We had lots of excellent chances in this game with most of the game played in the attacking half. A key moment coming from the left as Jet fired in our first goal straight into the bottom left corner. From then, we kept the pressure on and scored many more. After at least 5 chances and hitting the post twice, Kaya got her goal which was great to see! One of her shots was rebounded and Salima took it perfectly on her right foot for a great goal. Janet came out of goal and scored 2 amazing goals as well! One so powerful the goalie couldn’t handle it! Not forgetting great defending when our defence was called into action. What a game! El was player of the match for an excellent debut at Market Road, a highlight being a brilliant corner that led to O’Miya’s first goal. We have been working on finishing and we certainly did have lots of shots. We still need to work on our accuracy of shots and knowing when it may be better to pass back rather than shoot.
An absolutely fantastic performance in the first game from all players! With no subs, all were required to put in a huge shift, and every single player gave it their all. Very difficult to pick a favourite moment from two incredibly impressive performances, in which every player tried their best right till the very end. The team morale was up, and despite losing both games, they knew that they had been playing very well. Huge credit to all those that player today! A performance to remember!
The first player of the match goes to Zack for his brilliant energy levels, constant pressing, fantastic tackling, and strong decision-making. The second player of the match goes to Nathan for a very strong outfield performance, great use of his physical strength to both dispossess the opposition and prevent them from winning it back off him. We have been working on finishing this week, and whilst we did not get many opportunities to shoot, the boys took their chances very well, always either forcing a save or finding the back of the net. Next time we need to continue to play with the fierce intensity that we had today, and with a little work on decision-making and finding the right pass, the hard work will pay off!
Rocco, the goalkeeper from the U8s, made his appearance for the U9s in today’s game! It was a great performance and good spirits all round! When Robert from the Black team finished his earlier game, he was called up to help the Gold team. We needed a switch in play as our game was facing only one side of the pitch. Robert is brilliant in taking duties and is a very intelligent player who helped the team accomplish what we have being practicing: playing from the back and switching play to the wide areas. We got to score our winning goal when Robert got into the game. A brilliant footballer! Marco deserves player of the match as he is becoming a great leader and always cheers up his teammates when in need! In training, we are working on repeating the path of bouncing the ball back when in difficult positions and switching the play where a player is free from opponents.
The Vale took the lead, but Bert gained an equaliser as a cross deflected near post. Ezekial took the lead early in the second half. Fluid football played from a short corner where a combination of passes on the right side of the pitch with a bit individual skill had the parents applauding nearly scoring during a spell of dominance. Player of the match goes to Bert who was key to regaining a foot in the match with his mazy dribbling and driving down the left side, along with getting stuck in defensively. We had Barry Quinn come down and offer a different view and insight to how we should play. More often than not we were aggressive in our directional play, going forward as often as possible. It was beneficial in creating chances, and when losing the ball, in low-danger areas. We need to start the game on the front foot. Next match needs to start with a higher intensity, so we don’t start playing the way we want after conceding.
We hit the woodwork on several occasions in both the 1st and 2nd half. Pre-match was the most successful it has ever been as everyone was on time and involved in a very high tempo and technically good warm-up. We had prepared the best we ever had on a Monday. Archie-Blue was solid as a lone centre back, being 1st to every ball and winning every 1 v 1 duel. He also retained possession very well. We worked on finishing in training and although we had more shots on goal than in previous games, we still were unable to score. We will be working on this and take the chances presented to us but more importantly keep creating the chances that we did.
We had most of possession and we were doing well building through the thirds, but the opposition had a strong defence and we found it hard to finish our chances. All goal keepers made some vital saves! Multiple times O’Miya made some great turns to get away from her defender and make a run and cross down the wing. It was also great to see Annabel have a few shots from her midfield role too! Jet has a tradition of scoring from the right early on in games and it was great to see her do that again in this match! Esther was players player of the match for excellent saves and very important clearances from defence. Coaches players of the match were Jet and Ilva for great attacking play and teamwork. Esther did the goalkeeper training on Thursday, and you could really see she was much more confident in goal. In training, we will be working on our accuracy of our shots, and more specifically our accuracy under pressure, after half term because we had lots of shots but only scored 1.
