In our final game of the season, we delivered a performance we’ve been building towards all year. There have been times this season where we’ve played well in spells but haven’t converted chances or maintained concentration for a full game. Today, however, we produced a complete performance and avoided the lapses that have cost us previously.
We faced a strong Leeds Athletic side who were well organised, technically very good, and moved the ball intelligently. It meant we had to be at our very best—and the players rose to that challenge.
From the front, our pressing was excellent. Lukas and Layton worked tirelessly, interchanging well, creating chances, and forcing mistakes in the opposition defence. Lukas took his goal fantastically and Layton unlucky not to score with a few chances he had but the confidence and ability to run at the opposition is something we've talked about with him and he really impressed today. They were both supported brilliantly by Kylan and Chayse, who ran the channels effectively, held the ball up well, and brought Javan and Seb into play through the middle. Chayse beating players with fast feet and Kylan similarly and getting the reward into the second half with a well taken goal.
Javan, in a more advanced role, had an outstanding game. His ability to pick out through balls unlocked the opposition defence on several occasions and added a real attacking threat.
Seb is constantly putting himself right amongst the midfield battles, challenging to win the ball back high up the pitch and that's how most of our chances are typically created, he consistently makes the right decisions and brings our attack together with that 'killer' pass.
Defensively, we made some tactical adjustments which worked really well. Jojo took on a new role on the right-hand side of a narrow back three, allowing our wide players more space while also encouraging them to recover and defend at the right times. This shape also gave our defenders the opportunity to overlap and support attacks from wide areas. Jojo’s range of passing provided an excellent option to switch play when needed.
Freddie, who has played most of the season on the right side of defence, has recently moved into the centre and continues to impress. He organised the back line superbly and still looked to drive forward when possible, capping off his performance with a well-taken goal.
Jess also put in one of her best performances of the season. She dealt brilliantly with the opposition’s strongest attacking player, showing great patience, staying on her feet, and allowing teammates to recover and support defensively.
In goal, Finley was outstanding once again. He made some excellent saves to keep us in the game and showed real progress in commanding his area and holding onto the ball—areas we’ve been working on. His performance gave the team confidence throughout.
Overall, it was a fantastic way to end the season and a performance that showed how far the team has come. We now look ahead to the move to 9-a-side football, and with the progress made this year, there is every reason to believe the team will continue to develop and go from strength to strength.