Наслов: Result: Home Vs Mexico Jan 7

Todays 4-2 loss was not exactly the result I would have liked, but as easy as it is to dwell on the negatives, i am going to look for the positives as well.

Between The Pipes

I split todays game between Colton Charles and last weeks stand out goalie, Dylan Hamilton. Colton started the game and in his 45 minutes in net faced 4 shots, letting in 3 goals, well less than I would expect for a NT game. Dylan came in for the 2nd half and also faced 4 shots, letting in 1. Hamilton right now is looking to be the go-to guy for games, and will get the starting role next week.

Up Front

Simon Doherty and Kane Billington shared the duties up front, putting a combined 3 shots on target (6 wide). This week I played Doherty as primary striker with Billington slightly back playing the setup role. Doherty was outstanding with 3 shots on target and 4 wide, netting 1 goal. His 1 foul and 1 yellow card were a slight damper on his performance, but all-in-all, i've been very impressed with him so far. Billington had 0 shots on goal, but did pick up the assist on Dohertys goal, as I expected with this formation. This pairing will continue to be our go-to guys up front, however next week I may change up Billington midway through the game.

In The Midfield

Our midfield was going to get the biggest challenge against Mexico as they are very strong in their midfield game. Isaacs and White did well out wide, and our starting center pairing of Burke and Lonergan did what they could to stop the stronger, better performing Mexican equivalent players. Burke, for the 2nd game was one of our strongest players.

At The Back

While we had stronger forwards and put more shots on net, our defenders were offered up a real challenge in todays game, and in many ways, failed in their roles.

With 10 fouls and 2 yellow cards amongst our 4 starting defenders, our team penalised themselves out of the game. Mexico's 37th minute free kick goal really did not help our cause.

Alex Mugridge and Corey Beavan were incredible in their positions, with Mugridge picking up our second goal of the game.

Next week we will need to tidy up the defense and minimise our fouls if we're to compete better.

The loss is not as bad as it may appear. We had more posession in both halves of the game and matched Mexio in corners, frees and penalty kicks. We were outmatched up front, in net, and also got caught offside more, which effectively cost us the game.