Saturday 12th December - Dorking Wanderers Red 1 v 3 Loxwood Magpies
Squad : Kinley, Harry B, Tom, Liam, Chris, Charlie C, Neo, Charlie D, Alex, Declan, Rowan, Ethan, Michael, Hamish
Goals : Neo, Alex, Ethan
The u14 Magpies arrived at Dorking Wanderers' Wescott based pitch (in the rain again!!!) for the table topping clash of the day. Both teams were unbeaten, with the Magpies sitting 3 points above the Dorking team courtesy of having played a game more. Games between these two have always been tight, with the teams generally cancelling each other out, and the Magpies lined up full of confidence built from their previous performance against Dorkinians.
The preparations were to again have to factor a shuffle of positions, with Bubba moving to GK and Kinley steeping in to centre back alongside Declan.
Right from the first whistle, Loxwood were on he front foot, winning plenty of possession in midfield and using it wisely. It was clear that Loxwood would use the width of the pitch to their advantage with Ethan and Alex proving willing runners to try and get in behind the Dorking defence. Most of the early exchanges were in favour of Loxwood and the promising start soon turned onto a lead. And what a wonderful goal it was too! Liam won possession in the middle and swiftly ate up the yards to gain territorial advantage before playing a pinpoint pass into the path of the advancing Ethan – Ethan took two solid touches and then delivered a perfect cross onto the head of the hard running Neo – Neo rose between the defender and the GK and cushioned his header superbly into the far corner of the net. A brilliant move and perfect example of the early ball into the right space.
This goal appeared to set back Dorking who were now rocking a little and struggling to match the work rate and commitment of the young Magpies.
Possession was being won high up the pitch ( a key point in the pre-match briefing), and shots were regularly being aimed at the Dorking keeper. Meanwhile at the other end, Bubba had very little to do in goal and was thankful to the back four protecting him.
Alex and Tom were starting to work smartly together with Alex in particular causing the Dorking defence huge problems in his advanced left midfield/supplementary striker role. It looked only a matter of time before this route would prove costly for Dorking, and so it proved with a neat near post finish from Alex following some sustained pressure and ball retention from Loxwood. 2-0. The remainder of the half followed a similar pattern, with several changes form both teams disrupting the natural flow a bit – it was notable that the Loxwood subs all came on and made significant impacts immediately.
The half time talk was straightforward – game management and concentration were the main points (plus the old Achilles heel of sometimes holding on to the ball a bit too long). That said quick passing and one touch passing were much improved this week – Dorking being more of a footballing team than some others we have recently played lent itself to this. The boys were very ‘up for it’ going into the 2nd half, and the game carried on largely in the same way the first half had ended. Dorking did look to try and play a little higher and there was a minor storm to weather for 5 mins before the magpies started to assert their dominance once again. Plenty of changes/subs were made to keep things fresh and give as much playing as poss to everyone.
The game management from the maturing magpies was impressive, and even when the hard-working and fired-up Neo had to leave the pitch due to a nasty looking knee twist, the boys re-shaped and transitioned into a 4-5-1 to clog up the midfield (where Dorking have their strongest players). With about 20 mins to go, after some good high play, Ethan popped up with a left foot lob which caught the GK by surprise and sailed over his head to nestle in the back of the net and effectively make the game safe.
A rare shot from the Dorking team, who know looked like they were accepting of the inevitable pending defeat, slipped out of Bubba's hands and crept over the line. An unfortunate incident for the stand-in goalie. The only other further drama was an injury to Liam, when contesting a (fair) 50-50 tackle, which caused a further reshuffle of shape to see the game out. The game played out and the boys were well deserving of their win, after dominating the whole match and asserting their authority right the way through the team.
Some really impressive performances again this week, the solid back four, the stand in Bubba GK, the drive and work rate from midfield, the movement up top…I could go on. The coaches usually award a Man-of-the-match each week, but on reflection this week the award goes to the whole team – there were plenty of deserving individual winners, but the team performance was the most prominent feature in a notable win against the reigning champs on their own pitch.
It should be noted that referee commented on what a great game it was, with good football and spirit – and with both teams playing fair and committed football. Thank you to Dorking – a good side who like to play good football and were very gracious in a defeat that must have been hard to take. Great to see boys from both sides chatting with each other after the game, and showing a real sportsmanlike and mature attitude.
The Magpies go into the xmas break 6 points clear at the top of div 1.
Thanks to Bik-Kay from the very welcome hot chocolate and to Hannah for the photos!!! Merry XMAS all!
