​With the Sharks returning to action this week after nearly 4 weeks break which after the amount of rain that we have had recently it is no surprise that we played this game on a decent 3G pitch. We only had one player missing this week and that was a Freddie who was called away on an important commercial shot that prevented him from attending. 
So, the Sharks lined up as follows, Dylan in goal, Elliott, Jack, Giacomo, Jake, Caleb and Aidan, with Josh, Liam, and Harry starting on the bench.  With reg cards exchanged it was surprising to notice that they had 2 goalkeepers within their team, and with the last game between us going in the Sharks favour it could only mean that the opposition have managed to strengthen that position, this could be a testing game, and with the team not playing together for a while it was important that we stuck together and raised our game to get the desired result we wanted.
The game got underway at a hectic pace, with both teams trying to impose themselves on the game, but the sharks seemed to be getting the better of the early exchanges, with the midfield of Giacomo, Aidan, Caleb and Jack all pressing the play and giving the opposition very little time on the ball. 
Aidan and Caleb had started the game well, with Aidan playing some cracking through balls for Jake and Giacomo to run onto, and with Caleb doing a solid job on the left-hand side of midfield tracking back when needed as well pushing on when given the chance.  The Sharks managed to register the first shot on target with only 7/9 minutes played, the ball was played through by Jack to Giacomo who managed to get his shot in early only to be denied by a very good save from the opposition’s new goalkeeper. This set the tone for the opening 15 minutes, with Dylan being a spectator with very little to do, apart from taking goal kicks and running after the ball when the oppositions’ attacks where thwarted by the Sharks defence. 
The Sharks Managed to take the lead around the 17 minute mark, with the team playing well trying to pass the ball into space for the more attack minded players to score that first goal that we so richly deserved, and the break through came via the right foot of Giacomo, with Liam and Harry both doing well in midfield the ball was played forward to Giacomo. He managed to control the ball causing confusion in the oppositions’ defence before lashing home into the roof of the net giving the goalkeeper no chance to save it. 
With the lead the Sharks begun to forget once again that passing the ball is better than trying to run the length of the pitch with the ball and then getting caught out of position causing the Sharks a problem as the opposition was exploiting the space that was being left in behind them.
This made the Sharks look jaded, and we begun to bunch as everyone wanted to have the ball, we lost our shape and it begun to look a struggle. But thankfully the Sharks managed to get to half time still with the advantage that Giacomo had given us. 
With some small adjustments, and a reminder that the ball never gets tired, so that means that they need to pass the ball to each other more when we started the second half. 
It was a positive start for the Sharks again, but the opposition clearly had changed something as they were more of a threat going forward this half and Dylan was more involved, but on the whole the Sharks still looked comfortable and we were getting chances to extend our lead.  The Sharks were then awarded a penalty for hand ball in the box, Jack being the Sharks penalty taker, was given the responsibility of converting this chance. Jack’s track record is pretty good so we were confidant that this would continue, Jack placed the ball and struck it, but missed the target on this occasion. Fortunately the Sharks didn’t have to wait much longer before extending their lead. 
With the game remaining close the chances were still falling to both teams, but the Sharks then managed to extend the lead with about 10/15minutes gone of the second, with some good defensive work from Harry and Elliott, the ball broke to Jack who controlled it well, skipped a challenge, before playing a great through ball to Jake, who deceived one defender before rounding another with the goal at his mercy, he slotted the ball home fantastically well giving the goalkeeper no chance to prevent it from going in. 
This seemed to boast the Sharks and deflate the opposition at the same time, and with 7/8minutes remaining it seemed like it was going to be a positive result for the Sharks.  With everyone playing their part the Sharks look strong, even though a little ring rusty because they haven’t played together for a while.  It was pleasing to see the boys apply themselves in this way. 
The Sharks weren’t finished with the goal scoring, as they managed to add another through Jack, making up for the penalty miss earlier, with more good work though Aidan, Josh, Liam and Elliott the ball broke to Jack, who was about 15 yards from goal, rather than striking the ball cleanly Jack toe poked the ball goalward as hard as he could and it did the trick, as it evaded everyone even the goalkeeper who just let it slip past him without even trying to stop it.  He must have been unsighted because the opposition goalkeeper had proved that he was a very good keeper and this type of effort normally wouldn’t have beaten him. 
With the game now settled, it was now about keeping a clean sheet for Dylan, but unfortunately the Sharks were not able to do so, with the dying seconds left on the clock the opposition managed to score, to be honest they deserved it with their team spirt and fight, and their never give up approach. 
So the Sharks remain unbeaten, and we look forward to next week with figures crossed that the bad weather and rain has stopped and we can continue this great run of form. 

