U12B v New Forest

Today was a strange match. New Forest provided 2 young umpires who are learning their trade. Having umpired U12 matches before, it is actually quite tricky, as you have to find the balance between letting the game run and penalising infringements. There were some odd decisions and at some points, neither of the teams knew what decision had been given, which did not help us practice our "quick take" game. A big thank you to them though, as umpires are difficult to come by.

The match was split into thirds and we improved with each one. We achieved my aim, which was to leave the pitch in a better state than when we started. There were a couple of occasions when their attackers had snuck into our D unchallenged but communication was more apparent as the boys got more match time together in defence. Haydn in goal had 2 outstanding saves, one which was an inspired left foot and the other which was a sliding save that must have made their attacker think twice before approaching him again. That commitment was great to see.

I purposely took 4 subs and purposely rolled them on and off throughout the match. Although this meant that the boys had to cope with different positions and new players next to them, this is something that cannot be achieved during training. There was an awkward penalty corner when none of the back 4 ran out. I hope that this will be the one and only time that this happens - we shall see! If the boys want to see how it is done in practice, YouTube is a great start point. On the flip side, attacking short corners have progressed with boys deciding on a change in tactics. Hari delivered some strong and accurate injections and we were unlucky not to have exploited these attacking positions.

One of the developments that was made during the match was the movement and speed of pass. There is a self fulfilling prophecy here, as if spacing is better (wider), then the pass has to be faster in order to cover the ground. Once they can pass well, they will be confident in getting into wider positions. We are getting there but it only comes with practice and we shall continue to work on this on Saturday mornings.

Alex Birmingham was voted players' player by New Forest. I want to single out some players and events. Alex Helsdon was strong in the centre of defence and both Harrison and Alfie had good periods. We have been working on 'hitting' the ball in training and there were 2 awesome strikes today; one was by Hari and the other was by somebody else (you know who you are and should be very happy with yourself). Although he was unsure of positional play early on, William quickly got it and was adept at getting in the right position to attack and support his teammates by the final third. I was also impressed by the doggedness of many of the boys when New Forest were in possession - a stick waggling at your feet forces your head down and does not allow you to develop the play. Towards the end of the match, the midfield and forwards were dominating through their skill and passing - Xavier and Rory stick in my memory. Great to see and we deserved a goal at the very least.

Although we lost 3-0, I am happy that we are getting more confident on the ball. As we develop our awareness of positions and how to move into space, we shall become a force to be reckoned with. See you on Saturday.