Everyone in the team really had to dig deep as we had 8 players against 9. We had great spells of build-up play on the left wing early on and a few shots go wide. From Carla, Malaika and Georgia putting in an incredible shift defensively to some excellent runs down the wing from Amaya and Scarlet to Tori wining it well and distributing in midfield to Renae and Romoya causing their defence problems, PSA were unable to quell the Bloomsbury storm! Georgia made it 1-0 with an incredible free kick from at least 20 yards out that lobbed the keeper beautifully. After some lovely build up play and a through ball Renae shot from close range to make it 2-0 and right at the end Tori made some excellent fingertip saves to keep our clean sheet. Player of the match goes to captain Carla for stopping every single player that ran by her from having a shot and when she won the ball she would stay calm and start an attack, on occasion even dribbling into space helping the team counterattack immediately. We could definitely work on our accuracy of our passes in the final third and our accuracy of shot.
Charlie winning a penalty and then scoring the opening goal of the match was the best moment of this game! The teamwork and goal scored by Henry was also great to see! Amazing to then see the team celebrate together! Liam received player of the match as he played brilliant as a defender and worked hard for the team to win the ball back. The teamwork demonstrated in training was clear to see on the team and how the team performed. We will try and make sure one defender is always back to be able to defend against counter attacks!
The key moment of this game was that the girls played the whole match with 4 players for a 5-a-side game and working tirelessly for each other up and down the pitch. The commitment was phenomenal! Poppy made some great saves in the first half and scored some great goals in the second half! Lyla and Noa played the entire game outfield and combined to score a great goal early on from a fantastic throw in by Noa! Bakita won the ball in the defensive third and then took on the entire opposition multiple times! When we scored the first goal to go 1-0 up, the surprise and joy on the girls’ faces was brilliant, and I don’t think they ever considered not playing their normal football due to being at a disadvantage! It made them work harder for each other if anything! It’s a very tough choice as all of the girls could have won this, but it has to go to Noa for her non-stop running during the game. Making supporting runs, recovery runs and penetrative runs- she also got a well-deserved goal! We didn’t have training this week however the week before we did some work with Barry Quinn on playing football in the oppositions half, making forward passes and throw ins and this was certainly evident in the game! We will be even better next week by working on our build up play, passing the ball under pressure in our own half to get the ball into the oppositions half which will especially help us in 7 a side!
There were a lot of contentious moments that went against our team, with us not being awarded 2 penalties and the opposition converting 1 but missing the other. Additionally, we hit the post 3 times in the 2nd half within a very short space of time which would’ve given us an unassailable lead! Towards the end of the 1st half, with us under pressure, both Yacine and Adam Z put their bodies on the line to help preserve a 1-0 deficit that allowed us to claw back more realistically in the 2nd period. Player of the match, Eytan commanded his area fantastically, made some great saves when required, and always looked to be positive with his distribution. Half-term camps meant that training didn’t go ahead, and the players appeared a little bit rusty with the basics. A full week of training will enable us to iron out any cracks in preparation for next week’s fixture to which we have players returning too!
Conceding a penalty against PFA was very quickly responded to with a hat trick from Adam! He definitely deserves player of the match for his effectiveness in 1v1 situations alongside his hat trick. Being comfortable enough to recycle and retain possession is crucial and we will be working on this. A lot of work in the last month has been into playing forward, but we still need to be confident in retaining possession and playing out the back.
This match was very comfortable for Bloomsbury, and we dominated from the first minute! Player of the match goes to Mo who made his way into the box to get himself a goal! Player of the match also goes to Max for being solid in midfield, with excellent positioning in particular during defensive transition.
Going 2-0 just after half time caused a massive loss of confidence and belief. It was an uphill battle from that moment. Morgan earned player of the match as he pulled some incredible saves in a game where we could’ve conceded more. He kept his head up despite an extremely tough game! We will be working on playing against a high press and effectively moving the ball into the midfield 3rd.
Amazing goal from Kaya to make it 1-1 in the first half. Jet did not stop running and at one point took the ball all the way from our half and had a shot on goal which the goalie unfortunately saved. Frankie and Esther played the full game in defence and stayed focused throughout! It was great to see everyone track back and defend but in particular both Salima and O’Miya made some excellent tackles when tracking back. Coaches Player of the match goal to Salima for exactly this reason and players player of the match, Kaya and O’miya. Having the half term break may have led to us being a little bit rusty. We still managed to play through the thirds well, but it was our final pass sometimes that didn’t quite go to feet, or we didn’t come forward to receive. We will work on these elements in training and also look at defending set pieces better.
It was a disappointing result for Bloomsbury, in a closely contested fixture. The boys worked hard and gave 100%, which is all that we can ever ask of them, and sometimes this won’t be enough to win the game. The coaches felt that Jake deserved to win player of the match, playing for 40 minutes and doing what he was asked to do brilliantly. To improve next week, we will be working on being faster in possession of the ball, retaining until there are opportunities to create clear opportunities to score.
Bloomsbury started strong, dominating the early stages and creating opportunities, testing the goalkeeper from distance and recycling possession when there wasn’t the option to play forward. This intelligent play was rewarded with a goal on 16 minutes when Raphy rifled home Oscar’s knock-down from the edge of the box. With Bloomsbury 1-0 up, they continued to control the game right up until the 44th minute, when the referee over-ruled the linesman’s offside call and Borehamwood went through on goal to equalise.
This changed the momentum and despite the half-time break, the second half started with Borehamwood on the front foot. They scored from a cross on 48 minutes and doubled their lead four minutes later. This lapse in concentration cost Bloomsbury the game in the end, though it wasn’t without a fight. The boys continued to work hard on and off the ball, looking to play in behind the Borehamwood defence, who did well to limit us to shots from outside the box. A special mention to Tristan who stepped up for the second time in recent weeks to play the role of goalkeeper, following a late drop-out. This is always appreciated as it shows the commitment he has to Bloomsbury and his teammates. The player of the match was Maksym, our captain on the day, who led by example in his actions throughout. He committed to every challenge, winning everything at the feet and every aerial dual too. An impressive performance that we are becoming accustomed to! We have two big games coming up this week, on both Friday and Sunday. These will require 100% commitment in both attendance and performance if we are to get the desired results!
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