​The Sharks were approaching this game off the back of a 5 game winning streak, but this game was going to be a tougher test than the week before, as we have played this oppositions a number of times now and have had mixed results.  Our recent match ended with the Sharks being victorious so pay back was going to be on the cards know doubt. 
With this is mind the Sharks were raring to go, they had showed a good attitude during training the day before and the warm up was positive too, which was pleasing to see. 
 
So the Sharks started as follows, Dylan in Goal, Elliott, Jack, Giacomo, Jake, Freddie and Liam, with Aidan, Josh, Caleb and Harry on the bench. As I say in all of my match reports the lads on the bench are just as important to the team as the players starting the game, but they are providing fresh legs, and effort. 
 
The game got underway with a bang, and I mean with a bang, with minutes of the KO, Liam was subjected to a crunching tackle which shook him up, and hurt his left ankle to a point where I had to replace him with Harry. The game continued in similar fashion, with the opposition using the physical side to try and unsettle the Sharks. But the boys were handling it well: Jack was riding challenges, Elliott was being robust, Freddie was also putting his foot in when it counted, Giacomo was being tested with tackles that were nipping at his ankles and testing his temperament. 
 
With about 10 minutes played the opposition was awarded a penalty, I thought that the award of the penalty was slightly harsh as Jack challenged for the ball. But the penalty stood and now we had to deal with that regardless of the outcome. 
 
So this was now a one on one challenge between the opposition attacker and Dylan, I had faith in Dylan but normally the ball hits the back of the net, so the opposition attacker stepped up a struck the ball well but dragged the ball wide and Dylan guessed and dived the right direction, but the ball hit the post and rebounded across the goal line, Dylan then had the quickness of thought not to knock the ball into the net but to grab it before everyone piled in to try and score. So a massive well done to Dylan. 
 
This gave the boys a massive life, especially Dylan banging his chest as if he was Braveheart emerging victories from battle.  So the game remained level and the Sharks then started taking the game to the opposition, again dealing with some robust tackles but the boys will have to learn to deal with these types of games and this will give them good experience. 
 
The Sharks then got their first corner of the game after about 15minutes, Jack as normal stepped up and took it, it was a great corner, the ball was floated in directly under the oppositions goalkeepers cross bar, this caused confusion and panic as everyone attempted to get the telling touch, it is hard to say who got the final touch but Jack’s delivery was fantastic so credit has to go to him. 
 
This took the wind out of the opposition as I believe they thought that they were getting on top, the Sharks’ midfield was playing brilliantly:   Harry was picking the ball up and running with it, Gicaomo was everywhere as normal, closing down tackling and looking composed on the ball, Freddie was fantastic, hold the ball up, shielding the ball when needed and getting stuck in too. 
 
The Sharks then managed to double their lead through Giacomo once again, the ball was played by Elliott at the back up the righthand side of midfield, Freddie collected the ball who then attempted to pass the ball to Giacomo, who burst through the middle of the park to SLAM the ball into the back of the net, it was the reward that he deserved. 
 
With the first half coming to an end the opposition had another chance to score and was once again stopped by Jack and Elliott who was now marshalling our defence brilliantly. 
 
After the half time whistle went, I managed to get the boys to relax and calm down after discussing the penalty miss, it was a quick reminder that this game was not over and that we were to expect more of the same regarding the physical side of the game. 
 
So the Sharks took to the field for the 2nd half and the team was full of confidence, and were determined to extend their lead and this dually came after some brave tackling in the middle of the park from Jack, Giacomo and Freddie. Freddie might be a slight lad but when the red mist descends there is no holding that boy back, and this was the case on this occasion. He broke the play up brilliantly and played a neat ball through for Giacomo who raced through on goal and smartly finished giving the keeper no chance.  
With the game now getting away from the opposition, frustration was beginning to set in, and this lead to our next goal. 
 
