U14s v Canterbury Youth FC

In our first match for four weeks Whitstable took on Canterbury Youth, a team two places above us in the league table. We hadn't faced Canterbury before but their results suggested we would have a close match. On a beautifully sunny afternoon that proved to be the case.
The lack of recent matches was plain to see in the first half particularly, as Whitstable struggled to string together any passing moves of note. That said we dominated possession in the middle areas of the pitch but weren't able to create many chances. At the other end it was a similar story with GK Theo Bentley-Hussey rarely called into action. He did, however, make a superb save in a 1v1 situation where everyone expected the Canterbury forward to score.
At half time we talked about the dangers of dominating a match without scoring and the possibility of a single goal settling the match. Unfortunately that was how the game panned out. We continued to dominate the ball without developing our possession into clear chances (Stanley Griffiths' free kick was one of probably only two or three shots on target). With five minutes remaining Canterbury made a rare advance into our half and, following a small lapse in defensive concentration, managed to slot the ball into the corner of our net, giving Theo no chance. Whitstable had one final shot but the game slipped away from us.
We play Canterbury again in two weeks so there is a chance of some quick revenge! We'll have another match under our belts by then so hopefully the cohesion will have returned and the boys can show what they can really do.