Farnborough FC vs Guildford Saints (under 15) - SYP Prem Elite

For the third match in a row we were playing against one of the top two sides in the league. After an unfortunate defeat in the Surrey Cup last week the boys had something to prove and went into the game wanting to get a victory. 

With a buy in from Scott and the midfield, the boys decided they wanted to attempt to practice pressing and dropping off when they called it and not pressing all the time. This worked brilliantly for 20 minutes until we were caught out twice in 5 minutes when Guildford scored 2 goals from 2 corners. This has been an area we have been working on and seemed to be getting better. 

Guildford then scored from another cross and with half time approaching we found ourselves 3-0 down. Half time saw the introduction of Tom Baines, Rutty, Callum, Rory and Tom Blackburn. 

The second half saw Guildford score an early goal when a defensive mistake left a one on one with our GK who had no chance. Credit the boys though as they did not give up and Ryan pulled a goal back with a great through ball from Rory. 

Ollie nearly pulled another goal back when Callum ran down the wing and crossed a great ball in which Ollie just headed wide. Guildford then scored the goal of the game with a great shot across Tom into the top corner to give them an unconvincing 5-1 win. 

Guildford were never 4 goals better than us today but we were certainly punished for our mistakes which has been the story of our season. I guess that's the difference when playing at this top level. Credit the boys for battling and as always even in defeat they did us proud. 

Epsom Eagles vs Farnborough FC (under 15) - SYL Prem Elite

After a good win in the cup last week our next challenge in the league was away to Epsom Eagles - a venue that produced a thrilling cup game between us last season. After a delayed kick off Epsom settled more quickly and were unlucky not to find themselves a goal up early on. 

It was Farnborough that took the lead through Ryan McCartney when Matt Cook won the ball high up the pitch and played a great through ball to Ryan who shot low and hard across the GK into the far corner. A great finish against the run of play. 

Just before half-time Epsom equalised when we gave a free kick away on the edge of our own box only for the Epsom centre back to put the free kick high into the top corner with a great shot. 

Half time and 1-1, with Rutty, James, Tom Baines and Dan onto replace Rory, Okey, Callum and Adam. 

The second half started with Epsom having a couple of great chances to go ahead but not able to finish them before a great team goal put us ahead. Rutty won the ball deep and played it to Scott. Scott found Matt Cook who played a great ball through to Ollie. Ollie turned and threaded a delightful through ball to Thomas Blackburn who scored with a shot hard and low giving the GK no chance. 

2-1 soon became 3-1 when Ollie ran from inside his own half beating 2 players and taking the ball around the GK before cooly slotting it home. 

We were definitely living up to our fast breaking reputation and indeed this was no different with our fourth goal when Okey, who had just come back on for Mikey, ran down the left and played the ball inside to Ollie. Ollie beat a player and threaded Tom Blackburn through who once again finished well giving the GK no chance. 

In between these goals, Epsom were still creating some good chances but just didn't have the same outcome in front of goal as we did. Ollie then scored his second of the goal and our 5th goal when he was put through by Ryan and cooly finished it into the far corner. Our goal to chances ratio was certainly good today and some of our attacking we breathtaking. 

Epsom pulled back 2 late goals to make the final score 5-3 to us. In a way the scoreline flattered us a little as Epsom certainly created enough chances but as they didn't put those chances away, we came away with a good victory. Some of our forward play as mentioned earlier was breathtaking. We do need to take better care of the ball but that's something we can work on in training. A great second half today and some memorable goals. Well done all. 

Match report: Surrey County Cup (under 15s) - Ash Utd vs Farnborough FC

After a disappointing result result at Carshalton last week the boys had to focus on the competition that we probably stand our best chance of winning any silverware in; the Surrey County Cup. The draw saw us against Ash Utd, who were unbeaten in the league so far this season and second in the Surrey Primary League; so were always going to be strong opponents. 

On a fresh Sunday morning the game started at pace with neither team really settling in the early minutes. The first chance of the game fell to Dan Muyambi when Ryan broke down the right only to pull the ball back which Dan hit really well but straight at the GK - a yard either side and it would have been a great goal. 

Ten minutes later the same two players combined to produce the first goal of the game when Dan ran at the centre half and hit the goal line drilling the ball across the box for Ryan to be on the end hitting his shot low and hard from close range. A well deserved opening goal. 

