U14 Colts - Thackley Juniors U14 Thunder

This was a hugely satisfying result and performance from the Colts, and a real yardstick in terms of how a renewed focus and maturity from the boys is improving their game. We played out three(!) draws with Thackley last season, and their physical and direct style has often been our undoing. In the past we’ve been sucked into playing their game instead of concentrating on ours.

After finding a good intensity in our warm-up, we started out on the front foot in the match. New signing Freddie, who is settling in beautifully, opened the scoring early on by turning Rhys’s cross/shot into the net from close range. Freddie then turned provider, playing Tom in to put us in control of the match. 

Lucas ran the show in a slightly unfamiliar central midfield role. He had Thackley exactly where he wanted them throughout, and I think they’ll be pleased to see the back of him. George and Duane alongside him in midfield won every battle, kept a compact shape out of possession, and kept the ball moving to provide a creative thrust. Huge credit to centre backs Jack and Ollie, who looked to win all of those long balls but crucially backed each other up on the cover. Something we’ve been working on training. I’m picking highlights, but this was a complete team performance. 

There were one or two moments towards the end of the first half that suggested Thackley might grab a goal, with some last ditch defending and sharp goalkeeping keeping the clean sheet intact. Our attacking threat remained throughout and we hit halftime at 4 nil up.

We thought Thackley would come back stronger in the second half, because that’s how these games have tended to play out, but our boys raised their game even higher. This was the most controlled half I’ve seen from them, and they barely gave their opponents a sniff of the ball let alone the goal. They didn’t allow the match to turn into a physical battle because they kept it moving quickly, and kept their composure despite one or two late challenges. They were also patient in attack - not forcing the pass, but working it intelligently to move their opponents and find the gaps when they appeared. 

Huge cheers when Joe opened his account for the season – a player who works tirelessly for his team but doesn’t often take the limelight. 

Rhys was voted man of the match by his teammates. It could have been any number of players, but you can’t argue with two goals and two assists, plus countless recovery runs to help out his defence. He looks supremely confident and sharp at the start of this season, and continues on a big upwards trajectory. 

Well done boys. You’ve worked hard in training, and that’s really paying off now.