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15 November 2009 Match report for Wilmslow Town U11 Cougars 11 - 1 away defeat to Unicorn Athletic JFC U11 Jets (15/11/2009)
The Cougars were due to face Unicorn Athletic Jets on the Sunday morning, the rain had held off and the sun was doing its best to relieve the effects of the previous day’s rain. The impressive reputation of the Jets was still not enough to dampen the spirit of the Cougars, they were still up for a game. The Jets are a formidable team who have played together since the age of 4 – they are no slouches for sure – and would be sure to test the mettle of the boys.
The starting line up of Nathan (captain), Jake, Will, William at the back with Tom, Jamie, Max, TJ and Kieran in midfield and attack started the game with determination. An attack spearheaded by Kieran and Tom rattled the Jets slightly - but not so much that they lost their composure – our attack resulted in a shot on goal which went wide, however their immediate counter attack was more deadly and the score was 1-0 to the Jets before the boys could take a breath and launch another attack themselves. The Jets got into their stride and Nathan was called on again to make a great save, the resulting goal kick was huge, high and looping, but TJ was there to take it on the head, (no worries about neck compaction in his mind at least!). Some good defending from Jake meant he was able to pass the ball up field, so Jamie and Kieran were able to launch another attempt on goal, however the Jets keeper was equal to the task and gathered it up quickly. Tom was on the attack too, with a break up the wing that almost resulted in another Cougars shot on goal, however the Jets were powering up the field again in no time, and the score rose to 2-0. Jake and Will were stalwart in defence with some great clearances as the game continued apace, high energy end to end play which was both exciting and nerve wracking for the parents to watch. Nathan was again making one of his great saves, when the ball went out to the side, a Jets player got onto it but didn’t have much time to manoeuvre so tried to slide it in the net from a sharp angle. However, his attempt was covered by some great thinking ahead from Jake as he slid into the corner of the goal to block the shot.
Connor and Brendan came on for Will and Jake in defence at this point, both Brendan and Connor playing in the relatively unfamiliar roles of centre back and right back, however during this game Connor was a revelation as a right back – this is clearly a role that suits him – and Brendan was in fine form in the thick of the action at the back. Max made another great clearance and Nathan yet another superb save. This time the ball threatened to slip between Nathan’s outstretched fingers and the cross bar, but somehow Nathan managed to get to it and flick it over the top of the goal and away to safety - I’m running out of superlatives for Nathan’s saves – superb doesn’t do this one justice as it was simply outstanding . A corner to the Jets came soon after as the action was pretty much all at the Wilmslow end of the pitch, however Connor through some great pressure work was able to get the ball out of the Town half and up field where Tom and Kieran combined to attack the Jets end of the pitch. TJ, Kieran, Tom, Connor, Kieran and Brendan were determined that the Jets weren’t going to have it all their way and again the grit and determination of the team shone through. Connor, Tom and TJ representing the never say die attitude of the boys worked together and Tom’s break ended up with a shot on goal, which went wide, but it was another good attack by the team. The ball moved to and fro and before long Jamie was also having a shot on goal, which again went wide – the Jets pressure was showing – the boys weren’t able to get a clean shot on goal. The Jets were attacking once again, when Brendan managed to put through a superb pass up field to TJ on to Kieran, who was away and put the ball into the back of the net with aplomb. It was 2-1 to the delight of both the boys and their watching supporters, and to the shock of the Jets. This gave the boys new impetus as the game kicked off from the centre once again, with another attack by Max and Tom resulting in a shot on goal that fell a little short, however the euphoria was not to last, as despite some desperate defending from the boys and yet another great save by Nathan, the Jets pounced on the rebound and put the score up to 3-1. Nathan clearly wasn’t happy as he gave one of the goal posts a good punch in frustration, however there was little he could have done, there were so many bodies in the box it was difficult to get a line of sight on the ball.
As the play shifted to the right wing once again, William was in a determined frame of mind as he battled to prevent another Jets attack. Some great combination work from Connor and Brendan resulted in a complaint to the touchline from one of the Jets of being ‘sandwiched’, but it was never a serious sandwich as far as I could see...
A series of corners to the Jets followed, with some great defending by the boys. The Jets were not getting much joy from their set piece play, as even in the goal mouth melee, Nathan was there to smother the ball for another superb save. A great block by Luis (on for TJ) had the sound of his connection with the ball ricocheting around the ground – that one must have hurt! – but he seemed unfazed by this and carried on making some more crucial blocks at the back. Finally the Jets managed to make a corner count and there was nothing that Nathan could do – despite his best efforts the Jets scored again making it 4-1 – and that’s how the first half ended.
