Sept 11 – U11 v United WMSL Field 9
It was a 1:50 start at United after what had to be the longest walk from Parking Lot to field in the KC Metro. WMSL is having a reall tough time managing their fields and almost all the upper fields are out of service. We were set to play United for the second time in two days. We had not had time to practice against their corner, but we discussed some options.
The game kicked off with a hot sun and temperatures in the 80′s. United had 3 corner kicks midway through the half and we put in two own goals. United went up 3 to 0 on a breakaway that we setup with an errant pass. So after a pretty even first 13 minutes of the half, in 3 minutes, we were down 3 to 0. The boys kept working but we just were not getting into the box with anything to really test their keeper. We ended the half down by 3.
In the second half, we faced an uphill battle (both in scoreline and the pitch of the field). The boys came out working hard and we started to find our rhythm. We ended up giving away two goals on poor defensive mistakes, but in the 22, on a great run of play, Daniel shot one hard enough to scoot under the keeper and we had our first goal of the season. The boys had a really good second half and once again showed their team character, working together, supporting one another and keeping themselves in the game.
We had 7 corner kicks, all ended up in the box for the taking, but no one attacking to put the ball into the net. 2 of the goals we gave up were own goals and 2 were a result of our bad habit of diving in instead of playing good technical defense. These are all things we can work on as we prepare this week for the tournament. The boys have adapted really well as a team to our 3-2-2 and the number of times we brought the ball out of the back and played our width from this formation, was really impressive.
We definitely had some bright spots including Landon showing good confidence in his defensive and attacking skills and Trey opening up the width on the attack. All the way around, all the boys gave their best. And thanks to all the parents for being such great supporters of the team. The boys walked off the f ield down 5 to 1, but the parents made the boys feel like they had won. A great effort against a really good team. That round ball doesn’t always go the way you want it and to work hard for two halves and give your best for 60 minutes is what it is all about.
