It was the first time the U9 boys attended the tournament. I really appreciated their efforts throughout. Although we didn’t have enough subs and the U9’s didn’t have the chance to play together a lot this season, there was good chemistry amongst them in the matches.
The first two games, with big physical and technical disadvantage, we hardly kept the ball and progressed to the other half. Defence wise, we had worked hard to stay compact and delay the attack, but unfortunately after we blocked the shots, we didn’t clear the ball far enough and had too many instances of unnecessary dribbling in own half which were unsuccessful, resulting in loss of possession again. We might have had the chance to get a draw in the second game, but luck wasn’t with us on the day.
From the third game, the boys really started to play the football we were looking for. When they were in possession, everyone moved actively into space and created nice angles to keep the ball moving, rather than carrying the ball individually all the time. As such, we had more chances to progress the ball forward. The win in the third game really boosted spirits, and let them believe that they can win against any team if they can maintain the principles of play that we have worked on.
In the fourth and fifth games, we continued the pattern but endurance became the biggest problem for us. Without fresh legs, the intensity in defence dropped, resulting in too much space between the lines which was exploited in transition. When given chances, the boys were not able to seize them. With two narrow losses, the boys journey ended at the quarter final stage.
The most impressive match was the third game. The game was the turning point in the tournament. The boys started to get used to the formation and the positions they were playing in. As a result, we created an environment where passing and moving had the opportunities to thrive. With that, we were able to threaten the opposition in the final third by simple 1-2 passing patterns from the right wing and then penetrating into the box. One of these instances finished with Brian opening the goal account for us. That gave the boys confidence, and Johan’s 2 goals secured our first win. They all had smiling faces when that game finished.
The player of the tournament goes to Mason. He did extremely well as a wing back, executed the game plan with a high quality. In defence, he was patient and stuck to his position, delaying the player and finding the right time to make tackles. In attack, he made good forward movements to provide wide options for his teammates and good decisions on when to pass or dribble. He showed good understanding about the wing back role.
Before the tournament started, I kept emphasizing there points to the boys. 1) stick to your position 2) think about when to pass and dribble and 3) delay the attack. Through the tournament, the boys gradually understood the principles and were able to apply the understanding into the matches. I’m really happy that the learning was taking place throughout the day. We still need to work on support and passing quality to help them keep their performances more consistent.
In a thrilling CYL Cup final, our U9 team faced off against a formidable opponent, delivering a match full of excitement, skill, and determination. The game kicked off with both teams displaying remarkable energy and enthusiasm. Our team found an early breakthrough thanks to Ezekiel, who showcased his exceptional dribbling skills. Picking up the ball on the left side, Ezekiel weaved through the opposition’s defence with ease and coolly slotted the ball into the net, giving us a 1-0 lead.
However, our celebration was short-lived. Just before the half-time whistle, the opposition mounted a swift counter-attack and managed to equalize. The tension in the air was palpable as both teams headed into the break on level terms.
The second half was a showcase of end-to-end football. Both teams created numerous opportunities, but the match was defined by stellar goalkeeping on both sides. James Gallier made several crucial saves, keeping us in the game, while their keeper was equally impressive, denying us multiple times.
With neither side able to break the deadlock, the match proceeded to the nerve-wracking penalty shootout. Despite our best efforts and the determination, we were edged out by a narrow 3-2 margin. Football has its highs and lows, and that day was a low for the lads, but there are so many more highs ahead for this talented group of players.
My favourite moment has to be when Luca Sidhu smacked the post of a shot and was followed up by a rebound from Rocco Becci, who smacked the post again. It was my favourite moment because it showed dedication from the boys to score and practicing what we had worked on within training.
My Player of the match goes to James Gallier. A brilliant performance in defence for the first half then to go in goal and pull of a magnificent triple save to keep the scores level. A fantastic performance from James.
This weeks training looked into the details of the finish from different areas. I think we could’ve put this more into our game but things don’t come instantly, so we keep working. Next week is the week before half term so there will be matches. However, seeing as its tournament season and we keep going to penalties, we will have a penalty competition on arrival to training.
The London Colney tournament started with an unexpected twist for our U9 boys group. In a moment of confusion, I accidentally fielded seven players instead of six, leading to a frantic and chaotic opening game. This mishap contributed to our initial 2-0 loss, but it also seemed to ignite a spark within the team.
