S&AA FC U12 Whites travelled to The Rookery this afternoon to take on Southport Trinity U12 Whites in this season’s Cup Qualifier.

With a number of players unavailable for various reasons, S&A had to change their shape and were up against it in the first half, kicking into the strong wind that would prove a huge factor in the outcome of the tie. Could S&A keep their defensive shape in the first period against a well organised Trinity side, before taking advantage of the conditions in the second half?

Well, the boys started brilliantly, with the back line of Patrick, Jake & Hugh coping well with early Trinity pressure and Noah being alert to collect the long balls forward that were carried on the wind. In midfield, Rory was his usual battling self and Liam (C) was always on the front foot, looking to release either Josh on the left or Ollie on the right. Hugo was also playing a pivotal role in an advanced central position, holding up play and running the channels exactly as instructed. And despite the disadvantage of the conditions, S&A had a couple of half chances to open the scoring inside the first 5 minutes, with Hugo and Ollie both going close with their efforts on goal.

But despite their great start defensively, S&A soon realised that judgment of the wind in the first half was going to be key - a long ball forward wasn’t dealt with and the Trinity striker latched onto the loose ball to fire home. The reaction from the boys was excellent though, showing real confidence to keep playing out from the back - Charles had come on at centre half, with Jake moving to right back, and Flynn had entered the action, providing fresh legs in midfield. This was a half of football that needed the whole squad to dig deep, defending against the opposition but even more so, the weather - and they did just that, seeing out the first period with just a goal deficit.

HT: Southport Trinity 1-0 S&AA FC

We told the boys at half time not to make the mistake of trying to use the wind too much by playing long balls forward - it was important to play the ball to feet and have runners off the ball. The equaliser came from just that - a lovely run from Hugo to beat the offside trap was rewarded with a perfect pass from Ollie, with the former making no mistake to hit the back of the net! And just a few minutes later, S&A caught Trinity’s defensive line on their heels - Patrick took a quick throw-in and released Hugo again, who raced clear and calmly shifted the ball onto his right foot before firing his finish past the keeper.

S&A now had the bit between their teeth and were looking dangerous every time they went forward, with Josh in particular putting in a tireless display on the left wing - but a rare second half Trinity attack put the game back in the balance. Rory had tracked his runner really well in the inside left position and looked to have shown great strength to win the ball just inside the box - somewhat surprisingly however, it was deemed to be a foul and Trinity tucked away the spot kick to get back on level terms with ten minutes to go.

How would S&A react? Would they stick to their footballing principles to try to find the winner? The answer came in their very next attack - Hugo whipped in a great corner from the right, picking out the late run of Jake who fired his first-time volley into the corner - what a finish! Then within a minute, S&A put the game beyond doubt - another pinpoint corner seen Liam bundle the ball home. As the game entered the closing moments, S&A switched off momentarily and Trinity managed to pull a goal back with a crisp finish from the edge of the box, but there was barely time for the restart and S&A had prevailed, with their vociferous support ecstatic at the final whistle!

FT: Southport Trinity 3-4 S&AA FC

Pic: POTM Josh - another fantastic performance from a player who’s made a great start to the season and fully deserves the trophy today!

Finally, a big Happy Birthday to the boss for tomorrow….this one was for you!

Chris (Manager) & Rob (Coach)