With both Horton View and Wardington unavailable the Under 14s welcomed Nuneaton Borough to Easington Recreation Ground for what looked to be a tough league fixture. Nuneaton flying high towards the top of the league table, and with undoubted quality throughout.

Weather conditions were horrible, the rain lashing down throughout, and often in biblical proportions at times. Meaning passing football was not on the agenda, as the pitch struggled to cope with the rainfall.

Early exchanges were tight and tense, with both teams feeling their way into the game. A couple of dangerous forays into the Banbury united box were dealt with well by firstly Aidan and then Tom (who had a very good game throughout). Chances were at a premium though, and it was with the first real danger that Nuneaton took the lead.

United were rushed into clearing a ball into the box, which led to a needless corner being conceded. A well placed corner was curled in and the ball deflected off a defender and into the net before Nathan had any chance to get to it. 0-1.

Nuneaton had the next chance of the game, when their tall physical forward player outmuscled the defence before dispatching a shot wide of the post.

The lads had a chance on the break when the ball was fed through to Jack on the right of the area, his low drive was well saved well by the keeper, and the loose ball went away from danger.

The equaliser came in the 23rd minute. Finlay picked up the ball around 30 yards from goal and his a sweetly struck effort that looped over the keeper and into the rough of the net, a terrific strike, that brought the boys level 1-1.

A scrappy period of the game followed the equaliser. By this stage the heavens really had opened, and conditions were pretty poor. Passes were being misplaced, clearances were getting no distance on them and the ball wasn't really rolling on the cut up pitch.

Nathan made a good save from an effort hit from just inside the area, and another corner caused problems for the defenders as the ball flashed across the box. Nathan was then cleaned out by the Nuneaton centre forward when he was first to a throughball. For some reason the referee deciding against giving any card.

Ollie was combative in midfield, and after breaking up play he played a lovely ball through to Fin, he attempted to cut inside onto his right foot to get a shot away, but this allowed enough time for the keeper to come out and make a block for the corner.

2 minutes before half time, Nunetaon retook the lead. The boys once more the architects of their own downfall. A goal kick was played short, and eventually given away. The tricky winger (number 9) for Nunetaon who was the standout player on the pitch stole infront of Mick at the far post to head home a high looping cross. 1-2.

Half time whistle arrived with the lads still very much in the game. The rain still persistent, we stressed the importance of playing our football in the opponent half and not in our own. Today was not the day to be trying to play out from the back, we needed to clear our lines, and push up the pitch. Not invite pressure onto us. The game was a battle, and we needed to be comitted and strong on the pitch.

Subs were continuously flowing as we continue to concentrate on the development of the boys, ensuring everyone was getting a good amount of game time. Inevitably this does effect the flow of the game, and perhaps we were caught out with this at the beginning of the second half.

Nuneaton scored their third shortly after the restart, our shape in midfield not quite right with 3 players all wanting to attack, leaving space infront of the backline. The ball was cut back to the edge of the area where the ball was dispatched into the bottom corner past Nathan 1-3.

Disappointingly the lads heads seemed to have dropped for the first time this season, the team looked beaten, and Nuneaton were first to every ball. All the second balls were being gobbled up by the away side, and we could not get ourselves on the ball for any sustained period of time. The fourth goal came pretty quickly after in the 45th minute. a neat finish with Nathan having no chance. 1-4.

A couple of changes were made to try and stem the flow and to give a bit more defensive stability. This seemed to work as the game again became a scrappy affair. Will was penalised for what looked a good tackle as Tyra looked to break clear. After Jack played the ball forward Fin half expecting the ball to be cleared didn't gamble as the defender missed the flight of the ball. Fin continued to chased the ball down but the defender managed to clear the danger just in time.

Jack had a long distance effort saved, and Luke also had an effort from the edge of the box punched away by the keeper.

In the dying stages of the game, Nuneaton completed the scoring, as their winger got to the touchline, played the ball across and a Nuneaton player was there to fire home from close range 1-5.

A disappointing day at the office - pouring with rain, lost match ball, broken corner flag and a comprehensive defeat!!
That said Nuneaton will be towards the very top of the table, and indeed all three sides that we have played are top teams. They are currently placed 1st, 2nd and 10th out of 69 teams.
The team is competing well in a very high quality league, so a result like we had today is merely a bump in the road. The continual development and progress being made by all the boys is excellent!

At the time of writing we wait to hear from Boris about a second national lockdown - we will see what affect this will have on grassroots football. Covid permitting though we have an away fixture next weekend against Leigh and Bransford Badgers, a game I know we are more than capable of winning.