10 Boys Football v Gordano

On Tuesday 21 February the year 10 boys travelled to Gordano for a friendly football fixture. The weather was grim to say the least and there was a mighty 20 mph wind blowing straight down the pitch! The boys were a little short with a couple of injuries and absences but fortunately a couple of boys stepped in at short notice to fill the gaps. Despite this the boys were keen to get stuck into the contest and set about their task. Injured Matteo Prime travelled with the boys in a managerial capacity and was in need of a good performance to cement his position.

The contest started evenly and it didn’t take long to work out that the wind was going to be a big leveller. The boys had opted for 5 across the midfield in attempt to sure up their defence. That seemed to work for the initial period of the game although Gordano were still the better of the two sides on the middle. It wasn’t for lack of effort as Bailee and Matty ran hard to close down as much as they could. Caolan and Charlie were playing at the back and it was great to see Charlie back playing school sport having been out with an injury for a long time. Charlie is an impressive athlete and considering he has been on the sides for such a long time played the whole game and ran until the end!

Despite managing to hold the game for the first 15 minutes the weather was against the boys and it wasn’t long before Gordano took the lead. With the first goal under their belts the Gordano boys settled well into their football and moved the ball with some slick passing. Contrastingly the challenge had just doubled for the SK boys; not only were they against the conditions they were now down on the scoreboard. Things went from bad to worse when a defensive mix up from a corner gave the Gordano boys a second goal. The character of the St Kath’s boys was now really going to be tested as there was still a long way to go in the first half.

Boys showed snippets of composure on the ball – Zhang looked to play out under pressure, Matty drove the ball well through the midfield and always played the right pass and Bailee was good with the ball at his feet. George Harris and Paul Rickards are both technically great footballers but the conditions made it really hard for wide players. A lot of the play was through the middle of the pitch as neither team was really able to get and keep the ball wide. Despite being on the back foot the boys consolidated and were able to restrict their opponents to a 2 goal lead going into the half time break. As the boys came off of the pitch there were small hints of frustration and fatigue and some of the boys had perhaps given a little too much in their first half performance in attempt to stay in the game. Kai West was forced off at half time due an injury which meant the boys were without any substitutes in the second half.

After some stern words from gaffer Prime at half time the improvement was almost instantaneous. Captain Caolan Pearce was absolutely adamant that his attempt on goal had crossed the line and the cheers and beginnings of celebrations from his team mates suggested they felt the same however they were all proved wrong when play continued. St Kath’s momentum continued for the early part of the second half and the boys began to enjoy some success down the right hand side (with a little help from the now swirling wind). Rickards, Chittem and Crutchley linked up really well and worked several opportunities for Paul to cross from a wide position. One of his crosses brought about the first St Kath’s goal when Harris pounced on a ball that the Gordano boys had not cleared turning it into the back of the net. Just minutes later Louis Stratton latched onto a loose ball on the edge of the area and unleashed a rip-snorter goal bound which was well saved. This was soon followed by Caolan’s effort from a set piece which rattled the cross bar. The free kick was just inside the Gordano half and I was giving Caolan instructions to play the ball into the area on the angle to give boys a chance to head towards goal. Caolan completely ignored my instructions by smashing the ball goal bound straight down the middle of the pitch. The wind picked up his sweetly struck effort and propelled it towards the goal with some real venom. The keeper helplessly watched it thunder into his cross bar and safely out behind for a goal kick.

For all of their efforts; the goal that wasn’t, the Stratton long range shot and Caolan’s freak free kick the boys were still a goal down and it was looking as though it just wasn’t going to be their day. You would look at the final score of 7-1 and suggest an absolute mauling but in fact for the first 15 to 20 minutes of the second half they had a genuine chance of getting back into the game. The last 25 minutes however was a mauling as things went from good to awful in a short space of time. One goal quickly turned into 5 as the SK boys really started to fatigue both mentally and physically. The Gordano boys were strong and resilient to the end and with a little help from some very tired defending were able to extend their lead and head for a very comfortable victory.

Hard luck gentlemen – defeat not for lack of effort!

Mr Cook