Under 14s Reports Archive (October)

Sponsors of the Under 13s

Under 14s v. Lancing Rangers (Result 2-1) League - 02/10/04

 

For the first time this season we arrived with a squad of 11 players, although the prospect of facing Lancing (one of last season's top teams), is always daunting whether home or away. Lancing too had a squad of 11, with 2 of their players on duty for the Centre of Excellence. We were missing our main goalkeeper, Amy, for the same reason, so Katie B again agreed to deputise between the sticks. We started quite briskly and seemed to be having slightly more of the possession than Lancing, and on 8 minutes Amy P came very close when she broke down the right, cut in, and saw her shot cross the keeper but pass inches wide of the left post. Things continued to be fairly even as both teams were challenging for everything and working hard. This was not a spectacular game to watch but we were very well organised, particularly in defence, and worked very much as a team. On

25 minutes we were rewarded for our efforts when Ellie won a tackle and broke towards goal down the right, passing to and fro with Amy P in support. As they approached the Lancing goal either one could have tried the shot but in the end it was Amy's kick that beat the Lancing keeper and put us into the lead. Our defensive line up looked strong and disciplined, with Gemma and Shabana making important challenges and clearances. The last 10 minutes of the half saw a little more pressure from Rangers but our defence stood firm, and Katie B was starting to command her area well.

 

After the break we almost lost the lead in the first minute when Lancing's speculative long shot hit the crossbar with pace. We now had the wind slightly against us and Lancing were piling on the pressure. Once again we almost conceded when, 3 minutes into the second half, lancing piled players into the box, the ball eventually being cleared to safety by Rachel and Steph. Having survived the early scares, our girls settled well and started to play some good football. Our midfielders were laying balls off to each other and starting to find the forwards. Ellie and Katie T were working hard up front, increasing their understanding of each other's game, and building on their teamwork. When Lancing broke through, our defence remained solid and composed. Gemma and Rachel were timing their chasing runs well this week, which meant that Lancing did not have enough time on the ball to create too much danger. As a team, we were communicating a little better, and not letting the opposition settle. We were denying them time and space which frequently pressured them into mistakes. A good example of this was when we chased a ball upfield, with one of our 'spare'

players peeling off to prevent a Lancing defender making a simple clearance to a fellow player. The pressure in front of the Lancing goal forced a back pass and we welcomed the chance of an indirect free kick from 20 yards. It was now almost half way through the second half and Rachel stepped up with a gentle pass to Ellie who tapped it back. Rachel then curled a magnificent shot straight over the Lancing defence and into the top of the net. Almost as good as her 25 yard free kick against East Grinstead! Who would have thought it? Under strength squads, and three losses in a row, yet here we were 2-0 up against one of last year's top teams. Inevitably, Lancing started to pile on the pressure even more, especially as we were reduced to 10 players, when Steph left early for her ballet presentation. The remaining players adjusted position to cover but, just one defensive slip up, 21 minutes into the second half allowed Lancing to just beat the offside trap and descend quickly on goal. We failed to clear the ball and they netted to make it 2-1. The remaining minutes were frantic and not without incident but we just about kept our composure. Gemma, Shabana and, to a certain extent Rachel, again provided important challenges. Katie B's confidence kept building throughout the second half and she should be commended for her fine performance in goal. I did not witness one bad performance and it was great to everyone pulling their weight and working for each other. Our team spirit was fantastic and we thoroughly deserved our first win of the season. Hopefully this performance will give us the confidence we need to climb back up the table to where we know we belong.

This week's 'Player of the Match' award goes to Gemma in recognition of her professional defensive display. She kept her concentration for the whole match, timed her runs better than in previous games, and put in clean and effective tackles on many occasions. Our keeper's performance was not far behind that of Gemma, along with every other member of the team. Well done girls. Keep it up!

