North Shields Cougars 1 Spartans U10s 2

This was one of our catch up games and due to pitch availability at both North Shields and Blyth we both agreed to play this game on an artificial pitch at Complete Football.

What an eye opener this was for the team. A small pitch, which was probably as long as our normal pitch is wide, and the team's first time on astroturf led to an interesting game.

Instructions to shoot at goal whenever they could led to all sorts of shots being taken from all over the pitch. Lewis P opened the scoring with a shot from defence, or was it a cross into the box, from just inside our half which the keeper fumbled and it ended up in the net.

The small size of the pitch affected our passing game as there was limited space, but Besty managed to make it 2-0. Ball control was difficult as was judging the bounce as balls were pushed forward, so possession changed frequently.

North Shields pulled a goal back in the third quarter leading to a more tense time on the sidelines, but effort and commitment from the team kept us ahead. Adam, playing in the last two quarters was unlucky not to score a few as others missed chances as well. The game finished at 2-1 and the coaches felt they'd aged ten years in the last ten minutes.