Off the Finals of the District Cup ~ well done boys

Semi Final result: Bays Fury 3 - Juan de Fuca 0

What a great day to play a semi final - the stadium atmosphere, the sun shining and a great effort by the boys.

We started the game well, although props have to be given to a Juan de Fuca team that was not about to let this final go easily into our hands. We faced a renewed and invigorated Juan de Fuca team that attacked us and tried to match us in every spot of the field. It was clear that we were going to have to earn the win with all of our might.

Our formation to start was modified a bit: we went with a 4-5-1. The idea was to have the three center midfielders control the middle more and in doing so, not only provide a stronger defensive formation but also to help push the wingers wider through the game.

Robbie maintains possession while being closely marked by the Juan de Fuca midfielder

At first, Juan de Fuca was taking the game to us, going hard for every tackle and giving our defenders a lot to do. However, after the first 10 minutes, our team began to take more control. We settled and used the wings more and more as the game moved on. In the middle, Koby and Robbie distributed the ball well.  Finn, who was part of a three point center mid, also helped stifle attacks through the middle. They stayed in position and rarely gave the ball away.

Koby fights hard to defend against a Juan de Fuca attacker

On the wings, Gabriel and Justin exploited the space behind the defenders well and if it hadn't been for the Juan de Fuca defenders cutting a few incisive passes, we could have had more shots on goal. However, our movement off the back of the defenders would prove to be our strength as the game went on.

Justin fights hard to retain possession

Gabriel mounts another attack while Hamish supports

For their part, Brandon, Marcel, Tyler and Jonathan did well at stifling the Juan de Fuca attackers, although some of their runs were problematic. Yet, the communication between our defenders and midfield was better today.  I also saw them joining the attack more often, another good sign of things to come.

Brandon begins another attack down the wing

Up front, Thomas did well to retrieve balls and support the center midfielders during attacks and defence. I was happy to see the boys pushing up the field to support our strikers and also to close the space in the field. This allowed for a better defensive formation to cancel out free passes in the middle. When Hamish and Ben came on, one on the wing and one at the back, they also did well in maintaining our defensive formation. Both made good decisions when protecting potential passes. The Juan de Fuca team was tough to withhold at times, but the boys positioning was good today.

Johnny controls in the air while under pressure from two attackers

For his part, Aaron was solid in goal. During the initial moments of the game, he twice came out to stop an oncoming striker and his timing was well executed. He was also much more involved in the game with his support and communication.

Aaron sends the ball to the midfield

Position wise, I thought we were good defensively and also did better with our movement.

Our goals were well worked, all coming from our use of the wings and our wingers progressively taking advantage of bad positioning by the Juan de Fuca right and left backs. Today I finally saw better passes to the wings and I was happy to see those on the wing (Gabriel, Finn, Hamish and Justin) made good runs into the space behind the Juan de Fuca defensive line. I was happy to see everyone talking a bit more and guiding those in forward positions into areas where we could place the ball.

Finn tries to chip the goalie in a breakaway

Our first goal came after a counter attack. It started by a great pass by Robbie at an angle to Gabriel who cut into goal and made a great pass into the box where an onrushing Finn put the ball over the goalie with a one time shot into the back of the net.

In the second half, Gabriel continued to exploit the space left by the defenders. In two occasions, after receiving the ball from the center mid, rushed the net at full speed slotting the ball once to the far side of the net and in the other to the close corner after the goalie could not handle Gabriel's shot. It was a game where our players exploited the wings better than they have in recent games.

Gabriel sends another dangerous cross into the box

As the second half went on, we were more settled now and continued to create more chances. However, the game was getting chippy. The referee was kept busy calling fouls. Yet, the boys kept their cool. We did run into some trouble when the referee called a foul in the box after an onrushing attacker from Juan de Fuca fell inside the box. Aaron lost his cool momentarily but quickly regained composure to prepare for the penalty kick. However, he did not have to do anything as the Juan de Fuca striker missed the net and allowed Aaron to keep a clean sheet.

In the end, the boys dominated and deserved the win. We should credit to the Juan de Fuca goalkeeper who was quite impressive and made many saves.

Marcel fights hard to go past a midfielder

So now it is off to the Final of the District Cup. Let's keep the momentum going guys.

If we continue to work hard at defending and continue becoming more involved in every play as a team, we have a good chance of winning our next final.

See you at practice!

Roberto