From that point on, our boys rallied magnificently. They displayed tremendous skill, teamwork, and resilience, winning every match that followed. Each victory showcased their growing confidence and determination, propelling them towards the top of the standings.
As we approached the final group game, we found ourselves in a nail-biting scenario. To play for the trophy, we needed a particular team to win by less than two goals or for the opposition to defeat them. Our wishes were granted, and we secured our place in the knockouts.
Despite the momentum we had built, luck was not on our side in the decisive match. Our boys fought valiantly but ultimately succumbed to a 2-0 defeat. It’s worth noting, with a touch of humour, that all our losses happened while playing uphill! All jokes aside, football has its highs and lows, and that day was a low for the lads. But there are so many more highs ahead for this talented group of players.
My Favourite moment has to be Maxi’s brilliant control from the area passing it over to Maleek to win a free kick. Then a Ronaldo type of free kick riffled in the back corner from Maleek. Our first goal of the tournament. The celebration wasn’t of the same standard I’m afraid. My Player of the tournament is going to two players on a split. Paulo and Ezekiel both listened to instructions given and showed their quality in helping the team both offensively and defensively. Arguably being the best they’ve played this season, which is saying something as these two have some serious talent. Well done to both boys and keep it up!
This weeks training looked into the details of the finish from different areas. I think we could’ve put more of this into our game but these things take time. Next week we’ll be practicing some penalties as a bit of a treat for the boys, but also out of necessity.
The U12s have worked hard to get all the way into the cup final of the Camden Youth League Cup. We started very slowly with a few mistakes leading 4-0 half time score. The second half was a different story with Bloomsbury being on the front foot, the reaction of the team being very positive. From here we were unlucky not to get a goal with the chances we created. In the end it wasn’t to be and we went home with the runners up trophy.
My highlight of the match was Mark pressing high up the pitch and winning the ball multiple times. He never gave up. Our players of the match were Mark and Joseph. Mark for his determination and hard work up front never backing down from a challenge. Joseph for his amazing display as a sweeper keeper consistently stopping chances from being created.
In training we focused on playing in wide areas, in order to go 1 on 1, which in turn created chances. To improve we need to concentrate from the start and communicate to our team mates.
In football, there is always a chance of chaos. With my teams, it is inevitable. Most would see this as an area of concern. I see it as a healthy dose of stress which facilitates the growth of individuals who are adaptable to change. Creating those who are able to handle adversity.
We would face plenty of that in our cup final against a formidable London Football School (LFS) side, who were deemed by leading figures in the organisation as the best collection of players that the club possessed. Some challenge for my girls.
In classic Bloomsbury Girls Under 16 fashion, there was some pre-match drama. Team sheets needing to be checked (which I didn’t have), players not registered, other players arriving late. The usual faff that we have to deal with on match day. If we ever get a clean 30 minutes before a game, the rest of the women’s footballing world better watch out. Luckily, I was allowed on the pitch this time.
We had a really strong team available with plenty of opportunity to rotate, change and adapt to the challenges that LFS could throw at us. I was confident that we could get a positive result, especially given our heroic efforts against them earlier in the competition. In that game we were somewhat exposed by LFS’s super talented centre back who picked us apart with her excellent distribution. The instruction for our forwards was not to press her, but also not to give her the space to get her head up. If we could get her to pass sideways, we had done a good job.
Straight from the kick-off Rebecca sprinted at her and blocked an attempted long ball. A clear statement of intent. Your move LFS.
The game continued on an even keel. Both team’s being able to progress the ball up the pitch and have a sight of goal. This would be to our detriment as we over committed on an attack and left our self vulnerable at the back. Carla was left defending an ocean of space as LFS swiftly countered (starting with an out ball from their centre back, ugh) and found themselves bearing down 1 on 1 with Malaika in goal. They, of course, finished clinically to take an early lead.
The main way that they have hurt us in the past was through our over commitment followed by a number of their players running at our goal keeper, which we had discussed pre-game. Still, it was early on and we had plenty of time to erase the deficit.
30 seconds later we were on the attack. Alexia bearing down 1v1 with their centre back, who managed to deflect the ball out from the corner. With some clever thinking, before LFS could set their defence up, Alexia took a quick corner, picking out Karin. Karina took a touch to set and then fired/toe poked the ball beyond their unsuspecting keeper. This was a major win for me as I have been hounding the girls for months to view stoppages as opportunities to cause damage rather than breaks in play, and we did just that. Balance restored.
