U11 Cougars first win of the season - roughed up by the Griffins, but triumphant in the end

11 October 2009

The boys celebrate their win with cakes - thanks Des from all of us!
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The Cougars couldn’t wait to get started – they were well up for this game, as it was a bottom of the table clash with the real hope that the team could gain some points from the match. As no-one from the opposition had appeared by 10.00, there was a rumour going round that the Griffins weren’t going to turn up. Surely not? It turned out that the team had got a little lost on the way to the Cougars home ground, so were running a little late....

The Cougars started brightly with some good passing, culminating in a shot on goal from Jamie which was gathered up quickly by their keeper.  It was one of the early signals that the Cougars intended to take the game to the Griffins.  Kieran followed soon after with a shot on goal which flew over the top (and also over the newly erected fence!) and it wasn’t long before more shots rained down on the Griffins goal from Jamie and Kieran.  Inevitably the Cougars took the lead with a screamer cracked into the  top corner from Jamie following a perfect through ball  from TJ. It was 1-0 to the Cougars; could this be a new beginning for the team? The team pressed Hough End relentlessly as the Cougars dominated, peppering their goal with even more shots from Jamie, Kieran and Connor. Finally Jamie put the ball in the back of the net once again, only for it to be disallowed for offside. Heartened by this, the Griffins began to fight back as the action moved up and down the pitch . However  the defensive line of Max, William and Tom played the off side trap perfectly, foiling many of the Griffins attacks. This was a big improvement as we had not managed to hold our back line firmly enough to do this in previous games.  The Hough End team were clearly forgetting the off side rule, much to the frustration of their watching parents, who didn’t seem to realise that perhaps they weren’t able to see the line of play from their position at the other end of the pitch. The match was characterised by some very physical play from the Griffins, kicks in the ankle, boots in the face, chest, thighs and stomach were commonplace, but it was pleasing to see that Wilmslowitis didn’t set in, the boys didn’t get distracted and they just got on with the business of playing football.

The team re-established control again and then camped out in the Griffins half of the pitch, keeping the pressure on with shot after shot on their goal. Unfortunately, compared to his early performances for the Jaguars, it seemed that Kieran just didn’t have his scoring boots on today, despite the number of shots he managed to get in.  Connor, once again in great form, was chasing down the balls into the corner, continually crossing the ball into the Griffins’ danger zone and linking up well with Kieran and Jamie up front. TJ and Brendan played their part too, providing a stream  of telling balls to the front line to keep the attacks coming. Brendan also broke through the Griffins defence to have his  shot saved by the Griffins keeper. All the time the front 5 were  supported with precise tackles and good distribution from the back by Tom, Max and William. Hough End launched a number of attacks but were persistently off side, which led to prolonged heckling of our linesman Malcolm , who did a sterling job with his flagging, despite this.  Also you would never guess  it was Simon’s first game as a referee as he commanded the proceedings with quiet authority and a calm professionalism.  Nathan was also in fine form and his kicking was excellent, one clearance in particular, making it to the other end of the pitch to Connor up in the box!

Brendan was obviously causing trouble as he was pole-axed by one of the Griffins, gifting a free kick to the Cougars. Max took the free kick, hitting it on target, however the Griffins goalie was able to anticipate the shot and caught it. At this stage the Griffins started to play the off side trap well too, Kieran and Connor were caught out by it a number of times before getting back in their stride.  Some lovely link up work from Max to Jamie enabled Jamie to have another shot on goal, which was parried by the goalie, but Jamie was on it in a flash and put it in the back of the net from the rebound. 2-0 to the Cougars! The Griffins mounted a fight back and Nathan found himself on the receiving end of a couple of shots – one he launched himself into at ground level, despite the oncoming Griffin showing no signs of pulling out of a run – fearless goalkeeping at its best! Hough End then scored an excellent goal perfectly placed in the bottom corner, giving Nathan no chance, to pull back the score to 2-1. However the Cougars struck again with a great solo effort from Connor, up the wing and thundering the ball into the back of the net from an impossible angle, making it 3-1 to the Cougars.  Once again normal service resumed with the Griffins goal under relentless attack, as Jamie hit the crossbar, Kieran sent another just over the top and TJ connected up with Connor who couldn’t quite get the ball in the back of the net (even though it seemed to almost run along the goal line from where the parents were).  Jamie had another shot on goal then TJ came off (clutching his body in pain), as Luis took to the field.  Great defending from Max, Luis, Tom and William had the Hough End parents complaining about off side once again – the Cougars were just too good with the offside trap for the Griffins!  William was particularly effective in ensuring we held the line well, with great distribution when he won the ball. A save from Nathan, then yet another shot on goal from Jamie at the other end finished off the first half, with the score at 3-1.

