28 Oct 07: Grasshoppers 0-5 Withdean Youth October 31, 2007
Posted by editor in : Uncategorized , trackbackDespite the scoreline in this cup match, this performance was miles better than the previous week against St Hill Blues. Withdean Youth play in the Sussex County League and were an extremely well drilled, fit and skillful team.
The game was played in poor conditions, but in the right spirit throughout, with the exception of one off the ball incident, which Withdean’s coach commendably dealt with immediately. There is no disgrace in losing to a better side and there are lots of positives we can take from this game.
We held them for most of the first half and also managed to create a number of chances of our own. The defence performed very well as a unit and worked very hard throughout the match. Unsurprisingly, Withdean had the bulk of possession, so there was plenty of work for them to do! If the defence plays this well for the rest of the season, we won’t be conceding many goals in the league. All four of Sammy, Callum, Matt and Ryan deserve credit for the way they stuck to their task right throughout the game.
J-P had not recovered from his back injury the previous week and had to be replaced in the first half. Ben dropped back into central midfield and worked well with Craig, who had another strong game.
Josh made some excellent saves until he was forced to leave the pitch after deciding to use his head as a battering ram against their striker’s knee. On the basis that he doesn’t see straight at the best of times, he felt well enough to come back on for the last 10 minutes up front. Harry and Sam also worked hard up and down the flanks and were both involved in our best moves going forward.
There are two points where our performance could have been better and which we need to take on board for the future.
The first is that, where we are playing against strong teams who make us work hard to win the ball, it is essential that we keep our composure when we do win the ball. Withdean generally played 5-10 yard simple passes- very rarely resorting to the long ball. When we got the ball under control, too often we seemed to panic and hoof it away when we felt the pressure coming. There are two aspects to this- one is simply that we need to keep a cool head and the other is that when a teammate wins the ball, we need to be giving him easy options immediately. If he only has one option, then it is easy for the opposition to see that option and to close it down, thereby putting immediate pressure on us. If he has two or more, then they have to work harder to see them and close them. Aiden talked about this as having a pass “in your pocket” before you receive the ball. If you have thought about it in advance, then that will help you not to panic when they put pressure on you.
The second is that Sunday’s game showed very clearly the need to defend from the front. This doesn’t seem to be part of our natural game yet and it needs to be. When we got the ball at the back, Withdean strikers always worked hard to make life uncomfortable for us, which often resulted in the ball being kicked away. At the other end, there were times when their keeper was able to roll the ball out to a defender, who was then able to advance 10 yards and then slide it sideways to a teammate who was wide open, who could then do the same thing. The strikers must defend from the front as a pair, with one going to the ball carrier and the other covering off and making sure there is no easy option.
Anyway, both of these points are things we can work on and in no way detract from what was a spirited and committed performance from the team.
MoM this week goes to Craig (again!), who shades it from the defenders, partly because after putting in a good shift in midfield, he did really well in goal when Josh got injured. I can’t really single out a CRAP award recipient this week, as I don’t think anyone did enough to earn it. So I guess it will have to go to James for managing to damage himself so spectacularly- James, I really hope it’s not as serious as it sounds!
Onwards and upwards!
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