This game was great up until the final two minutes. I was really proud of the boys for how they responded to our tournament and came out strong in this game. We stuck with our 1-2-1-1 and it seems like the boys are getting comfortable with this formation.
We started the game doing a pretty poor job of keeping the ball, but played great defense. We did a good job of holding our shape and marking up. There were a few times when our defenders would pinch to the middle too much when their was no attacker on their side, but we corrected that pretty early.
We came out with the first goal, but unfortunately the referee called it back. We turned a defensive stop into a counter-attack by passing out of the back. Our stopper/midfielder accepted the pass near the right sideline and sent a through ball to the striker who ran onto it and took it down the right flank. The midfielder who sent the pass then made a run to the middle of the field and made a run to basically the penalty spot. The striker played him a cross and the midfielder scored on a one-touch shot. It was a great goal following great build-up, but the ref said that the striker took the ball past the touchline before sending in the cross. The ref was near the middle of the field, and both teams' players reacted as if we had scored--our boys celebrated, the other team threw the ball to the middle of the field and the goalie seemed down after conceding a goal. However, the ref. said it was a goal kick, so we had to quickly readjust.
Our opponents responded by scoring a goal after keeping the ball pretty well. My team definitely needs to work on possession and making better passes. Sometimes they forget to see the pass before making it. With a minute left in the half, we turned defense into attack and scored a breakaway goal after two good passes. We had momentum going into the half, and I felt pretty good about being able to build on the lead.
We started the second half very strong, dominating possession, keeping the ball out of our half, and creating some chances. In the first ten minutes of the second half, we probably could have scored four different times if my boys either took a shot one touch earlier or took a shoot with their weak foot. One kid, who would later score, could have scored two with his left foot. We'll have to work on taking early chances and not being afraid to shoot with both feet. Finally after generating a great attack, My team took the lead on a beautiful shot that went far post and landed in the side netting. It really was a fantastic finish and I was so happy with how we had been playing.
We played really well until the last five minutes. We started to get sloppy defensively and couldn't get the ball out of our half. Our goalie made several fantastic saves to keep us in the lead, but our team struggled to maintain possession off of his punts. His punts were great, but we just kept getting beat to the ball. It finally bit us in the butt, and they turned an interception into a goal. When we took the kickoff, the ref blew his whistle to end the game.
I was disappointed that we tied for two reasons. First, and most importantly, I wanted this win so badly for the boys. They went through a tournament where they were way overmatched and unprepared to compete, and I thought we made a lot of progress. I've thrown a lot at them and they've learned so much in just a short amount of time. We outplayed our opponents for most of the game, and I thought the boys really deserved to get the satisfaction of earning the win. The second reason I was disappointed was because the way we let in the second goal was because we lost our shape. We did a good job of staying in good position for most of the game, but once we left what we learned and went back to old habits, we paid the price.
The kids were pretty pleased with the tie, as well they should be. However, I want them to expect to win. I want the kids to feel like a game like this slipped away from them and that they truly earned the win. I think we'll get there once we establish some winning ways, and I love that these boys always have a good attitude.
We have two games next weekend--a home and away with the same team on Saturday (away) and Sunday (home). I don't know much about the other team (or any teams in our league for that matter) but I would like for us to get our first win this weekend. Hopefully we can do just that.
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