Following a warm up (well needed with the temperatures today!) we welcomed Kaiden to our team, before encouraging each player to think about how they wanted to be on the pitch today. The boys came up with some great answers including putting lots of effort in, making loads of passes, communicating with each other, strong defending and making lots of goal attempts.

There was a real noticeable difference with the boys today in their play right from kick off. They have clearly taken their learning from training to the game, with an evident improvement in their ability to work together and pass the ball which allowed for the creation of some excellent goal chances.

At half time the boys were asked what they thought they had done well in the first half and were able to recognise that there was an improvement in their team working, with enhanced communication and some strong passes (as Archie so enthusiastically put they were not tackling each other anymore!). They were encouraged to think about what they would want to do to finish the match a better player.

The second half evidenced another great performance, with the team gaining confidence. There were some great saves by Charlie, Lucas and Gabriel who all spent time in goal (again showing real teamwork). It was good to see some quick paced throw ins which is an ongoing focus of training. Lucas chose some great positioning remaining strong during his time in defence and Charlie made some timely tackles. Leo, Gabriel, Kaiden and Archie made many crucial tackles and well thought out passes allowing for the ball to move forward quickly making for an exciting game to watch.

Despite the snow and cold temperature the boys had a fantastic match and the improvement in their skills and understanding of the game was really evident today .

Effort of the match - Leo, played midfield the whole game and did not stop moving. He won many of his challenges, scored some excellent goals and never stopped smiling which is always great to see! We did ask him what he'd eaten for breakfast as we all wanted some!

Player of the match - this had to go to Kaiden who was new to the squad this week, settling into his new team very well, and showing enormous confidence in both his challenges and goal attempts.