I came away with mixed feelings after watching this game, mainly because of I haven’t seen that much football at this age group.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I was impressed with the way we started the match. We were fast out of the blocks in the first 20 minutes and had a deserved lead early on thanks to a goal from the lively Josh Parker.
Parker started well on the left and is a tricky and quick customer, but what surprised me was how direct he was. He took players on at every opportunity, even when it looked like it wasn’t possible to get around the back of them. I was taken back by how many times he successfully beat his man with seemingly very little on. It was his determination to get past the full-back that led to his early goal which he finished well with from an acute angle.
But I found myself asking whether he would be able to beat players in that manner in the men’s game and the answer I kept coming back with was “no” because of the added quality, strength and experience at that level. It would nullify that exciting part of Parker’s play so he needs to learn about that as he progresses, it’s all just experience of course. For now, it’s nice to see a young man willing to run at players and have a go at taking them on.
We had a nice period of dominance where we looked quite strong and with a lot of good shape. I was impressed at this point at the fitness of the team, but after a while we seemed to run out of steam and quite quickly too. It allowed Grimsby to get into the game and their football improved as the match went on and they made us pay the price by scoring just before half-time.
The warning signs were there as well as they managed to carve us open once or twice prior to their equaliser and they capitalised on errors we made and were very cute in attack. I thought they overloaded and worked the flanks ever so well and deserved their goal.
I was impressed with Antonio Germain as well, who played up front. I thought he showed a lot of good movement and won plenty of awkward balls. He did a decent job of holding the ball up, but the support play needed to be better as he was a bit isolated at times and that meant we squandered opportunities to create some dangerous situations.
You can see why this lad has done well though. He was up against two very big and strong Grimsby centre-halves, but he was a right handful for them and if he can continue to progress he’ll have a chance at professional level.
But the main problem was that we were too direct at times. The defence were prone to just hoofing or smashing the ball forward and when Parker or Germain had possession, they too were sometimes a little too direct and should have opted to set the ball back or play it square a little more.
We didn’t do enough of inviting our units, in terms of the midfield and defence, forward more and had we done that we’d have had a lot more control over the game. Setting the ball back is one of the most effective uses of the ball and it’s something a lot of younger or inexperienced players and teams do not do enough of and I felt that was the case here.
And our play surprised me a little bit because I watched Steve Gallen taking the defence through some warm up drills which suggested we were going to knock the ball around at the back, and looked quite sensible. So it was a little surprising that the players didn’t really pass backwards or go home when they should have, because that too would have allowed us to settle and keep control of the ball.
We didn’t play particularly well after 20 minutes but that’s not to say that we don’t have good players. Technically there are plenty who are competent although some need to work on their strength and body posture to protect the ball as the amount of times players on both sides lost possession after taking a touch, due to being outmuscled, was unusual. Those situations happen far less frequently in the men’s game.
Grimsby played quite well on the counter attack or generally in attack and they grew in confidence as the match progressed. They should have probably added another goal on the scoreboard, especially after we had a man sent-off, but they failed to take advantage.
The way they attacked in waves meant a lot of our players often got attracted to the ball, which is another thing they need to learn about, and that created several dangerous situations for us. The amount of times they got around the back of our full-backs, in the way Josh Parker did for us, was also surprising but our keeper Elvijs Putnins made some great saves in goal.
Still, we created some chances and Germain almost nicked an equaliser before Luke Olley’s dismissal and had that gone it, it may have spurred the boys on but in the end, Grimsby’s play did deserve it.
On a closing note it was interesting to see how many players from both teams were getting cramp from around the 75 minute mark. At one point I counted about 9-10 players struggling and that sort of worried me. Are we putting too much emphasis on the physical side of the game and not enough on the technical? I’m not sure, but I’d much rather see a shorter match full of quality than a kick and rush over 90 minutes where players are struggling to finish in one piece.
Despite the loss, I still enjoyed watching the team and would encourage anybody who hasn’t been to see our other teams play to try and get down and see them more often, regardless of whether it’s men or women, or the senior or youths.
Photos
Album 1
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