Coton vs Willingham. We did it!!! but it was not easy.

Coton U10s today battled against a very good Willingham side, that in my opinion has improved tremendously through this season. I must pay tribute to the Willingham players who gave us a hard time and made my old heart flutter for a large spell of the match.

Coton started with a tried and trusted formation, but surprisingly we fell prey of the speed and determination of the Willingham team. We found it difficult to play with speed and accuracy and initially it was hard to string 3 passes together. They were closing all spaces rapidly, doubling the marking and swarming in the key areas of the pitch. We looked a bit clumsy in our passing and decision making and communication between players was a bit less satisfactory than usual. In the first half we were not diversifying our game and this was probably a mistake. We really wanted to win and thus we were frightened to take too many chances and we stuck a bit too much to the basics (my fault for that!). Nevertheless we managed to score and at that time we felt that we would probably cruise through the match.

. Unfortunately, the Willingham team had different ideas and they stepped up the fight, started to win the ball and were threatening on the break, thus creating some good chances. A quick unopposed cross from the right was met by the fastest of the Willingham players who slammed it into the net and left one of our defenders to wonder where the guy had appeared from. The goal shook Coton a bit and we started to move faster. We scored another goal and went to the half time break 2-1 up.

I was not pleased at half time. I was not happy with the team who I felt were conceding too much space and time. But I was l also, and perhaps mainly, not happy with myself because I had not been able to find a better way to get through the Willingham bunch. So the half time chat was not a soft one and we all sat down and found some motivation and tactical intelligence and............ it worked. Sometimes, you may think that I ask too much from you and from myself, but I only ask what I know we can give. I must say that I have not played competitive football for 15 years and perhaps sometimes I forget how hard it is to be the pitch especially against a team that is good at breaking our passing game.

The second half was a lot better. They still proved a very hard nut to crack because they were good at closing down spaces. But we did well. We patiently enticed them out of their defense, by pulling Oliver and Paolo 5-10 yards back and by moving Ryan a bit more forwards and started piercing them with through balls and going around them with quick runs on the wings. We created a wealth of chances and could have scored more if it had not been for their excellent goalkeeper. Importantly, we did not concede too much. The play was still scrappy at times because of the way the other team was interpreting the match, but much, much better. We kept hammering them with patience, discipline and determination and the final score was a good 4-1 for us.

I am pleased about the performance, especially the second half. Some games are more difficult to play than others and less fluent. Today was one of those. We accomplished our mission and you can be immensely proud of yourselves. We have had some bad luck this season, but we still achieved more than I though we would. You are the ones who have battled on the pitch through good and bad times and therefore all the praise goes to you guys. It has been a pleasure to be your coach. I hope that we can recruit some more players and that we shall have a good size and keen squad for next season.

!We like to make it hard for ourselves!!

Today we played a very good Comberton side, in hot weather and pleasant surroundings.

Apart from a couple of unlucky slip-ups Coton played well. Both teams and coaches had prepared this match meticulously. During the warm up we made sure that we got all the preparation and concentration we needed and we started the match in good spirit.

We went back to the Christmas tree formation (3-2-1) with a very high defense line and with the 2 midfielders who were asked to be fierce and quick in controlling their counterparts. Comberton has probably the strongest midfield in the league and we knew that the game would be won or lost at the center of the pitch.

I only need to use two words to describe the way Coton played in the first half. SOLID at defending and BRILLIANT at going forwards. It was a very good job indeed. Finally the movement off the ball was working fine; closing down the opposition and doubling the marking was efficient. No mistakes were made when defending. Comberton were not expecting to come up against such a good performance and despite the excellent quality of most of their players, could not really find a plot to create any difficulties.

Two inch-perfect crosses from Paolo sliced the Comberton defense and were met with precision by Cameron and Callum who whacked the ball in, first touch from a couple of yards away. Hitting those crosses on a bouncy pitch is harder than it looks, so well done to the crosser and the hitters! We went 2-0 up and we had been in control of the match.

But............ a little lapse of concentration at midfield, combined with tired legs and a very, very fast run from one of their strong forwards put a Comberton player one-to-one with William who was not quick to come out of goal and was beaten from close distance. And that was 30 seconds before half time, unfortunately!!

