U16 Calcio Talent and Select - UFCA Blacks U16

There is a couple of ways I look at this game, as I reflect back on the game.

1) I am really proud of our team. There was a clear sign today of individuals actually showing more fight and caring more about how we play and ultimately the game. Which I feel has been lacking at times.

I saw some players frustrated and angry about conceding a goal, which is important. I still want to see more of this from everyone though.

2) Yesterday we worked on pressing high as a team - and the exact pressing triggers and trap that we worked on, payed off. Which is a big positive from the team and their development. The players took on board what I asked of them perfectly and scored an excellent goal from pressing 👏🏻

3) We conced way too many soft goals, and do not defend our goal with enough intensity. It is frustrating because it is something that I have mentioned multiple times to the team. Players need to take more responsibility with this sort of thing.

Goals happen - but it is all about how we respond to them and today we didn’t respond well enough to conceding a goal.

It is frustrating to watch as I know that our team has the potentially to be really strong and could beat the opposition based on our quality.

However, at this level small margins make a big difference. I mentioned to the players at the end that they should be thinking about doing extras in the week to give themselves the best chance to individually compete at this level, as we are playing against high level sides and players.

Final positive on my rant - we fought back well despite the scoreline and I am proud of the team for 80% of the game.

⚽️⚽️ Josh

🤩 Finn