The Cougars were full of anticipation for the second half following a great performance in the first.  Will and Atakan came on for Connor and Brendan and were in the thick of it from the off, as Hough End attacked. A series of corners from the Griffins were neutralised by some great headers from Will and Kieran as the team dug in, for the first time under a period of pressure to defend. Jayden did particularly well clearing with both head and feet to keep the Griffins at bay. As Jayden and Luis used their pace to chase down marauding Griffins, more corners at both ends of the pitch followed, but none could be converted. Max was brought down in the box and a penalty was awarded, however the goalie saved Jamie’s shot and the score remained at 3-1.  The tussling in midfield became very intense as the teams fought for supremacy in the game, for example Atakan was involved in a one-on-one battle and the Griffin concerned ended up on the floor.  Atakan offered his hand to help the player up, but his sporting gesture was spurned. He then had a great shot at goal which was parried by the goalie away to safety (that’ll teach them to be so rude!). William and Kieran came off as Jayden and Joe came on just before Jamie received a hefty kick to the stomach. Unfortunately the referee didn’t see this so was unable to award a second penalty - how the Griffins could claim it was a dive when Jamie went down was a mystery to both the Cougars and their watching parents! Brendan came on as Jamie went off to recover, Joe was the next one to be flattened by the Griffins which resulted in another free kick to the Cougars.  Joe recovered sufficiently to have a shot on goal shortly after, which again was deflected by the keeper, and despite some excellent work by Brendan in midfield , the Griffins surged forward,  only for one to be brought down. The resulting free  kick soared into the top corner of the net leaving Nathan watching in admiration of a superb strike - now it was 3-2, could the Cougars keep their heads  - and their lead?

A number of tactical changes saw Tom, Connor and Jamie return to the fray as the tempo of the game rose to fever pitch, clearly both sides could see the chance of the result going their way. The parents could hardly bear to watch, as the teams battled it out.  Unfortunately, in the mêlée, a Griffin went down in the box and were duly awarded a penalty – there was collective breath holding all round the pitch as the Griffin kicked the ball.... over the bar but Nathan had it covered– phew!  

A fantastic run by Max up the length of the pitch and a fierce shot on goal was saved by their keeper again followed by a midfield battle for possession. It seemed that Kieran had received an invitation from one of the Griffins for a dance (that’s the only reason he would want to grab him round the waist and drag him to the ground surely?) as the tension mounted – how much longer would it be – could they hold on to the win? The suspense was almost unbearable...

After what seemed an eternity, the whistle finally blew and the boys had won their first league  match as Cougars – congratulations to everyone for a great  team performance!

Our thanks to Simon Shaw for his excellent refereeing, Malcolm for a fine linesman’s performance and finally also to Des – a very Happy Birthday from all of the Cougar family – and thanks for the cakes!

Man of the Match: Jamie for his two goals, a dubiously offside third, a huge number of shots on target only foiled by an excellent performance from the Griffins stand-in goalie, including the penalty save, great tracking back, tackling and clinical passing. Let’s hope his rich vein of form continues

Crunchie moment:  Connor for his cracking solo run and goal (Not to forget another superb display on the right wing)

Last Rolo moment:  Nathan for fearless goalkeeping!

Post Match Note:

We had heard that the Griffins were thinking of leaving the league, as like the Cougars, they had been placed in a division inappropriate for their abilities, and again, like the Cougars, were yet to have a win.

Following the match we were told by their manager that this was definitely their last match in the Timperley and District League, which is a great shame, as the Cougars and Griffins are more evenly matched than the other teams in the division.  It is for that reason you will no longer find them in the league tables – within 4 hours it was if they had never existed! We wish them all the best in their endeavours and hope to meet them again in the future.

Man of the Match : J Nugent

Source: Helen Nugent

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