At that point we were still one goal up, but we knew that the second half would be very, very hard. But we can do hard, can't we? Oliver pulled out due to tiredness, but we still had enough energy in the remaining players to have a decent second half. Cameron, who looked tired half way through the first half and who was very mature to ask to be substituted, was rejuvenated by the half time break and galloped another 10 miles in the second half! Bobby and Nick resumed their very good defending and passing and Ezra was good when called into the fight. For the first 15 minutes of the second half we seemed OK. We missed another golden chance, I think with Ollie who had come on briefly, but we were cruising. Comberton created chances, but William was very good indeed and we did not feel threatened.

Then.......... another long through ball with Comberton players running towards William. Our GK thought that the ball was outside of the box tried to kick it instead of easily scooping it up with his hands and, due to a bad bounce of the ball, he completely missed the kick. Comberton scored again. Never mind, just bad luck Will (think of all the good saves that kept us in the game).

The last ten minutes were tense. They were fouling and we certainly stood our ground and hit back. Comberton had a few more golden chances and so did we. Finally the game ended on a score of 2-2.

Once more, we should have won the match and maybe we thew it away. But we could have lost it and that would have been unfair and disappointing. So after all it was a good day! We can learn from our mistakes and correct them and get better. The only regret is that we scored two very good goals and defended well for most of the match. They scored a good one and a lucky one. Bad luck, sometimes self inflicted, seems to be the recurrent theme of this season. An despite all this, look at what we are achieving! With a bit more luck I wonder where we would be! Think of the crossbar at the last minute in the Comberton home game, the posts and crossbars against Gamlingay A, and against Girton......... and all the rest! If we can be unlucky and still do well, it means that our team has some substance.

So I must say that I am very proud of you and I see today as a very positive result. We should have won it, but we could have lost it. Now all we have to do is beat Willingham. We can win it, but so can they. So we need to be humble and play our best. I am already looking forwards to next Saturday.

We win some, we lose some..............................

Coton U10s were beaten fair and square by Histon today who proved to be a better team.

Histon were faster and more skilful. They were superior at passing, dribbling and shooting. The movement of those players who did not have the ball was rapid and they were always giving two or three options to the guy with the ball.

Coton did not play a bad match at all. I think that the Coton players started with a slightly negative attitude. I could tell from the body language in the warm up that Coton really never believed that they could match Histon. There was a feeling of lambs going to the slaughter. This was wrong as the facts proved.

We started poorly and did not really pick a fight straight away. We were just trying to hang on and we were getting rid of the ball without playing our usual good football. There was lots of fast pressure on us, but we know how to cope with it a bit better than we did today. Histon scored 2 soft goals and a truly wonderful one.

In the half time talk we decided to have a go at them and to play with courage and enjoyment. And not surprisingly we matched them for most of the second half. We scored and went 1-3. In the last 5 minutes I asked you to go more forward to attempt to score more goals and we became vulnerable to their counterattack and they scored two more. Never mind. That was bound to happen. Also tired legs did not help there. We had only one sub, while they had 4 or 5.

I think we should take this match as a very positive experience. Yes, they were a better team on the day and probably they would be any day. However, when we play our football, without feeling intimidated and just enjoying ourselves, we can do a bit better than we did today during the first half. The first 20 minutes of the second half were very good indeed. Basically you played with strong personality and determination.

Regarding the ability to pass accurately, to move a bit better, to shoot more efficiently, to dribble quicker and to stop dribblers to go past us...................... well .......... there is only one way to get better. Practice, practice, practice. You may have noticed that Histon missed about 20% of their passes, which is normal for any good team. For big chunks of the game we were missing 50-70% of ours. We are much better than that. But when one is worried, like you were today in the first half, one makes more mistakes.

As I said, you did not play a bad match today. I must say well done to everybody for the effort and the commitment!!!

Lets go out next Saturday to have fun! It is not a job, it is a game! Enjoy yourselves and play for fun. If you do so, I promise you that you will surprise yourselves about what you can achieve.

Coton versus Cambourne: what a fight!

A wonderful match was played today at the Coton Rec, between two teams who really wanted to play well and enjoy themselves on the pitch. Well done to both teams for an excellent display of youth football. A pleasure to watch. Thanks to the spectators for their kind and fair support .

Cambourne was physically stronger and bigger, but with aggression, skills and good tactics Coton provided a good match for them.

