In equal measures it was fantastic, encouraging and frustrating, but overall I think no-one would of walked away from this match without a smile on their face, and knowing that every boy (and girl) involved had a real game.
We started off the match knowing that one of the selected squad, Elliott, was ill and couldn't attend and we all hope he will get over this nasty bug that's going around quickly. I was determined to go with our 7v7 plans so it meant that all boys remaining would play the entire match which was a gamble, but I honestly thought was one worth taking as overall it was a really strong match squad.
Q1 - We started positively; pushing the ball out to our wingers and attacking forward; there was some great movement from both teams and it was great to watch; midway through the quarter we gave a corner away and as a result, the cross made good contact with a Newton player and we went down by one. We kicked off again in positive fashion and really pressed the ball; Jack Binns, playing on the left wing was doing really well, and on one such sprint he cut in to the field, unleashed a shot and we equalised. From kick off, again it was a real contest and we were unfortunate to concede a second just prior to the whistle. End Q1 - Newton 2 - Waverton Arrows 1.
Q2 - Moving some of the boys into different positions played dividends in this quarter; we continued to be solid at the back, whilst both Oli Wrigley and Jack Binns were storming down the wings (building on the intense training we did on Friday), Harry and Sion were keeping a solid lock on defence. Whenever we had the ball we went positive, trying to push it forwards and this great, enthusiastic type of play played dividends as Jack Binns scored his second and Oli Wrigley scored his first; Newton had no reply at all. End Q2 - Newton 2 - Waverton Arrows 3.
Q3 - Keeping with the same positioning as Q2 we continued to battle; this was a really good game to watch and during a real tussle in midfield, the ball broke for Newton and they took their chance and buried it to bring them level. We kicked off and like the first two quarters went positive; pushing the ball forwards to team mates, really great football to watch and it culminated with Jack Binns scoring his hat trick, a great goal and I'm so pleased for Jack, he has tried so hard lately to score and today its really paid off. End Q3 - Newton 3 - Waverton Arrows 4.
Q4 - I pushed the message to the boys beforehand that we needed to play the ball into Newton's half so to keep the pressure on them and make them defend; unfortunately this quarter was the opposite; we started to defend deep in our own half, very close to our goal line and this resulted in four goals being scored by Newton (three of which were moments and strikes of brilliance by the way) and another being a scramble across the line. Sion spun forwards towards the very end, and with sheer determination hit another goal for the Arrows. End of Q4 and the match - Newton 7 - Waverton Arrows 5.
Please understand this - we played fantastically well today; the training on Friday night shone through in parts and I'll continue to push the boys technically to make us even more competitive. There were times on Friday night that I could see the boys thinking ' what is this about?', but then today they were applying that learning naturally to the game, which was great to see.
Before the match I made Jack Binns captain, which he took on wholeheartedly and his performance showed as a result; a hat trick followed and he was really unlucky to not get the man of the match reward.
Harry Reid was awarded the man of the match reward purely down to him being an absolute rock in defence; he was assured and confident and played the position really well - I'm really proud of you today Harry, well done. Harry will be my captain in our next match.
Three final quick messages - Tom Taylor was amazing in goal today; Jack Broadhurst settled the nerves in the first quarter, but the rest was dominated by Tom - amazing saves by hands, feet and bum on one occasion!; well done Tom you were great today. We have a new boy that is going to solely train with us on Friday's - Larry was really made welcome by the boys with them all chanting his name during the session; I'm so proud of all the boys in the Arrows squad - you really make me proud. The final message - I turned up to the match today to find Oliver Golding there looking to support his new team mates - I thought this was a magnificent show of support from our newest squad member and I'm really looking forward to seeing him in action.
Have a great weekend
Carl
AFC Waverton U8 Arrows
07896 515717
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