St John’s under-10s get going at Go Games
|
St John’s
v Carryduff, Drumaness, Bredagh
Sat 1st July
St John’s travelled to Carryduff on
Saturday with twelve players keen and
eager to what they could do on the
football field. They had plenty of
opportunity to do just that in three
games against Carryduff, Drumaness and
Bredagh.
The Carryduff club had put in a lot of work the evening
before setting up and marking out four
“Go Games” pitches. At this level these
are divided into three zones. In one
zone our defenders marked the opponent
attackers, in another zone our attackers
tried to get away from the opponent’s
defenders. Both sets of midfielders
retreated to the centre zone for
kickouts, free kicks and line balls. The
midfielders were allowed to roam into
the other zones so that they could help
their defenders out (more please) and
support their forwards.
Players rotated between zones at every turnaround and between
games so that everyone got a chance to
play in each position on the field. That
allowed both Connor McMullan and Francis
Lynch to perform well between the sticks
as William Kelly, Jerome Gordon, Michael
McCourt and Gavin Marmion contested well
for possession and used the ball well
when it was won. Gavin certainly knows
how to deliver an effective shoulder
tackle. Francis Lynch, Barry McAnulty
Aidan Morgan and Cushla Savage all
carried a lot of threat going forwards
while Michael McMullan played the
captain’s role and performed well in all
sectors of the field. Barry McAnulty was
particularly accurate from placed balls.
Ciaran McKay and Colleen McCann were
always available to receive possession
as we moved from defence to attack.
Our best move of the day came in the second game against
Drumaness when Barry McAnulty won
possession, transferred to Cushla
Savage, who passed to Michael McMullan.
He played a lovely pass to William Kelly
who drew defenders to him but found the
way forward closed. He off loaded to
Barry McAnulty who had started the move.
Barry’s shot was deflected wide for a
“45” (or a “30” at Go Games), but for
the coaches at this level the quality of
football is more important than scores
taken. On Saturday the coaches were
pleased, and hopefully the players were
too.
A lot of credit must go to Drumaness’s Brian Fegan for
timetabling the 9-a-side games as
Bredagh and Drumaness both fielded two
teams while the hosts Carryduff put out
three. We’re grateful to Jerome Gordon,
Michael McCourt and Ciaran McKay
respectively who “guested” for Drumaness
in their three games so that they were
able to field two nines. Thanks also to
the referees.
St John’s squad: Jerome Gordon, Michael McMullan (capt),
Gavin Marmion, Francis Lynch, Barry
McAnulty, William Kelly, Aidan Morgan,
Michael McCourt, Ciaran McCann, Cushla
Savage, Colleen McCann, Connor McMullan.
