23 Feb 2008 - Match Report - KHFitC U9 Falcons (S&DYFL)

Kidderminster Lions Cubs 2 v 0 KHFitC Falcons - report by Matt Dalton

This was always going to be a tough match, the Lion Cubs have returned to form and look to be on target to top the league with good solid straightforward team work.

We arrived to find the normal pitch at the cricket ground in use and we were to play on the considerably smaller under eight year olds pitch, on face value we didn't think it would make much difference but in hindsight it made our style of play almost impossible. The Lion Cubs to a man have good ball skills and anticipation, skills that they were able to utilise efficiently. Our strike force of Ben and Harry, who usually latch onto a through ball, were neutralised by the short pitch as any ball played to goal from midfield found itself well within the reach of their keeper who was always quick off his line. For the first ten minutes the Falcons struggled to make progress or keep possession, the Lions Cubs looked dangerous but our lads were doing enough to spoil the play. On 16 minutes Rory Palmed a well struck corner off his line and straight onto the knee of a Lions midfielder who made no mistake to give them the lead. We had some chances but everything seemed rushed and condensed leading to inaccurate finishing. 1 - 0 at half time didn't seem to bad, we needed to try and stop the Lions midfield number 10 controlling the play, he picked up nearly everything and put us back on the defensive.

Two minutes into the second half the Cubs extended their lead from a corner, a well struck header from the aforementioned number 10 who we still could not mark well enough to give us time with the ball. From there on in we had some passages of play and looked like we may have been able to pull one back with a three onto one attack that just needed a quick pass and a tap in, neither came. We never really got into our own method of playing, I think there were just too many variables for our lads on the day. Joel twisted his knee with five minutes to go, lets hope it's nothing to stop him playing next week.

A good effort boys, we need to trust each other and work as a team, pass earlier and find space, the rest will just happen.