The world of junior football is a small one.
Last season for my lad was u12’s. At that age group there were 11 divisions, made up of a total of 105 teams. His team finished 5th in the ‘A’ division. In their division there were 10 teams and of the other 9 teams, my lad knew lads in 4 of them, either through friendship, through school or having previously played in the same team. This season with three teams having been relegated and being replaced with the three promoted teams and with some lads moving to other clubs, he now knows players at 7 of the other 9 teams.
That means (counting league matches alone) 14 weeks out of the 18, he’ll be playing against somebody he knows. Hopefully that will give him a bit more adrenaline pumping through his system. He generally plays quite well when his team are up against mates or school mates. So do the rest of the team – there’s a lot to be said for bragging rights when you’re back at school on a Monday morning. I remember that much from when I played. Back then, even if you hadn’t played against anyone you knew, the first thing you asked your mates after the weekend was how they’d gone on in their games.
Having got the first match of the season under their belts with what ended up being a comfortable enough win and a clean sheet, but with no mates on the opposition team, the next few fixtures all had ex-team mates or current school mates lining up against him. As usual, the nerves start coming in to play a little but for once, no more than usual for me. More for him. I always come out with the same line when I’m trying to calm him down, “Don’t worry, nerves are good, they’ll keep you on your toes” or words to that effect. Whether there’s any truth in this, I have absolutely no idea and certainly haven’t conducted any scientific research to back my theory up.
But what I do know is that generally, him and his team mates tend to play ok when they’re up against lads they know. The result doesn’t always go their way but they never have the floor wiped with them (touch wood).
The next game on the fixture list had a few familiar faces, particularly for my lad. The newly promoted team had one ex-team mate and two lads that go to the same school as him. His nerves were apparent on the morning of the game but I reminded him of the two previous meetings over the Summer when they got a draw and a win, so a few positives to balance the tension out. The game was going fairly smoothly and at half time it was still goalless, without any real scares for the keeper, just a few back passes that he’d shouted for and dealt with well enough. Into the second half and two quick goals saw things look much more comfortable, with my lad looking at the possibility of two clean sheets in the opening two games of the season.
But it does you good not to look too far forward.
Two goals conceded in the final few minutes meant a draw was snatched from the jaws of victory. It ended up being a hugely disappointing result for all the lads, none more so than my lad. As a keeper there are certain games where you have no chance of influencing the performance, or the result. This was such a game. The only touches he’d had throughout the game were the back passes and a couple of through balls that he smothered. And picking the ball out of the back of the net twice. The two shots that went in were both well placed shots that he stood no chance with. They could possibly have been cut out before the striker got possession of the ball. But that’s football.
Next game up, the following week, potentially one of the toughest games on the fixture list, away versus the team that finished 3rd last season. I found training a little bit tricky to prepare in the week between the games because he’d not really done anything wrong the previous Sunday but his confidence, along with the rest of the lads, had taken a bit of a knock. I decided to keep it simple, stick to the fundamentals and really emphasize all the positives in his session and prepare him as best we could for the weekend.
To add a bit of spice to the upcoming game, one of their ex-team mates plays for them – he swapped clubs at the end of last season. My lad and him first met when they played together in my lad’s first season, u8’s and have been friends ever since. And he’s a striker which always means there’s a bit more riding on it. Last season when the two teams met, my lad’s team took a bit of a battering away and lost 5-1. In the reverse fixture, there was a much improved performance but still lost 2-1. These games stick in my mind in particular because my lad won Man of the Match twice last season and it was in these two games.
I also remember the referee in the away match. It’s easy for it to look like sour grapes when you lose a game if you criticise the ref but in my opinion and plenty of other parents, he had a very poor game. To be honest his decisions had no real bearing on the scoreline, as we were so bad on the day, but we hardly got a decision from him.
Back to the present day. When we got to their ground there was a game still taking place. The man in black was the very same. We assumed that he would be in charge of our game as well. We assumed correctly.
The opposition had played 3, won 3 before our game and after a few minutes of the game it looked as though they were going all out to make it 4 out of 4. As our lads settled, they came back into the game and it turned out to be a fairly even match, albeit with the home side having the better chances in front of goal. My lad looked like he was going to have a good day. So far, what he was doing, he was doing well. I’d told him to help his defenders out by being vocal and offering himself for back passes but not to take any chances. He did just that. He shouted for several back passes, received them and with strikers closing him down, cleared the ball down the pitch.
In the first half he made a few saves, two in particular were very good. The first, a shot dipping under the bar that he tipped over, the second a deflected shot that he managed to save, having had to adjust his body as he dived. At half time it was 1-1, with our striker dispossessing the keeper and finishing into the empty goal to equalise their opener. During the first half, the referee picked up where he left off last season.
In the second half, they went back in the lead with a cross-shot that drifted in at the far post only for us to equalise again with the best move of the game. It looked as though we might hang on for a draw, although my lad was being worked more and more as the clocked ticked down. At one point he made a triple save that I think he’ll be reminding me of for years to come. First, two close range blocks, then as he got back to his feet, he managed to push a rocket of a shot over the bar.
At 2-2, the iffy decisions from the man in black increased at an alarming rate. My lad caught a high ball a yard or so off his line, under an ‘enthusiastic’ challenge from the forward but he kept hold of the ball even when they both ended up in a pile on the ground. He got up and ran to the edge of the area to try to find one of his forwards. The ref stopped him, made him go back and take a free kick in his 6 yard box, at which point I erupted on the sideline. I felt genuinely cheated by the decision not to allow the advantage to the fouled keeper – who says we’re an over protected species?
There are plenty more odd decisions that I could list but the telling one was the penalty that he gave with a few minutes left. You may not be surprised to hear that it was awarded to the home team. It may be coincidence but the penalty came from the passage of play directly after his decision not to allow my lad the advantage and subsequent chance of a clearance down the pitch. In truth, there were several opportunities to clear the ball before the decision was given but it was never a penalty. As the attempted clearances took place, the whistle was already in his mouth. The penalty taker sent my lad the wrong way and the game finished 3-2. Another game ending in disappointment but strangely the feeling felt worse after the 2-2 draw than the 3-2 defeat.
And the lad got Man of the Match, so what can you do, except keep the faith?
Keeper of the faith 