As the game progressed, it was clear that there would be more goals. Following a throw in on the left wing, Karina, again showing her excellent awareness of space, stayed away from where she wanted to receive the ball. She then darted into it to receive the ball in front of LFS’s midfield dynamo, jinking left and right, finally managing to squeeze a cross in. Hanna was on hand to use her body to force an LFS defender, who had intercepted the cross, into a mistake and Cruyff turned the ball home. Elite mentality to come from behind against such high quality opposition.
LFS would soon equalise through some poor decision making from us. Promise would win the ball on the left hand side about 10 metres from goal and instead of releasing to an open team mate or Malaika in goal, she tried to take on their pressing forward. Losing the ball against other opponents in this situation is not usually a problem for us. Against LFS it has the potential to be catastrophic. They were able to overload us on the right side and squeezed a shot past Malaika’s outstretched leg.
With a few minutes left in the half, Tori managed to nick the ball from an LFS goal kick and fire a shot at their goalkeeper, who pulled of an incredible save with her foot to deny us a lead going into the break. That concluded the first half of the action.
I was lucky, again, to have James Williams on the touchline with me. We discussed whether we needed to make any changes and how we could hurt LFS in the second half. James noticed that we created plenty of opportunities to run at LFS through Rebecca and Alexia, but they were isolated against a host of LFS defenders. As such his main message was simple: support your team mates. My message was for the girls to realise that we were in a contest against a supremely gifted side and the way that they had broken us down was due to us being poor rather than them being good. Limiting the space for them to run into would limit their opportunities.
The second half began with a similar intensity to the first. We had made a change with Malaika coming out of goal, replaced by Tori, to play as our striker. Malaika is one of the players on our team who has the highest footballing IQ. Always making smart decisions on and off the ball. I’m not sure if she stopped running for the entire second half. Boundless energy which spurred us on to press and give LFS minimal time on the ball.
It was clear that LFS was getting frustrated as they started attempting balls over the top of our midfield. One such occasion was neatly collected by Promise, however, her clearance found an LFS player who managed to slot the ball into the bottom right hand corner. Once again they were ruthless when presented with an opportunity.
Still with time in the game to change the result, I was hopeful that we could come back again. Alexia had multiple opportunities to run at their centre back. In response, LFS’s coach could be clearly heard saying “She’s going left!”. To be clear, Alexia is an extremely gifted player and has dragged us to victory on a number of occasions. Where we can improve her game is by making her a little bit less predictable, building her skills beyond her left foot. (Our first training session after the game was on using our weak foot.)
There was an instance where Alexia picked up the ball on the right side of the pitch and was clean through on goal. Their keeper, again, made a fantastic save with her leg to deny us the equaliser.
What followed was the story of our game. Giving the ball away in dangerous areas and being punished as a result. They scored 2 more goals from situations like this to put the game to bed. The score did not reflect the effort the girls put in and I’m super proud of all of their work over the last few months.
As the final whistle blew, emotions were on show. Some of the girls were on the verge of tears, having come so close to lifting the cup. I was very positive about the result. Sure, it wasn’t what we wanted. But we have made such huge strides from our first game together against LFS which was an 8-1 drubbing. My words were limited to this: We’ll be back.
A number of things have been clear for some time, but were solidified by the events of the game. 1) We need to recruit approximately 5 more players as we move to 11-a-side next season, with the number one priority being a goal keeper 2) Our talent is of the level of LFS, we just need to work on our decision making in critical moments. Our ceiling might be as high as theirs, but our floor is much lower 3) Together we are greater than the sum of our parts. If we stay on this path, we’ll get the better of LFS in the future. Again.
A big shout out to our captain Carla who was incredible in her ability to win the ball and get us going quickly to exploit LFS as they came forward. The highlight of the match was a perfectly timed challenge to block a shot 3 metres from goal. The footage shows me celebrating it like it was a goal. Carla has the ability to grab games by the scruff of the neck. My next challenge is to get her to do what is best for the team rather than being so selfless all the time. Sometimes that means shooting, Carla (something you’re rather good at).
Overall, it was a valiant effort from the team and one that we we will learn from. Blessed to have this group of players along for the ride with me. We’ve only just started.
THE END IS THE BEGINNING!
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