Friday 6th February 2015 @ Heartlands
Erdington and Saltley 2 – 1 Kings Heath
Team: Harvey, Ilani, Sam, Kye, Troy, Oakley, Samim, Tion, Cameron, Kian, William, Eddie, Harvey and Pharelle
Scorers: Troy and Samim
On an evening more suited to Eddie the Eagle (ask your parents who he is boys!), The Ton rolled up their sleeves, gritted their teeth and puffed out their chests. It might not have been the biggest victory but it was a very significant one nonetheless.
The game couldn’t have started any better, with the team playing some great passing football. Time after time we popped the ball around with composure and confidence, although we couldn’t quite manage to find that final finishing touch despite having all of the ball. Then we were struck a blow when Kings Heath scored against the run of play to take a 1-0 lead. After conceding the goal we lost our shape a little and our passing went a little wide of the mark.
It’s not often we’ve had to ask the lads to work harder but at half time that’s exactly what we did. We also asked them to give more thought to their final play – to pass when a pass was a better option that a dribble, rather than running into dead ends. Just like this year’s under 11s, this group of lads are a pleasure to work with, primarily because they listen to instructions and take on board advice. Consequently the second half was far more like it! First of all Troy leveled the scores with a great run and finish from a very narrow angle. As class a goal as this was, Samim’s was arguably even better! The Birches Green midfielder, who recently made his debut for the Under 11s, picked the ball up on the half way line, before weaving in and out and back in again of four or five players. Then with a sniff of goal, he looked up and unleashed a thunderous left footed strike which flew past the keeper. Finally we had the lead that our craft and guile deserved, although it had been anything but easy!
Kings Heath gave us a great game tonight and should be very proud of their efforts. They’ll be sure to go on and have a great season if tonight’s performance is anything to go by! Thanks for the game boys and good luck for the rest of the season.
Finally it’s worth mentioning just how cold it was tonight and how hard the lads worked to drag themselves over the finish line! It might not have been our biggest win and it might have been scrappy at times, but tonight the lads showed that they’re made of stern stuff! Talent is one thing, but without hard work talent is worthless. Tonight proved just this!
What a team! What a great bunch of lads! What a privilege it is to work with them!
Man of the Match – Tion
Up The Ton!
Erdington and Saltley Primary Schools' FA 