Post by bluephysio on Feb 6, 2011 12:32:02 GMT 1
Rather dull 0-0 draw for our reserves at home against a resilient Spixworth at home this Sat. We took to the field with a reasonably strong looking team which included Andy Eastaugh , Olly King, Nathan Pauling, Colin Wines and Jamie Atkins who was back in action after a lay off due to work committments. On the bench we had two up and comin young starlets in the shape of Rio Starkings and Sam Holt who was joined by the old war horse himself Danny Self, who was to be given 10 mins run out after a hamstring injury .
Manager Eastaugh once again, pre match ,gave his ususal thorough team talk and the lads took to the field well prepared to contend not only with Spixworth’s usual direct style but the gale force 9 wind that was threatening blow the cup of tea out of manager Eastaughs hand !!! The game itself started ok for us as we again played most of the football and on several occasions threatened the Spixworth goal but we always seemed to lack quality in the final ball and too many times players took the wrong decision and an easy pass was made into a difficult one. Sometimes you can see that its going to be one of those days when players body language suggests that they are not 100% at the races and sadly for me it did seem a obvious that we were going to find it hard work . Not only because the opposition are never going to just roll over and give up but because our players themselves cant mentally raise themselves to become individual leaders and take the game by the scruff of the neck! This is certainly not through lack of ability because it would be hard to find better players at any Ang Comb club but simply because their mental belief is not strong enough –something all pro players are learnt that the first two yards in a game are in the players head and not their feet !
Anyway the first half panned out that we had most of the possession but could not really fashion a decent goal scoring opportunity and Spixworth having the odd glimpse of Nathans goal but nothing too clear cut as our two centre halves of Jamie Atkins and Sam Giacommelli did look very solid with Sam in particular looking very fit and has certainly gained a quicker turn of pace over the last months.
So in at the break 0-0 and time for manager Eastaugh to again work his managerial magic with some words of wisdom. As usual he explained the facts in his usual authoritive style and tried to instil some confidence back into the team after their rather unproductive first half.
The second half sadly went pretty much like the first with us attacking and having one or two decent chances with Elliot Winter probably having the best but on the times one on one with the keeper it seemed Elliot lacked real conviction in his finish- again may be just mental toughness was lacking as it must be remembered Elliot is still a young lad and quite in-experienced at this level .But it must also be said that he is more than good enough to compete at this level and has shown on many occasions that he can score some cracking goals so lets all hope his self –confidence returns soon, as im sure it will.
Manager Eastaugh then introduced his two new starlets with Rio Starkings coming on for an injured Jamie Atkins and 16 year old Sam Holt for Sam Snowling. Must be said that these two lads do look very impressive with Rio showing great composure at centre half and Sam Holt looking every part a young Paul Cook with his bustling style and great first touch. And it was nearly a fantastic debut for Sam as he bust through in the final mins to fire a well struck shot that their keeper did well to turn away. Even the introduction of Danny Self could not ignite this game and it really just petered out.
At the end it stayed 0-0 and we had to feel it was two points dropped . We certainly controlled the game but the worrying aspect was that we could not raise our game enough to crack a defence that in all honesty was not that great. Certainly the players have to comprehend that some games are going to be scrappy, ultra tight affairs and some of them are going to have to pull something out of the bag to get us over the winning line , be it through share endurance and hard graft or through a moment of magic that can sometimes light up rather dull games like this one.
Some definite positives to come out of this game tho. Jamie Atkins return as he looked quite sharp , particularly his one frightenly-quick tackle in the first half ,one that you would see at any premiership game, but in this standard looked a little too quick for the referee as he took his name for it even tho he took the ball cleanly . The two young lads who came on as subs who didn’t look out of place at all with Sam Holt certainly looking a good prospect and one to watch. But i think sam Giacomelli was the star turn fror us today as did’nt miss a thing on the ground or in the air . Well done to sam because he has had some niggley injuries but has worked hard and now looks fitter than ive ever seen him.
