Our final game against foreign opponents Osnabruck was definitely a game to learn from for us, playing against a very well structured German side who were on the front foot from the off and for the entire first half we were under great amounts of pressure.
I felt we dealt with it until the final fifteen minutes until the first goal went in and the team’s spirit did tail off a little. The second half was a big difference and I felt we did get back into the game, despite a goal early on.
After having more of the ball we kept pressing and attacking despite the scoreline showing some character. Looking over the game I feel as a team we had taken more from that game than the other two, we can learn from our mistakes and take them into our next game.
Our rest day was a quiet one, a pool recovery session in the morning followed by a tour of the local town Delden. The trip may not have been something we expected but I’m sure everyone enjoyed it!
Our final full day in Holland included another match against Oldham. The boys may not be feeling as fresh as they would have liked but it was good to get some more game time in before the first game of the season. The game started of well with the James Bowen pressing high up the pitch and receiving the ball in the final third to beat the keeper at his near post.
However, it wasn’t long before the opponents struck back and from a corner they managed to put the ball away after a failed clearance and their second followed with a strike from the edge of the box.
The final two periods were of a better quality and as a team we managed to keep the ball better and play more of our possession through the midfield. With a few injuries the game was a test of our fitness as tiredness was creeping in from the three other games in the past week. As usual the effort levels from the boys were as expected and we seen the game to the end narrowly losing 3-2, despite the score we were more than happy with the performance.
