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14 March 2010 Match report for Wilmslow Town U13 Cougars 1 - 3 home defeat to Wilmslow Albion U13 (14/03/2010)
It really didn’t seem worth putting up the pitch-side “Fair Play” barrier to control what was probably a record low crowd for any Town game, and with the lure of the opening Grand Prix of the season and/or the United v Fulham game on TV, you could probably understand why a comfy sofa and an endless supply of tea and cakes looked a more appealing prospect to the barren, icy windswept expanses of the Jim Evison playing fields.
I think it’s fair to say that so far, this has been a pretty mediocre season by Town’s hitherto high standards. After the ugly scenes of last week when beating Stretford Vics by two goals to one and also by two falls and a submission, the omens didn’t look particularly promising when a very depleted but loyal squad of just 11 lads rolled up for today’s 2nd leg of the Wilmslow U13 derby game.
This wasn’t the sort of game to do a match report justice because if truth be told, overall it was a pretty dour affair and apart from Dan’s excellent goal, simply lacked quality. The lads and the gaffer don’t need a match reporter to give a blow by blow account of where it all went wrong, because all concerned are well aware.
In retrospect, the first half wasn’t all that bad given the difficult, blustery playing conditions and the lads tried to get to grips with things without really ever getting out of second gear. With the gale force icy wind at their backs, most of the shots on goal seemed to be from an average distance of 35 yards, but actually, it wasn’t such a bad tactic given that was probably the closest they came to the opposition goal. It was pretty much classic end-to-end stuff confined to the central area of the pitch between the edge of both penalty areas if that makes sense. Apart from the half time whistle, the highlight of the half was an excellently taken goal by Dan when he volleyed in Lawto’s precision corner and somehow the lads finished the half one up.
There’s not an awful lot to say about the second half other than it was not our greatest ever performance. As the half wore on, you could see the confidence just drain out of the team, something that did not go un-noticed by Albion who sensed a tiring side and took full advantage. Fundamentals of the game such as position, shape and support play inexplicably evaporated and it was really a case of every man for himself rather than 11 lads looking like the formidable team unit they still are when they all turn up switched on and focussed; let’s not forget that out lads have been the team to beat for the last four seasons, so the quality is there somewhere, it’s just gone awol recently.
To be fair, the back line have held the team together this season, but the lack of consistent bite in midfield and up front puts too much pressure on the defence, and that has been the story for the last few games. It is particularly demoralising, despite all his coaching and match planning, for the boss to see the defence, midfield and forward line play as totally separate and distant units, with most of the action taking place in the no man’s land in between, from which the opposition dictate the game. The priority for the remaining games is to fill those gaps and play like a joined-up team... just like they used to.
It’s hard to put one’s finger on the problem at the moment. The gaffer did question the lads’ fitness levels and over familiarity with XBoxs and Playstations, but I’m not so sure that is the biggest issue at the moment. To me, it seems like this team is at a bit of a crossroads, and whereas when they were live-wire 9 and 10 year olds when they didn’t really know what girls are for and when football was the only thing in their young lives, now that they are developing into moody and monosyllabic, grunting teenagers (just kidding lads), it may be a case that the fire just isn’t there as it once was or more hopefully it’s a case of somehow it needs to be re-kindled and energised.
So where to go from here? It’s difficult to say really. We’ve had fitness training, technical training, social team building events interspersed with the occasional bollocking from Erik which did the trick previously in difficult times, but perhaps a different approach is now needed. Exactly what that is I don’t know, but I suspect that deep down the lads will have the answer; the challenge is, can they get it sorted before its too late?
End of sermon and now back to the retired match report’s wilderness.... over to Boyley for next week’s instalment which I sincerely hope will be a much more entertaining read.
Brad - Another combative midfield performance to underline his claims for this year’s player of the season
Adam - Back in goal today and probably wished he’d been running up and down the wing so he could keep warm in the arctic wind. Had a bit of a Gary Sprake moment, but was left a bit exposed by his defence
Raife - Unavailable for selection; playing a different code with funny shaped balls down South
Lawto - Stood out amongst the mediocrity of both teams today - hardly put a boot wrong and the only real candidate for Man of The Match
Barto - Unavailable for selection; like Town today was on a slippery downhill slope somewhere at much higher altitude, but probably just as cold as Jim Evison
Jordi - Played like a leader and never gave up. His positive attitude during these testing times is a model for the rest of the team to follow
Benno - A very timely recovery from injury and showed great recovery levels to play the whole game (not that we had any subs anyway). A couple of crucial tackles in 1st half gave him confidence despite being short of match practice.
Fordy - Unavailable for selection; Bouncing up and down gymnastically somewhere instead....just like his father once used to if you believe the gossip
G - Unavailable for selection, but great to see him coming down to support his team mates, although probably wished he’s stayed at home and watched the United v Fulham game, which by all accounts was just as disappointing
Milan - Unavailable for selection
Owain - Probably the best I’ve seen him play this season, filling in ably at the centre of the defence
Deano - Ran his socks off, but frustratingly the end result didn’t reflect all his hard work in the build up
Oli M - Had the same sort of afternoon as Deano - couldn’t be faulted for effort but it was one of those days where the final ball wouldn’t just run right for Oli
Boyley - What I said for Deano and Oli M. Unfortunately for Peter, his best shot of the day was the one he aimed at his marker in an off the ball incident which luckily the referee didn’t spot otherwise it would have been early bath time.
Dan - Battled manfully through the pain barrier all game and was clearly struggling with a leg injury. His goal was absolute quality though
Jack - Chased and battled all game, but really didn’t get much in the way of support from his midfield. He’s settling down nicely in his new team and goals shouldn’t be too long coming
 Man of the Match: James Lawton
Team : A Shaw, J Garner, J Lawton, O Davies, B Harris, B Jackson, D Musa, P Boyle, J Gillespie, O Mehta, D Miller
 Goals : D Miller
 Assists : J Lawton
Source: M Shaw << to news index
Wilmslow Town U13 Cougars : More Information
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