Saturday October 19th Onslow 2 v 6 Loxwood
The Magpies ventured to Surrey Sports Park for this league fixture against Onslow. On arrival, we were all surprised by the size of the pitch - adult dimensions with goals to match!. Still, its the same for both sides, we summarised.
The Magpies set up with their now familiar 352 formation (we are growing into it!!), and the pre-match team talk featured a discussion on being 'switched on' right from the beginning of the match. But, alas, the old habit of conceding early came back to haunt the boys, who despite a vigorous warm up looked half asleep.
This shock though seemed to rouse the boys who then went on the attack looking to avenge the slip up. It didn't take long for the Onslow defenders to be given a lesson in power and determination from Neo, who brushed aside a couple of half-hearted challenges to bring the scores level.
A period of condensed and patchy play then ensued as the Magpies became bunched up in the middle of the pitch and drawn into a battle that they didn't need or want. Despite the size of the pitch, there was no room to play in the centre, and this led to plenty of mis-placed and rushed passes. In a refreshing break from the game being played out in the centre, the Magpies broke away using the width of the pitch and Neo once again showed a clean pair of heels to the Onslow defence and powered home his second goal.
The Magpies were now in the ascendancy, and it was rare that Onslow threatened their goal, and when there was a threat the back 3 of Harry P, Bubba and Liam were is miserly moods and shut out the attacks with relative ease. Some substitutions didn't really manage to get the boys to utilise the width, but despite this, Neo once again was the curse of Onslow by completing his hat trick with a delightful finish from a tight angle on the right. Very composed and confident.
Rowan and Will were starting to find some space on the left, and Charlie was managing to get forward on the right - slightly better use of the spaces to stretch the opposition. Just before half time, there was a ping pong type scenario in the Onslow penalty area, and the ball fell the Ethan who promptly rifled it home with power and precision, to send the Magpies into the half time break 4-1 ahead. The half time break was used to discuss the patterns of play, focussing on a need to use the wide spaces much more effectively in the second half.
The second half began, and the boys started to make use of some space that Jack was finding on the right. This was causing the opposition a lot of problems, and also allowing our midfield to get into the game more effectively. Tom was now getting on the ball a lot more and we started to move the ball a little more quickly. A prolonged period of pressure saw Neo lob his fourth goal past the hapless Onslow GK, and now the boys were in total control.
The coaches used this opportunity to give players some time in different positions, and the flow of the game was disrupted due to this. Indeed, it allowed the opposition (who were now rolling the dice and pushing on) to find gaps and half chances.
But up the other end, Neo was once again through on goal and just about the pull the trigger when he was bundled over. Penalty! Bubba coolly stepped up to notch his first goal for Loxwood - a landmark moment!! The rest of the game was fairly non-descript, except for Onslow getting a goal back courtesy of a penalty. A needless, rash challenge was made with their attacker going away from goal.
So the final score of 6-2 probably slightly flattered Onslow, who rarely threatened the Magpies goal, but carried on pushing till the end to their credit.
The Magpies have taken 7 points from the last three games, a nice habit. But will face much stronger tests than this in the coming games. The habit of conceding early needs to be banished!
MOTM this week goes to 4 goal Neo. Up the Magpies!!
Thanks to Bik-Kay for the video content.
The Magpies ventured to Surrey Sports Park for this league fixture against Onslow. On arrival, we were all surprised by the size of the pitch - adult dimensions with goals to match!. Still, its the same for both sides, we summarised.
The Magpies set up with their now familiar 352 formation (we are growing into it!!), and the pre-match team talk featured a discussion on being 'switched on' right from the beginning of the match. But, alas, the old habit of conceding early came back to haunt the boys, who despite a vigorous warm up looked half asleep.
This shock though seemed to rouse the boys who then went on the attack looking to avenge the slip up. It didn't take long for the Onslow defenders to be given a lesson in power and determination from Neo, who brushed aside a couple of half-hearted challenges to bring the scores level.
A period of condensed and patchy play then ensued as the Magpies became bunched up in the middle of the pitch and drawn into a battle that they didn't need or want. Despite the size of the pitch, there was no room to play in the centre, and this led to plenty of mis-placed and rushed passes. In a refreshing break from the game being played out in the centre, the Magpies broke away using the width of the pitch and Neo once again showed a clean pair of heels to the Onslow defence and powered home his second goal.
The Magpies were now in the ascendancy, and it was rare that Onslow threatened their goal, and when there was a threat the back 3 of Harry P, Bubba and Liam were is miserly moods and shut out the attacks with relative ease. Some substitutions didn't really manage to get the boys to utilise the width, but despite this, Neo once again was the curse of Onslow by completing his hat trick with a delightful finish from a tight angle on the right. Very composed and confident.
Rowan and Will were starting to find some space on the left, and Charlie was managing to get forward on the right - slightly better use of the spaces to stretch the opposition. Just before half time, there was a ping pong type scenario in the Onslow penalty area, and the ball fell the Ethan who promptly rifled it home with power and precision, to send the Magpies into the half time break 4-1 ahead. The half time break was used to discuss the patterns of play, focussing on a need to use the wide spaces much more effectively in the second half.
The second half began, and the boys started to make use of some space that Jack was finding on the right. This was causing the opposition a lot of problems, and also allowing our midfield to get into the game more effectively. Tom was now getting on the ball a lot more and we started to move the ball a little more quickly. A prolonged period of pressure saw Neo lob his fourth goal past the hapless Onslow GK, and now the boys were in total control.
The coaches used this opportunity to give players some time in different positions, and the flow of the game was disrupted due to this. Indeed, it allowed the opposition (who were now rolling the dice and pushing on) to find gaps and half chances.
But up the other end, Neo was once again through on goal and just about the pull the trigger when he was bundled over. Penalty! Bubba coolly stepped up to notch his first goal for Loxwood - a landmark moment!! The rest of the game was fairly non-descript, except for Onslow getting a goal back courtesy of a penalty. A needless, rash challenge was made with their attacker going away from goal.
So the final score of 6-2 probably slightly flattered Onslow, who rarely threatened the Magpies goal, but carried on pushing till the end to their credit.
The Magpies have taken 7 points from the last three games, a nice habit. But will face much stronger tests than this in the coming games. The habit of conceding early needs to be banished!
MOTM this week goes to 4 goal Neo. Up the Magpies!!
Thanks to Bik-Kay for the video content.
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