U10 Calcio Talent & Select - Altofts Juniors
Another tenacious display in the rain from Calcio saw us battle to a 2-2 draw against the high flying Altofts Juniors. Altofts finished second in the 1st division last phase and came 4th at the JPL nationals last season.
The first period went exactly to plan. The starting lineup outbattled Altofts, who are known as a tough, direct side. My challenge to them was win the physical battle, stay composed and play football. And that we did, creating a number of chances that we perhaps should've made more of. Altofts were lucky to get into the break at 0-0.
At the break we reinforced the need to win the physical battles and force them to go long, strangle the game when they are on the ball. We started well, on the front foot and looking for a goal. A professional performance from Lewen today in a game that could’ve spilled over in midfield. He was fouled in his own half, a cynical ankle tap from their number 10. Instead of complaining, Lewen jumps up and plays a lovely through ball from the free kick to Jude, through on goal to score. 1-0. But the game quickly began to get frantic, losing our grip on the midfield battle. This led to a couple of errors when players were isolated, gifting them two goals from their only decent chances in the entire match. In a way a credit to the guys to keep them so quiet when out of possession.
The final period really demonstrated the ‘never give up’ attitude this group has. After going 2-1 down against the run of play it would be easy to give up. Not this lot. In the last minute, Artie played a high ball into the box. On the other end, Lewen got his leg up high and stuck a belting volley into the top corner, securing us a draw. An important result which I’m sure will go a long way to securing first division football next phase (so long as we keep this up until Christmas!).
My MoM went to Jude. A constant danger on the right going forward but importantly had the speed and agility to keep their tricky number 10 under control in the second half. Special mentions for Lewen and Harry who I also thought had particularly good games today.
Onto the next one!
