Tuesday was destined to be a busy day as we were to play two matches, the first of which had a 10.30am kick-off time. I rose at 7.00am and started to prepare for the day ahead. Shower and breakfast out of the way, it was time to do the rounds and make sure all the players were up and starting their breakfasts.
Three players required treatment after the previous nights' match. With this done, it was time to get my equipment ready for the game. This involved making ice-packs and replenishing the stocks in my on-pitch medical bag. With this completed I had a spare ten minutes so I used this time to type up my notes on the three players I had seen in the morning.
We had our pre-match briefing with the players then made our way across to the pitch for our tussle with Roscommon. The sun was shining and already there was a lot of heat, which was a concern. A bonus for our players was the appearance of a number of their parents, who had made an early start to the day to travel down from Dublin to watch the two games.
Roscommon had watched us the previous evening and decided the best way to beat us was to contain us and they set up with four defenders, a holding midfielder and then a line of four midfielders with a lone striker playing very deep just in front of that. This defensive set-up was something that we would have to get used to playing against as the week went on.
The negative tactics employed by Roscommon almost paid dividends as it wasn't until the 50th minute that the breakthrough came (bear in mind that at this age level the games are 30 minutes each way). After the opening goal, Roscommon appeared to drop even deeper if that was possible. We battled hard to try and find that second goal and despite creating many more chances the game finished 1-0. With results elsewhere coming through, we now knew that a draw in the evening fixture would see us win the group.
When we got back to our accommodation, the players consumed their post-match snack of rolls and popcorn. They showered and made their way to their rooms to rest up ahead of the evening game. Those players that required treatment reported to the staff house and again I looked after them immediately. There were no serious injuries and it was all just knocks that required massage and/or ice.
With the players in bed, the staff got together to review the morning and to plan for the evening. I advised the managers in relation to the players' fitness and, armed with this information, they then set about picking their team and setting their strategy. Regardless of who was picked to play we would still be playing the same way as always. We would pass the ball and spread it around the pitch. Ball retention was one of our strengths at the tournament and every other team changed their style to try and stifle us.
The second game was at 5.00pm against the North East Counties League (NEC). We went through our usual pre-match routine and got to our pitch to be met with another huge crowd. As before, they just wanted one thing. The pressure being exerted on our players from outside the camp was starting to manifest itself in the form of nerves for the players. While we did our best to calm them, there would inevitably be uncharacteristic mistakes made. Luckily, though, we had a very tight group of players who looked out for each other.
Again, we went on to win the game 1-0 against a very defensive team. This meant that we had topped the group with 9 points out of 9 and no goals conceded. We progressed to Wednesday's Quarter-Final where we would face suprise Group 2 winners, Midlands League.
Upon returning to our houses, the usual post-match routines took place. This time I was very busy with injuries as would be expected after playing 2 games in one day and 3 games in 22 hours. That said, I was still able to report only 2 real concerns to John, our manager. I would re-assess these players on Wednesday morning ahead of the Quarter-Final game.
With everybody showered we got into our tracksuits and strolled the fifteen minute walk to the Kilmurry Lodge hotel for our evening meal. Following the meal, we allowed the players to have their first contact with their parents. They all really appreciated the half hour downtime with their families and the mood in the camp heading back to the accommodation was excellent.
We held a quick team meeting to discuss that evening's fixture and advise the players of their wake-up time in the morning. They were all happy to learn that the Quarter-Final would have an afternoon kick-off and that they were getting a long lie in the morning.
Once the team were packed off to their beds myself and John had a one to one meeting where we discussed the condition of the players and drew up the schedule for the group for Wednesday. These daily meetings were crucial as we couldn't afford to get anything wrong in terms of our planning.
With this completed there was only one thing on our minds now - BED! It had been a long, tiring couple of days so we all wanted to recharge our batteries ahead of the next days' work.
Good Luck!
Good Stuff Will was a great read :)
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