Eclipse Challenge Cup - Day #2

Friday, Aug 15

Off to the fields around 9AM for a noon game.  I'd like to say I was going out early to watch other U12 games but the tournament was set up so that all U12G played at the same time.  The girls were to arrive at 11AM for a Noon game.  No, I wasn't out two hours early to scout or game watch, I was out there completely paranoid that I wouldn't be able to set up the Hi-Pod. 

Thankfully we were the first round of games that day at the complex.  It would have sucked to have witnessed as what I envisioned to be the Leaning Tower of Hi-Pod come crashing down on the unsuspecting structural engineer (me).  Then again, it might be helpful to have someone at the scene with working appendages to dial 911 if I'm crushed beneath $5,000 worth of video equipment and aluminum tubing. 

Luckily with no games going on I was able to get front row parking and lugged the two cumbersome heavy-duty carrying cases out to the field.  The 80 lbs.  case was the heaviest, though the 8 ft long tubular case wasn't exactly easy to maneuver around solo.

It took me only about 30 minutes to set up.  Not bad.  I needed to wait for some help to telescope the camera up but all in all I was pretty psyched about the ease of use... once everything was brought out to the set up location.

The girls began arriving around 11AM eager to kick off the tournament. 

Our warm-up began about 30 minutes prior to kick off.  I led the girls through our 4 Phase Circle Routine (I'll details this later), some crossing and finishing, and we were ready to go.

I opted to start in a 4-2-1-3 formation that we had been working on for a whole 4 days.  I was interested to see how the girls would adjust to the larger field and knew it would be challenging for us under the pressure we were sure to face.

The Sting kicked off and proceeded to string 9 passes in a row, most right in front of our bench, with our girls running around chasing.  Sting switched the field with a good outlet pass and knocked another 4 or 5 passes.  They played quick and moved both off the ball and to the ball when needed.  I almost yelled out to the ref to throw another ball out on the field so White could play.  I remember thinking it could be a really LONG weekend.

It could be a LONG weekend... from Mark Abboud on Vimeo.

We finally broke their possession when Phi Phi intercepted a pass at the top of their box.  The girls on the bench cheered like we just scored a goal. 

A full 2 minutes later, as we were still unsettled and unorganized, we should have gone down 1-0 as the Sting broke down our left defense with some nice combination play, sent in a hard cross that we couldn't clear, and then missed a sitter from 6 yards out. 

3rd Minute Luck from Mark Abboud on Vimeo.

We slowly began to get accustomed to the speed and physical presence of the Sting team as the half went on.  I shifted from a flat back 4 to a stopper/sweeper formation as the Sting had a very dangerous center forward who found uncontested space in the gap between our holding mids and our center backs.  This change helped shore up our defense quite a bit and really stopped the Sting from threatening our goal for the rest of the game. 

In possession though we still couldn't find our rhythm and we struggled to keep the ball under pressure.  We'd work so hard in defense then give the ball away too easily on the attack.  If our opponents don't have the ball, they can't hurt us. 

We were also too North-South in our play with no thought about playing East-West or across the field in order to stretch our opponents shape and create dangerous gaps up the field. 

My competitive juices were flowing and I found myself getting frustrated at our lack of composure and skill.  I needed to remind myself that this team, regardless of past successes, was still a huge work in progress and we were here at this event to highlight what work needed to be done. 

Thankful for the halftime whistle, I led the girls to the shade to try and get us better organized.  I spoke about low-pressure defense against a team that could possess the ball.  Instead of chasing around as individuals, could we fall back, let them have the ball in their defensive third - a third of the field from which they couldn't hurt us - then apply coordinated pressure once the Sting reached the top of the midfield circle (in their own half).  Coordinated meant bent runs to force the ball one way or the other, making it predictable for our teammates behind the ball.  Advanced stuff for 12 year olds but it was as good a time as any to introduce it as we would be given ample opportunity to put it to use today.  This didn't mean that we'd play low pressure all the second half, but the girls would know what to do if I yelled out instructions to do so.

The Sting were very physical and I asked the girls to match it.

I also talked about our North-South play, a term I'd use with the girls to describe straight-line attacking up the field.  We could alter this North-South play by 1) dribbling across the field, 2) linking (passing) across the field, and 2) making diagonal runs for the ball (for our forwards). 

Lastly I spoke to the girls about being confident on the ball.  Though out-possessed in the first half we were by no means a vastly inferior team to the Sting.  I encouraged the girls to be confident on the ball, find smart space in order to have time when receiving passes, and looking to concentrate on completing passes quickly over simply playing long up the field.  

The second half went much better for us.  Our defenders (Babes, Mal, Meggy, Gizmo, and Cal) were strong and better organized and our attack was slightly more dynamic. 

Wiki (Att Mid), a new addition to the group this year from Lakeville, helped set the physical tone early in the half with a great individual effort.  The ensuing flurry around our opponents penalty box saw the ball fall to Chels (Point) who took a rushed shot that the Sting GK batted down. 

Second Half Flurry from Mark Abboud on Vimeo.

We created another good chance midway through the half as B-Money (RF) pounced on an errant pass along the Sting backline, danced down the right side of the field, and sent in a wonderful cross into Chels (Point).  If not for a fantastic block from the Sting sweeper, we likely would have gotten on the scoreboard. 

Another Good Chance from Mark Abboud on Vimeo.

With about 7 minutes left in the game we got the winner.  Gizmo's (LD) tackle in midfield to disposses a Sting midfield started the movement.  Cal (HM) pounced on the loose ball and played a good pass to Vivy (Att Mid).  Vivy turned up field, took a touch away from pressure to her right, and sent a through ball to B-Money who had made an excellent diagonal run from her right forward position.  B hurdled a tackle from her marking defender, touched the ball by the onrushing Sting GK who made a valiant play at the ball, and tapped the ball home a split second before being taken down by another recovering Sting defender.  Great goal, good result to start off the weekend.  

Game Winner from Mark Abboud on Vimeo

How cool is the Hi-Pod.  Seriously.