BAYS UNITED FURY 3 - LAKEHILL FC 0

Justin skips away from Lakehill's center mid

This past weekend we continued our season by playing against a rejuvenated Lakehill U14 Gold team. This team came at us hard at first. Clearly, they are playing with more heart and more determination. So it is no surprise that both Darcy and I were happy to see that the Fury Boys handled the pressure well but more importantly, played better than last weekend.

Pierce anticipating and breaking a Lakehill attack

In the first half, Lakehill kept us on our toes. They created breakaways that caused us to minimize our attacks in order to ensure we defended those breakaways. Pierce and Jonathan were kept busy. Brandon and Hamish, who stepped in to relieve Tyler due to an injury he suffered right before the game started, also had to maintain a close eye on the attacks. As I said, it was clear that Lakehill came to play with a focus on working hard. But our boys were up to the challenge. Slowly, Fury began to settle and once that started, the midfield began to move the ball better throughout the field. Their efforts came to fruition when, after a strong run from the wing, Gabriel centered the ball where the Lakehill keeper made a great save but Robbie had also followed the play, found himself open and snapped a low shot into the net. The break we wanted had come. The goal was created by the quick movement of the ball from the middle to the wing and then back into the middle. Well done fellas.

Gabriel fighting hard to get to the ball

Not long after, we won a corner kick. The boys positioned themselves in strategic positions throughout the box. Hamish delivered a great corner that was met ferociously by Jonathan who headed into the net with determination. The goalie got a hand to it but the ball was flying so fast that the goalie's efforts did not matter. Two nothing for us.

Robbie mounts another attack down the wing

A few more minutes went by. During this time, we saw all the players working hard. We saw them sliding and going hard shoulder-to-shoulder. We saw them maintaining possession and being more diligent in their passing. Yes, we still made some mistakes, but overall, the boys were better in moving the ball. Before the half ended, Gabriel made another great run on the side and again crossed it into the middle where Finn quickly attacked the ball and scored our third goal using his knee. It was a great display of attacking futbol again.

Finn skips past a Lakehill defender

Half time came. At this time we made some changes. Ben and Thomas came to the front and when the second half started, we kept going from where we left off. Our attacks kept coming. Koby and Justin kept possession well. Our wingers worked hard to not only attack but also coming back to defend. Our defence continued their hard work. Brandon was fantastic in anticipating and cutting down anything that came his way. Pierce and Jonathan positioned themselves much more centrally and this helped us maintain our shape. As usual, Marcel worked hard on the wing to not only defend well but also provide support for the attack.

Brandon taking care of business

Up front, Ben worked hard. It was great to see him work so hard and win so many balls back for us. He created several chances and helped maintain the pressure for our team.

Ben goes after a loose ball in the Lakehill half

Thomas used his skill to create great moments of magic too. He also fought hard for the entire second half. Thomas found himself in great positions several times. In three different occasions, Robbie provided Thomas with passes in front of goal. Unfortunately, Thomas' goal was not to be. No worries Thomas, keep doing what you are doing and the goals will come. In the end, we did not score anymore but we still showed a marked improvement in our passing and defending in comparison to last week.

Thomas fights hard to get possession for our team

WHAT WE DID WELL: We played more as a unit and did not rely on lucky bounces. We were much more composed when under attack and created cleaner chances when up front. I want to commend the boys for working harder at defending as a unit and becoming more determined in winning the ball back. We must continue working on that.

THINGS TO IMPROVE: during this game, we got away with it but let's remember that when teams pressure us, we will not have the time to hold on to the ball for too long - hence, we must move the ball quickly. Our outside defenders must try to push and take the space more often when available. This will give us another dimension to our attacks. And the last thing? Our finishing. Although I was very happy with the opportunities we created, we need to finish them. Darcy and I counted at least 8 opportunities that should have been put in the back of the net. The percent of success we have when finishing is worrying me. We have to improve it.

TO DO: we'll continue working on speeding up the movement of the ball, moving off the ball, pressuring when not having possession and yes, we will work on being more clinical when finishing.

Thanks to all the parents for your support ~ See you guys at practice!!

Cheers,

Roberto