🧡🖤 U15s MJPL – Redditch 🖤🧡
Redditch 4–1 Rushall Village
A really tough test for the U15s this week against an opposition who came into the game having scored seven goals in their previous match.
We knew from the start that we were going to have to be switched on, aggressive and organised if we were going to compete.
Unfortunately, the first half was probably one of our poorest performances for a while.
We gave Redditch far too much space, weren’t aggressive enough in our press and allowed them to play the game on their terms. We also had a couple of costly errors, including some mistakes from the goalkeeper, while at times we didn’t track runners as well as we should have.
Despite that, the boys managed the first half as best they could and we knew we needed to have a serious conversation at half-time.
And that conversation clearly landed.
🔥 Second Half
The second half was a completely different performance.
The boys came out with a much higher intensity, became far more aggressive and started controlling the areas of the pitch where we wanted the game to be played.
We made Redditch uncomfortable.
Instead of allowing them to dictate the game, we started forcing them into rushed decisions and messy passages of play. They simply didn’t seem to know how to deal with the way we changed our approach.
Although Redditch managed to add another goal, our boys didn’t let that knock them back.
We kept pushing.
We kept creating.
And eventually, after four or five attempts, we finally got the goal our second-half performance deserved.
The football and intensity were night and day compared to the first half, and for long periods we were all over them.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the goals needed to turn the game around and Redditch eventually came away with the victory, but the second-half performance gave us plenty to be proud of.
👏 Proud of the Boys
There were certainly some things working against us today.
Getting up at 7am, travelling almost an hour and kicking off at 10am isn’t ideal preparation for a group of teenagers — and, to be honest, it looked like we were still asleep during the first half! 😂
We also had a very frustrating afternoon from an officiating perspective.
There were several decisions that left both the players and coaches scratching their heads, including an opposition player receiving a yellow card for one challenge and then appearing to make another serious challenge without receiving a second caution.
There was also an incident where their goalkeeper came out of his area and took out one of our players, which we felt warranted a much stronger disciplinary response.
There were also repeated shirt pulls, two-handed pushes and other challenges that went unpunished.
We’re not going to use the referee as an excuse — we didn’t play well enough in the first half, and that’s something we’ll own and work on.
But equally, it’s fair to say that the boys had to deal with some decisions that made an already difficult game even more challenging.
And despite everything, they kept their heads, kept competing and produced a massively improved second-half performance.
🧡🖤 Final Thoughts
As coaches, we’re genuinely very proud of the boys.
The result isn’t what we wanted, but the response at half-time is exactly what we want to see from this group.
They could have gone into the second half feeling sorry for themselves.
Instead, they came out fighting.
They raised the intensity, competed for everything, made the opposition uncomfortable and showed the character that we know is within this team.
And yes… there may have been a little bit of good-natured “banter” with the referee from the coaching staff along the way! 😂
Sometimes you’ve got to find the fun in a frustrating morning.
We learn. We improve. We move on.
Well done, lads. 🧡🖤⚽
