Holland Tour 2008 review part one

Under-11s

Boston United Centre of Excellence journeyed to Holland last week for the Amsterdam Cup. Under-11s head coach John Thorogood details how his side fared during the tournament…

SQUAD: Thomas Benton (gk), Brendan Burton, Sam Cowell, James Denwood, Anthony Garmory, Casey Lewis, Oliver Luto, Domonic Lyons, Louie Saebe, Jordan Smith, Tyler Wright.

SATURDAY:
Despite a long, tiring 14-hour journey from York Street to our base at Apeldoorn the previous day and an early morning start and hour drive to our venue at Olympia Haarlem, west of Amsterdam, the Pilgrims were ready to play in Pool E against all Dutch opposition. The competition had five groups each containing five teams. Our opponents were Victoria 1893, KFC, Sporting Martinus 2 and VV Zundert.

The object of the first day was to qualify for the finals on Sunday by finishing in one of the top two positions.

BUFC 1-0 Victoria 1893
Getting a good start in the first match was very important and what a start it was when within the first 10 seconds, United took the lead when Louie Saebe fired in a shot as the Pilgrims went on the immediate offensive. Victoria appeared stunned by the early goal and never recovered. United controlled the game keeping possession of the ball well and although they did not add to the lead, fully deserved the victory.

BUFC 3-1 KFC
With any nerves now settled, the second group game was against KFC. Once again Boston controlled the game and stretched their opponents defence by making full use of the width of the pitch. Goals from Tyler Wright, Domonic Lyons and Louie Saebe saw them comfortably through despite a late goal for the Dutch side.

BUFC 1-1 Sporting Martinus 2
This was without doubt the pivotal game in the group. Win this and you are as good as through was the message, but like most things in football, things do not always go to plan. Sporting scored an early goal and then defended well to hold off a wave of United attacks. Time was running out when, in desperation, the Dutch side gave away a free-kick some 15 yards out. Anthony Garmory stepped up and floated a superb free-kick over the wall and into the top right hand corner of the net to give the Pilgrims a vital point.

BUFC 1-0 VV Zundert
This was the final group game and Boston really had to win to be sure of a top two finish. Now very tired through travelling, lack of sleep and the high temperature and sheer exertion, a final all out effort was required. Louie Saebe scored the only goal, his third of the day, to ensure the victory.

With 10 points on the board from three wins and a draw, we travelled back to Apeldoorn for a well-earned rest in the knowledge we had won the group and would play in the top group on finals day. The only thing we were unsure of was which of five possible venues we would play our fixtures?

SUNDAY:
Day two, finals day saw us back in the familiar surroundings at Olympic Haarlem. Another early start and certainly a change in the weather. Saturday had been hot and sunny, today however cloudy, rainy and cool. Now in Pool AB, we faced Dutch opposition, two with familiar names, albeit different sides. Our opponents were DSS, Sporting Martinus 1, Victoria 1893 and Fc Abcoude. The winner of the pool would play in the final against the winner of Pool AA. The runners-up in each would play for third/fourth play-off place.

BUFC 1-1 DSS
DSS were a quick powerful side who stretched the United defence to the limit. They took an early lead and it was extremely hard going for the Pilgrims. A win appeared very unlikely, however the boys rallied and Saturday’s top scorer Louie Saebe came up with a late equaliser to grab a useful point.

BUFC 0 - 0 Sporting Martinus 1
A win was necessary, however both teams cancelled each other out resulting in a goalless draw.

BUFC 2-0 Victoria 1893
Game three and clearly anything but a win would see any chance of a top two finish unlikely. With the boys clearly out of touch, minds needed focusing on the job in hand. Revitalised United started to play the sort of football that won the group the day before and two goals from Casey Lewis provided three much-needed points.

BUFC 0-1 Fc Abcoude
A must win game against probably the best team in the competition. This was not ideal, but fate was in our own hands. Win and we were guaranteed a top four spot, lose and well! Both sides probably produced one of the best games in the tournament, with end-to-end play. Clear chances were few until Abcoude forced a corner with seven minutes to go. The resulting cross caused confusion and the ball was stabbed into the United net. The Pilgrims threw everything at their opponents and with five minutes to go Anthony Garmory was brought down in the penalty area however the referee waved play on. The whistle blew and United had given everything but it was not enough to progress to the finals.

Boston United finished third in the group behind Fc Abcoude and DSS, who finished on nine and eight points respectively. In the tournament final, Fc Abcoude won the trophy at the under-11s age group.

Boston United finished sixth overall out of a total of 25 teams and only two places from possible silverware.

Boston United would like to thank Bakkavor Pizzeria, East Coast Culverts, Allseas Cargo, Castle Mouldings, Anglian Water Kesteven Sports and Social Club and Tesco Boston for their support of Holland Tour 2008.