From our notes of the away game (that we won 2-0 with goals in extra time) we knew that it would be difficult to use a frontal attack approach. Too much traffic of a large size! Thus we kept the game at midfield and we were as strong as we needed to be in tackling and closing down the opposition. We knew we could rely on William to stop any long shots and to deal with any long balls (and he did it well). We were actually defending in their half for a big chunk of the first half, thus following our pre-match plan to the letter. We were good at bringing the ball forwards rapidly and accurately thus creating problems to the Cambourne midfield/defense that sometimes was slightly outpaced. We used the speed of our forwards to pierce the Cambourne defense. The plan worked a treat and we went 2-0 up in the first half. I may get the tactics right sometimes, but the credit goes mostly to the Coton players who are incredibly good for their age at implementing them on the pitch. The assiduous attendance to the training sessions and the hard work in training is paying off. I did not need to say much for the whole of the first half. I just sat there and enjoyed the game. It makes coaching and watching really rewarding!

The beginning of the second half was a a bit shaky for Coton. Cambourne stepped up several gears (as we fully expected from such a good team) and threw at us all they had. For about 10 minutes we struggled a bit, the game moved into our half and Coton lost some of their aggressive edge. On one occasion we made fools of ourselves by leaving 3 Cambourne players unmarked in our box and they scored. At that point the game could have taken a bad turn for Coton. But the Coton tigers instantly woke up and resumed normal operation. We started to press the other team in their half again, moved 5-10 yards forwards and created more good chances. This response shows how good we are and how strong you are both physically and mentally

A game of two halves? Definitely not!! Coton was the better team for 40 minutes, and Cambourne played better for 10 minutes. I pay tribute to the excellent Cambourne side, but on the day, in my humble opinion, we fully deserved the win.

Well done everybody! Enjoy the win. You were all good and hard working.

Coton vs Gamlingay B. Spells of bad weather and spells of good football

Blustery, wet conditions welcomed the brave players and spectators at the Coton Rec. It was a fair game of football and a score of 14-1 does not lie. All I can say is: well done everybody.

Both teams did their best to play a good game on a pitch that was very slippery and made passing and controlling the ball difficult.

Coton started with an unusual defensive line including those players that I feel need to practice tackling and need to develop awareness of the absolute need to close down the opposition and willingness to contribute to the defensive game when the other team has the ball. This softer game gave them the chance to practice tackling and to realise what I am going on about. This revised formation did OK at attacking and scored profusely. The first goal came within seconds from kick off and 6 more were scored in a scrappy first half.

But covering was still poor. The other team, that was not that strong on the day, had 3 unopposed breaks where William was brilliant to stop the goals, and then they scored totally unopposed. There was no need to concede a goal today! So some of you really need to practice tackling and closing down or maybe be more willing to do so. Basically everybody needs to work for the team both when attacking and defending. We cannot afford to let the stronger teams go past our midfield unopposed because this will result in total disaster. We have conceded only 2 goals in the last 4 matches and conceding very little comes from that willingness and determination to put pressure on the other team as soon as they have the ball. This is hard work, but shows real team spirit and dedication.

In the second half we displayed a more conventional team where everybody played in their usual, and thus more natural, position. And the game became less scrappy and more enjoyable to watch. Good possession, excellent passing and communication and good moves.

I am pleased that Cameron could celebrate his birthday with a good performance and I am happy that the team played well for big chunks of the game. Well done everybody!

Next stop Cambourne. I am looking forwards to that game. Watch out Jason, my boys are on fire! I am sure that yours are on fire too!!

Coton vs Gamlingay A. They pinched it as their coach said at the end!!

A wonderful match today against one of the strongest sides in the league. I am really starting to enjoy watching the Coton U10 side play football. It is all coming together now and the future of this team is really promising

I asked you to play with the same quality that you showed against Swavesey and Gamlingay B but with a lot more aggression and intensity for the whole match. And you did it. The result was a performance that was a pleasure to watch. I really believe it, and as you know, I am always rather critical and not easily pleased.

We stared again with the "Christmas tree" formation. I was a bit worried because I did not know whether it would provide us with enough cover at the back but it did. I am really very, very pleased about the way we played today. Quality football everywhere on the pitch. We have progressed so much in the last 6 months.

We knew that there would not be much between the two teams, but I honestly think that, as far a quality of football is concerned, we were far superior. We are really learning how to play football. We lost against Comberton and Gamlingay A by one goal and both times we were the better team (especially today for the whole match). So now we only have to learn how to win.

