Intro:
This past Friday SIA Academy hosted another friendly match for their U19 squad, this time against a local club La Pobla Llarga. SIA Academy’s team, composed almost entirely of international youth players, came out strong from the start, showing dominant form and maintaining their lead throughout the entire match. SIA Academy were looking to be in great form this week as they effectively held possession and created several dangerous scoring opportunities while limiting their opponents’ shot options and chances on goal.
Match Overview:
The match started off balanced between both sides. SIA Academy began to open the field by creating chances down the wings as the opposing side, La Pobla Llarga, fought to dominate the midfield. The beginning of the first half remained even but SIA Academy soon began creating opportunities in front of goal. Through corner kicks and blocked shots SIA Academy continued to put pressure on the visiting team. It wasn’t long until the pressure paid off and SIA Academy put their first shot past the opposing keeper.
Around the 30th minute SIA Academy get a steal in the midfield and begin a quick counterattack. The ball quickly gets passed up the opponent’s field and is blasted on to the bottom corner by a SIA Academy striker to open their lead. With the momentum now on their side SIA Academy don’t let up on the pressure and continue to hold possession. Shortly before the half-time break La Pobla Llarga get an opportunity on goal and they are able to capitalize on it.
The second half started off even better for SIA Academy as they managed to maintain high pressure on their opponents, keeping them stuck in their field for the majority of the half. Chances kept being created in front of the net, but SIA Academy were having difficulty hitting the target. A few tactical substitutions were implemented which brough fresh legs to SIA Academy’s offence solved that issue. Within 10 minutes of the substitutions SIA Academy got an open chance on goal and this time they managed to hit the back of the net and amplify their lead once again.
From then on SIA Academy drew back their pressure a little bit and began focusing on maintaining a tight offensive structure. This limited their opponents attacking options and allowed SIA Academy to maintain dominance inside the field. Shortly before the final whistle La Pobla Llarga manage to get a cross to fall behind SIA Academy’s defensive line giving them a second goal but it was not enough to take the Lead from SIA Academy. The final score ended at SIA Academy 3 – 2 La Pobla Llarga.
MVP:
After a strong showing against the local club there were several performances that deserved praise however the top overall performers included: Leina S. and Stefan G, both of which performed excellent in the midfield through creating chances, getting steals and moving the ball around. Another stand out performance was done by R. Otaki, who was a solid defender for the entirety of the match.
