On Sat 29th Oct Thirsk's U14 Boys' squad had a friendly 11-a-side match against Stokesley's U14 Boys. This had been a relatively short notice fixture at Stokesley's request, due to a fixture cancellation within the NE Men's Hockey League which most of their U14s regularly play in, each Saturday.

The Thirsk team were a mixture of U14 boys who had played in the last U14 YYHL round and boys who had yet to make their season YYHL debut but who nevertheless, were knocking hard on the door for U14 YYHL selection.

Both club's agreed to split the game into 3 x 23 mins segments so as to allow for two breaks for coach feedback.

With the Thirsk Ladies' 1st team playing a cup match immediately beforehand, and a very keen Stokesley team at the pitch ready to go, the Thirsk pre-match briefing took place on the nearby grassed area. From the start, the height of some of the Stokesley players, plus two of them wearing their respective JRPC shirts seemed to immediately dent the confidence of the Thirsk lads, and that was before the match had even started!

So with reassurance and a call to collectively believe in their own, and their team-mates' abilities, the Thirsk U14s took to the pitch, each Thirsk player briefed on what was required of them in terms of allocated position, team structure and game plan.

The first 23 minute segment started promisingly, and with JamesB, Guy and Matty subbed off, it was good to see the on-field team hold their own, especially the boys who had missed out on the last YYHL round and were short of 11-a-side match practice. Great passing and movement off the ball, saw the Thirsk team gain some solid ground within the Stokesley half of the pitch. Ben, Hamish and TomC as the 3 forwards each grew with confidence and between the three of them, were moving like wizards around the defenders causing real problems for Stokesley's defence, so much so, that it forced the Stokesley forwards to have to come back to help their defence. Not quite sure how Thirsk never got a goal in this period due to the number of attacking moves and shots that went wide; just.

JacobS in midfield had been given the task of marking out Stokesley's JRPC player SamG and Thirsk's own SamK the job of marking out JRPC player MatthewC; this they both did very well until fatigue kicked in, due to the naturally high pace Stokesley play their hockey. JackD and JackN as the two remaining on-field midfielders fed the ball accurately from defence to offence to give Ben, Hamish and Tom lots of attacking options, so much so, that these 3 boys came off with glowing red cheeks from the energy spent and with big smiles, indicating how pleased they were with their own performances.

Suddenly, Stokesley went up a gear and the onslaught against the Thirsk defence began and seemed to be quite relentless. With James, Guy and Matty still off, this was the moment of truth for the lads on the pitch and would be the test as to how much depth there was in the squad and the ability to think correctly under pressure. The Thirsk boys defended well, and with JacobI as right back, captain JackB as centre-back and young OliverM as left back, the quality of the intercepts was extremely good. Defending a number of penalty corners, the Thirsk boys were holding on, however, reinforcements were needed to shore up an increasingly exhausted midfield that was leaving gaps for the Stokesley lads to exploit. James who normally plays defence for the U14s went on for JackN, Guy for JacobS and Matty for SamK. End of the first third and the boys had not conceded a goal, thanks to solid "never give up" defending and a number of individual great saves by goalie Dan.

The team talk before the second third focused on the many positives but also, about the dangers of showing an opposition too much respect, and allowing them to intimidate Thirsk. Fired up by a "you are as good as they are" team talk, the lads took to the pitch with a renewed sense of purpose and some re-jigging of positions, namely JacobS into defence to give JacobI a rest. The second half was consistently more structured and Thirsk kept their designated shape to great benefit, with some lovely passing and high ball win and retention rates. The first Thirsk goal started from a great intercept and decisive offload by "cool headed" Oliver, in defence, to the Thirsk midfield and resulted in the ball being zig-zagged up the pitch until it found Guy who then offloaded it to JackN for a clinical shot into the back of Stokesley's net. Boosted by the goal, the Thirsk boys continued to put in a good shift and it was so pleasing to see the ball move accurately across the pitch, being switched from left to right, and back again, looking for the spaces in the Stokesley ranks. Coach Jo would have been so proud of how the boys were applying what they had learnt in training on a Monday night.

Frustratingly, a lapse in concentration and being too slow to respond to Stokesley taking their free hits quickly within Thirsk's 23, saw them find the back of the net to make it 1-1. It could easily have quickly been 2-1 to Stokesely had it not been for a tremendous run by Jacob S to intercept a Stokesley hit ball and make an incredible goal mouth clearance that resulted in a round of applause from the spectators.

With players subbing on and off seamlessly into various positions, and working hard for each other, the Thirsk lads went into the final third of the game with high spirits and a determination not to lose to Stokesley; a team they had lost to in the last few encounters and were at risk of becoming the U14s' bogey team.

Matty, JacobI, Jack D, Jack N and Sam taking turns in midfield, consistently made some great off ball movement which allowed for James in defence to distribute the ball wide to great effect. The second Thirsk goal arose from captain JackB quickly intercepting a Stokesley attacking ball within the Thirsk D, being physically strong enough to retain it and then switching it quickly to JacobS, who beat a Stokesley forward, to drive it on to JacobI in midfield who had moved into space. JacobI's pace caught the Stokesely midfield off guard and cheered on by his teammates and spectators, dribbled it into Stokesley's 23; a quick and accurate offload to Guy, who then manoeuvred it around defenders for a successful shot at goal. 2-1 to Thirsk which became the final score.

A tough match, undoubtedly, yes and a number of players walking away with knocks to shoulders, ankles and legs, which over the next few days, will be painful reminders of Sat's match. But importantly, another landmark passed for an U14 squad that consistently shows application of learning in each match played, irrespective of which U14 players make up a match-day team on any given day.

Well done lads, you represented Thirsk very well.

Players'Player: Guy

Manager'sPlayer: JackD

Thanks to Will for umpiring and to all the parents who cheered the boys on.