***Match Thread*** Tue 25/9 19:15 WES1 v Cork Exiles FC

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So, we start our 11th Season against unknown opposition.

Texts hve been sent to everyone who's number I have.

Dave - in
Jules - in
Wes - in
Cathal - in
Conor -
Keith P - in
Garret -
Derek - inj
Darren - in
John -
Gar - in
Keith R - in
Ciaran - in
Clay - in
Collie - inj
Pete - in
Mark - in
Damian - in

helimachoptor

I've played against these lads a few times on Thursdays and they won the thursday league a couple of years ago.

They are a good team and are a physical team aswell so it'll be a good test.

We'll need to keep the ball down and pass it around.

Also even though it's an early game, will be good to get everyone there and get a good warm up in, important to start the league with a win.

emc2

Good Luck tonight lads. I'll be kicking every ball with you!

sReq | uTeK

See you there, been playing eye of the tiger all day, am PUMPED!

Darren.

helimachoptor

sReq | uTeK wrote: »

See you there, been playing eye of the tiger all day, am PUMPED!

Darren.

After last week you'd want to be playing some love ballad or something calm

sReq | uTeK

helimachoptor wrote: »

After last week you'd want to be playing some love ballad or something calm

I was the victim

helimachoptor

4-0 loss. Scoreline a bit harsh but Exiles were worth their 3 points.
The pitch is different to Kncoklyon and in the wet the ball zips along really fast, we were slow in adapting to that.

A few things to learn.

- We werent winning anything in midfield and the wingers and strikers instead of helping out stayed in their positions. If something like that becomes apparent again we need to react a hell of a lot quicker and start winning the ball.

- if a players asks for the ball, give it to him. You need to trust that he has made a judgement that he has the time/space to do something with the ball.

- We also need to have shots, I think we probably only had one shot on target all night and a couple just past the post. Too often we are guilty of trying to pass the ball into the box.


another early game next week against Roys Rovers, important that we get 3 points.

Mousewar

Yep that was my first time playing on that pitch and it was like nothing I've ever played on before. Wet conditions didn't help but it really will take some getting used to. Bounce of the ball, its speed across the surface - all totally different. Hard to even control the ball as every little touch takes it further away from you than you'd think.
Anyway, enough excuses...

I was the one playing right back first half btw.

sReq | uTeK

My Synopsis, both good and bad.

For 90% of that game we played ping pong and got sucked into their game.
We didn't string together more than 5 passes in the entire game,this was disappointing considering we played some really really good stuff, in my eyes against better opposition in the friendlies.

We need to be a bit more confident on the ball, aimlessly kicking the ball out of play when someone is telling you you have time, you can turn etc!

Trusting your team mates is a big part of the game, there was too many times we tried to play balls over the top and on a pitch like Wesley ESPECIALLY in wet conditions the ball will just zip off the ground and go aimlessly out of play.

In my eyes, they scored one good goal the rest were all errors that we can work on and improve.

The good points in my eyes was that for the last 10 minutes when the pressure was off we started to try and play ball and we murdered them.
If we had started the game as we finished in the last 10 minutes there is no way in hell we would have lost that game 4-0

I think with it being the 1st competitive game a few nerves were on show and the weather didn't help, if we get back to playing like we did in the friendlies and pass the ball around we will be there or there abouts come the end of the season.

FrankGrimes

Lots of spot-on points made there lads. Fully agree if we get a bit more trust in each other and composure on the ball, we have the ability to play lovely football, and that all comes with time as it takes a while to gel a new squad together.

If you're starved of possession, though, it's hard to play good football living off scraps - the urge to hold onto the little bit of possession we have becomes so strong we try to force the game and play football in spots where we shouldn't or when we're under pressure. That means when we lose it, it's more of an issue, so the reactions of teammates is heightened, so next time we get it, we're feeling a bit more under pressure and less composed. It becomes a vicious circle where wanting to play football so much ends up leading to exactly the opposite.

Likewise, when you're playing upfront and the ball is only making its way up every so often, it's hard to get the touch spot on, the more we play it forward, the sharper we'll get and the more often we'll make something of it.

It all has to start with placing more emphasis on winning possession. Against most teams, that means get in tight and nick it off 'em. Last week, against such a long ball team, it meant we needed to focus on winning headers, and we didn't play like that was a priority. We need to earn the right to play good football and that starts with putting pressure on possession - that way we'll get more 2nd ball and breaking ball, and we know if we get enough possession we can do damage with it. So focusing on the simple things for now and fighting for every ball is what we need to do - I fully believe once we have it, there's little wrong with what we'll do with it.

To lads getting used to playing 11-a-side on this surface, don't worry, a couple of games and you'll be up to speed, though it is some shock to the system for the first while, but we've seen plenty of lads come through and get used to it.