Whitstable Town U11's v Canterbury Eagles Saxons

No more lazy Sunday afternoons for the players and supporters of the Whitstable Town U11’s, as we gathered at the Simon Langton school for our second game of the season, this one against Canterbury Eagles Saxon’s.

A new opponent for us, we were unsure what to expect but the first surprise was the size of the pitch!! Last season we were on the 7 a side pitches, now we have moved to 9 a side (and had some experience in pre-season on these), this one however was on a different scale. Not to exaggerate, it was massive!! As we made our way across to the other side, it felt like we were on a sponsored walk, I’ve seen smaller Par 5 golf holes!

Thankfully the other side agreed and we moved the goals in to the 6 yard box, shortening the pitch but still leaving it a touch of the large size.
The starting 9 picked itself, as our squad was down to the bare bones, with Max B and Rufus unavailable.

Phil was in goal and in a changed 3-4-1 formation we had Max P, Kasper and Daylee at the back. Finlay and Alfie centre midfield, Isaac left, Flynn right and Oscar up front.

From the first whistle we dominated the game trying to play some good football without really finding our rhythm. Chances were at a premium, but we continued to press for the break through. As halftime approached we got hit on the counter attack and found ourselves one down at the break.

The lads rallied in the second half and again found themselves encamped in the Canterbury half of the pitch. We finally got our reward when Flynn’s corner found Alfie who struck the equaliser from close range. But Canterbury fought back and took the lead again with a break away goal. We kept our heads up and continued to try and play our passing game.

All the lads did well, despite not being at our flowing best, Daylee in particular was having a great game as the left side defender. A nasty clash between an opposition defending and Finlay saw some additional time and despite tired legs we rallied again. Great work from Alfie saw a great pass across the goal and Isaac burst onto in and finished to make it two two.

A draw was the least that we deserved and we nearly snatched a winner when a smart control and turned finished from Oscar was ruled out for a marginal offside. As the final whistle approached we were awarded a free kick, Flynn struck it over the wall but with the keeper floundering it crashed back off the bar and away from the goal.

A decent performance but certainly not our best, the large pitch was a factor, as well as having no subs, but the lads know they can play better and I am sure we will find our stride again soon. We can’t blame everything on the size of the pitch.

‘If you having problems I feel bad for you son, I got ninety nine problems but the pitch ain't one…’ (sorry Jay-Z)

Well played all!