|
WESTWOOD COLTS UNDER 15's |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Sad news we announce, the U15 Colts have folded. We wish the boys the best in the future.
Final Score – Westwood 0 - AFC Newbury 8 1st Half Westwood Wanderers started the game on a very cold and wet Sunday afternoon and started well with a bit of early pressure that resulted in a Westwood corner in the first minute. The Westwood boys could not capitalise on the early opportunity and found themselves quickly switched from offensive to defensive as AFC Newbury charged down the left and shot just wide of the Westwood Goal. Despite a Westwood free kick one minute later we spent the next 5 minutes giving Matt Halls a workout in goal as we gave Newbury too much of the ball and they piled on the pressure. Matt started with some brave keeping sliding out to deny the AFC no 10 a shot on target. This was quickly followed a minute later by a shot off target, then another minute later a shot on target that was easily saved. Eventually Newbury’s pressure paid off as at 10 minutes they managed to get their first ball past Matt (Westwood 0 – AFC Newbury 1). Newbury continued to the offensive with another shot two minutes later forcing another save from Matt. Westwood dug deep and at 14 minutes managed to force a corner again struggling to make anything of the opportunity. This was repeated a couple of minutes later. Despite a quick flurry from Newbury, Westwood worked hard to get back into the game. A long run from Matt Wigginton into the Newbury half was followed by a shot on target from Charlie that a deflection took the sting out of and was saved by the Newbury Keeper. Newbury did not sit back and started to pour on pressure, winning the midfield battle and managed to finish the half on a flurry with two goals within 5 minutes finishing the half, Westwood 0 – AFC Newbury 3. 2nd Half Westwood came out fighting early again forcing another corner at the start of the second half, but again we missed the opportunity to pull one back. We also started to let Newbury have a little longer on the ball and they looked the more dangerous team out there as a result. At just 5 minutes into the half Newbury scored again (Westwood 0 – AFC Newbury 4). Westwood continued to battle but struggled to contain Newbury who at 22 minutes managed to score their 5th goal. Although Newbury continued to have more time on the ball Westwood still managed to carve out opportunities when they pushed forward however we struggled to make them count. Westwood’s legs seemed to get tired as the game entered into the last ten minutes and Newbury were able to take advantage of this with three goals in the closing stages of the game. This would have been five more if it had not been for some great goalkeeping from Matt Halls. At the final whistle the game ended Westwood 0 – AFC Newbury 8. This was definitely a game of missed opportunities for Westwood, I had counted at least four that we should have put away and, had we been as quick to attack the ball as we had been against Laurel Park last week who knows what might have happened. Again it was hard to single out an individual who deserved man of the match, however the trophy was awarded to Andy Roff who often found himself under pressure having to deal with the short ball but tirelessly battled through to the end. Match Report 11/11/07 by Tony Cooper Final Score - Laurel Park 6 - Westwood Wanderers 3 1st Half Westwood came out from the start with a determination to take the game to Laurel Park and this was immediately paying dividends as for the first ten minutes of the game the ball hardly got out of the Laurel half! Westwood kept possession well and gave Laurel very little time on the ball when they did managed to get it. Early opportunities came from playmaking from Andy Slade and linking play between Myles and Charlie that put the Laurel defence under pressure early. At 14 minutes into the game Myles made a determined run down the right hand side and after a goal mouth struggle he managed to push the ball past the Laurel goalkeeper to put Westwood 1-0 up. As should be expected from a top of the league team Laurel did not sit back and quickly responded with an attack down the left which was met with a crunching tackle by Bradley that, led to a penalty being awarded. At 16 minutes Laurel drew even. This seemed to lift Laurels spirits a little and they got a little more ball play, however this was met with determined defence from Westwood and three excellent saves from Matt Halls in as many minutes. Westwood were quick on the counter attack and after a long throw by Matt Halls and another Myles run Westwood did score again. Westwood did not back off and at 39 minutes Andy Slade headed the ball towards goal forcing a save from the Laurel keeper. Just before the half time whistle Laurel made another surge on the Westwood goal that pressured the Westwood defence and forced Bradley to make a critical goal line clearance. An end to end first half that had a score of 1-1 that did not reflect the effort and opportunities created by Westwood. 2nd Half Westwood kicked off the second half and again started with determination. At 4 minutes battling midfield play saw Wiggy break free with the ball and pass to the feet of Charlie who slotted the ball low and to the left of the Laurel keeper. Westwood 2 – Laurel Park 1. This was quickly responded to by Laurel park who just 5 minutes later pushed forward and following a push on the defender, shot on target that Matt managed to get his fingers to but did not quite managed to push past the post. Westwood 2 – Laurel Park 2. Just two minutes later Westwood started an attack that came from some excellent midfield play and Wiggy again broke free attacking the Laurel goal. This time he was able to go it alone and placed an excellent shot past the left hand side of the goalkeeper putting Westwood in the lead for a third time in the game. The pace did not let off and Laurel attacked the Westwood goal again and following a goal mouth struggle to clear the ball Westwood conceded another goal pulling the game even again. Just a couple of minutes later the referee saw another foul on a Laurel player in the Westwood box, this time by Matt Legg, and awarded a second penalty to Laurel. This time Matt did manage to get behind the ball but it was well struck by the Laurel player and Matt was unlucky not to have pushed the ball over the bar. Westwood 3 – Laurel Park 4. For the first time in the game Laurel Park pulled ahead. At about an hour into the game Westwood legs were beginning to look tired and we struggled to contain Laurel Park and had to dig deep to try to contain them. At 27 minutes into the second half Laurel managed to score again and this was followed by a couple more attacks forcing another save from Matt at 33 minutes. Westwood still looked dangerous on the counter attack and forced a corner just a minute later but were unable to capitalise on it. At 36 minutes Laurel attacked again and their striker was lucky to get on the end of a blocked shot and smacked the ball into the back of the Westwood net. Westwood 3 – Laurel Park 6. This was how the game ended after a spirited fight by Westwood and a performance against a top of the table team that all players involved should be proud of. It was an excellent team game and finding an individual to receive the Man of the Match trophy was difficult, however the trophy was given to Matt Halls. He kept us in the match but most of all his vision and throwing enabled us to build the play from the back
|
|||
|
|
|||