Match Report

Match : 2nd XI v Lisnagarvey 5ths
Date : 2002-10-12
Venue : H
Score : 1-5
Scorers : Duffin

By Stuart Campbell

Against Garvey you always know what you are going to get. A team of pretty fit, quite skillful, well drilled, teenagers accompanied by a few older players to keep control and protect. Last Saturday was nothing different.

The game started with both teams exchanging possession quite freely but with East looking the more dangerous. But there is some teams in our league that will punish mistakes, there are others who will not. Well Garvey do and after 10 minutes they were 1-0 up.

Slack play at the back and Cookie found himself 1 on one with their center forward who still had a lot to do but took his chance well.

To be honest I don't remember too much about the other 3 goals Garvey scored before half time. But what I do remember is that they kept possession well, used the ball intelligently and always had a free man to pass to not more than 5 yards away. We on the other hand wasted valuable possession, ran the ball up our own backsides, getting caught in possession, gave weak passes which were intercepted or attempted 30 yard passes through a sea of blue shirts.

Garvey were playing well, we were letting them and into the bargain we were playing badly.

There is one thing that Garvey don't like, teams getting stuck in against them. It took us 30 minutes to learn this and in the last few minutes of the first half we began ti fight back and get into the game. Mark McDoanld a bit too eager hit his free directed it clearly at the Garvey player who was no more than 1 yard away. Yellow card. I refuse to comment on how Mark was carded and not the Garvey player who made no attempt to move away from the ball after the free was given.

Half time 4-0 down and changes were needed. Andrew Bell on at righ back, Soupy to right mid, Nicholl to center and Grant to left mid.

Now we began the second has as we should have started the match, hassling Garvey, stopping play and keeping it simple. Garvey still had loads of possession but the player on the ball knew if he hung on to it too long he would get a nudge. We egan to use vauable possession won a short corner which Stephen Duffin converted with pin-point accuracy.

We began to believe the impossible was on the cards, but Garvey put pay to that idea and scored another before the end to run out easy, too easy winners on the day.

Garvey were a good side who should be in with a promotion chance this year, they played to their strengths and passed the ball about brilliantly. We let them do all of these things. When we play teams like Garvey it is crucial to go in very hard from the whistle, we didn't, also to eliminate mistakes in critical parts of the pitch, we didn't, use valuable possession wisely with speed, agression and accuracy. We didn't.

If we are to learn anything from last week and progress as a better team we must do all of the above regularly. I know we are able because we done all of these at Bangor the previous week and came home with the points. Let's make sure we get back on track next week and regain our league monentum.

Cookie
Leitch
Gillespie
Watson
McDonald
Soupy
Grant
Nicholl
Duffin
Blair
Johnston
Bell