Reg Ellis Cup - Match report written by Ahmed Ajjour
Sunday the 7th of January felt different compared to the previous Sundays I had experienced. It probably was because it was the first Sunday of the New Year, it felt like a new start, it felt fresh. In practice it was no different, we all met at the same meeting spot and I was one of the last to arrive. We took off at around 9.30 and arrived at the ground by about 9.50 after some difficulties in finding the entrance. The area appeared very posh and peaceful and the park that the pitch was in looked well presented and clean, it was definitely different compared to west London.
It took a good twenty minutes for the changing rooms to open, after finally getting changed and getting certain players to come to terms with the club not providing any toilets, we made our way to the pitch. It was no different to any other game, we warmed up in the same way and carried out the same stretches, we had a team huddle and a few motivating speeches. Everyone looked optimistic (as usual).
Don started the game with, Mo in goal, Pete and new addition Wolf man in the centre back, Ole left back, Tailor right back. In the midfield, Hamzah was right, Pedro and Grant in the middle, Macca left, me (Ahmed) and Paulo up front. The first 10-15 minutes you can say that we were all over them, the midfield started of brightly and the defence looked positive and calm. We had a few chances with myself going through on goal in the first few minutes, were if I had been more composed we would have been one up. Paulo had a chance a couple of minutes later but was off-side. We carried on the pressure with Hamzah, Pedro, Grant and Paulo linking up well and penetrating through the heart of their team. I and Macca were linking well down the left hand side and the defence was passing the ball on the ground. At that point it felt like a new year and we looked like a new team.
When the strong dominance we had in the opening 15 minutes was over, things started changing. It was as if somebody had pressed a self destruct button, the team did just that, the opposition took full advantage. 3-1 down at half time. Same old story. We came out the second half with a lot of determination and ambition. Hamzah came off as he was carrying an injury, Timid replaced him with a straight swap down the left had side, which injected energy into the left tunnel. Moving the ball around in the way we know how to, we started the second half the stronger side.
In the first half we did that, that’s when we were at our best. It doesn’t take somebody like Albert Einstein to notice that playing the ball on the floor gives us an advantage over opposition. The pressure lasted again for about 15-20min and was not rewarded with a goal. It took just one long hoof like a rugby kick by the opposition and they were 4-1 up. Soon after it was 5, which was helped by a mistake from the keeper. The game ended this way (in a way, it was relieving; as it could have been worse had we played on for longer).
The same feelings, same disappointment, near enough the same score line and the same lack of understanding to why we had lost that game, but there wasn’t anybody to blame but ourselves. Our lack of focus, desire, belief, and fight throughout the ninety minutes was in large periods missing. One thing that I absolutely hate seeing in a football match is, when one of our players is talking to the opposition player and even sharing a joke with them while the game is going. A lot of players were guilty of that last week, and I’ve noticed it in the previous weeks. How do you expect to be focus on the game and on your position, when you’re too busy making friends?
It’s like some players wake up for the wrong reasons! Apart from that, I believe we can take a lot of positives out of the game, that is to learn from our individual mistakes, behaviour and attitudes towards the game and try to improve on them. I believe the best way to learn is from mistakes and we have a lot to learn. Every Sunday is a new chance to write a new script, let’s not have the script written for us, let’s go out there every Sunday and write our own.
Ahmed Ajjour
