Today’s matches were at Walsall again. The Warriors fielded a full team as usual and played two games .

Warrior’s coach had identified a number of defensive weaknesses and errors which needed to be addressed. Following on from training this weekend, the Warriors were encouraged to put what they had learned on Saturday into practice on Sunday . Much effort went into reminding the team to mark their opposite numbers and to remember their own positioning. They were encouraged to look for opportunities  rather than all chasing the ball together.

This approach paid off quickly against Sutton Utd Panthers when Cole passed the ball to Lewis who scored and put Wyrley ahead. However Sutton are a tough team to play and gave  Jack plenty to do in goal. After hitting the post , they attacked again and forced Jack to make a good save. Again they evaded the Wyrley defence but failed to score until the Warriors’ luck ran just before half time when Sutton equalised . It was encouraging to see Alfie becoming more forceful in defence in this half .

In the second half Cole had work really hard in goal and made one particularly good save. Carter tried hard to defend and Sutton only scored by a fluke  goal when a shot hit the post, looked as if  the ball would go out of play but unfortunately  it deflected into the net. However, Wyrley continued to look for an equaliser . A great throw in to Jack allowed him to have a go and just before full time Hayden and Jack had a great run down the pitch with Hayden passing to Jack who only just missed.

In our second game we played Lane Head Steelers which began with Harry  making a great save whilst in goal. Very soon after, Wyrley were on the attack. Hayden passed to Cole which gave him the opportunity to put the ball in the back of the net. Fortunately for the Warriors, when Lane Head did get anywhere near the Wyrley net their shooting was wild and inaccurate helped by Alfie’s improvement in his skill as a defender.

The second half began with Lane Head attempting to put pressure on the Warriors and they scored a great goal. However, Wyrley were soon back in the lead with lsaac powering a ball past the keeper and into the top of the net. Lane Head attempted to equalise but Hayden made two great saves and booted a third ball out of the danger  zone . Close to full time , Harry came close to scoring and made a good pass to Isaac but there were no more goals.

The coach was impressed with the team’s improvement in passing the ball . Man of the match awards went to Cole for total commitment and Jack for his positive attitude.

Rob Smith