The u17s played host to local rivals Wrenthorpe today, a friendly match in preparation for the start of the Season in 7days time.
The lads started quite well and had a good share of possession, although scoring opportunities for The OWLS were at a premium.
Wrenthorpe played an unusual 424 formation that left a lot of space in midfield but put a lot of pressure on our back 4. As they flooded our box, their confidence was growing and we dropped off in our marking and pressing, giving them the time and space to score 4 goals before half time. We did manage to bag a goal ourselves before the first half ended 1-4.
The second half was much tighter in respect scoreline as The OWLS continued to battle. The second half finishing just 1-2 to see Wrenny run out 2-6 winners at the final whistle.
'Ring rusty' a little 'off the pace' and struggling to adjust to a team that did to us what we did to a lot of teams last season (an effective high pressing game) all contributed to the disappointment of a loss. However 'friendlies' don't win league titles and today was just that, a friendly to help prepare for the start of the Season. Technically the team didn't do much wrong today, tactically we can be much better though.
We're now looking forward to working on a couple of things in training Wednesday, and being ready for the challenge of North East Leeds in our season 'opener'.
MOM Lennie.
UTO!
