30/11/08 Stratton 2 V Wanborough 2

On a cold afternoon, Wanborough were held to a 2 - 2 draw by a determined Stratton Youth side. It was an exciting even game with some solid football from both teams. Wanborough took an early lead thanks to a keeper-lobbing shot from Max. Stratton then fought back and scored 2 goals and Wanborough ended the first half 2 - 1 down. The second half saw open play and chances from both sides. Max slotted his second goal of the match away to end the match with a well deserved draw.

23/11/08 Match Report Fairford 3 - Wasps 2

After a five week break we travelled to Fairford for a top of the league encounter on a wet and blustery morning.

 

A bright start full of good quality passing soon resulted in Taylor's cross evading the goalkeeper leaving Jacob an open goal to side foot Wanborough in to the lead. The prospect of returning to the top of the league seemed enough motivation for the boys as another wonderful move and clever pass from Luke G found Luke M wide on the right. His cross again saw the ball flash across the goal but unfortunately this time the strikers couldn't convert the chance.

 

As the middle of the pitch turned stickier due the rain and mud, the game became a physical battle. This suited Fairford much better due to their competitive defending and hard working midfield. However it was a breakdown in our concentration that gifted Fairford an equaliser on the stoke of half-time.

 

The break enabled us to focus on the second-half with a request for more aggression and assertiveness from the defence and midfield in order to regain control of the match. Unfortunately, soon after the restart Fairford took the lead scoring directly from a corner.

 

We quickly restored parity with a wonderful piece of skill from Taylor who wriggled free on the edge of the penalty area before calmly slotting home, giving the keeper no chance.

 

Rather than pushing on to dominate the game we lost focus again to conceded what turned out to be the winning goal as a long clearance was not dealt with by our defenders allowing the sole Fairford striker to stab the bouncing ball past Connor.

 

Our endeavours to force another equaliser focussed on trying to run straight through the middle of the pitch rather than passing the ball wide, which had proved so successful in the early part of the game. All too often Faiford dispossessed us and powered forward themselves on the break. Connor produced a number of good saves as the game opened up in the last few moments.

 

The final whistle brought disappointment for the team but as always something to learn.

 

1. We must stick to our principles of passing the ball and moving the ball wide in order to produce good quality crosses. This will stretch defenders and leave more space in the middle of the pitch.

 

2. All players must close down their opponent whilst defending and work much harder for each other.

 

3. No matter what level of football you play at, if a long ball is allowed to bounce in your penalty area it will end in many goal being conceded. Defenders must deal with this better.