 

 

 

Under 14s v. Lindfield (Result 0-2) League - 10/10/04

 

We arrived at Lindfield with (for the first time this season), a full team and the luxury of a substitute as well. Our past encounters with the Lindfield girls had often been closely contested, and this match was to be no exception. By winning the toss, we started with the wind and the slight slope in our favour. Early pressure produced a couple of half chances but we failed to find the net. Lindfield broke on 12 minutes, and forced Amy C to make her first save of the afternoon. The speed of the Lindfield break warned us of what was to follow. It is fair to say that most of the first half was played nearer Lindfield's goal than ours, but they were quick and strong when they did get the ball forward, so our defensive players certainly had to keep their wits about them. Mid way through the first half we won a throw-in some 10 yards from the Lindfield goal line. Steph found her throw in rebounding back towards her at head height. Undaunted, she attacked the ball with vigour and headed the ball some 30 yards across the  Lindfield goalmouth. Although the ball passed three of our players, not one of them managed to knock the ball into the net. By this time, Ellie had come on as sub and almost created a goal within minutes of doing so. Her well taken corner kick was headed towards the top right of goal by Rachel but flew agonisingly wide, missing by just inches. When Lindfield broke, our defence seemed to be playing as a solid unit, and covered very well.

Gemma tracked back well, and Katie B made some particularly well timed challenges. But with 7 minutes of the first half remaining, Lindfield managed to beat the defensive line and rushed in from the right. Their player's shot was very well taken as she struck low and hard across Amy and into the bottom left corner. Lindfield were 1-0 up, slightly against the run of play, and we had just a few minutes with the wind and slope in our favour. Unfortunately we failed to make the most of the situation, and many of our balls into the box were slightly over-hit, giving Lindfield's keeper a far better chance than our strikers of reaching them.

 

After the break we came out fighting but, ironically, got caught again by a fast Lindfield run that ended in a near identical goal to their first. The ball was slotted firmly and accurately across our keeper into the bottom left corner to give Lindfield a 2-0 lead. Although further breaks were made, our defence continued to catch most of them and seemed well under control. We were turning defensive situations to our advantage and playing good football but time and time again, failed to make an accurate final pass, thus wasting all the hard work our midfield were putting in. Katie T was running here there and everywhere, but Lindfield worked out that she was their biggest threat and tried desperately to mark her out of the game.

Unfortunately, she was not too well supported by her fellow strikers on the day and, although she tried very hard, found she was closed down on virtually every occasion. We tried varying the attack a little to take the pressure off Katie T. Steph and Rachel were combining particularly well down the left, with Steph chipping in some great balls and Rachel picking up the attack. One such example saw Rachel with no passing options and she ran towards goal, shooting low and hard into the far right of the goal, only to see the Lindfield keeper tip the ball away at the last minute. This was Rachel's third very near miss and she was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet. I was pleased with the second half performance, especially as we had the balance of possession, despite playing uphill and against the wind. I believe that we were only let down by the fact that a couple of our attacking players put in slightly below par performances. We need to be a little more creative in the final third of the field and keep supporting the attack. A little more running, control, and accurate passing would surely have resulted in us finding the net more than once. Lindfield took their chances well on the day but, on the whole, we failed to do the same.

This week's 'Player of the Match' award goes to Steph. It is very difficult to give awards to your own daughter for fear of showing favouritism and, to be honest, she would normally have to put in an exceptional effort for me to even consider her. Today she did just that, and thoroughly deserved the recognition. As always, her work-rate was 100% but she turned numerous defensive challenges into attacking situations. She tackled hard and fair; coming out on top in the majority of cases. Her throw-ins were intelligently taken; often into space just in front of our forwards, enabling them to turn and run on to balls. She also demonstrated exactly how an attacking full back should play, by pushing up well and chipping delightful balls in from the left. When required to run back and chase, she seemed to be there when needed, demonstrating obvious improvements in speed and fitness. As if that wasn't enough, she was heading balls confidently when only months ago she considered heading to be one of her weaker points.

These improvements show just what can be done when a player is determined to learn and improve. Overall, I was reasonably happy with our performance but would like a little more commitment and support in the final third.

Let's try and put that right for next week.

Under 14s v. Worthing Minors (Result 2-4) League - 31/10/04

 

Last season's results against Minors confirmed our status as their 'bogey'

team, having beaten them once in a friendly, and twice in the league. This is the local derby match that no-one wants to miss, and 2 of the girls went to great lengths to make sure they returned home early from half term trips so that they could play. As it happened, Minors broke the curse we had over them but, until almost the end of a very exciting match, it could have gone either way.

