This may well be remembered down the road as one of the matches which we could have, should have won, but didn't win. Taiwan is a fellow bottom-half side. We fielded 8 players:
1. PKM
2. Andy
3. Dovan
4. Dezza
5. Adrian
6. Kelvin
7. Gordon
8. Nick
To their credit, Taiwan had a couple of good players (esp. an Afro-playmaker) - but a number of their players clearly were not all that comfortable with the ball and we failed to take advantage of this weakness. We were trailling 1-0 at the start. It soon became 2-0 as a result of a (big) deflected long-range shot. It stayed that way for most of the game. It was more exciting towards the end as we scored the goals, but we were always trailling one or two goals as we pushed forward. It was a below par performance for us.
What worked:
1. Leave an out-and-out striker upfront to force them to leave one defender + goalkeeper deep within their half. Our defence is in general strong with the likes of Gordon and Kelvin and we need to bet on our ability to defend on a 3 + GK vs 3 basis (since their defender/GK can't join the offence because of the out-and-out striker). When we won the ball, all it takes is a fast runner to make it a 2 vs 1 counterattack.
2. Goals were pretty much tap-ins again - it is critical to have someone inside the box and waiting for the opportunity. Their keeper was not very comfortable with the ball and there were opportunities to steal from backpasses.
3. We used the width of the court more effectively and the low crosses into the goal area were effective.
4. We did give it all, although the (lack of) fitness level showed, perhaps only Dovan excepted.
What didn't:
1. Lack of fitness (and match fitness) + lapse of concentration (perhaps lack of sleep / jetlagging).
2. Waiting to receive the ball rather than anticipating the pass (which gets intercepted) + some passes weren't accurate/fast enough = we gave possession away quite easier than that adds pressure to our defence.
3. Still some long-range efforts (except for one, the others were generally not threatening/effective). It's much threatening if we pass our way within the semi-circle.
4. 8 players with some not at full strength wasn't ideal. It would have been better had we had 1-2 more players.
1. PKM
2. Andy
3. Dovan
4. Dezza
5. Adrian
6. Kelvin
7. Gordon
8. Nick
To their credit, Taiwan had a couple of good players (esp. an Afro-playmaker) - but a number of their players clearly were not all that comfortable with the ball and we failed to take advantage of this weakness. We were trailling 1-0 at the start. It soon became 2-0 as a result of a (big) deflected long-range shot. It stayed that way for most of the game. It was more exciting towards the end as we scored the goals, but we were always trailling one or two goals as we pushed forward. It was a below par performance for us.
What worked:
1. Leave an out-and-out striker upfront to force them to leave one defender + goalkeeper deep within their half. Our defence is in general strong with the likes of Gordon and Kelvin and we need to bet on our ability to defend on a 3 + GK vs 3 basis (since their defender/GK can't join the offence because of the out-and-out striker). When we won the ball, all it takes is a fast runner to make it a 2 vs 1 counterattack.
2. Goals were pretty much tap-ins again - it is critical to have someone inside the box and waiting for the opportunity. Their keeper was not very comfortable with the ball and there were opportunities to steal from backpasses.
3. We used the width of the court more effectively and the low crosses into the goal area were effective.
4. We did give it all, although the (lack of) fitness level showed, perhaps only Dovan excepted.
What didn't:
1. Lack of fitness (and match fitness) + lapse of concentration (perhaps lack of sleep / jetlagging).
2. Waiting to receive the ball rather than anticipating the pass (which gets intercepted) + some passes weren't accurate/fast enough = we gave possession away quite easier than that adds pressure to our defence.
3. Still some long-range efforts (except for one, the others were generally not threatening/effective). It's much threatening if we pass our way within the semi-circle.
4. 8 players with some not at full strength wasn't ideal. It would have been better had we had 1-2 more players.
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