After watching my team Southampton dominate their game on TV
this morning but having to equalize late to tie their game 1-1, I was ready to
leave the house and head to the office.
It was Game day and our last preseason scrimmage before we open our
regular season on Friday August 30th v American University. We were once again on the road for a trip to
James Madison University in Harrisonburg VA.
It’s only a 2 and a quarter-hour trip and for once the traffic out of DC
was good. It allowed us to take our time
and stop after an hour to eat a pre game meal on the way and for me watch the
Liverpool v Villa game in the restaurant on my laptop.
The new facility at JMU was great and the game field was in pristine
condition ready for the game. Some guys
walked the field and others relaxed in the locker room until it was time to
start getting the game gear on and our pregame meeting at 4pm. A quick 8 min chat and the goalkeepers we on
the field with our team warm up for the field players starting at 4.20pm and then
kick off at 5pm.
The game started and I felt we were a little flat for the
first 10mins. Mentally I felt we weren’t
sharp enough and not being exact with our passes didn’t allow us to keep
possession. That being said, we competed
and put together some good passing movements but once again lacked the
conviction and aggression in the final third to make anything count. Probably giving them too much space in the
first half they created some chances which JP did well to keep out and then
broke the dead lock on a fast break out wide on the left and after a disputed
call that the ball had crossed the end line it was centered for JMU to tap home
from 6 yards and take the lead 1-0 in the 24th minute. The remainder of the half would see the score
line stay the same with both teams having half chances but not adding to the
score.
Second half I felt we pressed more all over the field and
got closer to players not allowing them as much time to play which was one area
we wanted to focus on before the game.
Our best chance probably came early in the second half as Higgins did so
well to lose his marker from a corner and his free header went agonizingly
wide. Distance shots from Forrest and McQuitty
would also go close but we were never able to get that goal and the game
finished at 1-0 to JMU.
Despite not playing our best in the attacking third there
were many positives to take from the game.
There were no new injuries and with only Shaban missing today we hope to be at full strength for our season opener. Eight of our freshman saw playing time and
lastly we were able to pair guys up to see them playing together and try some
guys in different positions.
As I write my blog we are on our way home and I hope I don’t
jinx it but there has been no traffic so far.
Hopefully we’ll be home by 10.30pm and I’ll be in bed by 11pm. A recover session tomorrow at 8am and then our
new players have a student athlete retreat to Mount Vernon, home of the first
president of the United States George Washington.
Raise High Moment of the Day
Our underclassmen contribution today as they push for
starting spots and minutes in next weeks season opener
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