Match Report

Ockendon Rhinos 7 - 0 Dunton Dynamos

U11 League - 20th January 2008

Another tough game for our plucky U11 squad. With our superstar goalkeeper Liam still out with a broken foot and ace midfielder George out with impetigo, we were down to the bare minimum in terms of numbers.

The match itself was played on a bright afternoon in mid-January with a very strong wind blowing down the length of the pitch. The pitch was in very good condition considering the amount of recent rain we'd had. The Dunton captain Calum won the toss and elected to play with the wind at our backs backs in the first half.

James played in goal, deputising for the injured Liam, with Jack, Harry, Billy and Sonny filling the defensive positions. Ben played on the right wing with Cameron on the left wing. Calum and Dave played in midfield with Jordan and Ethan up-front. The team played in a conventional 4-4-2 formation.

From the start, the Dunton side was under pressure and Ockendon scored their first goal after twenty seconds! This followed a poor clearance out of defence which was latched onto by an Ockendon midfielder to cross back in for a forward to tap in at close range.

This clearly game the Dynamos a wake-up call and they immediately got back into the game. We continued to defend well and were 100% committed in challenges. A number of our players picked up knocks throughout the game - the physio spent as much time on the pitch as he did off it! That said, it wasn't a "dirty" game (far from it).

JUst before the half-time whistle, Ockendon got a second goal following sustained pressure on the Dunton defence. This was a well-drilled shot into the corner of the net which our stand-in 'keeper James counldn't quite reach.

Early in the second-half, James injured his foot (luckily not the one he broke last year) and was unable to continue. Jordan quickly volunteered to take over which obviously meant our attacking options would be severely limited. Dunton were reduced to defending in number against a stronger side, and we were only able to attack on the break.

Ockendon scored five more goals in the second-half to make the final score 7-0. We know with a full squad of players we would have given Ockendon more of a game, under the circumstances however, we did the best we could and were soundly beaten.

Despite the bad luck we've hadand the recent run of poor results, the boys remain upbeat. They're all clearly looking forward to the upcoming match against the "Old Gitonians" (a selection of players' Dads, Mums and relations). We get this game organised when the weather warms up a bit!

Man of the match today was Billy who was solid throughout. When he's focused (as he was today) there isn't a better centre-back in the League. He was kept busy throughout and adopted a kind of sweeper's role, breaking down many of the attacks that got through.

James did well again (until he was injured) and made a number of fine stops. Jordan also played well and looked a very capable keeper when required to stand-in for the injured James. Sonny had another excellent game at left-back and was a strong candidate for man-of-the-match. Dave also had a good game and is clearly better suited to a midfield role than he is up-front.

Our thanks go to the Ockendon Rhinos side for a great game played in good spirits throughout. Let's hope we have a full squad the next time we meet!