Controversial Ref Decision halts Under 9’s
Posted in U9s News ... March 20th, 2010
V Woodley Hammers
We started the game brightly and pressed Woodley from the half in truth we spent most of the first half playing in Woodley’s half of the pitch. Callum was starring in midfield but we were struggling to break down the Woodley defence. Brandon again was using his long throws and corners to great effect but we couldn’t quite get on the end of them.
Half time break and a few changes, in the second half Kyle was chasing down lots passes and hassling the Woodley defence, The defence looked rock solid with Jake putting in another great performance , he really has developed into a consistent defender. Finally Harry was getting on the ball more and we were getting more clear cut opportunities. In the end the goal was a bit scrappy but following another Brandon delivery, Woodley failed to clear the ball and Harry riffled his 10th goal of the season into the roof of the net. Kyle picked up the effort award.
V Whiteknights
In truth in this game we never really got into our stride although we created a few chances our Achilles Heal of not scoring enough goals was ultimately to haunt us. Against the run of the play Whiteknights broke away and scored in off the post. In fact the “woodwork” would play a pivotal role in this game. Ben was like a man possessed and dragged us level through sheer determination he broke free in the box and finished well with his left foot low into the corner. The lads had a few things explained to them at the half time break but unfortunately the message didn’t really get through. We created more than enough chances but good goalkeeping, defending and poor finishing would cost us dear. Another factor we were worried about pre-kickoff all came back to haunt us, we had raised concerns before the game to the ref that the goal areas were very difficult make out and we had been assured that he would be mindful of this during the game. A long ball over the top was going nowhere and with no Whiteknights player within 20 yards of him Taylor came out and picked up the ball on what he thought was the edge of the box. The ref clearly with x-ray vision and a case of amnesia from prior to kick off gave one of the worst decisions we have seen all year pulling Taylor up for handball. From the resultant free kick which was well taken Taylor got his fingertips to the ball put could only tip the ball onto the cross-bar and on this occasion it dropped agonizingly over the line. The awful decision clearly knocked the lads but they fought on and in the dying minutes Harry swiveled and hit a half volley which crashed against the upright and stayed out………………………………..it just wasn’t our day. Ben picked up the effort award.
So 2nd defeat and the 2nd one down to a controversial decision. It may sound like sour grapes so the managers want to stress that although we may feel hard done by it was a game we probably didn’t deserve to win but one we also didn’t deserve to lose, but well played to Whiteknights who rallied very well after their previous big loss, they showed great character. Onwards to the last 2 or maybe 3 games, lets hope they manage to mark the pitches out for next week!!
