This was another frustrating day in which our young players gave everyone at Notcutts Park a tantalising glimpse of what we are capable of producing in this league but also demonstrated the mental frailties that prevent us achieving our potential.

Without being disrespectful to our hosts, their brand of total football should have been tailor made to our strengths, especially in a first half where they were naturally pushed back by the conditions. With the wind at our backs, our lack of work rate and intelligence in closing them down in their final third and allowing them to play through us was alarming. Luke Berry and Sam Ives ended up trying to do about three players' jobs and, while their honesty is refreshing, they must learn to communicate and control others.

By allowing Woodbridge to settle on the ball, we handed them the initiative, so while chances were few and far between, we looked content being in a game that we should have been dominating. The opportunity for us to take advantage of their playmaker, Liam Manning, coming off with a hamstring injury after twenty minutes was also passed by and the home team then took the lead with a soft goal. A long ball was only helped on its way by Andy Howell and the chance was finished with an adroit chip beyond the stranded Sam Beagle.

Our quality in the attacking third both in open play and dead ball situations was woeful and can only be due to a lack of concentration. The players can all control, pass and cross a ball but you wouldn't have thought so in the opening 45 minutes. This lack of application is something that I find hard to comprehend in young players striving to become professionals. The sight of their centre backs volleying clearances because we have not got close enough to even make them head it beggar's belief. The fact that Luke Berry, at just 16 years old, is our most industrious and effective player is a great compliment to him but a poor indictment on the scholars one year his senior. Sam Beagle made two smart blocks to keep us in the game until half time and once again work that should have been done on the pitch was done in the changing rooms.

We brought on John Yambasu for Jack Bailey and changed our shape from 4-4-2 to 4-4-1-1 which would turn into a 4-3-3 once Maz could play forward from his position in the hole. We instructed the wide men, JP and John, to squeeze onto their full backs once their goalkeeper threw the ball, with Maz screening their deep lying midfielder. By then forcibly demanding a work rate from the touchline the players started to get in the faces of the Woodbridge team and pressed the ball with the degree of intensity that allows possession to be re-gained.

For a spell of 25 minutes we absolutely battered them. Ives and Berry were immense in midfield, winning the ball back and initiating attacks at every opportunity. Sam Parkinson started to make overlapping runs, JP looked like he should, Maz found pockets of space and we resembled a team of potential young professionals.

Sam Ives hit the bar before Maz (Adam Marriott, above) equalised and a stroke of fortune gave us the lead, with a defender inadvertently deflecting the ball into his own net following the home keeper partially blocking Brad Hunter's effort.

Within this period of domination, we had other chances and in fairness to Woodbridge, they defended superbly by getting in a number of blocks and last ditch clearances within their penalty box.

Unfortunately, our trait of taking our foot off the pedal and being satisfied with "doing just enough" came back to haunt us again. Instead of driving home our advantage, we allowed a shift in momentum and gave the home team encouragement to get back into the game. The goal should have been prevented, but we were lazy in allowing a cross to be delivered and weak in defending it. Hopeful looks at the assistant referee were fruitless. In truth, we were the happier team when the referee blew the final whistle as Woodbridge looked more likely to score a winner and we had several narrow escapes, especially from set plays.

This was another lesson for the players, but unfortunately one which seems not to be heeded no matter how many times it is administered. When we work at our maximum and apply ourselves properly, we look capable of setting this league alight and blowing teams away. Equally, when we don't, we look so ordinary it's frightening. The challenge for the players is simple. They must be able to motivate themselves rather than relying on a half time rant, and sustain a winning mentality rather than being verbally bullied into working from the sideline.

The prize is a professional football contract and the alternative is joining the huge "if only" group of unsuccessful players with talent who the penny drops for too late.

Team:
Beagle, Bowe, Parkinson, Howell, Carr, Ives, Patrick, Berry, Bailey (Yambasu 45), Marriott, Hunter

Jez George

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