Marwa scoring a screamer in the top corner at the edge of the box was a big highlight of the game! Defensively, everyone did a great job in their 1vs1 battles. We created a lot more attacking chances than the opposition. Emma constantly applying pressure on their centre midfield forced them to play wide instead of directly in behind our defence. Marwa’s top-class finish was definitely the highlight! Everyone’s effort throughout the whole game was great to see! We created a handful of attacking chances as well as providing good defensive support. In training we worked on ‘looking to play forward’, so it was great to see this transfer into the game. Everyone played a lot more direct and forward thinking in the game, which resulted in us creating a fair number of good chances. We will be working on defensively becoming more organised, with each centre back knowing when to go in for a tackle, and when to jockey.
The boys kept a cool head throughout the game and did not rise to the opposition. The team talk at the beginning of the game was led by Ebby and was inspirational. His enthusiasm and commitment to the team is amazing! Ruben was excellent all game. Playing in a midfield three was something he has not done before, but it did not faze him at all. High numbers on Monday meant that we could all learn the small details needed to become better as a group. Hopefully our full squad will be back from their holidays so we can push on and get points from our last three league games.
Our first goal was one of the key moments since we were able to set the tone of the game very early, which gave us the right confidence. A great initial brace which as mentioned before gave us the calm to better deal with the game. The team were very good on ball distribution. There was a lot more movement off the ball, which we implemented during the week, as well as giving multiple options when a teammate has the ball. We need to work on the speed of possession which sometimes takes longer than it should. Also, releasing the ball earlier and avoiding driving when not necessary. Finally, improving shooting to be more concrete in front of the target.
Bloomsbury opened the scoring through Oscar, who finished well to the keeper’s bottom left. Despite our dominance, creating many opportunities and half-chances, it was AC Finchley who managed to equalise on the counterattack, having missed an open goal a few minutes prior. Following a few simple changes at half-time, and a demand for more leadership on the pitch, the boys stepped up and re-took the lead just 5 minutes in to the second half, with Dylan scoring from a tight angle. Debutant Reese scored with his head from a yard out, beating the keeper to the ball and showing fantastic commitment to make it 3-1. And the fourth came from Alexey with 65 minutes on the clock, closing down the defender with determination, winning the ball cleanly, and finishing to the keeper’s bottom right. It was great to see Alexey get his goal after several missed chances, finishing in off the post to make it 4-1. He never let his head drop and worked extremely hard for the team, pressing from the front. Ismail made his debut in this match and was outstanding. He didn’t miss a tackle, made several key interceptions, moved forward with the ball and started many attacks from left back. The high attendance in training and new registrations, with three debutants for this fixture, have made a huge difference to the team. A well-deserved 11-a-side win for the U18s! This week we’ll be working on retaining possession under pressure, making better quick decisions, and playing with intensity from the first minute. This early intensity has been lacking in both the Friday and Sunday fixture this week, but lessons have been learned!
Bloomsbury had a poor first half, starting slowly and paying the price for this by conceding early in the half. The lack of intensity cost us a second goal shortly after, with an excellent finish from the edge of the box doubling Stoke Newington’s advantage. In the second half, the team stepped up and dominated possession, with Luca leading by example in the middle of midfield. However, Stoke Newington defended well and remained compact at the back, limiting us to long shots and half-chances, and we were unable to break them down throughout the 25 minutes.The best part of the game was seeing the boys step up in the second half after taking control of the team talk at half-time. This sets us up for the next fixture which will determine our chances of winning the league title! Arteen was the key player in this fixture, making numerous strong saves with both his hands and feet. These saves, particularly in the first half, kept Bloomsbury in the game whilst coming under pressure. Arteen was also excellent with his restarts in the second half, providing a mixture of long balls and short passes to begin our attacks. Another excellent week of training with 18 in attendance and a high intensity 60-minute match, so we will be looking to replicate that on Friday night’s for the remainder of the season. There is certainly no lack of quality in the squad! We will be looking for more intensity, from arrival through to the final whistle!
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