Saturday was a huge result, I was really proud of everybody. 3 points against the Repton I XI, who put the OC I XI out of the Dunn, was massive. Although there are many aspects that can be improved upon, the fact that we were disappointed by conceding 2 goals is indicative of how strong we are this season.
The defence was a fortress at the back in the first half and we have the potential to concede very few this season. The defence knocked it about beautifully and the midfield were either on hand to take it on further up the pitch or extremely effective balls were played directly to the forwards who managed to drop back to collect the ball, whilst at the same time having the turn of pace required to chase down any through balls that were played.
We have to avoid what happened in the second half. The same thing happened against the school. If we continue to play like we did in the second half we will concede around 2 goals per game and will need to rely on the strikers to score us out of trouble.
When we are confident we look great at the back, we pass it around and defend high in concert with the midfield. As soon as we concede or take on a decent lead we start to panic and back away, allowing the attacking team to flood the space between the defence and midfield. Although, primarily, I think that this is something that the defence can cut out, it does also seem to be exacerbated later on in the game as the midfield becomes tired. We are extremely lucky to have extremely fit midfielders but if that gap does appear, as difficult as it may be, the midfield has to drop back to fill it.
Similarly to last season, we were guilty of switching off for the second ball. We have always been good at winning the first ball and this was apparent on Saturday. We remain vulnerable on the second ball. This is either because someone has over-committed to the first ball (usually as a result of poor communication) or simply sloppy defending, getting distracted and blindly chasing the ball. We have got to be more disciplined at picking up our men and remaining responsible for them until the ball has been cleared.
There is also a fine balance between knocking it about at the back and mincing about with it to such an extent that we get caught and place unnecessary pressure on ourselves. We know we are good enough to play with a bit of flair at the back, and this helps the team as we are able to retain possession, but we need to be careful when the ground is bobbly, as it will undoubtedly be throughout the season, and as we start to lose our composure later on in the game, as referred to above.
That said, despite a momentary wobble which is entirely understandable so early on in the season, Repton did not have many chances at all and a massive back-pat must go out to the boys at the back for restricting Repton to only 2 goals, given that they put 7 past Cholms last Saturday.
Ben, Dolly and Spinksy were as strong as ever in midfield and I think we are all still recovering from Ben's ridiculous free kick. Rob, Danny, Buzz, and Toby offered great options down the flanks whilst also looking extremely determined defensively, which is crucial. Jacko was as strong as he always is and looked very threatening with Mike up top.
We delivered on Saturday, to the man. It was a fantastic performance and although we lost our way a bit in the second half, we had 2 disallowed goals (one of them, at least, was extremely dubious) and we were denied more by the woodwork. We need to continue to flood the box on attacking corners, as evidenced by B.Moss getting on the inch perfect cross from Rob C-B. Mike also showed a real aerial threat on throw-ins which will become increasingly effective with George's return.
Although the man of the match award could have been given to any of the 14 man squad, this week it goes to Mike Manches for his brace of goals and for remaining composed on the sideline despite having been taken off.
Chigwell at home on Saturday is going to be massive and it sees the return of our skipper Richie Rudden. They are very strong in the air, both defensively and offensively. They tend to be good at cutting out the long ball but we know that they struggle with the long throw.
By Nick Wilkinson
The defence was a fortress at the back in the first half and we have the potential to concede very few this season. The defence knocked it about beautifully and the midfield were either on hand to take it on further up the pitch or extremely effective balls were played directly to the forwards who managed to drop back to collect the ball, whilst at the same time having the turn of pace required to chase down any through balls that were played.
We have to avoid what happened in the second half. The same thing happened against the school. If we continue to play like we did in the second half we will concede around 2 goals per game and will need to rely on the strikers to score us out of trouble.
When we are confident we look great at the back, we pass it around and defend high in concert with the midfield. As soon as we concede or take on a decent lead we start to panic and back away, allowing the attacking team to flood the space between the defence and midfield. Although, primarily, I think that this is something that the defence can cut out, it does also seem to be exacerbated later on in the game as the midfield becomes tired. We are extremely lucky to have extremely fit midfielders but if that gap does appear, as difficult as it may be, the midfield has to drop back to fill it.
Similarly to last season, we were guilty of switching off for the second ball. We have always been good at winning the first ball and this was apparent on Saturday. We remain vulnerable on the second ball. This is either because someone has over-committed to the first ball (usually as a result of poor communication) or simply sloppy defending, getting distracted and blindly chasing the ball. We have got to be more disciplined at picking up our men and remaining responsible for them until the ball has been cleared.
There is also a fine balance between knocking it about at the back and mincing about with it to such an extent that we get caught and place unnecessary pressure on ourselves. We know we are good enough to play with a bit of flair at the back, and this helps the team as we are able to retain possession, but we need to be careful when the ground is bobbly, as it will undoubtedly be throughout the season, and as we start to lose our composure later on in the game, as referred to above.
That said, despite a momentary wobble which is entirely understandable so early on in the season, Repton did not have many chances at all and a massive back-pat must go out to the boys at the back for restricting Repton to only 2 goals, given that they put 7 past Cholms last Saturday.
Ben, Dolly and Spinksy were as strong as ever in midfield and I think we are all still recovering from Ben's ridiculous free kick. Rob, Danny, Buzz, and Toby offered great options down the flanks whilst also looking extremely determined defensively, which is crucial. Jacko was as strong as he always is and looked very threatening with Mike up top.
We delivered on Saturday, to the man. It was a fantastic performance and although we lost our way a bit in the second half, we had 2 disallowed goals (one of them, at least, was extremely dubious) and we were denied more by the woodwork. We need to continue to flood the box on attacking corners, as evidenced by B.Moss getting on the inch perfect cross from Rob C-B. Mike also showed a real aerial threat on throw-ins which will become increasingly effective with George's return.
Although the man of the match award could have been given to any of the 14 man squad, this week it goes to Mike Manches for his brace of goals and for remaining composed on the sideline despite having been taken off.
Chigwell at home on Saturday is going to be massive and it sees the return of our skipper Richie Rudden. They are very strong in the air, both defensively and offensively. They tend to be good at cutting out the long ball but we know that they struggle with the long throw.
By Nick Wilkinson
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