The very first game for Long Eaton United (U7s) was certainly worth waiting for! From a strong and enthusiastic squad,  Kevin (the Manager) decided on a starting seven;
Max Goalkeeper
Lily Defence, Jack Defence
Matthew Midfield (Captain), Oscar Midfield, Sam Midfield
Jarrett Centre Forward.
The game kicked off and within the first 5 minutes it was clear that Long Eaton were here to give it their all! The training had paid-off, our players seemed well-balanced and determined to pass, move, and more importantly work for each other. The team have clearly listened to their coaching staff over the past few weeks; Kevin (pre-match talk), Simon and Scott (the ref today) because straight away they started to play football. They stayed in their positions, passed the ball beautifully and without doubt understood that football was a team game.
At the 10 minute mark their efforts were rewarded, the team came forward together, Oscar found himself in space near the right corner flag and somehow managed to cross the ball, hard and low, between 3 Dunkirk players to find Jarratt waiting just outside the 6 yard box, he took his time, shot and scored what only can be described as a 1st class centre forward goal (Torres would be proud of you Jarrett) 1-0 Long Eaton.
From then on Long Eaton attacked together, spread the ball from one side to the other effortlessly, as if they had been playing together for years. What a start, impressive is an understatement. They can play football! On 15 minutes Dunkirk broke through the Long Eaton defence and shot, it’s in? The crowd gasped….Oh no, not if Max has anything to do with it, he denied the opposition with a spectacular save (Van Der Sar would have been proud of you Max!) If that wasn’t enough excitement, Max repeated it a minute later with a crucial stop with his knees on the edge of his 6-yard box.
The pressure’s too much – how long to half time Scott? The pace continued for a few more minutes, Jack and Lily found themselves making critical goal-saving tackles in the 18th & 19th minute, both on the edge of their 18-yard box. Straight after that Dunkirk attack, the running, work-rate and passing of Oscar, Sam and Matthew kept the ball forward for the team. Dunkirk were rattled and not used to being behind, unfortunately they broke two on the keeper through the middle, the first shot was saved superbly but the rebound fell for Dunkirk and they managed to equalise against the run of play and just before half-time?? (one minute over-time maybe, Scott, a word please!) As Bill Shankly once said to his players, “Football’s not fair, get used to it!”
 Long Eaton weren’t giving up there and within minutes of the restart, Matthew, not for the first time, showed remarkable skill when tricking 3 Dunkirk players with a turn and control that Zinadine Zidane would’ve been proud of, the move finished with a brilliant pass to Jarratt who narrowly missed with a great strike on goal.
The battle continued for the next 15 minutes with our midfield trio working non-stop to win the ball,and the defence looked strong unfortunately Dunkirk seemed to be getting more goal scoring opportunities (no wonder, they have been playing together for ages and usually win by 10).
Although Long Eaton refused to give up, Dunkirk found themselves with more shooting opportunities. Thankfully for us, Max was on form once again in the 32nd minute when he managed to parry away a great Dunkirk shot with a diving save to his low left for a corner to them.
All those on the sidelines were wondering which team would tire first and the game continued at an amazing tempo, but due to another counter-attack by Dunkirk, they managed a second..
Long Eaton were pushing hard for the equaliser they deserved but unfortunately they left themselves open at the back and Dunkirk bagged a third to put the game beyond reach, never mind!
The game ended with cheers and applause from both teams and those on the side-lines, what a wonderful performance by Long Eaton Utd, the 1-3 score-line didn’t reflect the game at all! It’s hard to believe that this was the first time they’ve ever played together. Their collective performance can only be described as “BRILLIANT” against a very strong Dunkirk side, which remains unbeaten. The whole team were superb and for that reason, the manager (Kevin), found it very difficult to award “man of the match” in this their first home friendly because they were all outstanding. Well done, Long Eaton Utd U7s, you should be proud of yourselves. Great start and we look forward to the next challenge!
Second Game
There had to be a second game due to the strength and depth of the squad, the manager and trainers were determined that every player that trained would play and get a chance, rightly so
With teams announced, shirts swapped and team-talk complete, it was time to get stuck in. Within minutes of the start, Sean won the ball and passed to Oliver who lined himself up for a shot only for it to go slightly wide. Again, great start!
With Max, playing out-field for this game and Jarrett as Goalkeeper, it wasn't long before Long Eaton started to settle down. Unfortunately, the strong Dunkirk team were soon on the attack only to be stopped with a brilliant tackle from Oliver, what a player! After only 4 minutes Long Eaton were saved by a crunching but fair tackle from Max (Captain) right on the edge of his 6 yard box. Unfortunately, Dunkirk persevered to go one up in the 9th minute. Much the same as the first game, the pace seemed very fast with Dunkirk slightly getting the upper-hand. That didn't stop Long Eaton though. They were on that pitch to play football and give it their best and that's exactly what they did.
It wasn't long before Kevin made a change to give everybody the chance to play and Matthew W came on for Daniel. In the 12th minute Oliver took a corner that very nearly ended up in the net, but didn't make it due to a decent interception by Dunkirk in their 6 yard box. Again, 3 minutes later, Oliver broke through the Dunkirk lines with only the keeper to beat for our first goal. Credit to the Dunkirk Goalkeeper, his speed in closing Oliver down denied us a much deserved lead, not to be this time!
On 15 minutes, another great run by Oliver, the keeper came out and quickly denied him a goal; things could have been quite different if that had gone in. Despite great efforts by the Long Eaton team, Dunkirk seemed to make best use of their chances and by the 17th minute they were 3 up; it could have been 4 if it wasn't for Lewis pulling off a brilliant save in the 23rd minute. Remarkably though, the boys persevered and refused to give up, they pushed on and on. Henry came on for Jarrett and made a crucial tackle to stop Dunkirk going further ahead.
On the 25th minute Mathew came on for Lewis in goal. The game continued with some good moves from both teams, in particular Sean and Lee linking up well to create some useful attacks down the right hand side and on one occasion setting up Max for a run only to be stopped by a brave Dunkirk goalkeeper on 30 minutes. Similar to the first game, Long Eaton found themselves open to several counter attacks only for Matthew to make some quite brilliant saves in goal, in particular in the 32nd minute where he turned a Dunkirk shot around the post to his left.
Although Long Eaton were 5 down, their amazing efforts and fight-back was rewarded in the 39th minute by...yes, you've guessed it, OLIVER who broke through and despite a good initial save from the keeper, put it away for a well deserved goal. You should all be proud of yourselves for not giving up, the moral of this match report is; "never give up and you'll get what you deserve", well done boys!
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