Liam was once again on the end of a crunching tackle which drew a free kick just meters away from the penalty box, this was within the range of Jack, and the way that he was striking the ball today I had no doubt that he was going to have a shot on goal.  That is exactly what happened, he struck the shot very sweetly, and it raced towards the goal, the opposition goal keeper did very well in stopping the shot from distance, but only pushed the ball back out into play, and Giacomo’s reaction was fabulous, striking the ball on the volley to send the ball back into an unguarded net, this goal effectively finished the game as the oppositions heads dropped.
 
This enabled me to rotate some of the players once more, Jack by this time wasn’t 100% so I managed to take him off to give him a break, Jake retreated and played last man, with Elliott playing in the defensive role, with Aidan now playing on the right, Caleb on the left and Freddie up front. 
 
With about 10minutes remaining we changed this up again, this time I was able to bring off Elliott, to give him a rest as he had put in a shift this afternoon and he also had been on the end of some solid challenges that were completely fair.  With Jake now playing at the other end of the pitch he was doing a great job at keeping the opposition at bay, with Harry sitting in front of him, only on two occasions did the opposition manage to break our defensive line, but was brilliantly thwarted by Dylan.  One with a great catch, and the other with a diving save at the oppositions feet. I really think that the goal keeper training is starting to bear some fruit and Dylan and the Sharks are benefiting from that. Also I can see a marked improvement with Dylan’s kicking from hand, it is covering more distance and giving the defence a chance to reclaim the ball and start attacks higher up the pitch. 
 
With time drawing to a close the Sharks managed to score another goal, and this is the sweetest one on the all, the ball was played to Josh up the line from Jake, Josh let the ball run across his body and then he ran onto it, with his determination he managed to squeeze the ball to the on rushing Harry who evaded a challenge and then drove in to the box before slotting home for his first goal for the Sharks this season, it was nice to see that every player went to Harry and congratulated him after he scored. 
 
With the final whistle blown, the Sharks had managed to keep a clean sheet and score a number of good goals against a strong team that we respected. 
 
A massive well done to every single lad that played today, with each player giving a 100% and overcoming the physical side of the game, it is something that the Sharks are not shy of, but we do not come up against many teams that are able to compete with us in that way. 
So thank you to all the parents that came out this afternoon, and supported the Sharks and myself. It is a pleasure watching these lads grow as people as well as football players.  
 
So now onto next week and another challenge, but I know that every lad will be looking forward to it and let’s hope that we are able to continue our winning run.

With the Sharks looking to continue their winning streak, and to keep the boys playing this weekend I was forced to flip our home fixture to be played away again, so a massive thanks to the opposition’s manager for helping to make this possible.
 
The Sharks had a full team available, with no underwear shoots booked, or nails to be polished the boys were raring to go to try and extend our winning run.  We were faced again with a team that had come down from the league above, so we were expecting a tough afternoon ahead of us. 
 
The Sharks starting line-up was as follows, Dylan in goal, Elliott, Jack, Giacomo, Jake, Freddie and Aidan with Harry, Josh, Liam and Caleb all starting from the bench. As I have said in my previous reports, I try and keep a balanced team and bench as to not effect how we play during the game.
 
As the Sharks were about to take the field of play, it was brought to my attention that Elliott’s boot had developed an issue, quite literally Elloitt’s sole of his boot was hanging off! This gave us an issue as really the footwear was not suitable nor safe to play in. So an emergency call went out to the parents on the side-lines to see if anyone had some good old gaffer tape available so we could do some pitch side repairs.  ‘60-minute make over’ eat your heart out as this was going to have to be done very quickly. 
 
The game started, and Elliott was on the field of play with his sole half hanging off or on! depending how you want to look at this.  But only after a couple of minutes the magic gaffer tape arrived, Elliott came off to have his boot repaired at the pitch side. While Elliott was off he was replaced by Harry who has proven that he is more than able to fill a void left by either Jack or Elliott, so a massive well done to him,  it became clear though that once again this opposition was not going to create too many issue for Sharks as we took an early lead through Jake, he clearly has found his goal scoring touch again, which is pleasing to see.  The goal was created through hard work and closing the ball down quickly, Giacomo as normal was closing everything down, with Jack now starting to support him better and also picking up the loose balls and trying to create something from a more advanced role. 
 
