So Saturday the 12th saw us back at the lodge in a friendly game against Division one side Sherborne St John U14 sharks. Once again the the pitch was looking good and freshly spiked to help with the drainage for the recent monsoon season we’ve been having. This week would see us face tougher opposition with Sherborne looking comfortable in division one, it was a chance for the players to test and prove to themselves that they can cut it against teams higher up.
The game kicked off and we looked to get the ball down and play. With both teams working each other out in the early minutes the first chance of the game fell to Sherborne when their striker found himself just inside the box and who shot to Harvey’s right who comfortably got himself across goal and parried the ball away. 5 minutes in the tone was set with a strong and fair challenge from Finn in midfield won the ball and started a counter attack which unfortunately fizzled out. Two minutes late Sherborne played a ball over the top and their striker raced through and 1 on 1 with Harvey he struck low to Harveys right who reacted superbly making a great save to keep the score 0-0. 5 more minutes passed with both teams battling hard but Complete starting to play the better football and keep the majority of possession we won a free kick about 25 yards out. The free kick taken came to nothing and the game went on. The first goal came on 14 minutes when complete won the ball in midfield and Benji received the ball wide left and played a first time ball into Freddie who controlled the ball and took it passed a defender and shot low to the keepers right into the net 1-0 Complete.
We continued to play the better football but Sherborne still creating chances for themselves . with the game 1-0 both teams trying to score the next goal we lost the ball out wide on the left and the Sherborne 22 ran with the ball to top left corner of the box and with Ryan and Liam in hot pursuit truck an absolute cracker of a strike which hit the back of the net making it 1-1 with 29 minutes played. Sherborne boosted by the goal came straight back at us making bringing out the best in Harvey who made a brilliant double save the first low to his right and the follow up with his trailing foot keeping the score at 1-1. After the scare we regained control and for the next 5 minutes it was all Complete with Jack in midfield taking on players for fun and was a joy to watch. On 34 minutes Jack picked the ball up about 35/40 yards out from goal and showed great skill and feet taking it round 4 Sherborne players before calmly slotting the ball low past the keeper and into the goal. Half time came and it was 2-1 Complete.
With the boys coming in at half time proving they can mix it with the teams a league above and controlling the majority of the game we asked for more of the same. Especially knowing that Sherborne would be coming out strong in the second half.
The second half started and on 38 minutes we had our first chance with Finn firing a ball towards goal from tight angle and the goalkeeper pushing the ball away but only as far as benji who had a chance to increase our lead unfortunately the ball didn’t bounce kindly and Benji couldn’t get much power behind his effort. With Sherborne reacting to the scare they started to take control of the game and we found ourselves sitting deep and inviting pressure onto ourselves. We had a few counter attacks but could capitalise of the limited possession we were having. We were defending well and still trying to play out from the back but Sherborne had us pinned in our own half. On 52 minutes Sherborne capitalised on a misplaced pass in defence and made the score 2-2. This goal was the start of a mad 8 minute spell for us and on 55 minutes they won a free kick about 25 yards out and the taker smashed an effort which cracked the cross bar and with 6 attackers in our box they outnumbered us and managed to poke the ball into the net to make it 2-3. We looked to regroup but with a through ball being played through and us not dealing with it their number 22 once again got onto the ball and struck low and hard into the bottom left hand corner of the goal to make it 2-4.
For the next 10 minutes we looked to get back into the game and at times looked dangerous with Freddie creating a couple of chances for himself and a 1v1 with the keeper coming out on top this time. The game finished 2-4 to Sherborne.
This game was quite literally a game of two halves the first half the boys showed they are more then good enough to go and play in division one showing how good they are technically. With the second half we showed we are still learning both physically and mentally. Myself and Rich once again couldn’t be more proud with the standards they set themselves coming of the pitch disappointed and frustrated at not getting more from a game with a division one team.
Simon Ormston
