U15 Yellows - Pro Elite

I think we can all honestly say we are all pretty disappointed with the result.

The first 10 minutes was a bit scrappy as we struggled to settle and find any rhythm. However, when we did settle, we found ourselves in a good place, playing some nice football and creating chances.

As we started to dominate the game, we found confidence and played to our strengths, playing lots of the game in the opposition half. Midfield were strong, winning their battles and the defensive line looked solid and unlikely to be troubled apart from potentially the big striker and their lump ball tactics. 

We deservedly scored after 18 mins and really, should have scored several more in the run up to half time, hitting the bar and the post.

The half time team talk covered three aspects.

1. more of the same but tidy up the passing, too many over/under hit/inaccurate passes which meant attacks broke down and gifted the opposition the easy turn over of possession.

2. When we win possession, our first instinct should be to play forward to attack the oppositions back line that were terrified of the front three.

and

3. be aware of their lump ball tactic up to the big striker which was the only concern.

Second half ...... we desperately needed another goal or two and we were well on track to get it. However, we lacked aggression into their box and our decision making to capitalise on scoring opportunities, was questionable. Passing instead of shooting and playing passes into areas that didn't have a team mate, meant that the opposition got off lightly. As a consequence, through our rate of attack, we started to look tired and our out of possession reactions began to slow meaning we were exposed to their lump ball forward.

I subbed a couple of players with 15 to go to get fresher legs on and try speed up our reactions again but we got caught twice not defending/reacting to the ball in our box and it cost us the two goals.

Lessons to be learned in both game management and the importance of reacting quickly when there's a turn over in possession to win the ball back immediately. Our actual game play was a pleasure to watch and I loved how we tried different things however, we still need to tidy up the basics.

Why did we run out of energy which ultimately, cost us the game? Too many passes chased through poor pass detail consequently resulting in a turn over of possession which we had to again, use energy we should be storing. 

We have to make the right decisions and more so, get the basic details right. I can't emphasise enough how important this is. 

Lots of learning opportunities for you to take away and rectify as we go into our next match against top of the league.