Jets Academy Developing Well

 

Jets Academy 4 Hillingdon Borough Academy 5

9th September 2009

Jets academy team took to the field for their second ever game against a well established Hillingdon Borough side. The team showed just a couple of changes from last weeks starting team, Calum Heath coming into central midfield with Rob Barham dropping into the right back position and Ollie Broughton making his debut in the very unfamiliar role to him of centre back as we had lost both Richard Jarrett, who had an excellent game at Toykington, and Jack Carty to injury.

Jets started the game the brighter and soon established themselves on top, playing some nice football along the way. We created a couple of half chances but were yet to really test the Hillingdon keeper, then on 20 mins, in their first serious attack on goal, Borough’s right winger got the better of Jake Davison and created a chance which they coolly took to give them a rather undeserved lead.

Jets now stepped up a gear and soon replied when some good work by Leo Pascoulis gave an opportunity to centre forward Lewis Cook who made no mistake with a classy finish. Inspired by the equaliser, Jets were now in control of the game and producing some excellent football for a team so newly formed and it was no surprise when we took the lead with another great finish from Lewis Cook to take his tally to 5 in two games.

Captain Joe Zazzera and Calum Heath were now controlling the midfield with both wide men Leo Pascoulis and Miles Cox raiding well down both flanks. With half time rapidly approaching Hillingdon won  a corner and had a very obvious height advantage, Micheal McRoberts got a half clearance in but the ball fell to a Hillingdon player who let fly with a shot heading for the top corner, but our keeper Cameron Inch, who had already made a couple of timely saves, leapt high to his right to make a spectacular save and preserve our lead.

Just before the interval Lewis Cook latched on to a through ball and as he took on the last defender was brought down for a certain penalty, Up stepped the very calm Liam Coles, who had worked tirelessly throughout the first half, to send the keeper the wrong way and send us into the interval with a very deserved 3-1 advantage.

We new we would have to start the second half well as we listened to the roasting the Hillingdon players were getting during the interval, and we came through the opening ten minutes without an real scares but the tell tale signs were begining to show as both Leo Pascoulis and Micheal McRoberts were both struggling with injuries and the whole team were beginning to tire.

Hillingdon had changed at the break to a very direct style of play and their size and strength were getting them on top. The next 15 minutes shaped the eventual outcome of the game when we conceded three goals in very quick succession. Firstly Rob Barham got caught out of position after a move broke down which allowed a quick break and a calm finish from the Hillingdon player, then two goals in as many minutes, when Ollie Broughton made a couple of poor decisions, gave Hillingdon the lead. Ollie playing his first ever game in defence had done so well it was a shame but it was only communication between himself and Cameron that had been the problem, not his general defending which had been very encouraging.  

Vinny Larkin, followed by Matthew Sear and Harry Lock, left the bench to try and inject some fresh legs into the game and immediately from going behind the  team seemed to lift itself to the challenge and again started to play, and were soon rewarded when Liam Coles got free down the left and hit a superb lob over the keeper into the far corner of the net for what was the goal of the night.

The possibility of victory was now in sight as we pushed forward for a winner but to our dismay a break away by Hillingdon resulted in them getting the decisive goal and a victory they probably didn’t deserve.

So another good performance from the team. Our defence looked to come on nicely from the previous game, we are starting to show both creativity and hard work in midfield and I still believe we have got as good a pair up front as there will be in the league. We could have made a winning start the week before at Toykington with a little bit of luck, this week we had more than enough opportunity to gain a win our play deserved, so in the coming months I am sure we will learn to dig in a little better during difficult times in the game, 

All in all, a very encouraging start to the season and I am sure we provided the crowd with an entertaining evening of good football, and hope to see as many as possible at our home game next Wednesday against Kentish Town
 
Jets Man Of The Match: Michael McRoberts 

Jets General Manager John Elliott said “ It was a match that graced the pitch surface, brilliant to watch, and a pleasure to be at. Many players in the side show massive potential for the future of this club at a much higher level than the youth academy. I was amazed at the progress and ability of such a young side, against teams of greater experience, in what was only their second competitive fixture”.