Match Report U11s Keighley Albion 4 - 12 Ilingworth The first run out of the pre-season for the lads brought a full sized pitch and several new faces. A warm welcome to Lewis Reynoldson, Kian Armstrong and Jo Walsh. Albion had crossed paths with Illingworth in the summer tournaments and they had shown that they were a strong and capable side with some outstanding players. Playing two leagues above Keighley, the lads were in for a tough game. In heavy conditions and a biting wind, it was always going to be interesting to see how quickly they switched back on and unfortunately, Albion were quickly on the back foot, looking the rustier of the two teams from the start. Set after Keighley set fizzled out through poor passing and sloppy mistakes, giving Illingworth the momentum to keep the pressure on. The lads defended resolutely but it was inevitable, given the strength of the Illingworth team that gaps would be found and punished. Two near identical Illingworth tries highlighted the patchy defending that left gaps waiting to be exploited. Albion were struggling to move up as a line with any degree of success, and their stronger opponents picked up on this with powerful running that split the defence. As the first half progressed, there were some signs of improvement with some excellent tackling from Louis and Liam and a fantastic break by Callum who unfortunately took a nasty knock for his efforts. Ultimately though, Albion failed to create the chances needed to make a game it and went into the break two tries down. The second half brought some improvements in the defence and a spectacular run by Marcus fell agonisingly short as he lost his footing. Seb Hopwood showed some real passion in a spell halfway to time and Illingworth appeared genuinely worried as his strength stopped several attacks dead in their tracks. Despite some strong defending, occasional flashes of brilliance and an excellent second half try from Harry Bailiff, the lads failed to capitalise on the few opportunities that opened up for them and finished the game three tries to one down. Albion never looked dangerous going forward, and this is something the Coaches will undoubtedly be looking to address in training. They have the pace and strength to tear defences apart, but unless they learn quickly to use the whole of the full sized pitch, attacks are destined to get bogged down in the centre of the park. The core of Sam, Josh and Marcus looked promising with some clever moves and steadfast determination throughout the whole game, but without creating more width, the team will struggle to take the game to their opponents. To put things in perspective though, although this was the first time out after the break against very strong opponents, there were welcome signs of the talent that the team undoubtedly possesses. Something that hard work in the now twice weekly training sessions will surely bring to the fore before the season starts proper. Award info to follow..
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 16:59:29 +0000
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