39 Not A One Man Team
The game was not going to plan for Sheffield.
Even after several clutch saves from their keeper who's now found his groove, they remained on the back foot most of the time.
They were unable to find breakthroughs anywhere, nor were they able to spark any sort of attack out of build ups or counters.
To put it nicely… the creativity is nonexistent.
Putting it bluntly... they were dogshit.
At the very least, the only way to go is up from here, right?
Blaise sat on the bench with an annoyed expression on his face. He kept on asking himself how this team functioned last year, because to him, the team he's watching right now lacked identity. They were headless chickens.
The front four wanted to attack, but the ball couldn't reach them, and if it did it needed them to do so much work.
The center of the midfield wanted to have good passing, but their passes were either bad, or their passes reach their target only to be dispossessed shortly thereafter.
The back four wanted to stop the opposing team from getting any chances… but how could they do so when they swarm in numbers and with such pace? Their reinforcements were always a step late!
'Is this really the same team I played with last time?' He shrugged his head, maybe the deficiencies on their game have just been exposed, but these games were opportunities for every member of the under 18s to take a leap forward.
Yes. As every single player in the Sheffield youth team should know by now, these games without Blaise Atkinson is a golden opportunity. An opportunity to raise their worth on the team, to increase their chances of a call up to the upper teams, and find a breakthrough toward their own brand of football.
Right now, he's watching his teammates pass the ball around at the back with a lot of patience.
It's just the four defenders and sometimes the central midfielders passing it around though, with the front four trying to find ways to secure better positioning or beat their man to get the ball. Every now and then, they send it back to the goalie, who then recycles the possession back to the defenders.
This kind of playing from the back style of football needs every player to be patient, make accurate short passes, and not succumb to pressure from the opposing attacking players. Calmly continuing the flow, and pave the way forward.
In Blaise's eyes, they appeared capable enough to do the endless recycling of possession.
His eyes narrowed straight after, when a weak ball was pounced upon by a lurking Birmingham forward en route, as if he'd jinxed it. The ball went the other way fast, with three of the back line reacting late to the interception.
A few dribbles later, and the Birmingham forward had gotten in range for a shot.
He swung his foot backward, putting as much power as he can onto his right foot…
Crash!
The referee stopped play as the chasing left back clipped the forward's foot with a crunching tackle, leaving him holding onto his Achilles tendon.
The official showed no mercy, flashing him a straight red card for both the denial of a real goal scoring opportunity, and the dangerous challenge to the forward.
After the physios took the already teary-eyed forward off the field with a stretcher, play resumed with a free kick on a dangerous area.
Sheffield was down to ten men early.
I fucking jinxed it…
This is going nowhere fast.
***
Desperation was plastered all over Ryan Cassidy's chubby face. The rest of the first half took a toll on him mentally, physically, and emotionally.
It was exciting, sure, but not in a good way for the gaffer's aging heart.
The free kick bent the five man wall they have set up and despite their in-form keeper getting a hand to it, he couldn't stop it from clipping the underside of the crossbar into the goal.
At that point, he hasn't panicked yet. His line of thinking was a team down to ten men would have a bigger chip on their shoulders and their performance would improve a ton as a result.
It did improve… but the pressure on his boys rose a notch too…
The team as a whole reacted a lot faster on defense, however what couldn't be ignored was that they were still at a numbers disadvantage throughout.
An overhead through ball on first half stoppage time was the straw that broke the camel's back.
With the dismissal of Sheffield's left back, the right back was subbed out for an extra center back, to form a back three. It fortified the center of their defense at the expense of the wider areas.
Birmingham abused the lack of wide cover at every opportunity they had.
The through ball sent their winger through on the left, pulling with him the left central defender of the Blades. With the man advancing, and the Sheffield line forced to go deeper and deeper, and stretched wider too, the other Birmingham players threw caution out of the wind and also surged forward trying to force Sheffield into dropping even deeper into their own territory.
Cameron Okojo was already back on the opposing winger's face when the winger hooked the ball to the crowded box. They capitalized on the two man advantage they had on the box.
The tall target forward at the near post beat the Sheffield defender that stuck to him in the air, using his massive forehead to send the ball on its way to the goal… 3-0!
The Sheffield keeper hit the ground hard after his failed attempt at an acrobatic save, with only the rush of adrenaline keeping him from feeling any pain from the hard fall.
Completing his thoughts about the first half, Ryan Cassidy was now ready to give his team a scathing pep talk.
"Are we a one man team?" His voice carried traces of both anger and anguish.
The players' expressions turned sour, as Cassidy turned his head towards Blaise Atkinson at the back. "Atkinson, do you think we're nothing but a one man team?"
This time, the question was directed towards the one man that had become the heart and soul of this team.
Blaise raised his right foot and shook it in the air. "We are not a one man team, we have never been, and we never will be, boss."
The short statement rocked his teammates.
"They're just shy, boss. Please don't be so hard on them." Blaise put one arm each on the shoulders of Terry and Cameron. "They made magic happen before, so why can't they do it a second time?"
"The tables will surely turn!"
