Burntwood Phoenix 3 v 1 Wyrley Meerkats (21.11.15)
As the icy wind swirled around Hospital Road Playing Fields it was clear that this wasn`t a day for watching football , however with sales of hot drinks going through the roof and Wyrley scarves being sold to the Meerkat Overseas Supporters Club (Carmel`s visiting family and friends from Cyprus), on a Commercial front things were looking rosy.
Then there was the football !!
Meerkats were sluggish from the start, demonstrating little desire and effort to compete with the home side, who dominated the proceedings with a greater appetite to win the ball in every position.
Twice Burntwood sliced through a frail Meerkat defence to score, going in at halftime with a deserved 2 v 0 lead.
Even the ref was feeling the Arctic chill, as he ended the first half after only 30 minutes, probably to avoid the queue for the Bovril and Hot Chocolate!!!
Rallying the troops at half time, a serious injection of “oomph” was needed.
“Yes its cold, run around more, clap your hands together, it`s the same for both teams, when we were your age we played in 2 foot o`snow, this is FOOTBALL and we play in Winter” etc,etc.. little sympathy from the coaches, who were themselves suffering from a debilitating bout of “man Flu”. Rant Over!!!!
NB. Amongst the rant there was also some football, tactical, how can we improve kinda stuff !
Starting the second half with re-newed vigour , the Meekats put in a much better performance, moving the ball better, creating a number of chances but still without finding the net.
The killer blow came with a 25 yard screamer from Burntwood, against the run of play but a goal good enough to win any game.
Meerkats managed to pull one back through Mya “the Magician” Sidhu and could have scored another with a late rally but it wasn`t to be.
Managers Player of the Match was Harley “the Rock” Barker
Parents Player of the Match was Mya “the Magician” Sidhu
Things to work on:
Goalkeeper – concentration, coming off the line and narrowing the angle
Defence – shape – marking, staying switched on, communication, tackling
Midfield – shape – not following the ball, using the easy pass, tackling
Forwards – using the easy pass, communication, timing of runs, support play
All – Attitude and effort at training and games
“I wish it were simples”
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