9th Nov 2019 Mens 7th v Bradford �4(Away) 1 - 0 win
The 7s played an outstanding game against Bradford.
Bradford 4s have always been a good side, and usually have several players who are extremely skilful. Today was no different, and they were strong in defence, the midfield and attack. Nevertheless, Rhydding matched them in skills and determination.
In a game that seemed to only take place on our left wing, we soaked up their attacks with Bradford seldom getting into our D in the first half, and despite exceptional Rhydding stick skills on our left flank we had the same problems - we could not get into their D very often, and when we did we didn�t have many shots on goal.
Johnny Wood made a huge difference to the team. As centre back he was an absolute rock, stopping the Bradford forwards each time they reached us, and distributing the ball back out with unerring accuracy.
We ended the first half 0-0.
The second half saw some great work between Archie N, Ben P and Aidan F on the left, working as an effective triangle. This paid dividends when we eventually got an overload in their D, Aidan had a shot on goal sadly denied by the post, but then safely put away by Will Jones.
Every Rhydding player made a difference - Finn C building attacks on the right supported by James C and Archie M, both making a difference in the midfield, driving forward when needed and challenging the Bradford midfield when needed. Emily W and Luca E made many outstanding tackles in defence. Harvey, in goal, kept his head and kept a clean sheet. Matt W was everywhere on the pitch, distributing beautifully and chasing down every Bradford player with the ball. Benjamin F improves with every game, his ability to tackle and then retain the ball is impressive.
We achieved 1-0 around half way through the second half, and then for the last 20 minutes it felt as if the average age of the Bradford team started to increase by around 6 months every 5 minutes. I�m certain they finished with a bunch of players I didn�t recognise from the first half and who were all a foot taller. All of this meant that pressure on Rhydding grew and grew, we found it harder to keep the ball out of our half and then out of our 23, but despite that we never lost our nerve, never lost our determination to keep them at bay, and we stopped them from equalising.
Special mention goes to our man of the match Will Jones, not for the goal but for the huge effort he put into the game as centre mid, never stopping running - supporting the defence when we�re challenged, taking the ball to Bradford when attacking, in the D supporting our forwards, tackling the Bradford players. Outstanding commitment.
We still need to learn to get into the D when we�re attacking to give some options to whoever has the ball. Two basic things will help - getting the wing onto the post when the ball is coming in from the other side so they can finish off some excellent crosses, and having someone top D who can provide an outlet from the wings and who can take a shot on goal.
Despite those learnings, an excellent performance from our 7s. Well done to all the team.