Under 14's.

Sunday 6th November 2011 - Away v Stockport Junior Blues

  Result - Woodley Albion 3 Stockport Junior Blues 1

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Match Report: Mike Lamont (Manager)

 First of all a very big thank you to Howard and Dave for taking the helm while I was away ( holiday booked prior to me taking over and they have both informed me I can't do it again!!). But 2 great victories from the full squad - thanks guys.

 What we learned today is that our lads have now moved on from junior soccer and small 7 a side goals don't suit us! Small pitches also don't and we appear to suffer from away day syndrome. A far from classy performance that means that we have plenty to work on in training but we did come away with the points and a 3-1 win.

 We started the game with a 4-3-3 set up as the pitch was narrow and that suited the players we had available. A bright start had us on top without creating any chances but the first landed at Franco's feet and a curling left foot shot beat the keeper and rattled off the bar- certainly not the last time that would happen in this game. James went on a "James" run down the left shortly after and he sent a fierce cross shot across the 6 yard box but it just evaded Tom, Rudgie and Nathan at the far post.

 In defence they began to put us under pressure with balls over the top but Jake pounced on every loose ball and every shot that he faced.

Brandon and Chris played well as a partnership all game talking well with their full backs and sweeping up the majority of balls over the top. Ross had a great first half sitting in front of the back 2 and all 3 put in some strong tackling and cleared their lines well. The first half was summed up with rushed shots and we need to relax, use our heads and when necessary pick out a forward in a better position.

 Josh played a blinder today with some fantastic tackling and good positional play and was a close runner for MOM.

 James had 2 more chances which went wide and another that the keeper saved well, the ball fell wide and Nathan squared it back but Rudgies effort again went outside the posts. With full size goals I think a good majority of these would have gone in but it summed up the need to shoot on target and as a result it was 0-0 which was probably what both teams deserved.

I decided to change the system to 4-4-2 in the second half and we started better with Tom supporting up front and this resulted in a number of chances. Tom's first effort was saved by the keeper and the game was swinging from both ends and I thought the first goal would be crucial. A corner to SJB was well defended and a James header was cleared and Franco found himself wide right and bore down on goal and squared the ball across the advancing keeper and Tom cooly slotted home for 1-0. This was indeed exactly was happened and suddenly we relaxed on the ball and started to take control of the game. James was again sent clear but his effort went narrowly wide and another effort hit the bar again. Tom, for those old enough, then produced a Ronnie Rossental moment as his effort went over the bar but again showed he was in the right position to get on the end of balls played into the box. Some days it just doesn't happen but next week I expect him to bag a hat full from the same positions he made. Liam was proving tricky for the left back and managed to get crosses in from the right and again from the breakdown James once again rattled the bar.  Just as it looked like we would extend our lead the opposition did finish off what they produced and suddenly we were back to 1-1. What I did like about this period of the game was how quickly we responded, no heads went down but we set about scoring almost from the kick off and thankfully James found the target with a great strike 2-1. This was the last straw for SJB and their heads dropped as a result and with almost the last kick of the game James again slotted for 3-1.

 Far from our best performance this season as we didn't make it easy for ourselves but we battled well, kept going for the full duration and didn't allow heads to go down when they equalised. Some notable performances in there today but for me for someone who stepped unto the plate, delivered what was asked and more importantly listens and learns, man of the match for his second half display goes to Liam, well done.

 Next week sees the return leg of Chapel Town (aka Stoke City throw ins) and I am looking for a clean sheet in this one to ensure that our great run continues....

 Mike
 
Man of the Match award - Liam.