On an extremely windy Recreation ground the U16s took on Shelford & Stapleford in a top of the league battle, the winners today would go top. I warned the boys at training on Wednesday that these boys were good and we would have a battle on our hands.

The match started well and after only 6 minutes we were 1 – 0 up, Will Rolls broke the defensive line and ended one on one with the keeper, he beat the keeper only to be yanked backwards…….”Penalty” I shouted, Will hadn’t given up and wriggled clear of the keepers grip and slotted one in the back of the net to make the most of the advantage played by the Ref.

Being 1 – 0 down Shelford were not happy and almost from the KO they repeatedly attacked which in turn left them exposed at the back. End to end stuff with Waterbeach looking the more disciplined and organised side. We attacked, they attacked but nothing came close until the 17^th minute when Shelford hit the woodwork…..but still 1 – 0 to Waterbeach.

Still nothing until the 24^th minute, when we took Shelford down on the attack, a free kick was awarded in exactly the position that we conceded last week, now during training we had done a lot of work on setting a wall and I’m glad to say it paid off, the wall was set the free kick was taken and score line remained 1 – 0. Well done lads its good to see the drills from training being used on the pitch. Brilliant!

Still end-to-end stuff with some lovely ball play from both sides. Nathan came on in the 27^th minute and immediately made a difference to the game, solid tackling and great ball play saw us start taking more and more opportunities. Ozzie took the ball from Shelford in the 30^th minute and advanced passed not just 1 but 3 players leaving himself open on goal, a good 30 yards of battling deserved a goal but the Shelford keeper was not prepared to give him credit and saved the shot. Unlucky Ozz.

Almost immediately as it looked like we were taking control of the game Shelford took a gamble from 18 yards and smashed the ball into the back of the net. 1 – 1, 33 minutes played.

Not wanting to accept the draw we pressed on, Nathan challenged for a header and some how won the ball cleanly, a yard in front of the defence, he battled and shot and once more we deserved the goal but again no reward was given and Shelford once more saved our efforts. Well-done Nathan, outstanding effort.

Shelford pressed again and in the 33rd minute they won a corner. Now we have done a lot of work in training covering defending corners and until now have not conceded. The corner was taken, Shippie went to cover the flight of the ball and was pushed and forced on to our keeper leaving space for Shelford to header the ball home. 1 - 2, yes I could moan about the push, I thought that the Ref clearly should have awarded a free kick to us, there was no way he could have missed that but he did. No point in moaning it was still all to play for. 1 - 2.

The score line remained the same as we broke for half time. We had done well in the first half and did not deserve to be one down. All to play for in the second half.

We started positively with attack after attack, but still no goal. Once more end-to-end stuff. We attacked they attacked. From a well defended Shelford corner Will found himself in possession just outside our 18 yards box, he battled the length of the pitch, beating at least 3 players and ended up clear with only the keeper to beat. Another deserving a goal but again no, Shelford once more foiled our attack.

In the 49^th minute disaster happened, our keeper Tom Carson called for a sub, he had taken a knock in the early incident when we had conceded a goal from the corner. He had soldiered on until then, a costly mistake by the Ref had cost us a goal and now our keeper was to be replaced. Who would think that a good push in the box would reward a team as much as it did Shelford today? Alex replaced him from the bench for the second time this season and Tom retired with the aid of an ice pack.

Even after losing our Keeper, Shelford didn’t look like they wanted it as much as us and so in the 55th minute we changed from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2. This could possibly have been our stumbling block. The morale this week is, "if its not broken then don't try to fix it". Tactics, who needs tactics.

59^th minute and Shelford smashed a goal from 30 yards, 1 – 3. 62^nd minute we direct one into the back of our own net from a corner, 1 – 4. 65^th minute another screamer from 30 yards, 1 – 5. 71^st minute and a hit and hope from the half way line saw Shelford 1 –6 up. A back heel saw them go further in front in the 72^nd minute. Another goal in the 76^th for 1 – 8 and finally to add insult in the 79^th minute 1 –9.

So in a matter of 20 minutes we had fallen apart, lost our heads and given up. I don’t blame the boys for anything; Alex was punished in goal as we watched shot after shot go over his head and into the back of the net. To concede that many goals in such a short period would cause any team to drop there heads and that was exactly what happened, me included, towards the end I was willing the final whistle to blow. The wind done us no favours today and although it was there to our advantage in the first half; it was a huge disadvantage in the second half and played a major part in 6 goals out of the 7 that we quickly conceded.

It felt like an onslaught and although the score reads 1 – 9 it wasn’t an onslaught, we still attacked with Will going close in the 32,35,36 & 37^th minutes, Matt going close in the 38^th and 39^th, both players trying to gain something back. Well-done fells.

Finally the whistle blew to end the nightmare and the match ended 1 – 9.

I don’t think that the result justifies the effort today, I also don’t think it is a true reflection of the football today. Yes we gave up but who wouldn’t have……..we can still take pride that our football improves week in week out. The passing game that we train so hard to produce, appeared, the guts and determination is still there and the forward motion is in full swing. The boys will find it hard to stomach this one but they should take time to reflect in their own games.

Once more there was some outstanding efforts. Ryan Taylor, a cracking game, 80 minutes hard work causing real problems to Shelford, a real man of the match performance. Louis Pragnell defended to death, brillant. Both centre back, played under great pressure for 80 minutes and absorbed it all. Superb runs down the channels and some great ball winning moments across the midfield, James, Connie, Eamon, Ozzie and Matt all playing out of their skins. Nathan had his best performance so far, brilliant game from a brilliant player today, another man of the match performance. Will battling as always, he got us to an early lead but had just no luck on his own as a sole striker. Alex and Tom in goal, never easy to stand in the net during a slaughter, but once more took the challenge and got on with it and finally Jason who frustrated himself enough to call for a sub, he blamed himself for 3 goals, it took a lot to calm him down from his frustration but when I explained that the three goal came from 30 yards out and in front of the goal and no where near him, I think he realised that it was not him and just one of those things, he took time to reflect and stood back on the side line and watched 5 more go in to prove the point, it had nothing to do with him.

With some outstanding efforts from all players today I thought it would be hard to name a man of the match but one player stood out today for his efforts, 100% effort for 80 minutes, never giving up and not allowing his head to drop even when so many including my own had gone down. He played with calmness, control and professionalism and for these reasons Joe Ross-Nelson is today’s ‘Man of the Match’. Well-done Joe.

With a long journey ahead we can afford to write today off as just not our day.

The dream is not dead it has just taken a few dents. U 16s Living the dream.

Played 5…….Won 3…….Lost 2……..9 points (with 3 points still pending)…….second round of the cup…………… its all still to play for.