At the recent FA Youth Cup game at Bristol Manor Farm, where there were a number of scouts, the Yate Town Under 18’s accepted the exciting invitation and opportunity to travel to Manchester for the game against a Manchester City Under 18’s side which was watched on by a good band of travelling parental and club support.
On the coach going to Manchester and the squad before they played.
Before the match
The hosts showed their ability from the start, linking and switching play quickly to create overloads and attacks into the visitors final third. However, having gained a second wind after a long journey, the Yate Town team gained more possession of the ball in the opposition half, resulting in a good finish byTyler Woodfrom 30 yards.
The home sides tempo and electric pace back to front continued to cause the Yate team problems, as they struggled to deny the space to the Manchester City players. Yate Town conceded two goals in quick succession, which was a fair reflection of the play. The visitors did not lack effort but found it difficult to link passes and take responsibility to get on the ball. To maintain energy levels, players were rotated with Max Shepard, Antony Batt Louie Clarke, Rowan Smith, Luke Money and Todd Sims entering the field of play.
Not surprisingly, Manchester City were quicker to the challenge and stole the ball on occasions, which resulted in two further goals.
Despite the setback the Yate Town Under 18s continued to play and started to produce improved passing patterns, culminating withCallum Rogerssneaking in at the far post to head the ball over the keeper, to reduce the deficit.
In an attempt to gain more of a hold in midfield and generally make Yate more compact, the visitors (2-4 down) started the second half in a 4-4-1-1 formation. The opening twenty minutes saw Yate begin to play with more composure, having the confidence to play shorter and through the thirds more regularly. This resulted in two well worked moves which saw Antony Batt come close on both occasions. A final change saw Zac Gillies replace Billy Pullin in goal, with the boys continuing to play more football in the opposition half.
As legs began to tire, Manchester City’s pace caused increased threats to the Yate goal as the game became stretched, resulting in three further goals to the Manchester team. Not deterred, Yate Town still manufactured a late move resulting in a headed chance from James Fortune as the game drew to a close.
The experience and challenges posed by the opposition will only stand the Yate Town players in good stead as the coming league season approaches. The pre-season friendly programme has shown to date that the task the Yate lads face, with many effectively playing up two years, will enhance them individual and collectively. The Management Team very much see this project as an exciting one where, with time, the improvements will continue and we envisage a lot of progress will be made.
Starting XI: Billy Pullin, Dalton Ross, Ben Cook, Jack Taylor, Will Down, Kevin Contreras, Nico Baird, Callum Rogers, James Fortune, Tyler Wood, Jacob Batt
After the game - what a wonderful experience for these lads!