It was great that we were finally able to take to the grass this year for our league match with Okehampton on Saturday and whilst it was a very physical and bruising encounter I thought that you played with such passion and energy that you should be really proud of yourselves.
I don’t have the eloquence of Jonathan to write such a comprehensive overview of the match (would welcome any offers to write future match reports please!) but suffice to say that all of you in the team gave 110% and I felt did really well for the whole of the match.
The starting team set up was a change from our normal formation to accommodate the planned absence of Dan, we also lost Alfie Ramsey at the last minute, this meant we had only one substitute, so all credit to the team for such a spirited performance. Special mention to Joe D who bravely started the match despite carrying an ankle injury, however Joe had to come off after 15 minutes as it was too painful to continue.
Well done Joe and thanks for staying on to cheer on the team!
Okehampton were a strong team boys and they posed us a challenge throughout the game by playing their strikers so deep into our half. They were a physically strong team and many of the players had to put in tough challenges time after time, i am sure there were some tired and bruised legs over the weekend.
I felt that we were unlucky to go into half time a goal down after all the pressure that we had absorbed, but games like this are really tight and are won and lost by small margins.
We had a lot more possession in the second half and came so so close to scoring a goal or two, Alfie W’s stunning header from a Cameron free kick would have been an outstanding goal but alas it missed by inches. Ryan also had a couple of efforts on goal which if they had been converted would have been outstanding goals.
We saw a strong captains performance from Sam R in goal, outstanding defensive performances from Sam P, Will A and Cameron. The midfield team adjusted well to missing Dan and was a great credit to Alfie for dropping back into this role with Will P, Julen and a spirited performance for 45 minutes from Oscar in this unfamiliar role. Ryan upfront also had a tough challenge facing Okehamton’s strong defence.
Well done to Oscar for being nominated the ‘Parents player of the Match!’, it was well deserved and is reflecting a real improvement in his all round game, well done Oscar.
In summary a really positive and solid performance against a strong team and whilst loosing is never easy, I thought we should be very proud and positive as we move into this busy start of the season.
Next week we play Bideford. As I indicated on Saturday I am hopeful that this will be at home (KGV) but this is subject to pitch availability. This will be another very tough challenge, but we will have Dan back so lets talk on Wednesday about how we set ourselves up for this match.
Training on Wednesday will be a chance to refresh attacking and defending corners and practising throw ins.
See you at 6pm.
Well done everyone, see you on Wednesday
Mark
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