| Match Report |
A long trip to Mansfield for U9 Whites this weekend for an away match against Woodhouse Colts White, and the first signs of Autumn with a cold and misty morning.
After last week’s performance, and scoring their first goals of the season, the players were hoping to build on that result and confidence was evident throughout the team.
In the previous match, Nathan performed admirably in his first start of the season in an attacking role and was rewarded by being asked to do the same again, getting forward at every opportunity, but also leading by example and defending from the front. Mikey took up a position on the left of midfield, with Ben on the right and Jack dictating play from centre midfield. Alex and Coby, who has shown both great ability and positional awareness recently playing at the back, made up the defensive partnership with Makai in goal.
Before the match began the Team joined Woodhouse Colts in having a joint team photo taken, pledging their support for the Heart4Rhya campaign.
As with previous weeks, Tornados started the match on the front foot, matching their opponents in both defence and attack. Both teams were playing well, with chances being created at both ends, but it was the hosts that took the lead midway through the first half. It was another unfortunate goal to concede as Tornados tried to defend a scramble in front of their goal, only for an attempted clearance to find the back of the net rather than go out for a corner. Undeterred by the setback however, the team quickly set about restoring parity to the score line and were rewarded when Oliver, who had come on for Nathan up front, latched onto a perfectly weighted through ball and managed to evade tackles form the covering defenders and goalkeeper to confidently put the ball in the back of the net.
As half time changes were made with Nathan coming back on to assist Alex in defence and Eddie replacing Ben on the wing. Early in the second half however, again, Tornados had another slice of bad fortune when a shot from the Colts striker took a deflection of the out stretched boot of a Tornados player and flew past the helpless Makai into the back of the net. Again, the team were undeterred and set about equalising for a second time, but in doing so were caught out on the counter attack and the Colts lead was extended further.
Over the past few weeks, a constant theme of coaching sessions has been about keeping going forward and not giving up, no matter what the circumstances. At the start of the season, maybe the heads of one of two players may have dropped when going 3-1 down, but the team has started to believe in their ability recently and instead this time they rallied and for the final 15 minutes of this game gave it their all this time were rewarded for their efforts. Firstly, Jack, who controlled the match from midfield got the goal his performance deserved. After fantastic individual skill on the edge of the area, beating two Colts defenders, he struck a shot which was just too powerful for the Colts keeper and sneaked beneath his diving body and into the net. The confidence that this gave Tornados was apparent as the team surged forward looking for an equaliser. On occasions Tornados rode their luck defensively as Colts played on the break with three attacking players with considerable pace, but with a potential man-of the-match performance form Alex at the back and another fine goalkeeping performance from Makai, there was no way through. With 10 minutes to go a battling run from Eddie on the wing started another Tornados attack, through both sheer determination and skill, he took the ball past two Colts players before playing the ball into the box. A scramble then ensued with both Colts players failing to clear and Tornados players failing to capitalise and put the ball in the net before Coby latched onto the loose ball and slotted the ball past the keeper to make it 3-3.
With time running out both teams tried to grasp what would have undoubtedly been the winner, but as the final whistle went the honours were shared in a thoroughly entertaining game of football that none of the watching supporters from either team could have failed to be captivated by. Players from both teams deserve great credit for the effort that they all put into the match and it was probably fitting that everyone went home happy.
Man of the match was a difficult decision this week, with one possible theory that it should be awarded to the whole team as every single player played their part in a remarkable game. Alex came close to taking the award with another outstanding display in defence. Eddie put everything he had into supporting both defence and attack and it was his run that ultimately resulted in Tornados equalising goal, but the decision of Man of the Match this week went to Jack as he was tireless in his central midfield role, constantly breaking up Colts attacks, making decisive runs forward and setting up attacking opportunities for both himself and teammates.
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