GAME WEEK 4 - NEW HERRINGTON TEAM SPORT PYTHONS

Rutherford returned to league action and back at home for the first time this season, which given it's Remembrance Weekend is quite remarkable. Anyway, New Herrington are new to us but finished mid table in this division last season, I knew a bit about them from other coaches and was expecting a tough, competitive game which is exactly what we got. Unfortunately New Herrington could only field 8 players today, we spoke to their coach and gave them a few options, but they decided to go 9v8 and play the game.

The overload, in theory, should've suited us but it never quite works that way unfortunately as the mentality of the two teams shifts massively. Rutherford go from expecting a difficult match to thinking it will be easy, New Herrington start with their backs against the wall and fight for everything, run the extra yard. Rutherford dominated the ball as you might expect and we changed the formation after 10 minutes or so, shifting to two and the back and putting an extra striker on, the chances came pretty quickly, Max Billingham denied by a very good save, then Max Johnson and James Lee forcing the New Herrington keeper to pull off some brilliant goal keeping.

However despite having a lot of possession, New Herrington were still a threat on the break and forced Aodan into a great save of his own. We couldn't break the resolute defence down and the longer it went on the more we rushed our passes and tried too hard, refusing simple passes and switch of plays. Shots were rushed and the first half fizzled out to a disappointing 0-0.

Prior to the match we spoke about have we move the ball through the 3rds, passing forward quickly, combining and taking players on. The players were certainly trying but often getting the decisions on where to perform these elements not quite right, but football is about learning and adapting. The second half started like the first finished, scrappy and with little quality which was allowing New Herrington to get a foothold in the match and for a long periods in the half it looked like the game was heading for a draw or even a New Herrington win. It had smash and grab written all over it!

However, the players kept pressing, kept pushing, never giving up and finally the breakthrough came through sheer brute force and will of character. Max Johnson crashed through 2 or 3 tackles and the ball squirmed its way to Max Billingham who smashed the ball home for 1-0. It was a very good finished and needed to be to beat the New Herrington keeper who was playing out of his skin. From here we controlled the game and played our best football as New Herrington came out more and we had even more space than we had before. 5 minutes before full time the game was made safe by Max Johnson who scored from a corner taken by Joe. It was a powerful shot from near the edge of the box which found the corner, much to the delight of the players.

2-0 the final score in a really really tough battle.

Key players today were Aodan in goal for keeping his concentration and making saves when he needed to. Taylor at the heart of the defence, limiting New Herrington very few chances and having the confidence to carry the ball out of defence and commit players, passing was excellent too. Well done. Amir for his control and passing ability in central midfield. Amir has a wonderful first touch and can play accurate passes at the right weight, the number of times he controlled a high ball and laid it off to his teammates was remarkable and very pleasing to watch. Max Johnson for returning to the match and making a positive contribution. Max found it hard in the first half, he was singled out for the rough treatment which wasn't fair but that football at times unfortunately, however after regaining composure he returned to score the second goal and receive praise for the New Herrington manager.

Man of the Match today however is Max Billingham for his tireless work, willingness to win and his goalscoring ability. Goalscoring is the hardest part of football, as we found out today, and when we needed a goal, he stepped up and delivered with an excellent finsih after being denied several times before. Excellent performance, well done.

Back to cup action next week against Seaton Carew.

Well done, congratulations on the first win of the league season.