 

The first half saw Minors dominating, with about 60% of the possession. We played a well organised game defensively and soaked up much of the pressure without too many dramas. It certainly wasn't all one way traffic with Amy P coming very close on two occasions within the first 10 minutes. Both were similar moves resulting from breaks down the centre. Minors responded correctly by driving her to the left of goal and, both times, Amy's left footed efforts ran tantalisingly wide. In the first of these, Amy was under less pressure and, in hindsight, had time to cut in and shoot with her favoured right foot. It was early in the game, however, and it is difficult to judge these things until you have had some time to settle. Minors continued to have some chances in front of our goal but few of these were clear cut. Our defenders seemed to be doing enough to force hurried shots and errors. It wasn't until the 24th minute, that we looked in real danger.

We failed to clear an attack resulting from a corner, and the Minor's second shot produced a good reaction save from Amy C. Then again in the 29th minute, Minors let us off with another narrow escape. Things were really hotting up and soon turned to our advantage. Our central break failed to penetrate their defence but the resulting rebound found Rachel on her own in the middle of the field. She looked up and shrewdly spotted that the opposing defenders and the keeper had already started to push forward.

With great skill she chipped the ball over the lot of them and into the net. We were 1-0 up with only 4 minutes of the first half remaining. What a great time to score!

 

In the second half, we came out with a little more style and the game became much more even. Despite this, Minors managed to level the score just

6 minutes from the break. Our resolve was strong and we did not let this affect our game. Steph was pushing up well from the left back position and gaining us valuable ground. Poppy, on the right, was also starting to combine well with Rachel having adjusted to the fact that Susan, her normal sidekick, was not alongside her due to family commitments. Ellie and Katie T were being brought more into the game with some good play down the wings.

In the first half, their game involved chasing balls down the centre from breaks. But this half saw some good football and more creativity in midfield. One of Poppy's runs put Rachel through down the right and she cut in slightly before her cross/shot from a narrow angle found the far corner of the net. 2-1 and back in the lead mid way through the second half. At this stage it would have been easy for Minors to assume we had put the jinx on them yet again but, to give them credit, they would not give up. It took them just 3 more minutes before they exploited a rare lack of organisation in our defence and drew level once again. With all to play for, the game became very hectic and agonising to watch. We were denied an appeal for handball in the area when the ref either didn't spot it, or decided to give our opponents the benefit of the doubt. Things remained tight and the game was one of end to end football, but it was good to watch, with skilful moments from both sides. Both teams were building their attacks rather than chasing long balls. Ellie came very close for us, and set up another chance for Amy P but they were not to be. With just a few minutes remaining, Minors slotted a strong shot to the left of our diving keeper.

Unfortunately Amy was unable to get down fast enough, and the ball just slid under her to put our opponents in the lead for the first time in the game (2-3). I admit that we were the slightly weaker team in the first half but, if you take the game as a whole, I believe a draw would have been a fair result. To make things worse, Minors put the ball in the net again with a minute to go, despite one of their players appearing to be almost on the line and in a clear offside position where she could be interfering with play. The linesman stood firm in his decision and kept his flag up as he believed the goal should not have stood. The ref decided to overrule him and gave the goal, leaving Minors with a 2-4 victory. As I said at the beginning, until very near the end, the game could literally gone either way.

 

This was a very sound team performance and everyone should receive some  

credit but, in particular,  I was impressed with Katie B's defensive display. Her timing and positioning were good but, rather than clearing balls as far as she could, she weighted many of her kicks so that they fell at the feet of our attacking players. The 'Player of the Match' award this week has to go equally to Poppy and Rachel. As I mentioned, Poppy adjusted well to playing without Susan and created some good attacking situations as well as always being ready to challenge and shut down players in the middle of the field. Rachel's main skill is in reading a game, and being in the right place at the right time. This she did in commanding fashion and, what's more, scored two excellent goals to cap a great display of football.