Ok, first off, I messed up the order – Windsor was #4, SCOR was #3. Oops
I think we are much better this spring; some teams are better, some are worse as well. And I think this opponent, SCOR, Soccer Club of Rockford, is also better (I know this, they have scored almost twice of many goals so far this Spring than they did all of last Fall). But I thought we would win pretty easily.
Not so much. We won 5-4 but man, was it a struggle to get there. That’s twice in two games (Vardar Red and now SCOR) that we’ve scored late to win. And, again, last Fall I think we wouldn’t have been able to do that, for whatever reason.
(After a SCOR turnover, in stoppage time, there’s Matthew with the ball in the middle of the field. Good things always happen when he is in this spot and he delivered the ball to the guy streaking up the right side for the goal to take the lead).
So. The first half is kind of quiet. We score on a penalty kick that their coach certainly didn’t agree with and our coach seemed to agree with him (looking at the video it seems like the right call to me!) and then they get a penalty kick of their own a few minutes later. Some kids on our team have the very bad habit of swinging, and missing, balls and I think that is damned near inexcusable at this age. Anyway, 1-1 at the half.
Second half starts and we come out in a 3-5-2 formation. Me, and the other soccer dads who understand the sport a little, are almost stunned. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen this team in a different formation, and usually it is a very minor switch, from our 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2. Usually, a 3-5-2 is when you are behind and need goals. But here we are, throwing caution to the wind!
And for 10 minutes in the second half we bury with them with offensive pressure and Matthew has two great shots on goal but doesn’t score and we are still tied 1-1. And they get a goal on a breakaway and it is 2-1 them. And they get another goal on a breakaway and it is 3-1 them.
Now, I still think our defense has GOT to do better than that…..all they had to do was get the ball outside and away from the kid and they didn’t. And if this had happened last fall I am sure it would have been game over. We would have folded the tent and played out the game and went home.
So we’re still controlling things and there are 15 minutes to go and it is still 3-1 them. And we score. And score again, it is tied. And they score, again, on a breakaway that again I will say I wonder just what the heck our defense is doing during these moments. But, with about a minute left we score to tie it and everyone in the stands is saying that leaving here a tie is a good result. And then that SCOR kid turns the ball over right to Matthew, and two touches of the ball later he plays the ball in front of Johnny and he blows it past the goalie for the winner.
What a strange game!
(the standings, as of right now. While we are 2nd on points we have played less games. We are basically two games up on Windsor since we win the head-to-head tiebreaker and Vardar South would still be 2 pts back if we lose to them. They are the next game….that’s a big one)
TEAM: 02 Boys Blue VS Scor 02 Boys
RESULT: Won 5 - 4
ATTACKING
ATTACKING STRENGTHS
As the game developed we created a number of clear-cut chances. When 3 1 down the boys remained positive. We had two centre forwards making positive runs into space and they made things happen for us. With #6, #8 and #10 in support, we took our chances showing how ruthless and clinical this team can be.
ATTACKING CHALLENGES
During the first half in particular, SCOR were playing with 3 centre backs and this made it difficult to penetrate in forward areas. Second half I changed the formation and put 2 players up front who acted as two #9s. This provided us with many more attacking opportunities. In the end the pressure was too much for SCOR.
DEFENDING
DEFENDING STRENGTHS
I thought the strength and fitness we showed to really push for goals in this game was great to see. When defending high up the field during the first half we were not as effective. But, for the final 20 minutes, we pressed with numbers and forced the opposition into making decisions they didn’t want to make.
DEFENDING CHALLENGES
#32 was a handful and he really impressed me with the goals he scored. Every mistake we made, he punished us with some excellent finishes. Felt the boys lost too many 50/50 challenges. Need to be more aggressive, at times I feel we are a soft touch when it comes to the physical side of the game.
OVERALL COMMENTS
Crazy game, scored a pen that wasn’t a pen. Then we gave the ball away in our defensive zones, which resulted in a giving them an avoidable penalty kick. At half time, we changed things around to 3 5 2. The reason for this was to get closer support to our #9 who had 3 players on him for the majority of the half. We started the half well, creating two clear-cut chances. But, lacked concentration and discipline at the back and conceded two sloppy goals. Credit to the boys for digging in a showing great desire to get back in the game. Two well worked goals, made it 3 3. Just as we all started to think the game is there to be won. We conceded a fourth goal. At this point, I felt a tie was a good result and with very little time left we had to push hard. To win the second game in 2 days this late on, is really pleasing. This shows, spirit, character and belief in what we are trying to achieve this season.
