On Wednesday afternoon we had our second fixture in as many days. This time we travelled to Swanbourne for an away match. It was the first time that Bruern had ever played against Swanbourne, so there was a lot up in the air.
On arrival and during the warm-up I did have to look twice at the opposition as I could not believe some of them were 13!! Nevertheless, there was no complaining from the boys, and they got on with the match. The first 15 minutes were tricky, to say the least, and we found ourselves in our half, defending for the majority of this period. Maxim H produced some brilliant saves early in the match, to keep the scoreline level. Tom B and Ben L were brilliant again at full-back and put in some important challenges on Swanbourne's attackers. Unfortunately, their centre-forward (who I would not have liked to be marking myself) made a good run and took the ball past Maxim H to score the opening goal of the game. However, in contrast to the previous game, we did not panic or lose our shape. Instead, we ended the first half on the front foot and did not want the half-time whistle to come!
I explained to the boys that this half was going to be tough and that if we got a goal back, we were right in this game. Again, to the boy's credit, they went out there and did just that. I think we were the better team in the second half, but it felt like we needed something special to score. To say our equaliser was special, would be an understatement. Teddy CF produced a goal-of-the-season contender with a bicycle kick straight past the keeper. No words.
We had a couple of injuries in the final 10 minutes, which led to a few changes. Dante K did a solid job at left-back for the team, whilst Bruno T looked dangerous out on the left wing. With about 5 minutes to go their striker had a one-on-one with Maxim H and slotted it past him to take the lead for Swanbourne. The boys fought hard until the final whistle and came up just short against a strong side.
It is important to remember, that Bruern has never played Swanbourne before. So, credit to the lads for giving it their best efforts. It will hurt and feel like a big loss, but we have to trust the process and regroup as a squad ahead of next week when we travel to Oratory Prep. Have a good weekend and we go again next week!
Mr Barrett