Squad : Kinley, Harry B, Tom, Liam, Chris, Charlie C, Neo, Charlie D, Alex, Declan, Rowan, Ethan, Michael, Hamish
Goals : Neo, Alex, Ethan
The u14 Magpies arrived at Dorking Wanderers' Wescott based pitch (in the rain again!!!) for the table topping clash of the day. Both teams were unbeaten, with the Magpies sitting 3 points above the Dorking team courtesy of having played a game more. Games between these two have always been tight, with the teams generally cancelling each other out, and the Magpies lined up full of confidence built from their previous performance against Dorkinians.
The preparations were to again have to factor a shuffle of positions, with Bubba moving to GK and Kinley steeping in to centre back alongside Declan.
Right from the first whistle, Loxwood were on he front foot, winning plenty of possession in midfield and using it wisely. It was clear that Loxwood would use the width of the pitch to their advantage with Ethan and Alex proving willing runners to try and get in behind the Dorking defence. Most of the early exchanges were in favour of Loxwood and the promising start soon turned onto a lead. And what a wonderful goal it was too! Liam won possession in the middle and swiftly ate up the yards to gain territorial advantage before playing a pinpoint pass into the path of the advancing Ethan – Ethan took two solid touches and then delivered a perfect cross onto the head of the hard running Neo – Neo rose between the defender and the GK and cushioned his header superbly into the far corner of the net. A brilliant move and perfect example of the early ball into the right space.
This goal appeared to set back Dorking who were now rocking a little and struggling to match the work rate and commitment of the young Magpies.
Possession was being won high up the pitch ( a key point in the pre-match briefing), and shots were regularly being aimed at the Dorking keeper. Meanwhile at the other end, Bubba had very little to do in goal and was thankful to the back four protecting him.
Alex and Tom were starting to work smartly together with Alex in particular causing the Dorking defence huge problems in his advanced left midfield/supplementary striker role. It looked only a matter of time before this route would prove costly for Dorking, and so it proved with a neat near post finish from Alex following some sustained pressure and ball retention from Loxwood. 2-0. The remainder of the half followed a similar pattern, with several changes form both teams disrupting the natural flow a bit – it was notable that the Loxwood subs all came on and made significant impacts immediately.
The half time talk was straightforward – game management and concentration were the main points (plus the old Achilles heel of sometimes holding on to the ball a bit too long). That said quick passing and one touch passing were much improved this week – Dorking being more of a footballing team than some others we have recently played lent itself to this. The boys were very ‘up for it’ going into the 2nd half, and the game carried on largely in the same way the first half had ended. Dorking did look to try and play a little higher and there was a minor storm to weather for 5 mins before the magpies started to assert their dominance once again. Plenty of changes/subs were made to keep things fresh and give as much playing as poss to everyone.
The game management from the maturing magpies was impressive, and even when the hard-working and fired-up Neo had to leave the pitch due to a nasty looking knee twist, the boys re-shaped and transitioned into a 4-5-1 to clog up the midfield (where Dorking have their strongest players). With about 20 mins to go, after some good high play, Ethan popped up with a left foot lob which caught the GK by surprise and sailed over his head to nestle in the back of the net and effectively make the game safe.
A rare shot from the Dorking team, who know looked like they were accepting of the inevitable pending defeat, slipped out of Bubba's hands and crept over the line. An unfortunate incident for the stand-in goalie. The only other further drama was an injury to Liam, when contesting a (fair) 50-50 tackle, which caused a further reshuffle of shape to see the game out. The game played out and the boys were well deserving of their win, after dominating the whole match and asserting their authority right the way through the team.
Some really impressive performances again this week, the solid back four, the stand in Bubba GK, the drive and work rate from midfield, the movement up top…I could go on. The coaches usually award a Man-of-the-match each week, but on reflection this week the award goes to the whole team – there were plenty of deserving individual winners, but the team performance was the most prominent feature in a notable win against the reigning champs on their own pitch.
It should be noted that referee commented on what a great game it was, with good football and spirit – and with both teams playing fair and committed football. Thank you to Dorking – a good side who like to play good football and were very gracious in a defeat that must have been hard to take. Great to see boys from both sides chatting with each other after the game, and showing a real sportsmanlike and mature attitude.
The Magpies go into the xmas break 6 points clear at the top of div 1.
Thanks to Bik-Kay from the very welcome hot chocolate and to Hannah for the photos!!! Merry XMAS all!