This started to settle Farnborough and we started passing the ball more and keeping possession. Ryan made it 2-0 when a good run from Mikey down the left, saw his pass finding Ollie who squared a great through ball to Ryan who finished low and hard across the GK again giving him no chance. 

With half time approaching the team looked comfortable at 2-0 and were starting to boss the game. With no further goals to report half-time saw Adam, Tom Blackburn, Ben and Rory come on for Callum, Tom Baines, Okey and Ryan. 

The second half started with the same routine as the first with Farnborough controlling the possession and playing some lovely football. Playing the game in the opponents half is the way ahead, although the two Ash forwards were fairly tasty, so we always had to be aware of the long ball forward. Rutty and Ben seemed to have this under control and were the start point for a numbers of our attacks. 

The team were playing really well now and Rory with the help of Matt and Scott started to stamp our authority of the midfield. Indeed it was a great run from Scott down the wing which provided us with the important killer goal when his cross was flicked on by Tom Blackburn for Ollie to finish well on the half turn. 

Callum then came back on when James took a hefty blow to the shin and Ollie made way for Mikey. Rory then produced a great run to beat the Ash defence and score our fourth goal to put the game beyond Ash. A super run and a great finish. 

Ryan then came back on for Dan. With the last corner of the game Ash pulled a goal back when Adam saved well from a shot only for the second ball to drop to the Ash number 10, who looped his shot over Adam into the far corner. Not keeping a clean sheet was the only negative of the game and the boys seem to have that confidence back and to have belief in their ability, playing some great football. A good performance and bring on the next round!!!

Surrey County Cup (under 15s): Ash Utd 1 - 4 Farnborough FC

After a couple of disappointing performances, it was good to see normal service resumed. The under 15s squad at Farnborough FC is stuffed full of players with huge potential and the coaching challenge is all about getting the best out of those players, so that they realise that potential.

Sometimes, results will go against us, but our coaching job is not to look at the league table, but to focus on the players, train hard and well and measure progress each week on the pitch. Today, versus a strong Ash Utd side, Farnborough FC showed just how good they are. Ash Utd are second in Surrey Primary Premier Division with one game in hand having won 4, drawn 1 and lost none - scored 11 goals, conceded 4. Today, our players doubled their "goals conceded" and played some lovely football, with sweeping moves across the pitch and through the thirds.

We made a slight adjustment to the system of play today - not because of results - but because in the last game we did not create as much as I would like to see from a team that likes to play attacking football and score more than the opposition (...as opposed to conceding less). If the players understand what we want to do better by switching to what they perceive as 4-3-3, then so be it. My view is that 11 players who are better than the opposition 11 players, should win. Kenny and I are certainly in agreement that the boys have developed sufficiently to start to solve technical challenges themselves - during a match if necessary. All seem more comfortable with this system of play though.

From a "goals conceded" perspective, out of the 6 conceded in the last 3 matches, 4 have been from corners/crosses and 2 from individual slips in the last third. We will continue to work on defending corners in training, but my long-term view is that football is a game of mistakes and every team will make individual errors at some point. Just as referees will make mistakes too (...some more than others, of course!)

To solve this, our mantra is "let's get better at what we do" and then an individual error will not matter, as we'll be 2 or 3 goals ahead. If we play the match in the opponents' half, then errors matter less, but 80 minutes of constant pressure is not very realistic and as Herbert Chapman once said: "You can attack for too long!"

So, marching on, we'll continue the work about when to press/when to drop as a unit (defending); counter attacking and the variety of attacking play. Kenny will develop the latter two themes in training tomorrow evening, while I attend the Licensed Coaches Conference at St. George's.

Let's continue our good representation at training with as few texts in the afternoon to me about absence as possible and I'm sure we'll achieve our objectives ;-)

21st October: Farnborough FC vs Epsom Eagles - SYL Premier Elite (under 15)

After two defeats in a row it was important that we bounced back with a good result today against last years Surrey Premier Elite Champions, Epsom Eagles. 

With the bad news that Josh O'Reilly may be out for a couple of months (egg chasing), the boys were chuffed when he turned up and it spurred them on to a quick start when Dan Myuambi closed down the GK after only 3 minutes. The GK's clearance hit Dan's charge down and looped up and into the net. Great work Dan. 

Epsom seemed to settle a bit after this and scored a great equaliser within minutes when their centre midfielder was given too much time and lofted his shot over Tom Baines from distance giving him no chance. 

