A shorter (not by much) match report today – it normally is after a loss, but having lost 5-0 at home on that rainy Sunday not so long ago and not writing up about it, I think the match today deserved some documentation.

Dutch are a good side, well structured in their positions and have a strong teamwork ethic. They have a few players – Luther, Lucas, and Lewis – although I might have made up at least two of those names, that are good with the ball at their feet and aren’t afraid to run at defenders.

Last time, we weren’t prepared for this and gave away 5 goals without showing too much promise on the pitch. Today however, was a marked improvement from everyone.

Archer pulled off five or six sensational saves and would have needed to be a giant to stop at least one of their goals. My pick of the stops was the point blank, half volley that he punched out for a corner, closely followed by the looping shot that needed a great one handed parry. On any other day Arch you could have had yet another M.o.M as you were superb.

Todd and Jojo had the unenviable task of double teaming Luther and, following on from last week, proved a fantastic tactic, keeping him subdued for the majority of the match and forcing them to pass the ball around to some of their weaker players. This lead to us having far more attacking opportunities and on any other day the shots might have gone in and goals would have been given.

Birthday boy AD had a great game on the right wing, beating Luther for pace in the first half countless times. With Liam missing Alex really stepped up and showed his skill. Two first half corners were whipped in perfectly and we just need to get on the end of them. Having seen the effectiveness of Dutch’s short corner it is another option we can also look at as we prepare for next season. Unable to add to his goal scoring lead it sets up a firecracker next week.

Jamie, thoroughly deserving of the M.o.M and notably his second against Dutch, put in some brilliant defensive work. Today, as he was warming up, Jamie told me how he had worked with his dad at home to become a better defender. With training and matches, we can coach you and tell you what we think you can do better, but we all need to practice. The more we practice, the better we get and although it might get boring doing the same thing, we can only become better footballers by doing it. Great work and the extra training really paid off.

Jacob, despite playing the second half as a striker, spent the majority of the match in our half of the pitch and was a good covering midfielder in the holding role. He provided some long balls up field and strong clearances out of defence. An audacious attempt from the halfway line was a great idea, but we need to make sure that it’s on target and if players are ahead of us in a better position, perhaps try and lay it off.

Fin and Calum both played well in their wide role. Surrounded by players Fin has a battling nature and did well in most 50/50 balls but has a tendency to run towards his team mate with the ball and found himself in front of a few shots from Jojo and getting tangled up when dribbling. Calum too did his time in defence and attack and was unlucky on the break as the opposition tracked back and covered well stopping him getting in to goal scoring chances.

The thing we were guilty of today was not working as a team at all times. Forty minutes is a long time, and as I said last week we might spend thirty minutes of the match defending. With skilful players it sometimes takes two players to defend and mark them. This creates more space around them that needs to be filled by the remaining players which means everyone needs to step up and help out. Then when we get that break, rather than running side by side with team mates we need to get in to good positions. If the player with the ball decides to shoot then we might get a goal. If the keeper saves it we need to be in a good position to get the rebound, or maybe even persuade the striker to pass instead.

But above all it was a fantastic game and although we lost, at least we can go home filled with chocolate and sweets courtesy of the birthday boy and the Dent’s. Thanks!

Regarding the “disallowed goal”, it was interesting to see two sides of the coin from a coach/supporter perspective. The argument for, was the ball was carried over the line before the challenge was made. The argument against was it hadn’t fully crossed the line. Having been on the receiving end of a fair share of controversy this season it was interesting to hear the ACTUALLY Dutch opposition coach bemoan our supporters for their attitude toward player safety and spirit of fair play. I disagree and saw nothing wrong with suggesting it was actually a goal, despite the nature of the challenge. Sometimes however, that is football, and everyone clearly sees thing in a different way despite being no closer to the action than the rest of us. Oh for the home advantage.

Most of the 'Player of the Season' votes are in, leaving two players battling it out for the top spot. With one parent/player vote still to come anything could happen and the winner will be revealed at the Trophy Night in May.

See you all next week for our FINAL LEAGUE MATCH at home to our old adversaries - Wickham Wanderers. Let’s see if we can end this season on a massive high!