Boys U12 (2014) Red - Castle Villa AFC

It was yet another case of so near yet so far on a dreary Saturday morning at the Sports Centre as the lads welcomed a Castle Villa side with eyes on promotion having only lost once in the league all season. The last meeting between the sides was a close affair with Castle Villa narrowly coming out on top.

The lads didnt get off to best start falling behind within the first 5 mins. Villa’s left back ran the whole way down the line skipping past a few challenges before taking the ball into the box and squaring to a team mate who made no mistake.

The lads struggled to get a real foothold in the game during the first half which was in part attributable to Villa changing up their tactics to keep the lads (& coaches) guessing. Eoin and Aronas linked up quite well to create a few half chances while Jamie was busy throughout the half.

On the right side, John & Logan came to life as the game wore on and Adi did a great job when he came on in the centre of the park.

By half time, the lads had carved out a few chances and threatened the opposition goal but Villa kept their noses in front.

The lads started the second half with renewed energy and vigour.

The back 4 of Conall, Matthew, Sam and John appeared a far more cohesive unit from the outset with better communication and decisiveness between them.

In the middle, captain Jamie started the half as he ended the first - busy! He posed a continuous threat down the left side with Adi and Eoin doing well in the centre.

Logan was terrific on the right wing and Aronas led the line to start the second half. The lads battled hard to create chances but Villa always seemed to have an extra man at the back and defended doggedly throughout!

Despite their efforts, the lads found themselves 2 down midway through the second half when the lads failed to clear a ball across the box and the Villa striker produced a neat finish (arguably against the run of play).

Alfie returned to battle from the restart and got himself involved immediately linking up well with Jamie and trying to set uo Aronas and later Sean up top!

The Villa keeper had to be on his toes to keep out efforts from Jamie and later a dipping effort from Eoin forcing several corners along the way.

Matthew had a busy game on the left and found himself high up the pitch on several occasions throughout the game - nosebleed territory for him but posed an added level of threat where Villa were already struggling with Jamie on that side!

The lads eventually got their reward down that side when some route 1 football from Conall landed a lovely ball into Jamie’s path and he finished for a deserved goal setting up a tense last 10 mins.

From that point, the lads had complete control of the game and unloaded everything they had on Villa in the search for an equaliser.

John was extremely busy down the right and Logan looked dangerous when he returned to the game. Sam & Matthew worked well in ensuring cover at the back with the latter assuming the role of fly goalie when keeper Conall went up for a late corner.

Alas, Villa held on for the win and the lads once again found themselves wondering what might have been. At this stage, we could play Arsenal and find ourselves narrowly beaten.

A big thank you to all the boys and parents for their support on a really miserable morning (weatherwise) - while the result may not have gone our way, the response to falling behind was excellent and at the risk of sounding too philosophical, there is learning & development in all these games regardless of the outcome. We look forward to seeing the lads for training during the week!