Upon the arrival of FC Blackhawk at Armitage, GM had been unbeaten in 4 consecutive 11-a-side games (yes its true) and this was an opportunity to take it to 6 by beating FC Blackhawk, the team which narrowly beat GM in the 7-a-side tournament held in Wirral just a few weeks previously.
GMs formation was in the now accustomed 4-3-3, based on the strength of the players in hand and tactics usually deploy whilst playing pro evolution soccer. Guest player Joe was given the left back slot in the absence of Simon Ung and Andy Yee was reverted to right back. The midfield was reinforced with the presence of Rob to give much needed protection to the back four aswell as giving Yip and Chris more freedom to join the attack. GM also welcomed back Dan into the starting line up after a few months due to injuries and the lack of interest in weekly practise sessions!
The match kicked off with GM taking control of the game almost immediately, much of the play was in FC Blackhawks half with midfield and attack linking up well to create chances at goal. Some nice interchange of passes between Dan, Chris and Yip on the left hand side created a few shooting opportunities which narrowly missed the far post. Space was being found on both flanks and soon another opportunity fell to Yip just outside the area as Dan squared the ball but the shot managed to loop over. With the defence coping well, fullbacks Joe and Andy pushed up the field to provide extra support which almost paid dividends as a mazy run by Joe started in his own half beat 3 players with a right footed shot eventually blocked.
Another swift passing sequence which was started by Chris was thread through to Daz just inside the area, with a heavy first touch it appeared the shooting opportunity had gone but as the keeper came out to claim the ball, Daz managed to squeeze a shot into the top corner from a tight angle, 1-0 to GM! As the half wore on, FC Blackhawk became more accustomed to the playing surface and grew in confidence, they held more possession and were forcing GM back into their own half. Their strikers were able to hold the ball up much better and bring their midfield into play and soon their efforts were rewarded as a stray pass by Andy was latched upon and played into the striker on the edge of the box who managed to curl his shot inside of the near post, goal for FC Blackhawk, 1 – 1.
With the wind in their sails, Blackhawks continued to dominate towards the latter stages of the first half and were able to finish off a neat move on the edge of the area to go ahead 2 – 1 as we reached half time.
The half time reshuffle meant that Dan was replaced by debutant Jonathan in the lone striker role. The second half kicked off in very much the same vein as the first, Blackhawk very much in control and able to utilise the wide areas, with their two strikers applying pressure on GMs defence. With the defence pinned into there own box, Joe plays a weak pass to Ming whose clearance isn’t enough gets put under pressure by the striker and capitalises and manages to poke the shot underneath Mark at the near post, 3 – 1 to Blackhawk.
With a deficit of two goals and with the team lacking an outlet upfront, GM looked out of it but a sudden resurgence on the right hand side of midfield through Kin and Daz manages to win a corner to give GM, an opportunity to get back into the game. Rob who had been dominating the aerial battle throughout in midfield attacked the near post, his mere presence caused enough problems to the goalkeeper without him having to actually head it properly as the ball hits his shoulder and goes in, 3 – 2. The goal gave GM hope of getting back into the game although players were beginning to tire as the game got stretched and the gap between midfield and attack opened up. Some sharp passing down the left hand side managed to see Daz find some space, with Jonathan providing a distraction to the defenders, Daz found Yip in the box in space, with his back to goal his first time shot crept into the bottom right corner of the net, 3 – 3 GM were back in the game!
With 10 minutes left on the clock, GM seemed content in holding out for a draw but FC Blackhawk continued to push forward by winning loose balls in midfield, with space, their midfielder takes a speculative shot from 30 yards out, the ball dips and hits the bar dropping kindly to the striker and with Mark out of position, casually puts the ball into an empty net, 4 – 3 FC Blackhawk. With very little time left on the clock, GM in hope push midfield further up and play a few long balls but to no avail as the final whistle is blown with FC Blackhawk the winners.
A contest which in the end became a one-sided affair dominated by the Blackhawks, until next time...
Venue: - Armitage
Scorers: Daz, Rob, Yip
