Thursday, 28 March 2024 - 5.03 pm

Pirates Pre-Season Warm Up

Match Report from Journalist Paul Buchan

Pirates get a pre-season warm up

The U8s (soon to be U9) Pirates managed to get a pre-season warm up game today, thanks to their fab coach Dave. He managed to take a huge 3 weeks off before he couldn’t help himself, and had to organise another match. They played their first 7 a side match, and on a bigger pitch. Rhod scored his 2nd ever goal, so I was the proudest Dad!

Anyway, at the Pirates we are a very lucky team, as we have (every week!) a professional journalist in the form of Paul B writing up the teams match report. He writes up the post match report and posts it on the Pirates WhatsApp chat room for any of the missing parents that couldn’t attend the match. Everyone needs to have a Paul on their team, although sometimes I am sure he is watching a completely different match to everyone else. 🙂

It does seem that as the season goes on, his reports gets longer and longer, and must take forever when typing it up on his phone! So to try and drum up some business from other teams, I am posting Paul’s fabulous report from todays friendly against Woking. It would be great to be able to post match reports from other teams, even if it is just from friendlies such as our match today.

So have a read of this report written by our team journalist, Paul Buchan:

A Pre-pre-Season Friendly

Well, I am still scratching my head on how we lost that game. Completely baffling. It was our first full seven-a-side match on the bigger pitch. I thoroughly enjoyed the match despite the result.

The Pirates played exceptionally well. In terms of the passing and moving I believe it is some of the best I have seen them play. All the boys were looking up and making a concerted effort to find a colleague in space. Sometimes not in the right areas but that will come with practise.

The first quarter was impressive stuff. However, true to type we went one nil down. It was a gift of a goal. It is not easy but if we could cut out on some of the individual errors (they are all guilty of it) we would be doing ourselves a massive favour.

The Pirates were unperturbed. They continued to pass well with some good combinations being formed. Connor and Fin were point in case and combined well with a good slick one two movement allowing Fin to slot home and finish coolly.

We then did some more passing but in a dangerous area and got caught out and were punished accordingly. Somehow we were 2-1 down with the opposition really only having two chances that we created/ gifted to them.

Into the second quarter and it was to get worse. Suddenly we were 3-1 down. It was never a 3-1 game. Extraordinary stuff. We were playing well but not getting the breaks that clearly the opposition were. We applied more pressure and won a corner. Findley delivered the ball in to the box extremely well to find Charlie who finished with a bullet header. Goal of the day without a shadow of a doubt. Top drawer stuff Charlie, an excellent goal. 3-2 down at half time.

The third quarter got underway and we were looking pretty solid in this quarter. The Pirates defended well when they needed to and were mainly on the attack. A shot from Fin came in that was saved, it came back to him for a second chance. Again, the shot was saved and rebounded to Rhod who fired it home. His second career goal and a fully deserved equaliser. We were finally back in the game and The Pirates had worked so hard to be so. Justice appeared to have been done and we kept a clean sheet in this quarter as it ended 3-3.

Which way was the game going to go?

The fourth quarter began and we were certainly going to go for it. Dave opted for those tactics because the opposition were certainly there for the taking. However, it was not to be our day (normally it is). In going for it we were liable to the sucker punch of goals on the break to which there were three as we continued to chase the game with lots of attacking.

We were desperately unlucky. It was never a 6-3 game. I know I am biased and the score line doesn’t lie but I genuinely believe the better team lost.

The boys adjusted well to the new seven-a-side formation and the bigger pitch. I suppose they tired a little bit in the final quarter as all seven played the full 40 minutes.

The game was enjoyable with the lads playing well. I reckon if we played them again now that we would win. Again, it was down to some sloppy mistakes in key areas. It is true, that is how most goals are created but we appeared to be the masters of it today. It wasn’t our day. It wasn’t meant to be.

Bring on the next friendly. I am looking forward to the next game and the further development of this good side with some great passing and moving and superb finishing.

Keep up the good work Dave and Scott.

Go on The Pirates!!

PS – IT WAS ONLY A FRIENDLY!!

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