Match Report

On reflection with all things considered we could have no complaints about this result.

Kenningwell dominated large parts of the game and the possession statistics would have weighted heavily in their favour. There seemed no weaknesses in their team and all of them were very comfortable in possession of the ball and this coupled with their pace posed us constant problems on the day. They could comfortably play in the senior division and would certainly have proved difficult opposition for even our Saturday 1st XI.

The positives for us were the fact that we fielded six 16 year olds and to play against such an outstanding team and only lose 0-1 bodes well for our future. We were severely restricted on the day and their keeper didn’t have a great deal to cope with, we conceded possession easily due to their constant pressure on the ball and their full backs nullified our attacking capabilities by rampaging forward at every given opportunity.

Unfortunately we spent too much time defending but we stuck to our task well and we showed that we can defend well as a team. We didn’t have the necessary cutting edge going forward to really worry them but we didn’t give up and fought tirelessly.

They took the lead with a quick taken free kick which basically caught us off guard, our wall was still getting itself organised and they chipped the ball into the far corner of the net. There were no signals from the referee or whistles blown. It was a legal goal but seemed very harsh as we had competed so well, especially early on. And that was basically what won the game in the end. Burkett and Milner combined to pull of a last ditch block, but Kenningwell had started to dominate after we had looked very good in the first 20 minutes. 0-1 at half time.

The 2nd half dished up more of the same and we battled gamely but couldn’t make any impression on their defence. They still were causing plenty of problems for us and with 10 mins left Burkett senior conceded a penalty after a mistimed tackle in the box.

Burkett junior then took over guessing the right way and making a fantastic save to his left. That’s as good as scoring a goal and it breathed fresh air into our lungs and we gave it our best but couldn’t find a way through. The game finished 0-1.

It was a defeat but a defeat we can take pride in. As mentioned previously we fielded plenty of youngsters and we all gave it our best. Anyway well played lads the performance and spirit was there today but the result wasn’t, that will change if we approach future games with the same spirit and commitment.