U11 Cougars - Westside Youth Colts U9s
West Side Story is a musical set in the 1950's exploring the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks. But the Cougars digging in to get the result and returning to winning ways was the real Westside story today.
South London was still waking up when the game kicked off - early mind games from the Westside management, including a pitch with less lines than Courtney Cox's forehead. Clearly Cougars had had their Weetabix with their double espressos as the game started at a tremendous pace.
Jay volleyed in from close range as our corner routines proved once again too much to handle. An expertly timed run met Max's whipped cross, firing Cougars into the lead.
Jay doubled his tally - once again assisted from today's captain - forcing the ball over the line. Westside simply could not cope with the flowing passing moves as Cougars sliced through the defence time and time again. Harvey, Rory, Louis and Jude building from the back and showing confidence and maturity. Tom, Max and Theo ran tirelessly in sweeping attacking moves. We had tasked the boys with showing intensity and patience in the right areas - they went above and beyond.
Against the run of play Westside managed to grab a goal before Harry Oswin restored the deficit from the penalty spot after being clipped from behind. He is adamant that he "gave the goalkeeper the eyes".. pfffft.
The second quarter was an entertaining 0-0. More flowing football and some great chances carved out by both sides. Max and Rory had good opportunities after mazy dribbles, but it was Westside that came closest with their striker having a Fernando Torres vs Man Utd moment, putting the ball wide with the goal at his mercy.
Fatigue set in in the third quarter. The boys battled hard, Harvey literally putting his body on the line on two occasions! Jude made some clever saves but Westside managed to nick a goal back and get it to 3-2 and set up a blockbuster finish.
In the fourth quarter the boys clicked right back into gear. Theo threaded some absolutely awesome balls down the line when under real pressure, that were met with applause from the opposition manager. The boys created multiple chances but couldn't quite get the finishing touch, forcing the Westside keeper into some smart saves.
Hearts were in mouths as - once again - Westside created an opportunity out of nothing and - once again - put the ball wide when it looked easier to score! Despite their golden chances, it would have been unfair for Cougars to come away with anything but a win. The boys were careful in possession and saw out the last couple of minutes.
We wanted to mix things up this week and keep things fresh, hence the rotation of positions and tweaking of tactics. The boys completely took this in their stride. We were really impressed with some of them playing in new areas with new roles, but it worked really well and we have a lot to go over before the next game - a great problem to have! Their support play when building from the back was very good, we asked the wide midfielders to tuck in and create more options. But the real improvement from the last game was the patience when out of possession, which today was excellent.
Supporters Player of the Match was Jay, who's two goals capped a fantastic overall performance. Well done Jay!
