| TEN MAN BLUES
WIN 2nd GAME
(Wednesday 5th July 2000) Brann Bergen (Norway) 0 Wycombe Wanderers 1 reporting for Chairboys on the Net in Norway Allan Aasterud While Wycombe Wanderers beat Ham-Kam 2-0 in their first game, the other match in the group ended with a 2-0 win to Brann Bergen against Moss. The club's youth development officer, Adrian Cole, saw the match, and he was impressed. (He didn`t know that Moss later that afternoon hammered Ham-Kam 4-0!) I could see Cole with a nervous face. He knows that Brann Bergen are one of the best clubs in Norway when it comes to youth development. Cole said "Our opponent will be a tough task for us. At times Brann outplayed Moss in the first game, so we`ll have to be totally focused. But no matter what happens, everyone in the squad will get the chance to play" In the last minutes before the game, manager Gary Goodchild tried to ease up the nervousness among the lads. "Come on, lads! Forget the tactics, think more about the word 'teambuilding'. Let us enjoy it out there, and play our own game. Feel the pace of the game and use your skills" was the encouragement that Goodchild gave. During his footie-career, Goodchild spent more than ten years in Norway. He speaks brilliant Norwegian. Wednesday afternoon I found out that he also knows how to swear in Norwegian! Believe me when I say: Wycombe were rubbish in the first half! Fifteen minutes into the game the manager was close to losing his temper. "What the f*** is wrong with us?!?" claimed the Manager. I can understand why he reacted like that. During the first 25 minutes, Wycombe didn't have one single shot on goal! Soon they started to criticize the referee and each other. The tackles got worse and worse. Luckily, Brann Bergen didn't create that many chances either. It almost looked like the midfielder Ian Simpemba wanted to help the Norwegians; four silly bad tackles, two bookings and he was sent off by the ref! One man down after only ten minutes! Manager Goodchild was off course irritated at halftime. But instead of having a go at them, he tried to stay calm and support them. Goodchild replaced young John Dixon with hard-working Peter Holsgrove, and the team went out in a 4-4-1 formation with target man Phelan alone upfront. The manager was right; Brann put them under tough pressure. Goalie Mark Osborn came quickly in action, but made no mistakes. A giant at the back! 
Five minutes after the break, the move of the game appeared: Lewis Cook picked up the ball from inside his own area. He brought the ball quickly forward, ran past two opponents and played a short ball which
was met by Phelan who was almost 25 metres from the goal. He turned away one defender, saw Cook`s great
run and played him the ball between the two central-defenders. Cook came one on one with keeper and brilliantly knocked the ball into the net. 1-0! This duo combined again just minutes later, this time Scott Dash headed Cook's cross inches wide. Halfway into the second half, Goodchild substituted the exhausted Phelan. I repeat his manager when I say 'Well done, lad' I see a quality-player in him, and the way he dominated the second half was a joy to watch. Brann Bergen never gave up, but the British players were made of steel and ended their hopes of getting at least one point. Osborn the goalie was very solid, the same was Ben Townsend at right back. I'm sure I haven't mentioned the name Roger Johnston for the last time in this tournament. A great youngster who battled a lot. The same can be said about his partner, Marc Leach. Even being one player down early on, Wycombe collected another win, and need a point from their final group game against Moss on Thursday morning to be certain of going into the 'A' Finals. Wycombe Team (4-4-2): Mark Osborn - Ben Townsend, Roger Johnson, Marc Leach, Ronnie Girvan - Scott Dash (sub 42 John Hopcraft), Ian Simpemba, Richard Jolly, Lewis Cook (sub 37 Jack Smillie) - Leeyon Phelan (sub 35 Ryan McCullaugh), John Dixon (sub 26 Peter Holsgrove). Yellow cards: Roger Johnson, Ian Simpemba. Red card: Ian Simpemba. Tactics: Wycombe played 4-4-2 for 20 minutes. After having Simpemba sent off, Mr. Goodchild played 4-4-1. The back four played impressive and tight. All the players in the squad played a part in this match. Holsgrove replaced Dixon at halftime. He started as central midfielder, but took over the striker-role when Phelan was substituted. When the attacked they almost every time passed the ball to Lewis Cook on the left. The right midfielder Scott Dash seldom got the ball in the offensive play. One of the reasons was that he worked so hard defensively that he sank too deep. My men of the match: I have to say I was impressed by goalkeeper Mark Osborn. He fully controlled his own penalty-box, and he never lost any crosses. Of course, the central defenders played well. The goal was a perfect move set up by young Lewis Cook, and Leeyon Phelan proved what he capable of with his performance in the second half. I would like to give some credit to the whole team. They were one man down for a long period, but still the Wycombe-players tried to play ball on the pitch, not just kick-and-run. Reaction and comment from Youth Team boss Gary Goodchild plus Johnny Dixon thinks Norway is Wonderful! Return to tournament preview and match index Return to News Desk... |
 Click here for special offers on Book's, CD's, Video's and DVD's
|
||||||
|
© Chairboys on the Net 2000 - all rights
reserved Report kindly provided by Allan Aasterud rush09@hotmail.com |
|||||||
THE GAS
All there is to say and know about Wycombe Wanderers on the Internet
HOME||||INDEX||||ROUGH GUIDE||||NEWS||||REPORTS||||FIXTURES&RESULTS||||INTERACT |