The second half started with a few changes to the line up as Jayden, Jamie, Luis, Tom, Kieran, Brendan, Connor and Joe lined up in front of Nathan. The second half started badly as the Jets scored another goal making it 5-1, however the boys didn’t give up as Joe and Jamie worked together to give Jamie the chance to have a shot on goal, which was saved by the keeper, however the ball went back down the other end of the pitch all too quickly. Jayden did his best to keep the ball from Nathan’s line, while Brendan and Nathan made a great double act as Brendan defended and Nathan gathered up the ball once again with another great save. Jayden and Luis were strong in defence, supported by Tom, Connor and the rest of the team – the Jets could be heard complaining “How did we miss about 5 one on ones??” – I could tell them – great teamwork by the boys! Another great stop by Nathan (this time with his foot) and great hassling by all the team foiled further attacks for a while, Joe, Kieran and Jayden in particular getting the ball away while Brendan danced menacingly on the goal line, daring the Jets to have a go.... Great headers from Joe and Brendan, more saves from Nathan followed but the Jets battering of the Wilmslow end was rewarded with another goal making it 6-1.
Max and Jake came on for Jayden and Joe as the boys kept going. Kieran made a break up the field and had a long range shot which went wide. Jake, Jamie and Tom in a great passing move won a corner for Wilmslow, Tom’s shot on goal from the second corner went wide, but it didn’t matter so much as the boys were still attacking, not giving up despite the score being against them. Max was forced into executing a graceful somersault as a particularly strong Jets tackle forced him into a landing flat on his back, and despite the best efforts of the boys and some superb work by Nathan, the score rose to 10-1. Brendan, in true Brendan style delivered some crunching slide tackles towards the end of the game, then acted as the only person in the wall for the free kick, sealing his reputation as Brendan the Behemoth*! Shortly after, a round of applause followed Brendan as he left the field limping, but he’ll be back to fight another day (well next weekend we hope). The team continued to press the Jets, Jayden in particular was in no mood to take any pushing lying down and it was great to see him give as good as he got as he and one of the Jets battled for the ball, which was rewarded with a free kick to Wilmslow. There were only a few minutes to go but the Jets managed to slip another goal in before the whistle blew, making the final score 11-1 to the Jets.
*For those of you not familiar with the term Behemoth, the metaphorical use of this term, (as used for Brendan here in the report) is referring to any extremely large or powerful entity, some believe that it implies that the Behemoth is the largest and most powerful animal ever to exist...
The first half of the match was far better than the second, as the boys kept the Jets at bay much more than in the second half and also scored a goal themselves. But it was inevitable that the Jets would make a big impact, they have been playing together and at a high level for many years, (although judging by the comments that they made to each other, this comes at the cost of intra-team respect and support). In contrast the Cougars were fantastic at maintaining their team spirit, mutual support and camaraderie in the face of such stiff opposition, as well as their refusal to give in. The Jets manager commented on the fact that the Cougars had such a fighting spirit, despite being battered. Indeed, the Cougars are made of stern stuff and will be back next week for the return match with renewed determination and enthusiasm.
Special mentions for Nathan for an outstanding display once again, (facing the Alamo, as his Dad put it), Connor for a great first performance as right back and Brendan’s solid performance as centre back. Nathan, Tom, TJ and Jamie were not eligible for the Man of the Match voting this time, however Brendan was a deserved winner this week. This is not to say the rest of the team didn’t play well, they were just overwhelmed by the power of the Jets, however we have a cunning plan for the return match next week.....
GBK Man of the Match: Brendan the Behemoth for an excellent performance of strength, determination, power and true grit, from powerful headers to crunching slide tackles, great clearances and of course the crucial pass through to Kieran for his goal
Crunchie Moment: Luis for his defensive clearances, especially the one with the resounding thump that echoed around the ground
Rolo Moment: Max for his ever so graceful somersault as a result of a Jets tackle Team
N Forrest, T Collicott, M Forde-Dunlop, J Graham, J Mason, W Nicol, L Wright, B Behan, T Jefferis, W Kennedy, K Maguire, J Nugent, C Barton, J PotterMan of the Match : B Behan Source: Helen Nugent << to news index
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