Under 8s experience highs and lows of football

Under 8s dominate but fail to take chances

This morning we welcomed TNS to the 3G in which was our 2nd game in two days. After illness and resting a few players it was a good opportunity to swap some boys round positions.
1st half kicked off and we were in control of the game keeping good possession and getting the balls wide which what we have been doing in training with the boys and it's good to see there taking there training sessions on board and taking it into games. Lennon young and Connor dean were giving good supply to Leighton mills upfront. Taylor Williams again having another good game in the middle of midfield. Tns threat is a boy called jazz, he's big and athletic and has a real eye for goal and was tns main target man and he did pose as a real threat when getting the ball. Midway through the 1st half we took the lead through Connor dean who struck a shot high into the roof of the net to give the keeper no chance. Game was starting to open up now and both teams were attacking really well. Jake Barlow making some really tidy saves and doing a great job for his team mates. Few minutes before half time big jazz found space in midfield and took a shot which flew past Barlow in the goal to make 1-1. Straight after tns scored we went straight up the other end and Taylor williams scored to make it 2-1 after some good work from Leighton mills. But the lead was short lived and jazz again with his long legs poked the goal home from just inside the box to make it 2-2 before the break.
2nd period started and we made changes but started giving sloppy passes and giving the ball away and we struggled a little in the half and tns punished us scoring 5 goals in the half . Couple of our boys had switched off, weren't closing there men down and sometimes even giving up which at this level or any level is not good enough. The boys showed there passion for the game and did have some real good opportunities with Leighton mills hitting the cross bar, Connor dean went close with a couple of long range shots but the boys couldn't find the net. Young also missed some good chances, on another day the deadly winger could have scored more. It felt like deja vu from the night before against future elevens where we hit everything at the goal but struggled finding the net. Lennon young had abit of an injury and come off for the half. After a bad 15 minute spell we did find the net when Taylor williams found the bottom corner to get his 2nd of the day and the score line now was 7-3 to tns at half time.
We had a real good chat at half time about what jobs should we be doing and not what to do and the boys give it everything in the 3rd period. We went more offensive and I said just try and get the scoreline closer and that was there target for the period. We played really really well and yes a few decision making was abit off but we scored 4 goals in this period and got the scoreline back to 8-7 at one point and thought the boys did really well to get it back to that scoreline. Our goals coming from lennon young 3 and Dan mclaughlin. There was an all mighty scramble on the goal line in which twice the ball looked to have crossed the line but was deemed not to have crossed and the boys played on, wil smith with 2 good opportunities. In the last minute jazz was presented with another chance and was clean through on goal and he made no mistake and slotted the ball underneath our goalkeeper jake Barlow to make the final score 9-7 to tns.
Overall it was a good game to watch. We started off well then dropped our standards in the 2nd period but was made up with there effort in the 3rd period. Give credit to tns they played some nice football but there main boy was big jazz and when he gets space in behind he makes no mistakes and punishes you if he's not closed down quicker. This weekend has been abit of a downer for our boys results wise but our passing has been some of the best passing I've seen from any other u8s this season and has been a pleasure to watch. I had a chat with the boys and they did look down but as a squad we win lose and draw together an no matter what happens in games, we always come off with a smile on our faces and say we gave it our best shot and that is the highs and lows of football. The boys travel to Blackpool Fc tomorrow for there 3rd game in 3 days then they have a much deserved week off.