The first half was excellent. We had possession of the ball for most of the time, we defended really solidly and high, we passed wisely and we tried to go around their very strong defense. We did everything well apart from scoring. This is becoming a recurrent theme against stronger teams. Against strong defenses we fail to capitalise our good team play. Ollie had his chances and once again was unlucky missing one or two and hitting the post (again!). Paolo was inches from knocking a cross in with the ball about a foot away from the Gamlingay goal line. Cameron had chances too. The Gamlingay defenders were very quick to close us down and I understand that it is not easy to shoot and score when time is very limited and one is under pressure. But we need to learn how to do this and the next couple of training sessions will focus on whacking the ball in ruthlessly! Some of the shots were soft and thus power shooting will be on the training menu and in your practise at home.

The second half was also good. Concentration remained high and we kept them under pressure. A few more chances were missed. Their goalkeeper unbelievably saved a point blank shot from Ollie that was perfectly placed low and near the post.

Then we made the only mistake of the whole game when a poor goal kick gave them possession and our left midfielder did not close them down. And guess what? They scored with the only shot in goal they had. Disappointing, but that is sport.

I think you can be proud of yourselves. Their coach at the end said that they really pinched this one. But there is nothing wrong with pinching games. They also worked very hard so we cannot blame them. Let's see if we can pinch a few from now on!!

Gamlingay B vs Coton Cosmos: Quality football and lots of goals. Why did I worry about the match all week?

Today Coton Cosmos U 10s played a very good match against Gamlingay B.

The final score was 12-0 according to my counting, 11-0 according to the referee.

Enjoy the win. Well deserved. Well done everybody! The game was softer than I expected, with no disrespect for the Gamlingay side who tried hard and fought bravely.

However, Coton really started strong and perhaps surprised Gamlingay, who never recovered. We were coming from a convincing 6-0 win against Swavesey and finding concentration may have been difficult. No way! The Coton "tigers" started like a train and created scoring chances immediately. Two easy chances from inside the Gamlingay box were unbelievably missed, but then our players adjusted their aim and scored profusely. We need to be a bit more careful. In some matches we may not get many chances and we will not be able to afford to miss chances like those.

And it was good football indeed! No panic, focus on ball possession, no stupid or wasteful passes or runs, lots of nice wide passing, alternating horizontal and diagonal movement. Really textbook. And all this on a bumpy pitch where controlling the ball was very, very difficult.

Basically we followed the pre-match plan to the letter. The plan was to be really strong at the back and exploit our speed at front. We started with a formation that was slightly different from the usual one. We played a 3-2-1 formation (otherwise known in Italy as the Christmas tree). This can be easily shifted into a 5-1 (pulling back the midfielders) or a 1-4-1 (pushing forwards the right and left defenders) depending on the circumstances of the game. We got it right, I must say. We were impenetrable at the back with Nick and Bobby; we had a good middle cover and also propulsion forwards and linking between Ryan and the midfield guys, and we fully exploited Paolo's and Cameron's ability to place accurate through passes and the speed of Oliver, Callum and Ezra in piercing the defensive line and going 1-to-1 with the keeper.

Ball possession was very good and movement off the ball was also good for the first 15 minutes. Then we got a bit complacent and the game slowed down. We had already broken Gamilngay and they were struggling a bit in finding composure and discipline. We slowed down too and the last 10 minutes of the first half were slow and scrappy.

At half time, William and I (the only two guys who had not touched the ball at all!) threatened the rest of the team that we would fold the bench and go home if they did not show us some more decent football in the second half. The team responded with really good passing football, lots of action, rotation of the ball from right to left and left to right, possession, creativity and lots of goals. When we got to about 8 or 9 we thought it would suffice and we moved people around. William went center forward, Ollie in goal, and the forwards on the bench. And we still scored 2 or 3 more. William had a good chance, but unfortunately he did not score. Next time, perhaps! At that stage I think that Gamlingay were really tired because they had chased the ball for the whole match.

So the bottom line is: we played a team that maybe did not have a good day. But a team often has a good day when the other team let them have a good day. Thus, I would not underestimate the excellent quality of our performance. The number of goals does not matter. Winning or loosing, does a bit, but not so much. The quality of the play is what is really important. And today it was quality football for big chunks of the game. I think that few teams would have had a good day against us the way we played today.

Now the challenge is to play with the same quality, but with the intensity, aggression, determination and strength that is needed to play well and also win against the stronger teams. And we need to play the whole match with intensity and never stop. Quality with no aggression or with intermittent aggression will not be sufficient against the big teams.

The quality is there, now it is up to us (meaning you!!) to make the most of it when the game gets tough. We can beat anybody. I really believe it. But we must work for it. Gamlingay A will be the first test. I am confident!