Up and running

The boys are up and running with a refreshed squad at the start of a new season. A friendly game against the Balham U14 Eagles was a good workout for the team, and overall they can be reasonably happy with their performance.

Had it not been for two defensive blunders, the Whites would have won the game, but as a friendly the most important factor was to get the boys playing together for the first time. Matthieu's two goals looked like they would be enough, and Jude was unlucky when he hit the post, but on the whole the Whites did not turn their dominance in possession into enough chances and shots on goal.

Areas of real strength were:

• All four of the new squad members settled in well: Matthieu scoring 2 goals, Sammi mopping up at CDM time and time again, Joe looking dangerous on the left, and Patrick solid at the back. Well done boys, and welcome again to the club!

• Every time Balham pressed, they quickly transitioned into attack and should learn from this - an aggressive pressing game will work wonders.

• The other team were limited to very few chances and the defence was strong apart from the lapses for the goals.

• As usual, when we kept the ball on the ground and passed quickly between the team, we cut through the midfield quickly and dangerously.

Areas to think about and work on in training:

• Too many late arrivals - for future games, please be there for 10 for a thorough warm-up and discussion about tactics.

• With the exception of the headed goal from the corner, set pieces were wasted. We need to have set moves for free kicks and corners and for all players to be aware of their role in advance.

• Some excellent attacking play when we did get it to the flanks. We need to do this more often and be prepared to pull the ball back away from the keeper for onrushing players.

• Not enough shots on goal to test the keeper - with full-size goals in play, we should take advantage of the opportunity this provides us with.

A solid start, with some understandable rustiness. Positive application in training this week, and we can look forward to next week's League opener with an optimistic outlook.