Match Report (Garth O'Mara) - U11 Cobras 2 Dorkonians 3
A bright sunny morning met the Cobras as they arrived at their new venue, Great Common, with a larger team size (9x9), larger pitches, longer length matches (30-mins each way) and the offside rule enforced for the first time in a competitive match. A couple of weeks of training had all parents chomping at the finger nails as we waited to see how the season would start for our U11s. Our visiting team who were gleaming in their Norwich-esque attire were the Dorkonians (who I assume were not from the back end of deepest and darkest Anglia but rather from Dorking about 10 miles down the road!).
The game started with the 19/20 prioritised focus of the boys learning to properly play in position. Chris was in goal, a back 3 of Kelsey, Marco, Angus. Luc, Willem and Finlay in midfield with our very own S&S (not Shearer and Sheringham) – Smith & Smith holding the front line.
Our opponents started brightly and hit the outside of the post early on however in what was feature of the entire game Kelsey played a very intelligent positional game and with some tough tackling ensured that Dorkonian chances were limited.
The game had hardly settled into a pattern however when what also became a first half feature Oscar led the line extremely well and positioning himself on the halfway line managing to beat the offside trap. A charging run from the halfway line resulted in the keeper coming out to meet it and Oscar coolly scooped the ball over for a 1-0 lead within 6 minutes. Twice more this type of attack arose but the Dorking keeper did well to keep the score maintained saving twice in 1-on-1 situations.
A quick substitution just before the 14-min mark saw Sam/Dan come on for Luc/Willem and some relief for them from the beating sun. In the next attack Marco swung the ball in the right and in a lovely piece of skill Harry S switched feet and very smartly chipped the ball over the keeper with the outside of his right boot.
For the rest of the 1st half the game became unsettled with some end to end attacking with neither side really on top. The Dorking #3 showed some nice touches and their #20 was obviously dangerous. Oscar agonisingly hit the inside of the post that bobbled back out but with no-one to pounce. Dorkonian missed twice to the right of the goal with what were clear chances and to be fair they could probably feel aggrieved that they hadn’t pulled one back at the half-time stage.
Half-time arrived and the team re-grouped for a pep talk and some coaching by Coach Andy.
The game started with the 19/20 prioritised focus of the boys learning to properly play in position. Chris was in goal, a back 3 of Kelsey, Marco, Angus. Luc, Willem and Finlay in midfield with our very own S&S (not Shearer and Sheringham) – Smith & Smith holding the front line.
Our opponents started brightly and hit the outside of the post early on however in what was feature of the entire game Kelsey played a very intelligent positional game and with some tough tackling ensured that Dorkonian chances were limited.
The game had hardly settled into a pattern however when what also became a first half feature Oscar led the line extremely well and positioning himself on the halfway line managing to beat the offside trap. A charging run from the halfway line resulted in the keeper coming out to meet it and Oscar coolly scooped the ball over for a 1-0 lead within 6 minutes. Twice more this type of attack arose but the Dorking keeper did well to keep the score maintained saving twice in 1-on-1 situations.
A quick substitution just before the 14-min mark saw Sam/Dan come on for Luc/Willem and some relief for them from the beating sun. In the next attack Marco swung the ball in the right and in a lovely piece of skill Harry S switched feet and very smartly chipped the ball over the keeper with the outside of his right boot.
For the rest of the 1st half the game became unsettled with some end to end attacking with neither side really on top. The Dorking #3 showed some nice touches and their #20 was obviously dangerous. Oscar agonisingly hit the inside of the post that bobbled back out but with no-one to pounce. Dorkonian missed twice to the right of the goal with what were clear chances and to be fair they could probably feel aggrieved that they hadn’t pulled one back at the half-time stage.
Half-time arrived and the team re-grouped for a pep talk and some coaching by Coach Andy.
For the 2nd half Willem moved into goal with Chris placed into defence. The half began in a more lethargic manner and this was to become a feature of the rest the of the game (with the exception of Harry S). Sam was very useful in midfield and has definitely found a place supplying incisive passes through defence lines. As tiredness started a couple of offsides were caught including a goal for Dorkonian which was ruled out but acted as an early warning shot for the Cobras. A 6-minute window decided the game. Firstly, a goal kick not cleared by midfield properly and the boys invited pressure by not getting tackles into our opponents. Their #20 burying the first into the bottom right-hand corner. Two minutes later almost a repeat. The boys backing off the #20 again who buried the ball with a strong shot into the same corner.
In this frantic period Harry S continued to toil but had the problem of lack of support and being frustrated decided to revert the game to Harry S vs Dorknians. Oscar had a left shot that whipped just past the left post before the killer blow was dealt in the 41st minute. A ball in the from the left wing found their #10 who hit an unstoppable shot into the top-left corner of the helpless Willem who even though he was looking quite assured (intelligently knowing when to leave chances etc) and really had had no chance with all 3 goals.
The Cobras did step up the pressure. Harry S continued to be a menace on the left, Luc had a looping cross from the right spin just past the post before Harry S also beat the keeper with a long range shot that wasn’t quite on target. The boys didn’t give up. Angus screaming for throw-ins and corners to be taken late and Sam showed he can also deliver a strong corner which could be a great feature of the oncoming season.
The game finished 2-3. In summary, a strong performance and boded well for the rest of the season. It should be noted that the very vocal support was string from both sets of parents and in extremely good humour.
Kelsey won the parents MoM vote, Harry S with his tireless effort the coaches MoM. An interview with our two stars of the day is below…..
In this frantic period Harry S continued to toil but had the problem of lack of support and being frustrated decided to revert the game to Harry S vs Dorknians. Oscar had a left shot that whipped just past the left post before the killer blow was dealt in the 41st minute. A ball in the from the left wing found their #10 who hit an unstoppable shot into the top-left corner of the helpless Willem who even though he was looking quite assured (intelligently knowing when to leave chances etc) and really had had no chance with all 3 goals.
The Cobras did step up the pressure. Harry S continued to be a menace on the left, Luc had a looping cross from the right spin just past the post before Harry S also beat the keeper with a long range shot that wasn’t quite on target. The boys didn’t give up. Angus screaming for throw-ins and corners to be taken late and Sam showed he can also deliver a strong corner which could be a great feature of the oncoming season.
The game finished 2-3. In summary, a strong performance and boded well for the rest of the season. It should be noted that the very vocal support was string from both sets of parents and in extremely good humour.
Kelsey won the parents MoM vote, Harry S with his tireless effort the coaches MoM. An interview with our two stars of the day is below…..
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