So next week off to the real west Norfolk countryside as we visit Dersingham. Lets hope we can come back from this long journey with the 3 points-Thats as long aswe don’t rely on Colin Wines directions as in the last trip as he convinced everyone including Graham ,the mini bus driver (who incidently Winesy kept calling “Bob” !! ) that he knew the way -we should have known as he took us miles out into the countryside and we were nearly late!! What can you say !!
Manager Eastaugh once again, pre match ,gave his ususal thorough team talk and the lads took to the field well prepared to contend not only with Spixworth’s usual direct style but the gale force 9 wind that was threatening blow the cup of tea out of manager Eastaughs hand !!! The game itself started ok for us as we again played most of the football and on several occasions threatened the Spixworth goal but we always seemed to lack quality in the final ball and too many times players took the wrong decision and an easy pass was made into a difficult one. Sometimes you can see that its going to be one of those days when players body language suggests that they are not 100% at the races and sadly for me it did seem a obvious that we were going to find it hard work . Not only because the opposition are never going to just roll over and give up but because our players themselves cant mentally raise themselves to become individual leaders and take the game by the scruff of the neck! This is certainly not through lack of ability because it would be hard to find better players at any Ang Comb club but simply because their mental belief is not strong enough –something all pro players are learnt that the first two yards in a game are in the players head and not their feet !
Anyway the first half panned out that we had most of the possession but could not really fashion a decent goal scoring opportunity and Spixworth having the odd glimpse of Nathans goal but nothing too clear cut as our two centre halves of Jamie Atkins and Sam Giacommelli did look very solid with Sam in particular looking very fit and has certainly gained a quicker turn of pace over the last months.
So in at the break 0-0 and time for manager Eastaugh to again work his managerial magic with some words of wisdom. As usual he explained the facts in his usual authoritive style and tried to instil some confidence back into the team after their rather unproductive first half.
The second half sadly went pretty much like the first with us attacking and having one or two decent chances with Elliot Winter probably having the best but on the times one on one with the keeper it seemed Elliot lacked real conviction in his finish- again may be just mental toughness was lacking as it must be remembered Elliot is still a young lad and quite in-experienced at this level .But it must also be said that he is more than good enough to compete at this level and has shown on many occasions that he can score some cracking goals so lets all hope his self –confidence returns soon, as im sure it will.
Manager Eastaugh then introduced his two new starlets with Rio Starkings coming on for an injured Jamie Atkins and 16 year old Sam Holt for Sam Snowling. Must be said that these two lads do look very impressive with Rio showing great composure at centre half and Sam Holt looking every part a young Paul Cook with his bustling style and great first touch. And it was nearly a fantastic debut for Sam as he bust through in the final mins to fire a well struck shot that their keeper did well to turn away. Even the introduction of Danny Self could not ignite this game and it really just petered out.
At the end it stayed 0-0 and we had to feel it was two points dropped . We certainly controlled the game but the worrying aspect was that we could not raise our game enough to crack a defence that in all honesty was not that great. Certainly the players have to comprehend that some games are going to be scrappy, ultra tight affairs and some of them are going to have to pull something out of the bag to get us over the winning line , be it through share endurance and hard graft or through a moment of magic that can sometimes light up rather dull games like this one.
Some definite positives to come out of this game tho. Jamie Atkins return as he looked quite sharp , particularly his one frightenly-quick tackle in the first half ,one that you would see at any premiership game, but in this standard looked a little too quick for the referee as he took his name for it even tho he took the ball cleanly . The two young lads who came on as subs who didn’t look out of place at all with Sam Holt certainly looking a good prospect and one to watch. But i think sam Giacomelli was the star turn fror us today as did’nt miss a thing on the ground or in the air . Well done to sam because he has had some niggley injuries but has worked hard and now looks fitter than ive ever seen him.
So next week off to the real west Norfolk countryside as we visit Dersingham. Lets hope we can come back from this long journey with the 3 points-Thats as long aswe don’t rely on Colin Wines directions as in the last trip as he convinced everyone including Graham ,the mini bus driver (who incidently Winesy kept calling “Bob” !! ) that he knew the way -we should have known as he took us miles out into the countryside and we were nearly late!! What can you say !!