With the Sharks now leading, we started to dominate the game, and really get on top of the opposition. With Freddie doing an excellent job on the left of midfield, holding his position and breaking into the box, this was causing the opposition problems as they didn’t know how to pick him up, Freddie is learning and progressing at an excellent rate, his ability to hold players off and make a telling pass is top notch and very pleasing to see, and this was the main reason for the Sharks doubling their lead. Freddie held the ball in a tight situation that lead to the Sharks getting an attacking corner, this was taken by Jack who played a delightful ball into the box that bounced through to Elliott, who managed to turn his shot goal wards, but was blocked and it fell to Giacomo, always lurking and he stabbed the ball home from close range.
 
Now the Sharks had a cushion, we were able to make changes, and give some players a rest and swap a few positions around to giving everyone a chance to play as much as they could. 
 
The Sharks extended their lead again through Jake, but it could easily have been Aidan’s goal too.  Jake was the player that took charge and turned the ball into the net to extend our lead. This came about because of Liam, Jack, Giacomo and Aidens’ hard work to keep possession and pass the ball when needed.   As I said Aidan was unlucky not to have scored this goal, he has the ability to be a great player for the Sharks but just needs to understand and demand the ball when he wants it and also to go for it when the chance presents itself but I have no doubt this will come. 
 
With the Sharks now cruising, the lads started to run with the ball again rather than passing the ball, it is something that needs to stop because it creates frustration between the boys as everyone wants to get on the scoresheet and play for themselves rather than all pulling in the same direction and playing for the team.  So when the half time whistle went it was very well received.  It gave us a chance to remind the boys that they will all get their chance if they passed the ball and play football. 
 
 As the second half got underway, the Sharks went straight after the opposition looking for more goals, and after reminding the lads that they need to pass more, they looked composed and threatening every time they attacked the opposition goal. Giacomo managed to grab his second of the game, with a strong solo run through the middle of the park and a calm finish. This then prompted a race to see who would be scoring their hatrick. This had made the game safe and the boys seemed to relax even more, which was a positive thing, but the Sharks were still defending strongly with some tough tackling from Jack and Elliott keeping the opposition at bay. 
 
With the Sharks rotating positions, and allowing some of the lads to express themselves more I was able to swap Elliott into a more attacking role, and this proved fruitful straight away.  Being supported by Caleb, Freddie and Josh, Elliott powered into the box and lashed the ball home for his first of the game which he was delighted with,  Once again Aidan was doing a fine job on the right of midfield taking players on and driving at the opposition’s defence which was pleasing to see as this is what I want from him. 
 
As the game was under control, I was able to let Dylan come out of goal and give him a run out on pitch and replace him with Jack who is always a willing keeper. The positions of the players had now changed but not the level of effort, everyone was trying extremely hard too and the Sharks still managed to score a few more goals which was pleasing to see. 
 
It was Jake that managed to complete his hatrick with a great team goal, Josh was involved along with Aidan and Caleb, it is good to see the beaming smile that comes across Jakes face when he scores a goal.  After scoring that goal it was all change again for the lads, I switched Jake to defence to allow Elliott to push upfront, Harry played in Jack’s position as a defence midfielder, Aidan was given the task of playing in the attacking midfield role, with Elliott pushing upfront.
By doing this confusion was created, not only for the opposition but also the Sharks, as we haven’t swapped positions that many times in one game, but it was a joy to see all the lads smiling and enjoying themselves. 
 
It was the turn of Freddie to get onto the score sheet, a typical goal from my fox in the box, the ball broke lose in box after Elliott charged into the box before being tackled, the ball broke to Freddie who made the mistake of stabbing the ball home from close range.  
The opposition then managed to pull a goal back, I felt to Jack.  As it was a windy day and the ball was cleared up field and goal wards, Jack appeared to have everything covered but misjudged the flight of the ball and it drifted into our net over his head, slightly disappointing but nothing was going to change the result of the game, so we will put that down to bad luck and move on. 
 
This goal against seemed to spur the boys on as we managed to add another two goals to the score line, with Liam scoring from close range, a deserved gaol for all of his hard work and effort during this game.  And with a minute remaining Elliott managed to get his second of the game, deserved for the effort that he has been showing on the pitch recently. 
 
So the Sharks have won again, and this makes the fifth win on the bounce, a great effort from a great set of lads that represent the Dunmow United Sharks.