In spite of the rain, the pitch was firm and playable, and the game ended in a lovely autumn day!!
Unfortunately the shorter prep time before the game due to the
weather meant the team tactics talk was cut short in preference of the
physical warm up.
Our 15 lads took the game to
Burpham from the kick off, putting the pressure on and maintaining
possession high up the pitch. Burpham showed they had some blisteringly
quick players and looked dangerous on the break.
Burpham
pounced on a communication error to take the lead and forced a save
from Jake. But Finch rallied quickly and Adam was able to drive with the
ball from the Finch half to get the equaliser.
On
balance, Finch were the stronger team but making it hard for themselves
by holding on to the ball for too long or not finding their target on
their passes or not being in the right place when defending.
Even
though the game was drawn 1-1, our half time talk was quite robust
about how I wanted the lads to play. The 4-3-3 formation demands
different things from some of our players and it will take time to
adjust and bed in. This season I am looking to play with more attacking
strength with a 3 man striking team, whilst relying on a more compact 3
man midfield (compensating for the 1 player reduction). On paper not a
massive shift from last seasons 4-4-2 but enough to force the change in
how we play.
Second half was much more how I wanted
the game to be played and the game was battled out by both teams to the
final whistle. Finch created more clear-cut scoring opportunities with
the additional attacking player in closer support, but couldn’t convert
them. The midfield 3 held their shape which ensured they broke down
Burpham’s play and that there was more cover for the back line. And the
defensive unit worked hard to contain Burpham’s pacey attacking threat
and maintain possession from deep. Burpham put a few high balls into the
Finch box but Jake commanded his goal area well, and they couldn’t beat
Jake in their only 1-on-1 in the game.
Ollie maybe
should have had a penalty awarded for a foul in the box. Adam finally
broke the deadlock from a Jacob chip into the penalty box, beating the
keeper to the ball by millimetres and dinking it into the next. 2-1 and
time to switch back to 4-4-2 to see the game out for the 3 points.
So the Hurricanes are off the mark and currently 2nd place, as no other games got played today.
Well done to the lads, fully deserved result.
