Tonight was a real test for the lads, coming off the back of a full-throttle performance just 24 hours earlier. Asking them to go again so soon was a big ask, and in hindsight, perhaps two fixtures back-to-back wasn’t ideal – but it proved to be a valuable challenge of character and resilience.
We started slowly, and it showed. Sloppy touches, misplaced passes, and a general lack of sharpness allowed the opposition to capitalise early. One lapse in marking left a player free on the penalty spot, and he made no mistake, lobbing Aaron from a well-placed cross to open the scoring.
To their credit, the boys didn’t let their heads drop. We regrouped, found a bit of rhythm, and despite the continued scrappiness, we began to assert ourselves. It wasn’t long before we drew level, and moments later, we took the lead with a quick-fire second goal.
From there, the football began to flow more freely. Josh, Joe, and Jareal combined brilliantly down the right flank, carving out space and linking up with confidence. The opposition tried to muscle through the midfield, but we held our shape, stayed disciplined, and kept pressing until our third goal arrived, well-earned and well-timed.
In the second half, we made a few tactical tweaks that gave us greater control. The midfield tightened up, and our wingbacks injected pace and width, allowing us to stretch the play and create more chances. We peppered their goal with several decent efforts, but credit to their stand-in keeper, tall, agile, and composed – he kept them in the game.
Unfortunately, we did concede two more: one from a soft penalty decision, and another from a clever run and finish by their pacey striker. But we weren’t done yet. The boys dug deep and found the energy to push on, eventually sealing the win with a fifth goal to close out the match 5–3.
All in all, I’m proud of the lads. It wasn’t our most polished performance, but football isn’t always about looking good, it’s about grit, determination, and getting the job done. And tonight, they did exactly that.
