Radcliffe Ladies - Two matches with Radcliffe;
Radcliffe v Sheffield (Steel City FC) - This i'd say we should have won, by far! It was one of those games where the scoreline didn't really reflect what occured in the game and sadly these games come along way to frequently. We had the majority of possession and created some fantastic opportunities for us to hit the back of the net, however we didn't execute these opportunities as well as we maybe would have on a different day. But i guess luck just wasn't on our side that day. The score ended up being 1-1. they scored first in the 33 minute and since then we dominated and get being creative until after an aspiring team talk, we finally managed to get one back to get to a draw. We then played the high pressure card for the rest of the 10 minutes remaining of the match, which i'll admit it was very tiring, it was a game where you could tell another goal was coming and we were going to come back from behind to win. However, this just wasn't the case for us which is a shame as we had played some really good football. With a bit more time and maybe luck, we would definitely of come out with 3 points instead of the 1, the game felt more of a loss then anything else.
Radcliffe v Peterborough - this game was always going to be a very tricky game for us, as a lot of our team were either on holiday, or some unfortunately had picked up injury prior to the game, so this didn't help the team too much, however when we got there spirits were still very high and we believed that we could still win, with player's all playing out there normal/comfortable positions, a different formation and a few players who hadn't played for a while, we all turned up and put a shift in on the hot Sunday afternoon. In my own opinion it was one of the best team game i have played in since joining Radcliffe Olympic Ladies. We were creating opportunities left, right and center and left the opposition feeling silly a lot of the time as the creativity was immense, and like what normally is the case we should have bagged more than two with the amount of opportunities we had within the 90 minutes. we kept possession well, communication was very good from the goal keep all the way through to the last man, and motivation and determination to chase down every ball and keep thinking smart lead us to a comfortable victory of 2-0 i would say. This was a very important game for us as we are now only a couple of games short of the cup final against Nottingham Forest Ladies, so it has given us a chance to explore what we can do and indicate improvements for the future game and develop our game as whole.
Refereeing;
I should have refereed at Nottingham Forest Academy last Sunday. I turned up (professionally early, suited and booted). The first team were still training, which they often are to be fair.They had a match against Brighton on the Monday night and were getting last minute training in. Normally the rest of the academy just gets on with training even though they are there, but this time we all had to be delayed. Because I was playing myself in the afternoon, I had to leave, which was a shame cos I love refereeing the academies, they are so fast and so technical.
Scouting
I am training to be a football scout. As with everything in football, it's not quite as easy as you think. I went to my first scout day last Monday. Around 100 Lads up to 18 years old trained and played like their lives depended on it. I played alongside them which was great. There were scouts from clubs such as Man City, Everton and Blackburn amongst others. Those attending the day had come from across the UK as well as some arriving from overseas.
There was an obvious nervousness first thing in the morning, with lads fidgeting with their boots and shin-pads, alongside parents fidgeting with keys, whilst trying to calm down their child. Some of the older lads turned up alone, bravely walking in and introducing themselves. For these guys it was now or never, at least the younger ones have got plenty of years for improvement.
Everyone was put at ease pretty quickly. Once we started playing, that natural desire to play football, that inbuilt love of the game just shone through. Guys were able to enjoy themselves, relax and play good football, and it was a good standard. Alas - this is football, only the top will be approached, and of them only the smallest percentage will ever run onto the hallowed pitch.
I enjoyed the day, meeting other scouts, being a part of the process. Seeing the complexity, and the enormity of this part of football. Over the last two years I have been getting more and more involved in the business of football, and it is quite incredible.
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