56 Youth Manchester Derby (2)

The match began in a fluid manner as both teams passed amongst their teammates when they had possession of the ball.

Man City was in a 4-5-1 formation where Tony played as central midfielder when united was with possession of the ball. And played as a normal attacking midfielder when City was with possession of the ball.

United appeared to be in a 4-4-2 wide formation of two central strikers and two wingers out on the flanks of the pitch.

Both teams were interested in having possession of the ball, but united had higher possession and control of the ball as they constantly tried to create chances to put the ball into the net of Man City while both team fans cheered and booed when it was necessary.

United had more control of the match and they were more focused on attacking and Man City had no option than to be a little more reserved and focused on defense.

When Man City got hold of the ball and tried to begin a counter, the united players would usually find a way to close down the space and tackle the player with the ball or just force City into taking long Shots and float crosses from outside the box.

The match had been a constant stream of both teams winning and giving away possession and Tony had also taken a shot from the outside of the 18 yard box of United, from about 25 yards out but the ball was easily intercepted and blocked out by a united player.

The Man City players were well drilled and trained in defense, so they were no problems as they primarily focused on not conceeding a goal first before then looking for opportunities to score goals. They continued to defend as the united players took the initiative and continued actively looking for opportunities to score a goal.

Tony had little time on the ball in a few of the counters, as he would immediately have at least two man u players coming up to close down on him or steal the ball from him, which would force him into making hasty passes that didn't result in a chance on goal.

Tony was really excited by the prospect of achieving two assist to copy the A- passing skill from the united player and totally immersed himself in the match but the united players were very good and well prepared.

In the 23rd minute Man City had an opportunity to counter and the ball had been passed to Tony around the middle of the pitch, Tony quickly and nimbly controlled the ball as he saw a united player was already beside him.

He used his body to shield the ball from the united player as he managed to prevent the ball from being snatched away from him by the player. As he was busy using his body to block the united player from stealing the ball from him, he was also looking up to check for a teammate who he was going to pass the ball to, but another united player had quickly performed a sliding tackle from his left to foul him and interrupt the attack.

The referee blew the whistle for a foul but there wasn't any card given to the player as only a verbal warning was given to the united player before play resumed.

That was basically the treatment given to all the Man city players when they got hold of the ball in other to counter.

United continued to look for chances to score a goal as anytime a man city player held possession of the ball they would immediately increase the pressure and either collect the ball or either force City to stop the attack and pass the ball amongst themselves as the match continued to be a constant struggle.

In the 39 minute United had gotten a golden opportunity as they had intercepted the ball from City during a counter and had immediately hit them back on the counter.

The Man City players were not in position and were now disorganized as the Man utd striker was teed up to face the City goalkeeper one on one.

The goalkeeper rushed out of his line as the striker was forced to quickly make a decision from the edge of the 18 yard box. He used his right foot in other to try and chip the ball over the keeper but the goalkeeper had anticipated it and easily jumped up and caught the ball.

The City players were immediately relieved as they quickly resumed the game and were now actively looking for a goal too.

Tony had been given more freedom by Coach Taylor in the match but was yet to effectively use that freedom to do anything substantial.

Both teams had been passing amongst thier teammates as they would both systematically passed the ball around in the opponents half of the pitch till they saw chances to shoot on goal or to enter the box of the opponent.

No team had been able to beat the opponents keeper yet as both keepers had saved the shots that had come their way as both teams had half chances on goal. In the 43rd minutes Tony who had slightly moved to the right side of the pitch recieved a pass from his teammate as the left back of United immediately came to mark him.

He raised his right leg to cross the ball into the box for the Man City players in the box, but quickly changed his mind as he gently hit the ball past the side of the left back and ran past the player.

The left back tried to hold Tony in place with his hands as he tried to avoid being overrun like that, but Tony who had a Stamina Skill of B+ was not his match as he easily shrugged his hands off and quickly went to the ball.

Tony was now in top speed and ran with the ball towards the right edge of the 18 yard box of United. A united player quickly came to intercept his run just as he was entering the 18 yard box.

Tony performed some dribbles with both feets and quickly dropped his left shoulder as if he wanted to go past the right side of the defender but then quickly changed his direction and went past the left side of the player who had now been disstabilized and beaten.

Tony went towards his right as he skipped past the player with the ball and now had a tight shooting angle on goal or an option to find a roaming pass to a teammate.