Hallsy's Academy Report - Week 8 Vol 2

The week began wet and windy, but finished dry and bright for the Worthing College Football Academy 1st XI, who were back in league action for the first time in over a month against a Ravenswood School side that had moved their way to second place in the ECFA League. Looking at league position this was going to be an extremely tough affair, especially away from home. Preparations took a turn for the worse as coach Dave Hall had 15 Academy members unavailable, with 13 being due to injury. This however provided opportunities for others to impress on the day. The line up was much changed from the side that progressed into round four of the ESFA National Cup. Iain Haggart and Matt Chester came into the backline, Abdoulie Bah took his place as the central striker and a full debut was handed to Dec Jenkins, who took the wide right berth.

As from previous experience the pitch was not ideal and it would mean that Worthing would need to alter their smooth passing style slightly to make their football effective. As the game began you could sense that this was not going to be a classic, with bobbles and shanks aplenty. However it seemed that the visitors would be the ones more likely to break the deadlock. The main chances were coming from set pieces and Rory Delap style throws, with Matt Dodd coming closest to open the scoring, but deciding to play "wall ball" with the post was not the best option. Meanwhile at the other end Worthing stood relatively strong in front of skipper James Fernandes. Again not pretty on the eye, but effective.

With time moving towards the break Worthing created a clear cut opening. A Jack Boxall pass was flicked on by the hardworking Bah, which allowed Ryan Quirke in on goal to strike the ball low into the corner. 1-0. This seemed to settle Worthing until the half and could of doubled their lead after Jordan Clark and Dodd combined excellently, however Clark could not find a volleyed finish.

The chat from the bench was that Worthing needed to be a yard quicker and take the information being given on board, which should see them home. After the break the game seemed to open up and allow space for both sides to look to play. It was Worthing that used this to great effect and quickly doubled their lead. Dodd again broke into the penalty area and chipped a delightful ball to Quirke, who play a quick one-two with Clark and in quick time caressed the ball into the net. 2-0.

Worthing now in the ascendency surely? Not quite. Teams are at their most vulnerable after scoring and this theory was found true in this instance as the Ravenswood number 9 turned Jack Carey and curled the ball into the far corner. 2-1. This seemed to spur on the hosts and Worthing were now under severe pressure. Throw ins were coming in like corners, corners were coming in like corners, but all defended with determination and intelligence. Even when Ravenswood broke the Worthing defence Chester was there to stop the ball on the line, with his back!

Work ethic and enthusiasm was in abundance, which was making up for the poor field and match balls, however this was about to boil over when Bah kicked out at his centre half opponent, which led to coach Hall warming up Ross Myers to replace him. Bah did however have the last laugh as he was part of the move, which killed the game. His hold up play was excellent and played in Dec Jenkins, who took the ball in his stride and struck the ball cleanly and with power into the far corner. 3-1.

As the final minutes played out it was very much job done, but not in the usual style and this was described by Hall using the analogy of choosing a date for the school prom. It didn't seem as if we were going to go to the Prom as we had just been turned down by the hot cheerleader at the school, however it came about that the school maths champion was available (braces and all). So we took that option and still went to the Prom. Happy Days with the Prom being 3 points!!

Joking aside this result shows that the Academy are moving in the right direction in terms of development and attitude. This was typified today by Seb Gershwind and Jon Watkins, who travelled, but did not feature. Their attitude was superb and this attitude, enthusiasm and dedication is running through the Academy, which can only be a positive for the future.

Onwards & Upwards,

Hallsy