U11 Cougars Broadsided by Broadheath - but performances continue to improve

13 December 2009

After a spirited performance the previous Sunday against Altrincham, the Cougars made the trip to  Broadheath in good heart. The rather unusual Division 1 fixture list again threw up consecutive fixtures against top of the table opposition for the Cougars. It was therefore important to put in another good display ahead of the return fixture the following week. With the defence looking increasingly solid in front of Nathan and the midfield and forwards looking lively, expectations were high. With a reasonable pitch and fair weather the travelling support, (which has remained remarkably upbeat this season in spite of some heavy defeats) eagerly awaited proceedings to commence.  Await they did, due to the lack of a league referee, fortunately Mark stepped in and even without suitable footwear, got the game going. Connor was absent due to illness, but sent his support and best wishes for the team, regardless of the fact he was unable to come.

The starting line up of Nathan, Tom, Brendan, William, TJ, Kieran, Atakan, Jamie and Will started in determined fashion, with Kieran and Atakan making strong challenges. This was certainly not going to be an easy game for Broadheath. A feature of performances in recent weeks has been the good passing out of defence and this continued with William finding Jamie regularly, and Tom bringing the ball out of defence well, always looking for Kieran or Atakan.  

While the Broadheath forwards looked lively, there was no easy way behind the Cougars back line with William and Brendan both making good headed clearances. Nathan - who always has the appearance of having played a full game before the kick off due to the energetic warm up - was strangely untroubled and quiet for the first 15 minutes. It’s always a good sign when the rest of the team are performing so well as a unit that the keeper has little to moan about, and several short plays from goal kicks evidenced the growing confidence and willingness of the team to receive and keep the ball.

A couple of Broadheath corners were repelled , TJ (who was showing his usual determination) harried the increasing moves forward while Tom, (who was up against a difficult opponent), made a couple of good clearances. Despite a couple of good moves down the left with Jamie putting in some good crosses, the momentum was with the home side,

A break down the right resulted in a cross, which for once was not met by a blue shirt, and a shot which bobbled badly on the uneven surface (this would never happen at home) evaded Nathan and gave the home team a 1-0 lead.

A few minutes later a break down the left resulted in an unchallenged run across the edge of the area by a Broadheath striker who smacked home a powerful shot past a despairing dive from Nathan, it was 2-0 to Broadheath.

This signalled a change of personnel for the Cougars, with Max replacing William, and Luis coming on for TJ. Nathan was now heard encouraging his defence to get more involved in his own inimitable style....

Momentum was now with the home team, despite the occasional runs from Jamie and Kieran who were linking well. More Broadheath pressure resulted in 3 further goals before half time, one a particularly good turn and powerful shot that would not have looked out of place at senior level.

Will and Luis continued to challenge strongly in front of the defence along with Kieran and Atakan, who in particular was not giving up, despite the score line. There was no way this was going to turn into a rout.

Half time arrived with a reminder from the manager of what was needed, as after a strong start the game had slipped away as the strong challenges dried up.

William and TJ reappeared for Max and Will, and Jayden and Jake replaced Atakan and Luis as the second half began.

Again the Cougars started strongly, but could not really trouble the Broadheath keeper despite a number of good passing moves down the left. As the half progressed, Nathan was increasingly called into action and made several good saves to stop the score increasing.

The home side continued to progress on Tom’s side, and despite a number of good clearances the pressure eventually told. A free kick evaded everyone and sneaked past an impeded Nathan to make it 6-0 to the home team. This signalled more changes for the Cougars, with Atakan replacing Brendan at the back and Joe also coming on. Joe nearly made an immediate impact in one of the Cougars forward forays, while Jake and Jayden were also making their presence known to the Broadheath rearguard. A shot from Jamie forced the Broadheath keeper into rare action, although this second half was by no means one-way traffic for the home team.

Atakan proved to be a revelation in the centre of defence with several strong challenges and confident and powerful clearances, he may have well have found his best position. With his assurance defending and bringing the ball out of defence, combined with Tom and a returning Max providing increasingly stern challenges, added to more heroics from Nathan, this ensured the final score did not increase.

The Cougars can certainly take heart from this performance since it was only a 10 minute lapse in the first half that gave the final score line such an emphatic appearance. Broadheath are certainly a strong team (particularly going forward), but the return next week is certainly no foregone conclusion.

GBK Man of the Match: Two players accounted for 12 of the 14 votes cast, and these players epitomised the commitment shown by the team today. Deserved winner, (just pipping Kieran to the prize), was Atakan, who performed heroically in both midfield and at the centre of defence. Atakan has shown tremendous improvement all season and has turned from being an impact substitute into a lynchpin of the team and was missed last week due to illness. He is capable of playing in a number of positions and therefore it was only a matter of time until we found his niche. Alongside Brendan this could be the centre back partnership we have been hoping for!!

Crunchie Moment: Brendan for a fine headed clearance and also TJ, for battling away against opponents far bigger than him (as is normally the case) and never giving up even when flattened with a facial injury, refusing to leave the field despite this.

Rolo Moment: Awarded to Kieran for an all round performance that on most other days would have won Man of the Match

Special Mention: To Mark for stepping in and refereeing despite being improperly dressed, a good performance summed up by the fact he was rarely seen or heard and kept the game moving. Always a good sign.

Roll on next week! This was a very encouraging start to the second half of the season

Editors note: Also a special mention to Bill Kennedy for providing this week's excellent report, stepping into the breach in the absence of the usual reporter. Hopefully (if he is willing of course!) we can call on his writing prowess again in the future.

Man of the Match : A Cirmayir

Source: Bill Kennedy

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