Under 13's Match Reports

Match 1

Something to aspire to:
 
A difficult start to the league fixtures has put us up against the two teams who shared the title last year: New Brighton and Olympic Sharks (now renamed Olympic).  As a manager i see this as a good opportunity for the players to test themselves against the best players in the league and in both games we started positively - pressing quickly and working together.  Unfortunately against New Brighton this was short lived and after they had scored two easy goals the team performance was one of the worst i have seen as manager.  Credit must go to our stand in GK's Cal and George who made some excellent saves and also to Ed who kept trying until the final whistle. 
 
AC 0 NB 11.

match 2

Against Olympic we were more aggressive and it was very pleasing to see the team pull together after a poor performance last week.  The pressing tactics we worked on in training showed and Olympic were having to work hard for their chances.  When we got the ball we were up against superb defenders who were solid in the tackle and calm on the ball and we found it tough to get in behind the line.
         Olympic played excellently and despite our improvement from last week the score was much the same.  MOM awarded to Tom for a huge effort at the back and credit also to Ed and Ben for keeping the effort up to the last and to Matty G who's Most Improved Player award from last year seems to have spurred him on this term - an excellent full back performance.
 
AC 0 Oly 10.

match 3

AC 5 v Peninsula Stars 3
 
A first win of the season for the under 13's on Sunday the 12th after a very hard fought game with Pen. Stars.  This is a team that we have been quite even with since we moved up to 11-a-side league and so it proved again. 
 
A quick start by AC got us off and running, solid midfield play lead to Phil providing a couple of great through balls for Elliott and Ben to feed off and it was Ben who got on the scoresheet first: getting his hat-trick in the first half with typical quality finishes giving the keeper no chance.  The Stars struck back before the break to give us something to think about at half time.
 
The second half was full of action with Isaac, Connor and Harry having plenty to deal with at the back.  They did this excelllently - dealing with tricky crosses and long passes with a more aggressive attitude than we showed last year.  The only time we were caught out was on the counter and this was how the Stars got back in the game - a 3 v 1 leaving Connor and keeper Joel an impossible situation: 3 v 2.  Our first headed goal from a corner came as Dom made an attacking move to the near post - Ben's corner matching his excellent run. 
 
The game finished with chances at both ends and after one more goal each, Elliott getting his deserved first league goal of the season, AC ran out 5 v 3 winners in a great game of football. 
 
MOM Harry and Ben

match 4

19/10/08 Knockout Cup AC 1 @ Manor 3, Valley Rd. 
 
Having twice had to call the game off we finally got our cup game played against Manor and in the end their manager Ian said that we did not deserve to lose the game.
 
An even start saw an unfortunate penalty given after Connor had slid in with an excellent tackle to stop the Manor striker from scoring, the ball got caught on his arm and the ref awarded the pen.  Stand in first half keeper Cal was an inch away from the strike - 1 v 0 Manor.  AC's attitude to get back in the game was positive and Dom's relentless work-rate in the middle was rewarded with a goal after a run that took him from the half way line to the opposition penalty area, beating three men in the process and finishing with a cool chip over the keeper.
 
At half time we felt like the game was there for the taking as we had finished the half the stronger team.  We went at the home team with renewed creativity in the second half, in particular Nathan and Ben on the left, and Elliott and George on the right, causing havoc for Manor.  The defence had been excellent up to this point and an unfortunate mistake when dealing with a long ball allowed an easy goal for Manor. 
 
The response was amazing.  Cal playing in midfield was everywhere, winning tackles and bringing a calmness on the ball that helps us build good attacks.  Jack, playing in only his second game, was also showing a calmness on the ball and linked up well with the right side of midfield where Ed was very competitive - giving the opposing player no time on the ball and helping to put El in good positions when he won it back.  AC were creating all the chances and TWICE struck the bar.  some wicked corners from Ben were causing trouble and our two big centre backs - Connor and Harry - were always involved, Connor one of the unlucky ones to strike the woodwork. 
 
In the end we were caught with a good counter attack as we threw men forward and second half CK Matty was unlucky to concede after making a few good saves. 
 
