GAME CHANGERS TURN IT ON AGAINST HINKSEY PARK

Saturday morning on the training ground, we exercised our ability to trouble-shoot. How quickly could we determine an opponents strategy, adjust and counter? There will always be problems to solve in football! But there are players who run away from problems, hide from problems, sulk about problems, blame others for problems - and there are players who rapidly shift their focus to possible solutions. On a football pitch, the question is often, what do we need to do differently to get a different and more favourable result if things aren't working?

To quote Albert Einstein - "It is the definition of insanity, to keep doing the same thing expecting a different result."

Mindful of the FA coaching directive to let the game be the teacher, and just facilitate, we came up with GAME CHANGERS to stimulate leadership, critical thought (analysing the merits and faults of a game-plan), and strong communication. In ten minute matches, the designated home team would decide how the game would be scored. This could be anything they considered to be a strong point for their own group, or a weak point for their opponents. The away team, disadvantaged, had to work out how the game was being scored whilst in-play and adapt.

Sometimes, hitting the back of the net wasn't the focus. The tactics employed were inventive and obscure. But THE FREDS were highly analytical and responded rapidly. It was a useful experiment.

What was interesting on Sunday, against Hinksey at Alfredian Park, was how the players quickly suggested changes and player shuffles to cope with three unexpected injuries. Impressive game understanding and decision making! Their success in GAME CHANGERS was no accident. THE FREDS are a switched on group.

Harry Howard, Matthew Lambe and George Santacana-Melvin spent the afternoon probing the Hinksey rearguard, although not exclusively. It was however, Santacana-Melvin that released Hitman Hall to open the scoring, and the prolific net buster added a second soon after.

A re-shuffled defensive line, missing Harry Buckland and Stan Herbert, coped admirably with a very serious threat. Hinksey had hit a minimum of four goals in all of their previous games and looked lively. But Jacob Haines shadowed the Hinksey target man like Claudio Gentile, and Matty MacDonald supervised rotating full-backs - Luis Hill, Paul Harper, Will Beynon, Joe George and Nat Haddon. All played significant roles in securing a first clean sheet of the season. Matty MacDonald made timely challenges and Lewis Jordan was a confident and formidable match for unblocked efforts - showing strong hands to a crack from outside the box (squeezing tennis balls in his spare time is really starting to pay-off) and smartly parrying a shot across his goal.

Wantage were business-like. Matthew Lambe followed up to finish a swift counter attack, Will Nicol cut in from the left to fire a fourth, and Tom Todd laced a fifth into the netting after Jonny Hall had squared. It was no more than the two strikers deserved after working the channels to provide a direct out for the full-backs, and give much of themselves to selflessly craft ways to supply the Alfredian Assassin with ammunition in the core.

There was good positional discipline, a tireless hustle, and will to win. The fire had been lit hours before on Instagram when the green and white hoops sounded their battle cries in cyber space and warmed to the idea of a turf war in heavy rain. Maybe, just maybe, this insatiable squad were starting to carry a torch for B League football?

#HinkseyPark #OxfordMailYouthLeague