SVR U11 Whites

Match report by Simon Webster...

Tough morning for the Whites against a Worle side who haven't stopped training yet and it told as the Whites lacked the sharpness  and clinicalness they had displayed earlier in the year. 

A slow start saw Whites go behind early but they kept their heads up and at half time following a lovely finish by Seb after some good play from Cillian found themselves only 3-1 down and very much in it. 

Again a slow start in the second half saw Whites concede early again.  Charlie  then single handledly kept the score down by first saving a penalty and then getting back up to stop a point blank rebound effort. 

Worle picked up a couple of goals as the game went end to end but the Whites kept trying and Cillian who had switched to the left stormed down the left and cut inside to score a lovely goal. 

I know the boys were disappointed with the result but as we pointed out to them we weren't that far away and it wasn't a 7-2 game. 

Player of the Match was Thomas who played the wing back role really well and ran himself to the ground supporting both the defence and midfield. 

Finally, shout out to Bobby who pulled out due to illness at the last minute.

Match report by Ed Jones...

A very competitive match today for the Whites at home to Yatton Rangers in our last pre-season friendly before the Woodspring league kicks off next week.

In a very tight first half, with very few chances, our 3-2-3 formation held strong, with only one real chance for Yatton, which Charlie saved superbly. Although Whites dominated the possession and looked the more threatening in the first half, we only managed a couple of attempts that troubled their keeper, one of which was a really good save from Henry’s strike. 0-0 at half time.

The planned change of formation to 3-1-3-1 for the second half, almost instantly yielded results, with Henry crossing for Walter, now playing centre-forward, to knock the ball past the stranded Yatton keeper.

With Thomas and Finley on the flanks, adding pace, we certainly looked more threatening and Yatton couldn’t handle Walter. However, pushing forward in search of goals meant we didn’t have as many back defending, and Yatton caught us out when their right-winger, by far their best player, crossed for a tap in, after they had worked it well for a three-on-two.

We pressed again and soon Walter had his second, firing low past the keeper after battling his way into space in the box. With ten minutes left, we made it 3-1 when the Yatton goalie could only parry Henry’s shot from outside the box into the top corner. At this point we were comfortable and playing some great stuff. Unfortunately, a mistake in the middle of the pitch allowed Yatton’s winger in again and he fired home, giving Charlie no chance. This meant a nervy last 5 minutes as we pressed for a fourth but were also desperate to protect the lead. We held out though for the 3-2 win.

A shout out to the players… Charlie was really solid in goal and made a couple of fine saves; Masa was his usual battling self, not letting anyone past and his link up play with the midfield was top notch; Jacob was strong at the back with his big clearances; Oli, on his debut, was terrific, and he was up against Yatton’s best player, whom he kept quiet for the majority of the game; Seb was awesome in defensive midfield, breaking up play and getting us moving forward; Thomas put in a superb shift, both in defensive midfield and on the left in the 2nd half, making things happen; Alex came off the bench and had to play several different roles, which he did effectively; Riley battled hard in midfield and also in attack, always looking threatening; Henry moved the ball around really well, playing others into space, and got a goal and an assist today; Walter was immense at the back in the first half and then switched to centre-forward in the second half and changed the game with his two goals; Finley gave everything on the right midfield/wing and his pace was a threat to Yatton all morning. PoTM though, went to Seb, who stopped Yatton in their tracks on numerous occasions, and turned defence into attack! 

Well done to all the boys.