From the moment the draw was made i knew we were in for a tough game away to Cheshunt. They play in the premier division of the Cheshunt youth league, Which is a higher level than us, and where every week they are competing against some very good teams, some of which we have played in the past. So we would have to be at our best to get any sort of result from this game.

The early morning kick offs don`t always see us play our best football, so i was hoping today would be different and we would be wide awake! We started the game reasonably brightly with everyone challenging for the ball in all the areas of the field, and although they had more of the ball early on, we diden`t have any major problems or scares in our around our box. They had two wide players who had plenty of pace, and i could see that they liked to build the play through the midfield and then try and release the ball wide for the wingers to deliver the ball in the box. Their early possesion saw them having to hurry their passes due to the pressure on the ball which mean`t they were over hitting their passes and giving the ball away cheaply. We were starting to get into the game with both Ryan and Vin causing problems for their defence which although very large in stature were lacking for pace. We forced two corners which we failed to capitalise on due in part to the height of the Cheshunt defence which was always going to be dominent in the air. These threats on their goal seemed to spur them into action and they started to create some chances first D.J had to block a shot from their centre forward, then he made a good save pushing a ball over the bar for a corner then their giant defender headed the corner just wide as Alex tried his best to block his run, fortunatly doing just enough to put him off. The warning signs were there that we would have to up the anti. They then had a shot which was tipped onto the post and was cleared away to safety. The midfield was where we had to start to get a grip as they were getting too much time to get their heads up and pick the pass. We were fast approaching the half time whistle when a good through ball from Zach was latched onto by Ryan who stepped inside the challenge on the edge of the box and who fired the ball over the keeper to take a one goal lead somewhat against the run of play. Almost straight from the restart we were awarded a free kick about thirty five yards out, Matt stepped up and crashed a shot past the keeper only to see it come back off the cross bar and out to safety. If this had gone in i believe an upset could have been on the cards. But with the last kick of the half we defended poorly allowing their winger to cut inside and fire in a shot which D.J could only force against the post and into our net for the equaliser. Although we had not played at our best we had caused them a few problems at the back and with a bit more good fortune we could have gone in two nil up instead of one all.

HALF TIME 1-1

I made some changes for the second half, with Ben and Ant on for Josh B and Luke. Cheshunt started the second half where they finished the first, on the attack, and we were put under alot of pressure, with both wingers causing us problems on the flanks and forcing us to concede a series of corners, which we managed to survive. Then a one on one with our keeper, ending with a fine stop by D.J. which should have been put away for their second goal but we were hanging in there and at times riding our luck.Then after winning another free kick in a similar position to the one we had in the first half, Matt stepped up again and crashed another fine effort past the keeper only to see this come back off the cross bar too, it was probably an omen as shortly after this D.j who had been our best player on the day made two fine saves again tipping one onto a post and unfortunatly injuring himself in the process and having to leave the field injured. Sam came on for the remainder of the game and he also made several fine saves to keep the game alive. But it was Cheshunt who exerted most of the pressure in the last third of the match and created some good openings and exposed some of our frailties at the back. Once the right winger had cut inside and picked his spot for the second goal the result was inevitable with heads dropping and their tails up they added three more to finish up convincing winners.

FULL TIME 1-5

There were some good things in the game for us to take heart from and there were some moments for us to address. The good things were our resiliance particulary in the first half when we were put under alot of pressure by a determined Cheshunt team. We very nearly ended the half with a clean sheet and but for the crossbar could have had a two goal lead.
This woulden`t have been a fair reflection of the play but we would have taken it. The minuses were the attitude of a few players who most definately were not up for it and diden`t seem to want to be there. If we have an early game you must make sure you have prepared correctly for it, and got enough rest the night before, as you not only let yourself down, you also let the team down. The other points which need to be discussed i will save for this weeks training. Overall we diden`t play aswell as we have in some of our other games this season and unless we played to that level we were not going to win this game. On reflection Cheshunt were well worth their victory but five one flattered them a little as we had some good chances ourselves and were very much in this game for a long period of the match.