Bromsgrove Finishing Punishes Plucky Sils

Yes we lost. But as everyone knows, results can be deceptive, none more so than yesterday against a team who the Mighty Fours will face in league action this season.

Arguably the differences between the two sides were clear :

(1) the shots to goals ratio, with Sils exceptionally unlucky on four occasions in the second half
(2) the fluency of the sides, which comes from playing together regularly (there were nine changes to the squad that was originally expected to travel to Bromsgrove)
(3) the learnings of the day, from which Sils will take more, including the encouraging potential of youngsters Mackenzie, Dan and Charlie, who started a great four-man move that finished with Rushy sweeping the ball into the roof of the Bromsgrove net
(4) formation, the idea to start with a 3-2-3-2 set-up was logical given the experience and fitness of the squad, but it proved to be Sils undoing after a solid first ten minutes. The decision to revert to 3-1-4-2 in the second half was the catalyst to the revival of the Mighty Fours, who lost this session 2-1, and were equally frustrated and unlucky not to have scored four.

Workrate and purpose - two of the critical factors in any sport - were much stronger in the second half, and Sils can head into the League season with a number of positives and learnings to reflect upon.

In addition to the very pleasing performances from the trio of youngsters, there were solid performances from the debutant Ian Wilson, the ever-developing James Gregory, and Yogi, who pulled off a number of great saves and timely clearances.

Bring on Hampton (and the new kit, whenever it arrives!?)