MOM was awarded to Nath by the opposition, AC awarded Dom and Connor MOM's for superb performances.  Connor has come back this season and looks like he has never been away - his strong tackling has really added something to our defence this year.
 
We are always disappointed to lose but our line was extremely proud of our effort to get back in the game, well played lads.

match 5

Wirral Rangers 4 AC Hoylake 3
 
An unbelievable game at Acres Rd for the under 13's this week and one which we left scratching our heads wondering how we lost.
 
A superb start from Hoylake at our old home must have had Rangers thinking they were the away team, we started quickly with solid midfield and defensive play resulting in us winning virtually every ball and knock down.  Our first chance came to Elliott who ran through on goal only to have his shot well saved by the keeper but he soon set the record straight by lobbing him from about 25 yards.  Rangers could not get going and only entered our half once or twice in the whole half.
 
We set out our plans at half time - keep up the work-rate and don't give up anything easy.  Unfortunately we were once again the victim of a questionable penalty early in the 2nd half: a well taken pen left excellent stand in keeper Matty no chance - one all.
 
It was a harsh decision and it gave Rangers the momentum.  They came up the pitch and were awarded a free kick on the touchline.  A quality delivery was met by a good header and we were suddenly losing.
 
It was harsh on the team to be in this position but we had to respond and excellent midfield play from Dom, Phil and Cal lead the team back into the game, winning the ball back constantly and playing through balls for the strikers to run onto.  On the next attack Rangers won the ball back and sent a long pass forward - the striker was fully 5 yards offside but the ref allowed him to continue and he put his team in front.
 
It is at times like this that teams show true colours - either giving up or coming back with an extra effort and Hoylake showed excellent spirit with Elliott leading the line with more fire than ever before, hassling defenders and holding the ball well so his team-mates could move forward.  A quality long pass from George set Dom free and he pulled us back to 4-2 and now we were right back in the game.  Straight away we were on the attack again and Phil scored to put us one goal behind.  Unfortunately time ran out on us but the team can hold their heads high - possibly the best team performance i have seen from the lads.   It was the passing that really marked this out from other performances, always looking to move the ball after one or two touches, switching the play and playing high quality through balls.
 
The opposition awarded Connor MOM for a superb display in defence.  The Rangers right wing will not want to see him again!  The whole team showed a calmness in possession and a steely determination to get a result from the game and aside from an outrageous offside goal and a questionable penalty they probably would have.

match 6

Under 13's v Manor @ Newton Park
 
It was good to get back to playing following the disappointment of a cancelled game after everyone had turned up last week!
 
Having lost to Manor in the cup and league already this year we felt we owed them one this week at Newton Park and what a close game it turned out to be.
 
AC started well with Man of the Match Elliott causing mayhem amongst the strong Manor defence: his movement was a problem all game for them -  The first couple of shots were well saved by the Manor keeper.  Unfortunately we lost our shape and left two men unmarked for a quick counter attack and the strikers made no mistake beating stand in keeper Tom with an excellent shot into the corner.
 
The midfield link up play was the feature of our game with Phil, Dom and Cal knocking passes between one another to create space before releasing some quality passes for the forwards.  We were to go another behind before Elliott put us back in the match with a classy calm  finish before half time.
 
It was all Hoylake in the second half with our Defence rock solid and restricting the visitors to one good shot.  Harry is playing his best football alongside the combative Connor and the calm Isaac and was later awarded the AC MOM for his effort: the entertaining moment of the match came when he smashed through two tackles leaving opposition players on the floor and then himself running out of steam before he could make the third tackle!  Brilliant gritty football!
 
The equaliser came from a quick corner by El to Connor who lashed a shot in only for the rebound to drop Dom's way and he tucked it home easily.  We kept pressing for the winner but our tough opponents were not about to let us win easily and with their one good shot of the half they won the game - lessons need to be learned from allowing a striker to break five tackles on his way to setting up his winger for the shot.
 
We take many positives from our classy midfield play, strong defensive work and intelligent forward play.  We need to keep trust in our shape - keeping wide players wide to spead the opposition out and create gaps.  We are closing in on good teams like Manor and look forward to the day when we put one over on them!
 
Well played both teams
 
MOM Elliott and AC MOM Harry
Scorers El and Dom