Our U18 went down 5-0 in the sun against Watford at Landore.
We were a goal down before we’d even settled and struggled to cope with 2 lively strikers who frequently exposed our central defenders one on one for pace. Our full backs were equally exposed by Watford’s speed on the flanks.
We were 4 down on 28 minutes, every mistake or moment of hesitation being ruthlessly punished. It felt rather peculiar, as we’d fashioned a number of chances of our own after the early shock, but continued to gift Watford opportunities through poor control or mispassing in vulnerable areas.
The 2nd half was a more even affair. We wisely switched to 3 central defenders and a more balanced 3-4-3 formation, which better suited our players and reduced Watford’s ability to breach our rearguard. Nevertheless, we couldn’t get the necessary breakthrough to reward our resurgence and it was no great surprise when Watford sealed the match with a 5th 10 minutes from time.
Plenty to reflect on, particularly the simple tactical change that came only after the major damage had been done.
For the Swans, Josh Pescatore and Ramon Rees-Siso gave battling displays. Morgan Bates had a couple of early opportunities that might otherwise have kept us in the game. The squad – missing Tom Woodward and Yori Griffith – looks rather imbalanced, although some pride was rescued with the 2nd half performance.
For Watford, strikers Kash Odiase and Kristian Shevchenko – son of the Ukrainian legend – proved a real handful for our defence.
Card happy referee, who we’ve seen before.
No teamsheet – apparently we’ve got only one person on the staff who can type and she was at the stadium for this afternoon’s match.
Line-up initially 4-3-3: Sam Seager; Billy Clarke (s – Wahab Ojetero 46m), Brogan Popham, Ben Phillips, Caio Ifans (s – Callum Deacon 61m); Aidan Higgins, Harlan Perry (captain) (s – Milo Robinson 46m), Josh Pescatore; Morgan Bates (s – Osian Williams 65m), Ramon Rees-Siso, Kai Rhodes.