This soccer game is in direct conflict with Cpher’s last football game; gave Suzanne first choice and she chose soccer. Turns out it was kind of a crappy day for both of us; Cpher’s team got hammered and Matthew’s team ended up in a 0-0 tie against a team I think we should have beaten.
Since I wasn’t there, I have no ‘direct’ comments that I can add here. But….
- This was not Matthew’s best game; to the point that some people have referred to him having a ‘bad’ game. Which is a lot different than playing ‘badly’……Suzanne has been steadfast that she doesn’t think he played ‘badly’
- Matthew started off at attacking center-mid and I think missed or mis-hit a few passes early, and that got him called to the sidelines for a little chat with Coach Stu that ended up with him crying a little on the bench. I don’t think Stu was mean…I think Matthew took things a little too personally.
- Went back in as center-back and did ok…but did get called for a foul where he was grabbing a jersey and then called for an inadvertent hand ball that gave the other team two pretty decent free kick opportunities.
- Had a one-on-one chat with Stu right after halftime as the game started. This mostly consisted of coach trying to build Matthew confidence back up as I understand it.
- Played a lot better in second half…started at center-back and then back up at attacking center-mid. Seemed to create more offense his second stint up front.
No more outdoor soccer until March….
(can’t deny it. I thought this would be a whole lot better than it is)
(Fall 2013 – Final)
Coach Stu Says:
| 1ST HALF SUMMARY |
| Boys started off playing some very good soccer. They played some excellent attacking soccer and put the opposition on the back foot for the most part. We tried to pass the ball out of the back and were looking pretty sharp on the ball. A few times in the middle of the field we tried to do things a little too quickly and this led to a few transitional moments where we were put under pressure. However for the most part of the opening 20 minutes we looked sharp and opened up the opposition well. We looked the most dangerous in the wide areas and this freed us up to create good goal scoring chances in the middle of the field. Then in the last 7 or 8 minutes we took our foot off of the gas and started to play a little too direct and against the wind we lost control of the game and conceded a few good chances. We must remain calm even after we make a mistake and try to continue to build out of the back and keep the ball to draw the opposition out of position. We must also remain a little calmer as a back line when a player turns us; we can’t dive in or drag the opposition down. They had two excellent opportunities from free kicks that were given away from silly fouls that we just need to stand the player up. At the end of the half their goalkeeper turns the ball onto the post with a brilliant save to deny us. |
| 2ND HALF SUMMARY |
| A much more complete second half. We got back to knocking the ball around with ease and showed our quality to create chances in the final third with some great combo and long range efforts. One of the best moves in this half was the driven switch from right back to left mid followed by a drive into the box and then a lay off to the left back. Although we missed the chance it was an outstanding play! We created some excellent chances and had multiple shots from our outside mid’s and fullbacks. We had good chances from set pieces that we didn’t take advantage. The best chance of the game fell to my forward who rounded the GK and was dragged down by his trailing foot in what was a clear goal scoring chance. We unfortunately missed the penalty due to their coach screaming during the kick which was an injustice in what should have been a red card to their GK (foul last man) and the coach (for putting off a player) |
| OVERALL |
| Some excellent soccer today but lacked the clinical finishing we require to show our dominance (aside from a 7 minute spell). Very happy with the performance and something we can build on in the Winter to get us to where we want to be in the Spring! |
| Goalkeeper: Good game overall. The few times he was called into he made some great stops and distribution was fairly good aside from a few into the wind that were a little high so didn’t carry well. |
| Defenders: For the most part on the same page and worked well at nullifying the threat of their speedy wingers and strikers. However we got caught moving up the field a little too quickly and getting the wrong side of our marker when we didn’t have the ball a few times. |
| Midfielders: At times we looked unbelievable and created some outstanding chances. However there was a few times were we tried to do a little too much. They made it difficult to take too many touches today and we must make slightly quicker decisions. |
| Forwards: Held the ball up well and brought others into the game. Some great strikes from here today but their keeper was in top form. Great run to win the penalty and we were unlucky not to get us the goal we deserved. |
