Southgate were top of the table with 5 wins from 5, and fielded a stronger team than the one we lost 9 - 6 to in September, so it was no disgrace coming off second best today. We fielded 11 U14s in a full squad of 16, and the busy substitution rota meant we occasionally lost shape. But the real issue was that Southgate were sharper and quicker and gave us far less time and space than we have been used to.

I need to rethink our defensive approach. We made some great individual tackles and interceptions, and with Alex Livings and Harry Denton out wide we moved the ball out of defence briskly, but there was too much space in the middle of the pitch and Southgate came through it far too easily and despite much good work by Laurens they converted their chances with depressing regularity, 3 in each half.

Our attacking play generally looked good when we avoided running into tackles and got the right weight on our passes (not easy on the sluggish water based pitch). Southgate were smart enough and fast enough to seize on any slips. We made better use of back and cross-field passes than we have in recent games, and made good use of width. On the downside we often lost the ball taking on one man too many when we had other options. Pass early! Henry's early, simple passes were unspectacular but very effective.

The three goals were all team goals, and great examples of quick, accurate short passing. We got an early lead from a quick break up the right, and an early and precise angled ball across the D behind the defenders for Santi to sweep in. We did create opportunities but didn't strike again until the last quarter. A string of short passes down the middle and in and out of the D allowed Alex to find space in front of the keeper and pick out the corner. Then a longer play saw the ball move right across field from left to right, into the D and down to the byline, with Alex again receiving the final pull-back and hitting the backboard.

Thanks to Dan Livings for coming along as our guest this week. I haven't mentioned everyone but I will say thank you to everyone for keeping your heads up and getting stuck in again and again even when the scoreline was going the wrong way. As in many of our games we finished strongly, showing we are learning and overcoming the new challenges each game brings.