After what seemed an eternity of practice; running drills; cancelled training sessions due to rain; ball skills & football chit-chat, the U10 Dragons finally got to snarl, breathe fire, stretch their wings & take flight against a formidable foe in the form of St. Cats White. Unfortunately they were not the little kittens we had hoped for & instead growled & pounced like panthers.

The match started off with a hiss & a roar (pun intended) with both teams attacking well, then defending well, then attacking well & then defending well. It seemed like it was going to be a hard fought stalemate of a match for 18 minutes of the first half – until a lapse in concentration by MT6 in his own 18 yard box turned the ball over to the St Cats Strikers & goalkeeper CS12 did not have a chance to parry away the bullet-like shot on goal. 0-1. After playing some good football for the first 20 minutes of the match & to not have a goal on the board was a bit disheartening, but the lads didn’t let it affect them & heads were held high at half time. 

All Coach M. needed to tell the lads was to ensure they booted the ball away from the goal if it got too close & show more aggression to get the ball from the opposition.  Apart from that, the basic skills were all present in their game.

The second half began quickly with a Dragon’s kick-off & within a short amount of time JPC2 & LB7 had a few chances on goal, with the latter getting the ball into the back of the net.  1-1. There were relieved faces all along the Dragons sideline of supporters & we had the belief again. Within a blink of an eye, or so it seemed, the Dragons went hard on attack deep into St Cats territory & the ball finally dribbled through he keepers legs & into the back of the net after a lot of kicking around & tough St Cats defence. LB7 picked up from where he left off last season in U9 football & had a double!  Could he convert it into a hat-trick? The following ten minutes was another see-sawing affair & both teams looked like they weren’t going to score again due to some ferocious defense & misjudged passing.  Within this period of time RW3 stood up & dropped back from his left wing to assist the back four.  A kamikaze style run & block by RW3 on a well-struck volley from a St Cats striker epitomized his all-round good performance & earned him the player of the match. 

At training Coach M. will be using him as an example for the rest of the team as to how much commitment we need to show for the remainder of the season.

With about 5 minutes left on the clock, St Cats were able to get the better of the Dragons defence, poking the ball past the goalie from within a rabble of players in the 6 yard box. 2-2. Before the start of the season proper, Coach M. promised to the Dragon faithful & players that he wouldn’t yell out from the sidelines like he did last season. However, the tension had built too much for him & he let out some – we will call them – well-directed, but encouraging thoughts to the players.  It didn’t really help but he felt better for it though. There were also moments of laughter during the game when the boys either tripped over each other or tripped up themselves while running alone or took evasive action when the ball was drilled in the direction of their head. There were chances to win the game by both teams but the killer blow couldn’t be landed. 2-2 was the final score & as much as he disdains the quote, Coach M. stated that the result was a ‘true reflection of the efforts by both teams’.

Honourable mentions to:

·        TR11 who guided the defenders well;

·        JPC2 who didn’t stop running all match; 

·        SF15 who was involved a lot in the midfield skirmishes;

·        CS12 for pushing the ball forward & playing injured;

·        WM13 who persisted with chasing the ball hard;

·        HD4 for always taking on the attackers;

·        JH14 for blazing down the sidelines & keeping the second half;

·        JL5 for keeping the ball moving & being all over the field;

·        AB8 for a solid effort & always challenging the opposition in attack & defense;

·        MT6 for not giving up & being ready to train harder on Thursday; &

·        RC9 for being stoic in defense & playing the offside rule well.

A great match today lads & by the reaction of the supporters they enjoyed it & will be back to cheer you all on again next Saturday.

On a personal note from Coach M. – thanks to the match scheduling committee for the late morning start!  Early morning kick-offs last season were not enjoyable, he he.