Epsom then scored again when a great through ball found their quick centre forward who pushed it around Tom and followed up with a cool finish despite Rutty's last gasp challenge. Once Farnborough actually settled they started playing some good football and soon equalised when a long free kick from Ryan M was spilled by the Epsom GK for Dan M to slot home the fumble to equalise on about 30 minutes. 

Dan was then subbed for Scott as he tweaked his ankle scoring the second goal. Scott was straight in the thick of it when he played a good ball to Ryan down the right hand side. Ryan beat two players on the run and played a great ball to the far post which was met by a great Ollie header to give us the lead as half time approached. With no more chances the half-time score remained 3-2 to Farnborough. 

The half time team talk was all about working better as small units within the team and closing the ball down in pairs. Half time saw Adam, Okey and Tom Blackburn come on for Ryan, Callum and Tom Baines. 

Both teams created a couple of chances early in the second half but Epsom nearly equalised when a shot from long range looked like it was going in the top corner only for Adam to pull off a fantastic save at full length to push it round the post. 

As Epsom then pushed forward again Rory popped in to intercept a pass. He then ran from our 18 yard box, beat one player, dropped his shoulder to beat the next. As he crossed the half way line he popped the ball around the final defender running on to the ball at full pace he slotted it neatly past the GK from the edge of the box for a great individual goal. A fantastic solo effort. 

Dan then came back on for Ed who had worked tirelessly throughout the 65 minutes he was on and covered a lot of ground. Mikey then nearly scored his first goal for Farnborough as the ball arrived to him at the edge of the box but he couldn't control his shot pushing it wide of the post. This was Mikey's last part in what was a solid performance, when he was replaced by Ryan who came on for the last 10 minutes of the game. 

The final substitution of the game saw Callum come back on for Rory who had run himself into the ground with a great performance, although he has probably cost his Dad a £10 with an over zealous challenge in which he was booked for. 

The final moment of the game saw the Epsom centre half mis-time a header which fell to Thomas Blackburn who carried the ball into the box and slotted his shot past the GK to complete a great 5-2 victory and more importantly put us back on winning ways. 

This was a great performance by all and once again it's good to see the players concentrate on their football and not get involved in poor behaviour from opposition coaches and players. Well done fellas. A great performance and a good 3 points. 

We now have a rest next Sunday, so let's make the most of it and come back raring to go in our County Cup match versus Mitcham the following Sunday.

SYL Prem Elite versus Sandgate

Another very good contest today, against a confident Sandgate team, who knocked Leatherhead out of the League Cup last week.

The wind and slope on the pitch made it a tricky first half for the defence and goalkeeper, but at 1-0 we were very much still in it. Throughout the first half, we created some good chances and 1-0 would have been fair, however a well taken second goal made the task for the second half difficult. 

More movement and a harder work rate got us back into the game and on the whole we deserved to win and were much the better team. We didn't win, because we conceded two very good goals and didn't take those chances in the first half. Still, it's all part of the learning curve and we're learning fast.

We play the same team in the cup next week and I know the players will be right up for that one and will want to prove a point.

Sunday 23rd September 2012: home match vs Carshalton Athletic

Although it was great to put 8 goals passed Hawley last week, our performance vs Carshalton Athletic today was full of character and resilience in dreadful conditions. In the end our belief, desire and ability to pull together as a team, gave us the extra 2 goals we needed to win the match.

It was an important win in many respects, but mainly because it builds on the result last week and forms the basis of the consistent run that we need. Training and improving week-to-week is the key to our individual and collective development and results will follow.

Carshalton did start more quickly than us and we did ride our luck in the first 20 minutes. That said, we looked good on the break and inevitably that's where the first goal came from. The new system is enabling us to attack with at least 4 forwards every time and it's still exhilarating watching our attacking play.

Of course, effective forward play is only possible if we have midfield and defensive solidity when we do not have the ball and we are improving all the time in this respect, although high balls into the box remain a slight area for improvement (...we dealt with this quite well considering the conditions).

A key moment in the match was Adam's save when the score was 2-1. I'm not sure I've ever used the word "incredible" in this context, but not only did I think it was a goal all the way (as did the Carshalton forward and their entire bench), I didn't think he'd get anywhere near it, let alone turn it around the post! It was a key moment as at 3-1 down we would have struggled to come back.

So "marching on." Sandgate (away) next up in the league on Sunday, so let's train well (playing through the midfield is the topic this week) and build on this performance. We are still "work in progress" but we seem to be improving consistently. Let's keep it going in training. 

"The most important game is always the next one" as they say!