Horncastle

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    An early Sunday morning meet wasnt the most appetising of thoughts when going to bed on Saturday night, but in reflection it was well worth it.The lads clearly heeded my advice of having some Weetabix, however they opted for a McDonalds breakfast, maybe not the healthiest option but it worked and thats all that matters.
     Collingham today played superb, they showed sheer class on the ball and moved it around magically. Horncastle would have left this game thinking how did we not lose by more. This was by far our best performance as a team up to now. It was an achievement and you all did yourselves proud.
    The game started with us having a lot of possession and putting Horncastle under immense pressure. Their only option seemed to be to try and beat us on the counter attack, but the defence and midfield handled this superbly and dealt with it, as and when it came. In the first 20 minutes, it looked like we'd never get a goal, all the pressure was not paying off. But eventually it did, a brilliant through ball to Nocivelli was met with composure, class and a clinical finish from the striker. A great finish, a great goal that was thoroughly deserved and should of been repeated more so through the match. If there was a bad point today then it was that, we didnt score when we had the chances. These need to be taken if we are to succeed. And now to the other negative point today, which actually cost us a goal. The ball was brought out of defence and given away, Dawson was caught in possession and that simply wasnt good enough. Parlett failed to cover, Schlicht miss kicked, and all in all for that 5-10 seconds of madness we lost the lead because their striker was left with a simple finish. It happened a few times today, and its not acceptable. But to be fair to the defence they did learn from their mistakes and had a great second half.
     One person who made a big difference today was that grinder Gavin, he grafted away in that battling midfield role. He picked up the ball brought it forward and spread the play superbly. He had a great game. The second half was much the same as the first, we had all the possession, we dominated but we were failing to score. So the management consulted and changed the tactics. Dawson was drafted up front, Parlett was posted to his familiar centre back role, and we switched to 3-4-3. Instantly it made a difference with Dawson almost scoring, however his shot flew just over. Again we were still missing chances though. But eventually it came, the inevitable breakthrough. Nifty Nocivelli picked up the ball down the left flank, sent in a superb cross with Betts and Dawson awaiting and it fell to deadly Dawson and he slotted it home to make it 2-1. From then on we continued to move ball around superbly with Schilicht, Cook, Wilkinson and Betts pulling together some great moves down the right. On the left we had the warrior Woolley, battling, charging and playing a blinder. He linked up superbly with both Miller and Blake and their ability down the left often gave them problems.
      A deserved win...well done to you all. Now to Babworth!

Match Ratings
White - 7
Schlicht - 7
Dawson (c) - 7
Dodds - 7
Parlett - 8
Cook - 7
Gavin - 9
Wilkinson - 7
Woolley - 8
Betts - 7
Nocivelli - 8

Subs
Blake - 7
Williams - 7
Miller - 7

Man of the Match

Special Thanks
Thank you to those parents who gave up their time to transport, watch and support the lads today. As always it was much appreciated. Well Done!

James