Another day, another game on our Dutch preseason trip. FC Twente were our opponents this time and having beaten FC Dordrecht last week, we were all full of confidence.
Breakfast was half an hour later than usual – any extra time in bed is a bonus! You could tell that everyone’s concentration had switched up a notch, ready for the job in hand.
Our team meeting covered some of the game analysis from our previous fixture and was designed to highlight strengths and areas to address. We were all focused on getting it right.
The time soon reached 11:30am and we were on our way to Twente. The two hour bus journey was over in a flash, with excitement and adrenaline building.
The pitch was fantastic, a really good surface. Seeing that on arrival made us even more determined to try to put in a good performance and take full advantage of the fantastic facilities.
Everyone got changed and we were ready to go! The game felt like it was over very quickly. When you’re playing it’s easy to lose track of time because you’re concentrating solely on fulfilling the specifics of your role and position and trying to make a positive impact on the game.
Happily, the outcome was a hard-fought 2-1 victory to retain our 100% record on the trip. It was another learning curve for us and highlighted the importance to ensure that you don’t surrender possession cheaply. We’ve tried to become accustomed to the technical style that the Dutch employ, but this victory was all about the more British approach of defending for your lives towards the closing stages!
But no matter how we did it, another win to our tally is what we came for and that’s what we achieved!
Our evening consisted of completing tour diaries, followed by some time to relax. Most of us decided that sleep was the best option!
A draining but successful day!
