points ahead of us (first on the table). If we lose this game, we would get 6 points behind, a draw, still on the fight and still depending only on us. A win, would put us in the first place with the same points.

We were lucky to record this team against the south London, and Lorenzo a player from this team and also an EFA coach, made a few clips from that recording. I also had a look into to the game. Then,  I spoke with our players before KO, what we need to focus to neutralise their strenghts and how to exploit their weaknesses.

This opposition, plays on a interesting formation, it is not exactly a 1-3-2-1, it is more like a 1-1-2-2-1 that in possession would move into 1-2-2-2, where one of the 2 defending mids would drop to play out, and the one of the offensive mids would stretch and join the striker. Therefore, the game plan was to press high, to avoid the opposition to have time to make those movements and progress through the thirds  with support play and respective mobility. We assumed the risk, on forcing them to play long, and our recovering runs from the players around and near the ball needed to be accurate, to avoid equal numbers when out of possession.

In the first half, the team played on a top level, and not only neutralise the opposition, but also created several chances to score. At half-time , we were 2-0 up, but we could have finish the game.

In the second half, Chapel (for some reason they were first), they needed to react. The second half has shown an equilibrium from both teams, however, we started allowing them to play out, this could have been related to the high intensity we put in the 1st half, constraining our physical component for the second half, but also the fact of having a two-goal difference, and natural instinct of trying to control the game.  However, a 2-0 is always a tricky result, it is enough a moment of distraction, and concede one, for the opposition get the momentum and come back to the game. That is exactly what happened. They equalise in a space of 4 or 5 minutes, with stil 10 minutes to play. The game changed, and we suffered and struggled to react. We score the winning goal in a moment of the game where the opposition was on top of us.
Once again, a moment in the game can define the outcomes of a match. Luckily, for us, we scored, and even though the opposition was trying to get the equaliser once again, we then managed the game on a more positive way, and still had a few chances to get back to the 2 goal difference.

A very important win, and for what we have done in the first half, it could have been an easier win than it was.

Now, is about to keep going game by game, adding 3 points after 3 points.

Well done lads!!!