This was another big test as for the first time since August none of our U19/U20 players were available for selection.
Second year scholars Blaine Hudson, Luke Berry, Liam Hughes, Jack Eades and Jack Bailey were restored to the starting XI, plus Martin Davies in goal, from our midweek defeat at Newmarket Town in the Ridgeons League Cup, and we were determined to maintain our long unbeaten record in the league.
Our hosts had taken a point off Leiston the previous weekend to belie their lowly position and, on arriving at the ground, we knew the pitch would prove just as big a danger.
I wouldn't be able to find words that could do justice to a description. Suffice to say it was unacceptable and it was a marginal decision by the referee to play the game. There was surface water and areas where your feet would sink like you were walking on quicksand! It is the first time I have ever seen a team have forking, sanding and digging up areas of the pitch as part of their warm-up (in their kit!), but that was the case here until they convinced the officials to give it the thumbs up at 2.20pm.
Credit should go to our boys for their professionalism in handling these conditions, especially with such a young side. We had to adapt our preferred style of play to be much more direct and look to either play off the front men or hit holes beyond their back four. Thankfully, whilst having a couple of dangerous players going forward, they were very poor defensively. A forward pass did not have to be that accurate to cause them problems and we could have been out of sight within the opening quarter of the game.
Christy Finch, our recent signing from Lowestoft, should have opened his account twice but was denied once by the keeper and stretched to toe poke another chance wide from close range after a good low cross by Liam Hughes. Jack Eades was also providing his usual stream of crosses from the right but the finishing touch remained elusive. Set plays looked another potential source of a goal as the home team couldn't cope with the quality of our deliveries. It would be no exaggeration that we could/should have scored from any of our first seven corners.
Ironically, we broke the deadlock with an inswinger from Owen Kessack that eluded everyone, including the home keeper.If we had managed to make contact, no doubt we would have found another way to miss!
The floodgates then threatened to open with two goals following in quick succession. Firstly Jack Bailey side-footed home after capitalising on a misplaced back pass, and then Christy Finch opened his body to stroke home a cool left-footed strike into the opposite bottom corner after some decent approach play. The half ended with one or two scares at the other end to warn us against complacency and indicated the points were far from secure without more work after the break.
Our start to the second half was very disappointing. We did almost the opposite that Nolan and I had asked during the interval and allowed our hosts to gain some momentum. If they had not missed an absolute sitter, although Martin deserves credit for the save, the final half an hour could have been different.
With none of our players capable to sorting out the problems themselves - and they were very basic - we had to verbally bully the players from the sideline into working with the right level of intensity. With a poor mentality comes poor decision making and that would sum up the team in this spell. The key to success on such a poor pitch is to keep things simple. We complicated things by constantly picking the wrong option. To compound this lack of intelligence, we also executed our skills poorly by not working hard or early enough to get a good body shape. As we keep stressing to the players, the little details make a big difference.
Having weathered the storm, Luke Berry took the wind out of the home team's sails by leaping above their keeper to head home from Owen Kessack's centre. Christy Finch then shot wide with just the keeper to beat and Jack Eades forced a smart save with a left footed strike before a collection of errors from a long throw gift wrapped Wivenhoe a consolation goal.
Every one of our back four had the chance to clear but we looked more like the Keystone Cops than prospective professionals. Put simply, the goal was embarrassing. At least Luke Berry ensured we finished on a high with a great goal. He ghosted past two players before unleashing a bullet with his wrong foot into the bottom corner.
Considering the conditions and the absentees, we should have been happy with our afternoon's work. There is a big difference though in being a "first team" in this league versus a "development team". In striving to produce young players for Cambridge United's first team and higher, we must always demand performances rather than being satisfied simply by the right result. We want both and invariably the former will ensure the latter.
On Saturday, we lacked application in the second half and our performance suffered. We must take note of the old adage - 99% concentration equals 100% failure. The players must understand that, to become a professional, they must apply themselves for every minute of every training session and every minute of every match. Then they will have a chance of fulfilling their potential.
Team:
Davies, Bevan, Kessack, Carr, Hudson, Tonks (Allen 85), Eades, Berry, Bailey, Finch (Garrett 75), Hughes
