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u21s: Grays Athletic 2 - 1 Waltham Abbey

u21s: Grays Athletic 2 - 1 Waltham Abbey

GAFC News19 Jul 2014 - 17:43
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John Field's u21s were good value for a win in a mostly entertaining friendly on a hot, humid afternoon at The Academy

A number of last years u18s will make the step up to u21s this season and on today's showing they won't look out of place and will certainly learn and progress through playing against older and, maybe, wiser players.

Over fifty supporters were treated to a good first half of football as both managers fielded well organised sides. For a friendly it was surprisingly competitive but lacking the edge you would expect if there were points at stake. As a result the game was open with both sides playing some good passing football and trying to get forwards. Youngster Jamie Fuller was pulling the strings in the middle and covering a lot of ground to link the wide men and the attack.

Possession was even but Blues looked sharper in the final third and contrived to miss three very good openings to score in the first fifteen minutes and Macauley White's crafty lob drifted just wide. As the game settled down in the heat the game swung end to end with both sides forcing corners as they looked for an opening.

The breakthrough came on the half-hour mark. An early ball out from the back by Gus Douglas to Macauley White on the left was quickly crossed into the area where a trialist was first to the ball and he flicked a header up and over the oncoming keeper to make it 1-0.

The heat and humidity started to take it's toll and the game lost some of it's pace and energy and neither side was able to make any further impact on the scoreline and the half ended with Blues holding onto that one goal lead.

Both sides made mass changes at the break and it appeared that both managers had saved their trialists and fringe players until the second-half and the game was missing the organisation, energy and, to be fair, the quality we had seen in the first 45 minutes.

Neither keeper was pushed into making a save and when youngster Jack Fowler was withdrawn 20 minutes into the half with a hamstring injury and one of the trialists in attack was also withdrawn it brought about a shuffle in personnel which had a further impact on the quality of the game.

Blues missed a penalty when King Amiye launched a ball up and over the bar that was more of a threat to the local wildlife than to the Abbey goal. King made up for his miss when a cross was allowed to bounce twice in the area and the striker was there at the far post to nod the ball home and make it 2-0.

It was the last real action of the match which through the use of 20+ players by either side a useful exercise for both managers in their preparations for the new season.

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