U14 Boys Away Match V High Wycombe: 3-0 Win

We finally pushed back our league campaign after last week’s cancellation at High Wycombe.
Fielding a reduce sized squad of 12 (due to illness and football) we warmed up in the sunshine and adjusted to the bouncy pitch at Wycombe High School. We started on the front foot and took the game to HW who were a little shocked at our pace. Andrew and Lucas managed the defence very well ensuring that Theo and Will (first full pitch game) were looked after. We looked well drilled: The breakthrough came after 10’ – Charlie and Sam worked well on the RHS, and Louie picked up a loose ball to push past the on-coming keeper. We reset well and then spent the final 10’ of the half probing the wings (Jasper on his return from injury, Adam in his first game and Tijmen in his first game also). We then had some pacey build up play on the LHS, swung the ball across the pitch ran into the circle for Louie to slot home. A great finish. Half time 2-0.
Barney was troubled once but made an excellent sweeper-keepers clearance to recycle the play – most pleasing as we have been working on using all 11 players in our build up play for this season’s campaign.
After adjusting the back line for the second half, we pushed forward but HW had been re-organised themselves and effectively parked the bus with a lone striker.
Theo made some exceptional runs from right wing back and we continued to keep the game in their half but found it tough going due their tactics. Leo (also first full pitch game) made some exceptionally good tackles to thread balls into Louie, while on the LHS Will, Lucas and Adam worked well to push the width of our game.
HW swapped their keeper for the 1st team keeper but this did not make much of a difference as Charlie went past 4 of their midfielders before drawing their keeper and finishing with a reverse shot. Game over 3-0.
We closed out the game with lots of ball retention and passing – It was good to watch and easy to coach: Good team performance.