Forty-five minutes of football can hardly be regarded as a true reflection on our young players` ability to compete on the big stage. Last night`s kick- about was merely an introduction for a handful of hopefuls to prove that they are future stars that can shine and impress.
The game started with both teams getting the feel of the ball. Moussa and Fox doing their best to link up on the left side of the pitch, but were muscled out by the stronger Standard Liege players whose experience shone through. Nego impressed at times but seemed to lack quality on the ball.
The game moved well at times, but our midfield gave the ball away cheaply with Lennon showing his lack of experience and weakness. This resulted time and time again with Standard exploiting to their advantage by turning defence into attack. This led to the first shot on target when we did not clear our lines, and a goal soon followed scored by Igor De Camargo.
Morrison was in his usual generous mood giving away free kicks in dangerous areas but this resulted to nothing and the lines were cleared. Nego switched to the right wing, but his passing was far from accurate, balls into the box were easily dealt with and Charlton were always chasing the game.
On thirty one minutes, Harriot came on but never got going; I felt the team was relying on him to bring some sparkle back because Charlton had become a little jaded. Standard hurried Charlton which caused our young players to make too many mistakes which inevitably led to the second goal scored by Imoh Ezekiel.
Pope was the busier of the two keepers, but could do little to prevent the two goals – his defence went missing. This was a run -out for some of our hopefuls; the real test will be tonight when the first team will take centre stage.
Good luck boys.
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