U20 Round 22 (ML1): Blacktown Spartans vs Canterbury Bankstown FC

Final Score: Spartans 0 - 2 Canterbury BFC

First 90 minutes for Blacktown Spartans under the belt, feels good. I played 60 minutes at left-fullback and the last 30 minutes at centre-back after a red card. I played well throughout the game and kept level headed, composed, and consistent. The team started off poorly, conceding a penalty in the first minute and a scrappy tap-in 4 minutes later, those 2 goals in the first 5 minutes eventually being the difference. Individually, my only memorable mistake from the match was not going into a tackle strong enough and losing a 1v1, which didn’t lead to anything substantial but nevertheless I should’ve won. That was a one off and for the rest of the game my work ethic, leadership and communication shun through as I tried my best at keeping my team mentally in the game, however things unfolded and the team got sucked into the oppositions tactics and mental games which gave them the edge as we weren’t composed and couldn’t utilise our quality. We copped a red card which meant I moved to centre-back and I played well there for the remainder of the match feeling confident in possession and in defence, but this wasn’t enough for us to convert any attacking chances, the score ending in a 2-0 loss. Happy with my performance yet plenty to improve on the team-front.