A draw away at Gotherington. Sound familiar? This must have been
the fourth or fifth time the Cougars came here hoping for more than a
point, but came away disappointed.
Our last league game had nothing riding on it – but lots for the boys
to prove. With Painswick winning midweek, we knew we would finish
third win, lose or draw. However, with the League Final just one week
away, this was the last chance for players to impress – and also a
last chance to sharpen up both our defending and finishing.
The boys went out with two clear instructions; we needed to defend
better than we had recently to stop shipping sloppy goals; be decisive
and always first to the ball into our half without letting it bounce.
The midfielders had a first task of shielding and supporting the back
two. Secondly, we needed to take our chances. Despite recent
high-scoring games, we know that our conversion rate is still not high
enough. Against the better teams we needed to be more clinical – and
on a tight pitch against opposition who defend well this was a good
test.
This is never an easy place to play– in the regular season,
Gotherington's home record of five wins and a draw (the draw being 3-3
against Painswick) speaks for itself. The Cougars were aware of this
having come away from a cup tie earlier this season with a narrow
victory on penalties following a 0-0 scoreline. The small, narrow
pitch makes it difficult to play our normal passing game. Coupled
with this, Gotherington are a good side – in particular with quality
up front where they are always dangerous, and a very strong back two
pairing containing – apart from George – the fastest centre half in
the league. Breaking them down was always going to be tough.
We started with Will in goal, a back four of Sam, George, Lewis and
Adam, with Ryan and Freddie the midfield holders, Finn and Jacob out
wide, and George up front with Tommy sat in behind him. Max and Louis
provided the attacking options on the bench. The Cougars started
well, getting into a good passing rhythm early, with Ryan and Freddie
strong and decisive in midfield. Both Finn and Jacob were proving
useful outlets wide, and Tommy was linking well to play them in. Sam
was also proving an additional attacking option on the right, linking
well on a number of occasions with Jacob to find space on the right.
One such move put Jacob into space for dangerous cross into the
middle, the ball fell to George who finished clinically. 1-0. Ten
minutes gone, so far, so good.
Up front we were dominating possession but not converting into clear
chances. George was unlucky when put through on a couple of occasions
but could not find the killer touch. Jacob and Tommy also had
half-chances. Louis and Max came on for Finn and Tommy, but pattern
of play continued with Cougars having more of the possession but not
able to find a way through an organized and pacy Gotherington defence.
At the back the boys were doing exactly what was asked of them.
George and in particular Lewis were strong and decisive, ensuring Will
was rarely under threat. Adam and Sam also defended strongly. As the
half went on, we had a couple of scares where Gotherington broke
through the midfield and we were outnumbered – but the back four dealt
well with any danger and looked comfortable.
At half time the message was more of the same and to be patient – but
also to ensure we continued to defend in front of the back four .
Freddie came off for a breather and Jacob dropped into midfield, with
Tommy replacing George as centre forward and Finn coming back onto the
right wing.
We then had a period where we dominated possession, with Jacob and
Ryan controlling the ball in the midfield, and Tommy and Max linking
well and finding the wide men. Again a number of chances were created
but no killer touch could be found – with crosses just floating over
the last head, shots going just wide or finding a Gotherington
defender. More changes were made to rotate the front line, but still
the boys could not find the second goal which their play deserved and
which would have settled the tie.
As the game went into the final quarter Gotherington gained confidence
and sensed they could get something. They pushed more players
forward, and began to cause more problems for our defence. Ryan and
Freddie were getting more stretched in front of the back four, and
tired legs meant some of our clearances were not as decisive as in the
first half. Gotherington's pressure finally told when one of their
defenders was clipped in the box and a penalty was given. For the
third time in four games Will went the right way, but was not able to
keep the ball out. 1-1 and five minutes to play. Although the
Cougars pushed for a winner, it was Gotherington who came closest,
with Will keeping a shot out and Sam making a goalline clearance.
The match finished 1-1.
The boys were down at the end as this was another scoreline which did
not reflect their domination in play over the 80 minutes. This has
happened on a number of matches this season where we have not put
teams away and allowed the opposition to remain in the game. It was a
good reminder that if you do not convert your chances, then teams will
always think they have a chance. At the end of the game, when legs
are tired, it is ever more important to win the first ball in defence
if you want to keep a clean sheet. Despite this there were still
lots of positives. In spite of the narrow pitch the boys continued to
play good football and for much of the second half dominated
possession with neat passing and moving. The defence was excellent
for much of the match – with Will having little to do until the final
quarter of the game because of the decisive way in which George, Lewis
and the full-backs played.
Man of the match was Sam – for another excellent performance as a
full-back/wing back. He continues to grow in confidence when coming
forward to support the midfield and forwards, and yet again his
communication was excellent. It is not often at this level you see
your full-back overlapping to cross in from the byline. Sam was
pushed close by Jacob who was a real attacking threat in the first
half and provided solidity in the middle when we needed this in the
second. Ryan and Fred were also excellent in controlling the match
from the midfield – they just need to be careful not to be dragged out
of position up the pitch when the game stretches late on.
Defensively, George and Lewis had one of their best games together –
in particular in the first half where they did not put a foot wrong.
This has still been one of our best League campaigns in recent years,
and the boys can look back proudly on how they have played and what
they have achieved. The margins are getting finer as the seasons
progress – and with a little more decisiveness in defence, and a
little more composure in front of goal, this could easily have been a
campaign where we finished in the top two.
We now have the Cup Final to look forward to at Cheltenham Town next
week – a great way to end what has been another good season.
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