11 Boys Football v Sidcot

On Thursday 23 March the year 11 boys boarded a coach for what could well be their last football fixture for St Katherine’s. Weather conditions were set fair and it was a lovely spring evening so the boys arrived in positive spirits. There were a couple of players missing and so year 10 boys Caolan Pearce and Matty Crutchley stepped in to boost the numbers; both boys proved instrumental in the final result.

The game started in frantic fashion with very little control being exercised by either team as they battled hard to get a good quality first touch and pick an accurate pass on the playing surface. The scrappiness continued well into the first half with both teams struggling to settle into their stride. The obvious frustrations at their performances didn’t stop the goals from coming from both teams. The first 20 minutes of the match saw 6 of the 10 goals and the scores poised level at 3-3.

The first goal came after a ball was played over the top for Jude Noon to chase down. Jude gave good chase and put the backtracking defender under some real pressure. In a moment of slight indecision the Sidcot goalkeeper came out to clear the ball and struck it against his backtracking defender so that it ricocheted back into his own goal net giving St Katherine’s the lead. No sooner had St Katherine’s taken the lead they found themselves back level again after defending a corner kick. The ball was never really cleared from the original set piece and after a miniature goal mouth melee the ball dropped at the feet of a Sidcot player who turned the ball into the net for the equaliser. The scrappy and error ridden nature of both teams’ opening goals really reflected the early exchanges of the match.

Gradually both teams wrestled their way into the game and tried to settle into some form of pattern. It was Sidcot who were first to get their feet well and truly into the game. Their second goal was a mightily impressive finish that came from a well organised counter attack. Just seconds before the goal St Katherine’s had a corner kick and had not spotted a mismatch of pace between the Sidcot strike force and the SK defenders. It with this mismatch that eventually resulted in the goal and just 2 minutes later SK were undone in exactly the same fashion; this time the goal came directly from the counter attack and again the pace of the Sidcot attacker was the undoing of the defence.

Having taken an early need St Kath’s found themselves 3-1 down and a little shell shocked. They were in desperate need of goals and so looked to centre forward partnership Mason Smart and Jude Noon to dig them out of a hole. It was Mason who hit back first after showing himself to be a real threat with the ball at his feet. Mason was starting to cause problems as he went directly at the Sidcot players at pace looking to beat them. His first goal was a powerfully struck effort from close range to pull the score back to 3-2. Jude’s contribution came 2 minutes later when he drew the boys back level at 3 goals each. Things got even better just prior to half time when central midfielder and captain Danny Conway hit one from range which beat the keeper and Jude Noon slotted his second to give them a two goal lead heading into the break. After a whirlwind half including 8 goals the boys were in need of some time to gather themselves.

During the break we spoke about how to play the conditions and the need to adapt their style so that they could give themselves the best chance of improving their football and closing down the game that had become wide open which was playing into the hands of the pacey Sidcot players.

The second half saw a vast improvement as St Kath’s adopted a new style and really focused on the job in hand. Several players really came to the fore during this half and as a team the boys began to play more controlled football. Defensively things were far more organised with Caolan Pearce at the heart of everything good. Caolan organised the defence brilliantly, went to the ball when he needed to and sat off to clear up when his team mates challenged for the ball. Several times Caolan made vital interventions and he won almost everything in the air in the second half showing his physicality, athleticism and strength even when playing for the year above. Ryan Meacham had one of his best games for the school at full back putting in a number of excellent challenges as well as showing some real composure when playing the ball out from the back. Ryan grew into the game as it wore on and was certainly in contention for man of the match come the final whistle.

The midfielders had grasped the types of passes they needed to hit and were started to link well with defenders and attackers. In typical fashion Matty covered every blade of grass on the pitch and won countless tackles with his typical tenacity and toughness. Mason Smart also dropped back into the midfield and captain Conway bolstered the centre of defence alongside Caolan. Mason and Matty proved to be a really effective partnership in the middle as both boys pressured the Sidcot players well leaving them little time and space to play. Sam Oliver came into the game during the first half and was playing really well up top. It was Sam’s touch that set the ball for Mason who ran on to strike the ball firmly into the back of the net to give the St Kath’s boys their first goal of the second half. Sam did the simple things really well in attack and played really well given that this was his first school game for quite some time.

Sidcot scored their final goal in the 50^th minute after a second well struck long range effort found the extremities of the goal net leaving keeper Mason little to no chance of pulling off the save. At the final whistle a good contest finished 6-4 to the boys in red.

Man of the match was a really difficult decision with a handful of boys all vying for the accolade. Mason Smart was a huge driving force in the midfield and demonstrated a real energy and determination to win. Matty Crutchley was an effervescent presence in the middle of the pitch and worked brilliantly alongside Mason in the second half. Ryan Meacham had one of his best games for the school in my opinion as he won the ball in the tackle and distributed well on countless occasions. However, for me Caolan Pearce was the standout player. To organise and lead a defensive unit is never easy, especially when you are playing up an age group. Caolan’s defensive effort was monumental throughout the whole match but what made his second half performance so impressive was the way that he learned as the game went on and adapted his game accordingly – a superb mature defensive display!

Well done gentlemen.

Mr Cook