U-11 Jaguars slay Tigers - in the battle of the big cats!

After the pitch was cleared of bottles, cans, and lighters from a party the night before, the Jaguars lined up in their usual formation with the absence of Tom, providing a recall for Will in defence, and new addition Sam Eyres taking his place alongside Connor on the subs ‘bench’.

 

The pitch was very heavy and damp and influenced the game which started as a very scrappy affair. Much of the play was in midfield without either team playing into a position of ascendency.

 

Slowly the Jaguars started to take control, with Hector in particular starting to break up play and pass the ball wide to the wings. The boys took the lead when Natty slotted home a cross from Keiran and this lead to more confident football being played by the boys.

 

Shorty went close on two occasions and he was in great positions to score if only he had used his left foot. Instead, he checked to use his right and allowed the time for the defenders to tackle him.

 

Jamie screamed a shot past the post after a breakaway by Natty, but he wasn’t to be denied from a goal and soon afterwards after a scramble in the box, he calmly side footed the Jaguars' second goal.

 

2-0 to the Jaguars at half time, and some of the body language from the Tigers’ suggested their players were starting to become despondent at the prospect of another defeat.

 

The plan for this match was to introduce more pace into the second half to kill off the Tigers and so Fin and Natty exchanged positions, debutant Sam E replaced Jamie and Connor replaced Shorty.

 

The substitutions were soon rewarded. TJ with his 'busy bee 'all-action style created a goal all on his own just by making a nuisance of himself in the goalmouth, Finlay blasted a left foot screamer into the top corner, Hector again sprayed the ball, this time to Finlay who passed to Connor who made it 5-0.

 

The sixth goal came from the best passage of play. Will, who visibly gained in confidence as the match went on passed to Connor, whose excellent cross was spilled by the goalkeeper, only for Sam E to sweep the ball in for a goal on his first appearance.

 

Sam then scored his second and the team’s seventh, in similar fashion. This time, tenacious battling by Finlay lead to a loose ball. It fell to Sam. No problem. 7-0.

 

By now the badly wounded Tigers’ had no answer to wave after wave of Jaguars’ attacks.

 

Another cross from Connor was headed in by Finlay, Fin scored his hat trick with a fantastic breakaway goal. Shorty, who had come on to replace a tiring TJ, side footed the team’s tenth goal from another pass by Kieran, and Hector completed the rout by passing the ball to Kieran who was rewarded with a goal and another good performance down the left hand side. 11-0.

 

After the litany of postponements, it was not surprising the boys took time to get themselves readjusted to match conditions. Whilst the Tigers’ did not provide the strongest of opposition there were some good plus points to come out of this match.

 

In defence, Charlie showed he has started to understand the importance of keeping position and Will showed he wanted to play and had more appetite for the game–keep it up Will. Hector was an example in playing to the Manager’s instructions, and Finlay also proved that when he is the mood, he is unstoppable as an outfield player

 

For the management this game also showed that the squad is getting stronger and that substitutions can be, and will be made of any player, without weakening the team. Everyone played their part this week. Eleven goals from eight different players, and another clean sheet. Well done boys!

 

 

Goalscorers; Hat trick hero Fin (3), debut boy Sam E (2), Shorty (1), Natty (1), TJ (1), Jamie (1), Connor (1), Kieran (1)

 

GBK Man of the Match; Charlie –after a slow start to the season Charlie was back to his best in this match. Some block rocking tackles, good simple passes, he didn’t dwell on the ball, and he remembered where to play and keep his position.

 

For the Manager, attending training and having a good attitude at training, is as important as wanting to play in the match. There are other players who probably had equal or better match performances, but Charlie was by far and away the best performer this week in training and on matchday. He is the Man of the Weekend!