Report: Men’s 2ndXI vs Tamworth 3 Development – October 19, 2024

Goalscorers: Jeevan Chagger x3

A change of venue for this game in order to help Tamworth fulfill the game, our side travelled away in a late afternoon game. CoB started off sluggish, getting to grips with a pitch that offered little bounce. Edan, Jamie and Jeevan in defence soaked up loose balls into Stan and Ian which helped to feed the team forward but the attacking play was a little slow and predictable. Tamworth gathered momentum, threatening the centre of the pitch narrowly missing the goal. Their pressure would pay off as a defence error between Jeevan and Edan saw a lone winger slot the ball past Jack. For the remainder of the half, CoB pressed and began to start to control the ball, with good play between Stan and Ian with wingers Ethen and Isa, whilst the front three of Jahed, Asif and Anthony began to threaten and cause havoc. Tamworth persisted, showing more intent in the middle of the park with a few further shots at goal, but Jack was on hand to make some saves.

Despite a new system, the team entered the break with very little excuse for being behind. A rotation of players saw Jahed start at right back and Andre as a left forward. Tamworth started off brightly again but Jahed, Edan and Jamie were resolute and kept the ball away from the final third, winning the ball and feeding in Ethen and Isa who were growing in confidence to run at defenders. 7 minutes into the half and Jeevan was back on, sitting behind Anthony and Asif who were wide forwards. It was now that CoB kicked into gear, Stan dropped deeper to cover the defence with Ian controlling the midfield. Ethen fed the ball into Anthony who was composed, forcing a foul by the defence. Quick thinking and Jeevan took the free hit outside the “D” driving around the circle before entering and shooting at goal, 1-1 the scores. Tamworth forced the ball back into their hands on the restart, forcing a series of short corners before a ball was stopped on the line by a defender’s body, giving them a penalty stroke. Jack was agonisingly close to keeping it out but Tamworth again had the lead. CoB were behind again, even hungrier with Asif and Isa combining to find Jeevan, playing in Ethen whose shot was saved, Jeevan flicking the ball on the turn from the rebound, 2-2 and scores level again. Tamworth again found themselves forward, but this broke down quickly with Ethen finding Jeevan in his own half, turning a high Tamworth defence for a 1 on 1 with the keeper, Jeevan sending the keeper the wrong way with a dummy before slotting home what would be the winner. Late on Anthony too had a triple shot saved by an ever present keeper who kept scores respectable.

Not the best performance of the team, but a much-needed opportunity to try something new. Ethen was awarded Man of the Match

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